Page 19 of Forbidden Kilted Highlander

"Ye saved her."

"I tried tae. She was the first person I ever felt responsible fer. Nae just... loyal too. But truly meant tae protect."

His voice was so quiet now, almost hoarse.

"I never saw her as weak, though. Even then, as a child. She had fire in her. Still daes. She’s the reason I go tae the healer. She made me see wounds as something tae tend tae, nae simply tae endure."

Agnes felt the weight of those words in her chest. For a man like Tav to speak so openly, to reveal this slice of his life... it felt like watching the sea pull back to reveal what had always lain beneath.

"She must mean a great deal tae ye," Agnes said softly.

"She daes." Tav met her eyes again. "But nae in the way folk think. She is like a sister tae me. Family."

Agnes bit the inside of her cheek. That strange swell in her chest, that ache that came when something was both beautiful and unbearable, rose like a tide.

He had always been the strong one. The shield. The sword. But here, now, she could see him for what he truly was; a man who had borne more than most and still chosen to be gentle when it counted.

"She’s lucky," she whispered. "Tae have had ye."

Tav didn’t smile, not quite. But there was a softness that crept into the corners of his eyes.

They stood like that for a while. Just the two of them and the quiet breath of horses, the hush of hay shifting beneath their feet. Agnes felt her palms go clammy. She suddenly wished she had braided her hair, done something more with herself. He looked like steel and temptation, and she was here with sleep-heavy eyes and a heart that didn’t know how to stop aching.

“We leave just before dawn,” he said finally.

She nodded, though every part of her felt restless. “I’ll be ready.”

He watched her, his face unreadable in the dim light, shadows dancing across his jawline. Then, almost reluctantly, he added, “Get some rest, Agnes. Ye’ll need it.”

The way he said her name made something flutter low in her belly. A strange ache bloomed behind her ribs. She hesitated, then took a small step back, not trusting herself to speak. Her voice felt too thin, too full of things she didn’t understand well enough to say aloud. But as she turned, she felt it—his gaze lingering on her like a touch.

It trailed down her back as she moved to leave.

Agnes stopped, halfway between the open stable door and the darkness beyond. Her hand hovered near the post, her fingers curling around the splintered edge of the wood.

“I dinnae want tae go back tae me chambers,” she said quietly, her voice barely louder than the wind rustling the straw beneath their feet.

Tav stilled behind her.

She turned, lifting her eyes to meet his. “I dinnae want tae sit alone, waiting fer morning like I’m some... thing tae be moved about wrapped in wool. I’d rather we leave now.”

He frowned slightly. “Agnes, it’s near black out there. We’d nae make it a mile before we’re blind on the road. It’s nae safe.”

“I ken,” she said. “I ken it isnae. But it daesnae feel safe in me chamber either.”

The words spilled before she could think to soften them. She wrapped her arms around herself and exhaled. “I just... I dinnae feel like being alone tonight.”

There was a silence. She didn’t expect him to say anything.

“I’ll wait here,” she said quickly, before he could send her back inside. Her voice shook a little.

Tav’s eyes flicked toward the open stable doors, then back to her. Something shifted in his expression, quiet and unreadable.

She lowered herself to the edge of the stable, perching on a low beam near the wall where hay had been loosely stacked. The air smelled of horses and earth and cold air, and strangely, it made her feel steadier. Her skirt rustled as she settled. She didn’t look at him again. Just stared out at the night beyond the stable door, watching the sky for signs of morning.

She looked down at her hands, twisting them in her lap. “Dae ye ever regret it? Working fer me faither?”

He was quiet for a long moment. Then, “Nay. Nay regret. But sometimes I wonder what it would have felt like... tae choose something else.”