Sacrificing his Highland Heart by Kenna Kendrick
Chapter Thirty
The following day, when Rose awoke, it was to feel the tender soreness in her muscles, but when she spied Euan breathing gently next to her, she smiled. It was precisely the kind of soreness she wanted because it meant Euan wanted her, and they could love each other. She snuggled closer to him and laid her hand on her chest before she remembered.
“Oh! Euan, wake up!”
Euan made a few groggy sounds, and when she shook his arm, he grumbled, “What is it, lass? Do ye want more, is it? Ye will be the death of me.”
Rose chuckled. “No, it is not that, you fool! Listen. We have forgotten the peppermint oil and your injury! Siobhan will know that I have not given you the treatment she recommended, so you need to turn over right now so that I can help you. Oh, dear Lord, I pray that I did not harm you in our activities last night!”
Euan was smiling handsomely, and she had a pang of longing in her stomach when she saw him tuck his hands behind his head and gaze up at her. “I think I would take any pain in the world, just so that I could have that pleasure.”
Even though they had made love many times now, Rose still blushed. “You still need to turn over. You know what Siobhan is like! She will keep us here for all days if we do not heed her orders. I am certain she will smell you as soon as we leave this room to see that we have followed her instructions.”
“Fine then,” he sighed and turned over, baring his back.
“Good, you will have to show me where it ails you.” Rose scooped out some of the sweet-smelling salve and straddled the back of him. Euan chuckled.
“Ye will give me other ideas besides medicine, Rose, if ye continue like this.”
“Well, first, you must think only of healing yourself after the battle and the farming. Now, where does it hurt?” She began to put her hands down on his skin, and after a few moments, he helped her find the right locations. He made sounds of pain as she moved, making her wince, but she knew it was good for him. “Here, I thought you were a great warrior, and now when I push on a certain area, you cry out as if you are being stabbed?” she teased. With his hand, he tried to reach back to grab her to no avail.
The smell of the peppermint filled the room, and after a little while, she was massaging slowly and smoothly in the right places, and it seemed to make Euan feel better. His breathing grew steady, and she watched him with tenderness as he closed her eyes. After a short while, she lifted her hands. “Now, we will need to do that twice a day, she said.”
Euan groggily turned over and then settled himself under Rose, and she squealed in surprise. “I think there are many things we could do twice a day, my love,” he said, and Rose could feel that familiar and welcome warmth and tingle in her belly.
She leaned down to kiss him. “True, Euan, and I quite agree, but I think that if some of this peppermint salve were to make its way…elsewhere, we would both not enjoy it very much.”
Euan laughed, the joyful sound bouncing off the walls. “How wise ye are, Lady Rede. I suggest ye clean yer hands, and then ye will be safe from the salve on my back.”
Rose shrugged. “That could be possible.”
But they heard a knock at the door, and Rose left the bed and walked to the doorway without opening it. “Yes?” she called out.
“It is Siobhan and Walter.” Rose wanted to shake her head at the obvious triumph in her friend’s voice.
“Is it now? And what have you to say for yourselves?” she teased.
“Only that we are unlocking the door and that ye may do with it what ye will. I will be with the injured men, but I will be sure tae smell the peppermint upon Euan when I see him at breakfast!” Rose chuckled. She heard the sound of the key in the lock, and she looked back at Euan with a smile.
“Well, they achieved what they set out to do, I suppose.” She put her hands on her naked waist. “Come. I need to speak to my brother, and we need to get to breakfast and not let any of your men know that you were trapped in a room against your will all night.”
“True enough, lass,” Euan said, and Rose was gifted with the sight of his male loveliness as he emerged from the bedclothes completely naked. As he washed with the water in the basin, she began to dress. She approached him, and he turned around to draw her into his arms. “When will yer brother be gone? I can barely wait until it is just the two of us, Rose.”
Rose grinned. “Soon enough, but you know that we have to entertain him and his men as guests until all thoughts of vengeance are gone. It will do everyone a world of good. And then we can all be allied, in every sense of the word.”
Euan smiled and gently kissed her on the lips. “Aye, lass. Ye are a much better diplomat than I. Go on then. Go and speak ta eyer fool-headed, stick-arse brother.” He turned away, and Rose chuckled before heading out the door. She was glad there was no sign of Walter or Siobhan because she wasn’t ready to deal with them, but she made her way to her brother’s chamber. He was just leaving the room when he saw her.
