Page 61 of How to Woo a Highlander

Jane blinked in surprise. They were talking about her? She did not think that she would be interesting enough to be the main topic of gossip.

"They are talking about me?" she echoed dumbly to which Suisan nodded.

"Aye, ye chased the man ye love into battle, and there ye killed enemy soldiers, escaped from the enemies camp despite all the men who tried to stop ye, and ye fought bravely alongside the Laird and Alastair to take down the traitor. I'd say the maids cannae stop speakin' yer name," Suisan explained.

Jane's jaw dropped in amazement.

"I… think they have grossly exaggerated the events that took place yesterday. I killed one injured soldier, and I did run from the enemy's camp, but it was no grand affair, I simply ran and hid. Also, my part in the fight against Lain was small, and it got me the injury on my face," she clarified, shocked, and embarrassed at how out of proportion the tales were.

Suisan looked amused, something that baffled Jane even further. She was not used to anything but unfriendliness from Suisan.

"I think what matters is that there is some truth in the tales. That much alone makes ye quite the admirable woman," Suisan added with a wry smile.

"Thank you…" Jane responded, still surprised.

Suisan gave her a regretful smile.

"Ye are welcome. I came here today, to tell ye that I am sorry. I have been unwelcomin', and I have shown ye nothing but rejection and disdain since ye came into the castle. I cannae help but feel that we might have been friends if nae for me behavior," she apologized.

Jane could only blink in surprise. An apology?

"It is alright…" she said, although curious why Suisan had been so foul to her for so long.

"I loved him. Lain," Suisan said, startling her. "I ken that what he did was wrong. It surprised everyone, includin' me. I never expected that he could dae such a thing. However, I cannae hate him. I am the only one that saw him. I ken all of his talents while everyone else thought he was lazy and useless. I saw how hard he worked at the things he put his mind to dae."

Jane's eyes were full at the revelation. She swallowed the sudden sadness as she remembered Lain with the orphans. He was not entirely a bad person, or at least there had been good in him at some point.

"I hated ye because I saw that he looked at ye with interest. Lain flirts with everyone, but there is nae interest in his eyes when he does it. I only noticed after watchin' him for many years. When ye showed up, suddenly, he showed interest. I resented ye because I wished that he would look at me like that instead. Now I realize that I should not have; it was all a waste," Suisan said.

At this point, she started crying, and Jane's heart went out to her.

"Suisan…" she mumbled sadly, her voice trailing off as the other woman wiped her eyes and sniffed.

"While everyone hates him and rejoices in his death, I cannae dae that. Although he has done the unforgivable, I will choose to remember him not as a traitor, but as the man I loved. For this, I cannae stay here any longer. I am leaving today, with everythin' I own, and with some help from William. I will start a new life in France, and I will never return. I just wanted to apologize to ye before I left, both for him and for me. I hope that ye have a happy life with Alastair," Suisan declared, and with those final words, she left the room, leaving Jane speechless and with mixed feelings.

There truly is no black and white in life.

Epilogue

Four whole months had passed since the war ended, and things had returned to some semblance of order in the castle. The Grant clan was defeated, so much that they would never rear their head again, and it was left to William to decide whether or not he wanted to assimilate them.

Cargill and Balfour had been horrified by the events that had taken place and apologized profusely for not being able to react in time for fear that their alliance would be at risk. However, William did not blame them; they had no way of knowing that Lain would betray them and render their plans useless.

The two allied Lairds offered relief by helping to rebuild the destroyed villages since they had not sent their soldiers and did so freely, desperate to keep up the alliance.

The clan had the spoils of war from the Grant clan to do with as they wished. Alastair took charge as second in command and used the resources for the betterment of those affected. Although the clan was prospering from the aftermath of the war, lives had still been lost.

Many families were broken, with brothers, fathers, sisters, mothers, and children lost in the fighting. It was this loss that they were unable to repair. Alastair faced this first hand when he went to visit the families of his men who had died by Lain’s hands. His wounds had barely healed, and he was still heavy with bandages, but he went all the same.

The first on his list was Gerald’s wife. Talking to her had been the most difficult. She had opened the door, rocking her baby with a distracted smile on her face, but once she caught sight of his expression, had frozen in place. She invited him in and offered him something to drink.

He had opted for water since he did not want her to put any effort into being hospitable, given what she was about to hear. With her baby in one arm, she had brought him a cup of water to the table where he sat. Looking around the house, he could see Gerald everywhere.

The wooden house had a homely feeling to it and was warm, filled with deerskin rugs showing how much Gerald loved to hunt. A pair of huge antlers hung on the wall, clearly one of his prized possessions. At that moment, Alastair wished more than anything that he had sent Gerald back home at all costs.

Seeing him looking at the antler’s, the woman had given a sad smile while the baby cooed and played in her arms.

“He loved those antlers, me Gerald. I used to give him hell for them when he first hung them up. I saw nay reason why I should have the skull of a dead animal in me home, right where all visitors could see it. Every time I brought it up, he would make this stupid puppy-eyed face and recount the story of how he conquered the buck as though I hadnae already heard it a thousand times. I hated it, but I couldnae bring meself to put me foot down and make him remove it. I always threatened that when he was gone, I would take it down and burn it with relish.”