In Scot Water - Caroline Lee Page 0,53
handle—”
“ ’Twould be crowded,” she interrupted.
Her gaze wasn’t giving away her feelings, so he nodded hesitantly. “Aye, ‘twould.”
Was she saying she was comfortable moving the lads into the nursery? Was she staying with him?
He took a deep breath and threw himself into that hope. “I can understand ye might hesitate to trust me again. Please believe me that ‘twasnae my intent to keep the truth from ye. If I neglected to tell ye that my father is laird, ‘twas no’ because I was lying to ye, but because it didnae matter in my mind. I didnae ask ye to marry me because of the stupid plan I’d concocted before I met ye, my scheme to become laird. By the time I asked ye to marry me, I was thinking only of ye, and the lads, and the future we might have together.”
Slowly, her breathing slowed, and her grip tightened on his hands.
“Ye’re telling the truth now?” she finally murmured.
“I swear it.” He lifted her hands to his lips and brushed a kiss across the backs of them. “I love ye, Evelinde, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to regain yer trust.”
“Och, Malcolm.” Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I never stopped trusting ye. I kenned ye were a good man, but when yer great-aunt told me of yer Da’s ultimatum, I couldnae understand how a good man could do that to me.”
His heart had begun to pound happily at her words, but he forced himself to remain calm. “I’m sorry. A thousand times. I should’ve kenned how upset ye were when ye didnae send Liam to me this morning. I thought that meant ye nae longer trusted me to care for—”
When she lifted stricken eyes to his, he bit off his words.
“Ye dinnae have Liam?” she whispered hoarsely.
“Nay.” He shook his head slightly. “But I understand why ye might have kept him with ye and Tomas today when ye visited Agatha and Nessa and Lara. But I want ye to ken that I would never do aught to harm—”
“Malcolm!” She tugged on his hands, the words bursting out of her all at once. “Liam wasnae with me!”
He blinked. “What?”
“Liam wasnae with me. I havenae seen him since this morning when ye left for sparring with the warriors.” Her voice was rising in panic. “Ye’d told Liam ye’d bring him, so I assumed he was with ye!”
He shook his head. “He wasnae. I have no’ seen him either.”
And the sudden terror in her expression was heartbreaking. She lunged for the door, but his grip on her hands stopped her. Turning back to him, she began to tug frantically.
“Evie! Evie, listen to me!”
When her breathing slowed and she lifted her gaze to his, he nodded.
“We’ll find him,” he promised in a solemn voice. “We will find him.”
Her eyes were wide with near panic, but she managed to nod once before she pulled away from him and raced for the door.
With a growl, he wrenched his sword down from the wall and followed her.
After an hour, Evelinde felt certain they’d looked in every possible hiding place the castle had to offer.
Of course, it helped that, thanks to Malcolm, there had to be fifty people poking into niches and yelling Liam’s name. Kiergan, unusually somber, had nodded as soon as Malcolm had explained the disappearance.
“Come, Alistair,” he’d called, already jogging for the stairs, “we’ll check the battlements and upper levels.”
Nessa chafed at waiting with Agatha, but she said it was clear Evelinde was in no condition to care for Tomas right then, so she would. Lara and her mother, Moira, organized the servants into a thorough sweep of the lower floors, while Rocque and Duncan headed down into the village.
And Evelinde prayed while Malcolm held her.
At first, she’d stiffened in his arms, but she couldn’t deny the comfort he brought her. And his words! Despite the panic she was feeling at her son’s disappearance, she couldn’t forget his words and the way they’d made her feel.
He loved her. He loved her and her sons.
Their sons.
“We’ll find him,” he murmured again, his chin atop her head as she snuggled against his chest.
Beneath her cheek, she could feel his heart beating in time with hers, and wondered if he was as frantic as she was.
“Have we checked the courtyard?”
“Aye.” One hand rested soothingly on her back, making small circles. “Da is out there now. Brohn has returned from the village to report they’ve seen no sign of the lad, but the village