“Ah, my dear sister who has now become a ‘Scottish lass’.” He mimicked Euan’s accent as he said the words.
Rose took a breath, trying to keep her patience. “Come now, Henry, let us talk and be at peace. You said you would allow me to take you around the grounds for a little.”
“Before breakfast?” he asked with a lifted brow.
“Yes, and then we can return to the meal with everything sorted and with you having heard me.”
He hesitated for a moment, looking unconvinced, but then he nodded his head. A good night’s sleep had given her brother a least a modicum of sense. And she knew that he had a little bit of chivalry in him when it came to women. That’s part of where he’d gotten his idea to go and save her from the vicious Scotsman. They walked down the stairs and out the door. At the sight of their lady, the men opened the gate, and Rose and Henry strode out into the bright morning sunshine. Rose took a restorative breath and closed her eyes. It was perfect, and the world looked even better and more beautiful than the day before.
She crossed the bridge and walked with her brother along the path around the castle. She gestured to the hills and fields around them. “Is this not beautiful, Henry?”
Henry was squinting. “Yes, yes, it is beautiful. What of it? We have hills and fields and flowers in England as well. Your home.”
Rose grimaced. This was going to be difficult. “Yes, I know that. But surely you can see how much fresher and greener it is here.”
Henry didn’t answer.
“Listen, Henry. It is done. We decided to come here because of my father, and now that I have lived here with its people and with Euan, I know that it is the life and the place for me. I am Lady Rede, and I am proud to be so. Euan is not the way he was portrayed. It is true. He should not have threatened father. But his father was killed by an Englishman, and he was searching for some sort of revenge. Not that it excuses his terrible behavior, but I think it explains it a little. We have been seeing the Scots as brutish animals for many years, and I think that they have viewed us in the same way.”
“And yet you let him get away with his need for vengeance, Rose.”
Rose stopped and turned to look at Henry. He looked so out of place in this happy world of hers with his sour expression and angry eyes. “Henry, I do not know where you got this anger and hatred from. It cannot have been the war because you were sour and angry even before then.” Henry looked away from her into the distance.
She continued, her hand on her brother’s arm. “I know you think that women cannot think for themselves. That we cannot have opinions on our own without a man. But you will just have to get it into your mind that that is not true. Surely you know me. I have always fought back if I could, and I always told you my opinion even if it was more subdued then than now. I want to stay here. I am his wife, and he makes me happy. I love him, and he loves me. If he did not, I would think about returning with you, but you must go home and tell Father that I love him and miss him, but that I am happy here, with my new husband. Please, Henry. Please understand and stop fighting me at every turn.” She sighed. “I only hope that you can find as much happiness as I have one day.”
As she finished her speech, a cool breeze swept over then, and Rose felt a tingle of hope that all would be well. Her brother would understand. She could smell the sweet scent of flowers in the air, and she smiled.
“Why do you smile?” Henry asked, a wry grin on his face.
“Because this place is like heaven to me. It even smells wonderful. Home in England was home for when I was young, but now this is my home, like a fairyland. I know you think I am silly or ridiculous, but you would understand if you spent longer here. Perhaps you would even consider staying yourself or at least coming to visit. You will understand in time, despite your hard heart,” she teased.
Henry sighed. He took one of Rose’s hands in hers and squeezed it. “Rose, I know that you have not heard me say this very often, but I am sorry. I,” he paused and looked down. “I was so afraid when father was captured. We had been together throughout the battle that I thought it was my fault when he was taken. And then he was on the brink of death at Laird Rede’s hand, and I could not do anything. I was powerless. You stepped up to do the necessary thing, and I was too afraid to go and fight right from the beginning. I wanted to make it up to you, and I wanted to take vengeance on the man who made a fool of me. I thought that you were ready to accept my help, that you would be happy that I was coming for you and being the hero. Little did I know that Laird Rede would turn out to be the hero. I feel that I cannot protect anyone. That I am no hero. I have never been in my eyes, and that is where the anger comes from. The fury. A man needs to feel strong and as though he can save those he cares about. Laird Rede understands that well enough.” Henry looked off toward the sea. “I do not even think that Father believes in me. He did not know about this journey until after I left, and I worry that he would have disapproved, but I hoped to prove something to him. To you. To everyone.”
“Oh Henry,” Rose said, and she reached up on her toes to embrace Henry. “I am sorry for that. You have done so much for this family, and I know that father is so proud of you and will be happy when you take over the estate. It is time to stop trying, I think. You have had a difficult time in the past few years in the war. You have been a man taken from his home and everything safe that he knows and loves. It is time to think of settling down, if you so wish, and being happy. Father is safe, and I am happy and safe, and we can all live our lives as we were meant to do.”
