Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

Gabriel carried Finn into the carriage that had been discarded on the side of the road and hitched the horse.

“Yer parents must be in the village,” he said, turning toward Kate.

She nodded sleepily, her body exhausted from the day’s events.

Elsie pushed past her and climbed in beside Finn, cursing at him as he swatted away her hand. Even near-death didn’t bring peace between those two.

Another day, she might have smiled.

Instead, the marquess led both girls out of the woods. Whatever he said to them must have been funny because they laughed. Then they tore away from him and raced toward Gabriel, who dropped to his knees and hugged his nieces.

“Kate was so brave,” Maisie said.

“Mr. McQuarrie should be in trouble. He hurt Aunt Elsie.”

“I ken, sweet,” he said, gazing down upon, brushing his hands over their hair. “And ye two were the bravest of all, my girls.” They buried their heads into his neck, refusing to let go. He dropped a kiss on top of their heads and squeezed his arms tighter.

Kate had done the same with the girls as they waited only hours earlier, soaking in the details in case all was lost. She couldn’t imagine it. Wouldn’t allow it to enter her mind.

But her hand trembled by the carriage door. Her voice wasn’t much better. “Elsie, your head needs to be looked after by the surgeon. Finn, keep still.”

“If you tell me where the surgeon is, I will escort him to the castle,” the marquess offered, strolling up.

“That would be helpful, thank you. Perhaps you could locate my parents as well?”

“Only if you wish it.”

Kate was surprised by the laugh that scraped her throat. “Thank you for your assistance today. And yes, I suppose it would be best to know where they are. I don’t know if they’re cut out for the Scottish Highlands.”

“But you are, Kate.”

She shrugged, studying his handsome face. The man had brought her life to a halt while also showing her a new one. In time, they might be friendly. It was because of him that she had everyone back who mattered most to her.

The constable dragged Duncan out of the woods. The older man staggered, his head bleeding, before he glared at Kate and the others.

“Keep yer mouth shut, McQuarrie,” the constable hissed. “Ye’ve done enough already.”

Kate swore he mumbled “not enough” under his breath, but she didn’t have it in her to watch as he was loaded into the wagon with the rest of his men.

“MacInnes, we’ll be needing to talk ye.”

“Can it no’ wait until later?” he shouted back, standing in front of the girls. “Finn needs a surgeon.”

“Och, that’ll do. Go on, then.”

Gabriel stood, picking each girl up in his arms, clean off the ground as they giggled and ruffled his bronze hair.

“Ye’re a beastie with the sword,” Lorna said. “Kent it’d be handy.”

He chuckled, looking between the girls, before setting his gaze to Kate as twilight quickly faded to the cover of night. The air was bitter cold, that last hint of autumn missing. Winter was creeping in.

Duncan held them in the forest for only a handful of hours, yet it felt a lifetime. A lifetime in which Kate would have given her life to protect the girls and Elsie. The bruises around her wrists and ankles throbbed as her heart began to steady. The neat kick to her ribs ached, and though she hadn’t been schooled much on the topic of anatomy, she would hazard a guess that she might have a bruised rib or two. It was most painful.

But not nearly as much as the broken heart thrumming in her chest. A constant reminder of how the day began.

Leaving Dunsmuir Castle behind.

Leaving him .

“My lord,” Gabriel said, “can ye help the girls into the carriage while I speak with Kate?”

She shook her head, retreating quickly until the carriage pushed against her back, stalling her escape.

“Certainly. Though I don’t believe Miss Bancroft wishes to speak with you.”

“She will,” Gabriel insisted.

The growl in his voice nearly made her knees weak.

“Please help the girls in and then fetch the surgeon.”

The marquess bowed, ever so courtly—and ever so slightly redeemed in her eyes—and did as told. London’s most notorious rake proved to be a hero to her after all.

For one day, at least.

Kate skirted around the carriage and walked backward as Gabriel stalked forward in the dark. She was certain she was still devastated by him, certain she was curious. Certain she was still dismissed, and she would be leaving with her parents to return to London.

“Stop running away, Kate,” he said in a raspy voice.

“I’m not running,” she corrected. But she was. Kate had been for some time.

“Come here, mo leannan . ”

“We need to return to Dunsmuir and fetch the surgeon for Finn and Elsie.”

“Aye.”

Still, he pursued, so finally she stopped, holding space for herself on the narrow country lane.

“There will always be things to do, love, but I need to hold ye. I need to ken ye’re well.”

Kate shivered, shaking her head. “I am well enough.”

He approached with his arms open, and she watched, knowing full well when he touched her, she would fall apart.

“You don’t wish to need me, Gabe. I know it. You think everyone wishes something of you. And try as I might, I don’t think I can lie to you and tell you otherwise.”

He reached his fist out and bumped the underside of her chin, so her focus fell solely on him. “I need ya, lass. And I always will.”

Her eyes burned, and she melted into her body’s urge to turn and run but ignored it, instead throwing her arms around his neck and resting her head against his shoulder, heard his heart beat wildly against his chest.

Home.

She stood on her tiptoes and braced her hands against his cheeks, drawing his forehead down to hers. Kate only wished to feel him, to know he wasn’t injured, and that he was well. She closed her eyes, feeling the split in her heart deepen.

“I love you, Gabriel MacInnes. And I nearly died today thinking that you didn’t, and I hated every second of it.”

His arms wrapped around her bottom and lifted her. A surprised chuckle escaped her, and she gazed down upon him and those intense blue eyes of his, feeling her anger and fear melt away.

“I love ye, Kate. Come home with me. Come home tonight with yer family, where ye belong, here at Dunsmuir Castle. Stay with me, mo leannan .”

Then he slowly released her to the ground. She was about to catch her breath before he leaned down and kissed her under the stars, as he always promised, well and good .

“I need ye, Kate. I will always need ye. And if I’m lucky, one day I might even deserve ye. But until then, kiss me and tell me ye’ll be my wife, and I swear I will prove it to ye every day of my life. Be my wife, please. I want for nothing else but to call ye mine.”

He pinched a black curl between his fingers, gazing upon her, waiting for her answer.

She hadn’t journeyed to Scotland in search of a husband. If she were honest, she had been searching for herself.

Kate had found a family and a purpose, and this perfectly frustrating Highlander who loved her with a depth she had never experienced.

And she wouldn’t change anything if it all led her back here, once more under the Scottish stars, in cold so raw her breath danced around them in a thin, lacy veil.

Once more.

And always.

“Yes,” she said.