Page 81 of The Beastly Earl

"I think it will take all of the Rockwoods to ensure Sebastian's youngest doesn’t do something rash. I think she has the ability to exceed even the most reckless of your escapades."

"At least I won't be the subject of exasperated gasps and reprimands by my siblings anymore."

Percy mocked her as he clutched at his heart as if mortally wounded. Louisa laughed at his dramatic display of injury. A grin brightened his face as his knuckles gently jabbed her below the tip of her chin. Before she could tease him on his lack of acting skills, she looked over Percy's shoulder to see Aunt Matilda's eyes open wide as she gasped with astonishment.

As her aunt turned toward Helen and Patience, the Scotswoman bobbed her head with excitement at something her sister-in-law said. Behind her, Louisa heard loud cheers, laughter, and whistles filling the air on the other side of the village square where it narrowed down into one of the side streets. Percy nodded over her shoulder as a complacent grin curved his mouth.

"It appears someone is performing the Speerin for the privilege of asking for his sweetheart's hand." Percy's words made her heart wrench at the thought of watching a happy couple become engaged at the ceilidh, and before he could stop her, she slipped away from him and turned to push her way through the crowds.

"Fear, Lady Westwood? You've never shown a reluctance to face the beast in the past."

The arrogant taunt rang out loud and clear above the frolicking laughter and whistles. Louisa came to an abrupt halt wanting to turn around, but terrified to do so. It was wishful thinking on her part. Ewan hated being out in public. Certain she was experiencing a delusion born out of wishes she had buried in her heart, she moved forward again only to come up against a hard chest.

She looked up to see Lucien smiling down at her. Quickly stepping to one side in an effort to move past her brother-in-law, another hard body blocked her way. This time it was Julian preventing her retreat. She drew in a sharp breath as Sebastian appeared at her side.

"A Rockwood never runs from a challenge, Louisa," Sebastian said quietly.

Her heart beating frantically in her breast, she didn't move as she stared up at her oldest brother. He bobbed his head in the direction of the square behind her. Still terrified she was having a waking vision, Louisa slowly turned around. The sight of Ewan standing on the edge of the dance floor with a caber on each shoulder made her suck in a sharp breath of disbelief.

He was here. The beastly earl was here in the middle of the village square surrounded by a multitude of people. The image made her throat close as she tried to believe what she was seeing was real. Ewan's good hand balanced the caber on his good shoulder with ease. The second heavy log wobbled as his artificial hand tried to hold the unwieldly weight steady.

Rooted in place, Louisa saw how the heavy logs had forced him to hunch over slightly in order to shift some of the weight onto his upper back. Louisa shook her head slightly as she struggled to grasp the notion that Ewan was standing in the village square, surrounded by dozens of people, and carrying two cabers on his shoulders.

"Bloody hell, Percy! Lucien and I told you two cabers was asking too much of the man," Sebastian growled directly behind her.

Her gaze locked with Ewan's as she saw his mouth twist into a visible grimace of pain. She took one step forward before her brother's words suddenly sank into her brain. The Speerin. Her family had given Ewan a task to perform in exchange for his right to ask for her hand. Annoyance swept through her the instant she realized he'd gone to her brother instead of her. If the man had come to her in the first place, he wouldn't be carrying two cabers at this very moment.

"Damn it, Louisa," he grunted. These cabers are heavy, lass."

"I'm sure they are," she said sharply as she scowled at him. "Especially when you were so dull-witted as to ask my brother and not me about an offer of marriage. I wouldn't have asked you to perform any Speerin task."

"Your brother didn't ask me to, I insisted," Ewan growled. At his reply, Louisa's mouth sagged open slightly as she stared at him in amazement until her annoyance returned with a vengeance.

"Then I should let you stand there a little while longer for not using the good sense God gave you, you stubborn Scot," she snapped.

Gasps and sharp inhalations from her family echoed behind her, but she ignored them as she met the glittering frustration in the gaze of the man in front of her. A hand on her shoulder made her jerk her head to meet Percy's worried gaze.

"For the love of God, Louisa. The man has a body full of sutures."

"And you knew that, didn't you?" she bit out between clenched teeth. A flush of color and shame crossed her brother's handsome features. "Oh, you're not alone in your feebleminded foolishness, brother mine. He's just as thick-skulled as you are. Isn't that right, my lord."

"Damnation, Louisa. I love you more than my own life, and I’m asking you to please put this beast out of his misery," Ewan roared.

"What did you say?" Louisa gasped as she stared at him in stunned disbelief.

"I said, I love you," he snarled like a caged animal.

Had the man actually said he loved her in the middle of the village square? In front of the entire village? The glare he pinned on her was just as fierce as ones she'd seen before, but there was something different about his expression now. There was a desperation about him that had nothing to do with the weight he was slowly bowing beneath. It frightened her.

Did he think she'd refuse such a courageous public display of devotion? Was it possible he didn't realize how well she knew him? She knew the price he'd paid for declaring his love for her in the middle of the village square. With a small cry, she ran forward determined to reassure him that her heart was his until her last breath.

Her brothers were close behind as they took the cabers off Ewan's shoulders. The instant the weight was off him, Ewan pulled her tight against him and captured her mouth in a hard kiss. Louisa clung to him oblivious to the shouts of laughter and cheers echoing around them. As he lifted his head, he pressed his forehead against hers.

"You have a wicked temper, mo ghràdh."

"It's no more than your stubborn nature, my lord, but I am sorry for allowing my pettiness to cause you more pain," she whispered as her hand caressed his scarred face.

"It's a price I was willing to pay to prove how much I love you. I'll go to the depths of hell for you, mo leannan."