Henry nodded his head. “Thank you, Rose.” He sighed. “I understand. I will endeavor to speak kindly to your husband.”
“Good. Perhaps you should ask for his forgiveness too, Henry. You came, and lives were lost because of that.”
Henry nodded a little more solemnly. “You are right. That will weigh on me. But before we return to the castle, perhaps we walk around a little more? I would like to see more.”
“Of course, Henry.” Rose pushed her arm through his. “I will show you everything.”
* * *
Euan made his way downstairs, still a little tired but glad that he had some rest at least, and so he was not in danger of falling asleep on the breakfast table. When he arrived in the hall, the table was laid with food, even if it was a little cold. “Ye have come down so late, my friend!” Walter called from his seat. He was already in the middle of eating and looking as proud as can be.
Euan grumbled, “I wonder why that would be? Perhaps I was locked in my chamber, and couldnae get out.”
Walter chuckled. “Aye, that was my idea, and it turned out well, I think. Did it?” he raised a brow in question.
Euan slumped down in his chair, in too much of a good mood to feign his anger much longer. “Aye, I might as well say it. It worked, even if ye were an arsehole, almost as bad as that Henry Sayer.”
Walter burst into loud laughter. “Now, that is an insult indeed.”
Euan took a bite of a fresh roll. “Ye are looking well this morning,” he said, eyeing Walter’s cheery demeanor.
“So, I am.”
“Tell me then. What has happened? I feel as though our lives have turned into the dramatic events of the old gods. Battles, revenge, people falling in love, getting trapped in rooms, and the like. What happened?”
Walter grinned. “Ye saw last eve. Siobhan said that she would think about my proposal. Then last night after we locked the two of ye in the room and returned tae the injured men, I helped her all evening, and we fell asleep near the men. Just this morning, she told me that she would accept my proposal.”
Euan’s mouth dropped open. He knew that Siobhan cared for Walter even though she hadn’t wanted to admit it, but he was surprised that she had agreed to the proposal so quickly. “Walter, that is good news! I am happy for ye, old friend!” He clapped him on the shoulder. “Now Prestone castle and clan will have a fair lady to lead them.”
“And lead them she will.”
“As well as heal them.” Euan laughed, his heart light. He hoped that Rose was getting on well with her brother. They had not yet returned, and even though they had laid down their differences last night in a way, he hoped that Henry wouldn’t still try and take her with him or force her to come home in some way. He would undoubtedly have something to say about that.
“Aye. She will be happy, I think,” Walter said hopefully.
“She will, Walter. I ken it.”
Just then, Rose and Henry entered the room, and Siobhan was not far behind. Euan straightened up, smiling at his wife as she came in. Everything would be different now. Changed. Life would be far better than he had ever dreamed.
Henry came over to him, and he stood tall, glowering down at Euan for a few moments before he held out his hand.
“I was wrong, Laird Rede. I see that my sister is happy and wants to remain as your wife and lady of your clan. I am sorry for the loss of men. It was a tragedy and due to a foolish error. It will not happen again.”
Euan blinked at Henry’s outstretched hand. This was a pivotal moment, and if he refused, he could ruin everything he had just built with Rose. Instead, he swallowed his pride and shook Henry’s hand. “Good, lad. I hope nae. Our alliance continues.”
“Excellent.” Everyone sat down, and Rose found her seat next to him. She slid her hand over his thigh.
“Thank you, Euan.” They watched as Henry, Siobhan, and Walter began speaking about the parts of Scotland that Henry must visit, and Euan could see Siobhan’s arm slip inside Walter’s.
“Do ye see that, my love?” he whispered to Rose. “She has accepted him.”
“She told me. I am so happy for them. They will be very happy together. We will all be happy.” She turned to Euan and leaned closer. “Our alliance continues, as you say.”
“Aye, and it has made me a happier man.”
“And me a happier woman.”
Euan took her hand and kissed it. “Ye ken, I want tae begin anew with ye, lass. Start our marriage fresh, as if it has just occurred and nae because of force or violence. We can trust each other again.”
Rose grinned. “I would like that very much. And I think that an heir would be one of the perfect ways to secure that trust.”
She giggled and then leaned in to kiss him. Yes, happiness at long last was finally his.
