Chapter 20

20

A rcher hated the tune playing around the castle. It had been two days since he last saw Maeve, or anyone for that matter, but that tune on the grand piano always found its way to his ears.

"I hate this," he complained to Jensen, who seemed oblivious to his discomfort. "Why did ye bring out the pianoforte? Ye had nae right, Jensen."

"I am sorry, Me Laird, but the Lady insisted. Her sisters love to play and…"

"Her sisters dinnae dwell in me castle. They are me guests. They are runnin' around the place like they live here. It is noisy…It is noisy all the time," Archer grumbled as he tried sorting out the reports from the villages.

He did not mean to sound terrible, but he kept thinking of Maeve and how he yelled at her. Archer had seen the shocked look in her eyes. She was afraid of him. He could tell when she recoiled, and that alone left his heart bleeding.

I cannae act like me faither. She makes me want to lose control.

Her comforting him made him want to sink deeper into her warm embrace and forget all about his plans and worries. Maeve was dangerous to him. She made hm weak.

"Perhaps if ye left these letters and petitions for a while, ye could enjoy the brilliant afternoon sun and listen to Ayda play. She is really talented."

Archer shook his head. "The petitions cannae wait. One of the villages was attacked last night by some unknown thieves, and they carted away the little harvest the village had left. We are lucky the feast dinnae happen. We can repurpose all the food and crops for the winter instead. This is a good thin'."

He saw Jensen's disappointed look and saw him shake his head. "Would ye rather be out there playin' with the rest of them, Jensen?" Archer asked him in an edgy tone.

"I shall be yer side, Me Laird, but ye …ye should be out there with yer wife and her family. They deserve a chance to ken ye."

"They think I am the Mad Laird, and they arenae wrong." Archer's chest ached as he swiped a hand over his face. "I cannae allow myself the weakness of…

"It isnae a weakness, Archer." Jensen stopped him by using his first name. Jensen rarely ever did except when he was trying to make Archer understand his views as his friend. "The people who love ye, who care about ye, they arenae weakness.

"They are strengths. Ye are surrounded by people who love ye Archer. Ye have me, ye have Lauren, Quinn, and maybe even Lady Maeve if ye allow yerself feel the same way."

He twisted his jaw into another frown. "She doesnae love me; she is scared of me, Jensen. Ye dinnae see the look on her face when I yelled at her the other night."

"That is because ye yelled at her," Jensen pointed out.

"I dinnae mean to!" Archer broke into ragged panting and his breaths came out in strained puffs because he struggled to breathe. "I dinnae mean to yell I just…She was standin' out there in the cold waitin' for me, regardless of how the cold affected her. She could have gotten frostbite, or worse, caught a cold, and I would have to worry about her and…"

"Ye care about her, me friend. That isnae a weakness. If anythin', it makes ye stronger."

Jensen closed the gap between them and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We planned a feast as a way to mend the broken ties with the Highland clans. It dinnae work out, but there will be others. We must be united before we try to reconcile with the outsiders. This is our chance to be united as a family.

"Laird O'Kane sits in in that room with his sisters, watches them play and fight and laugh…They are a family, and we could be part of their family, Archer. Think about it."

Archer drew in a deep breath, and Jensen dropped his hands.

"Lauren has ordered the kitchen to prepare a grand meal for everyone tonight. Yer favorite foods will be there, fruits, wine, all of it. We dinnae need the Highland lairds to celebrate. We can do that all on our own. Ye should join us tonight."

After Jensen left his study, Archer spent the rest of his time thinking. He watched Maeve from his study window. He loved how alive she was these few days as she played around the garden with Quinn and her sisters.

She was always running and holding the skirts of her earasaid up.

Archer feared she would fall and hurt herself one day. He could not stand the thought of her wounded. It would hurt him.

By supper time, Archer had made up his mind. He went into his chamber beforehand and cleaned up then reappeared to join everyone in the dining hall.

A light conversation carried on around the table when he walked into the room. Maeve and Quinn were whispering and giggling with each other. Ayda and Erin were fighting over a piece of fish, Blair seemed lost with Lauren's talk about feasts, and Laird Flynn tried to get everyone to settle down.

The rowdiness, however, ceased the moment Archer walked in.

For a minute, it felt like they did not want him there. All eyes skittered over to him and stared. He just looked at Maeve, his heart hammering in his chest with force and thrill. Archer lost the fight once she smiled.

Those blue eyes lit up and moistened. Her lips parted, and he sucked in another large gasp of air to ease the flutters settling in the pit of his stomach.

She wore a crimson kirtle today. It had long sleeves and a slightly flared skirt. Her neckline was exposed by the low cut, and her creamy skin glistened and caught his attention. Archer loved the gold pendant that rested in the swell of her breasts.

He recalled running his hands over them, and her soft tender sigh.

"Archer," Maeve finally called and rose to her feet. Her cheeks turned that flushed color he loved again. He took the first step forward then knew he could not stop walking towards her. Maeve extended a hand, and Archer placed his hand there as soon as he arrived.

Her warmth surrounded him, and he found himself smiling as the rest of the world around them disappeared.

"You came," Maeve whispered, and he did not think of anything else before lifting her hand to his lips for a kiss on the back of her palm.

He took his seat at the head of the table and contemplated sitting in silence at first. Archer tapped his fingers on the table instead then cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

He picked the quaich a servant filled with wine for him, lifted it, then let his eyes roam over the expectant faces of everyone seated at the table.

"Some time ago, I planned to wed a woman who ken naethin' about me clans past and use her to build a new reputation," Archer began. "But I realize now that I dinnae need her to do that. For change to happen, for the world to see that we are different, then we must be different in ourselves first." Archer paused then looked to Laird O'Kane.

"Laird O'Kane," he continued, "we are allies, and I want us to be allies in every sense of the way, but I want more than that…I want us to be a family. I want to earn yer trust, Lady Blair. I want ye to ken that I willnae hurt yer daughter in any way." Archer lifted the quaich higher now. "I toast to new beginnin', friendship and family. I toast to the Laird O'Kane, to his mother, his sisters, to me wife and me family… May the heavens be with us."

Archer looked to Maeve again, and this time his grin reached the sides of his ears. "To family."

Maeve rose to her feet and held up her quaich. "To family," she toasted, and knowing she was by his side heightened his courage.

Flynn stood up next and joined the toast. Lauren followed, then Maeve's sisters, and then Jensen and Quinn. Soon everyone stood with him and laughed before drinking from their quaiches. The tender moment would be ingrained in his memory forever.

Archer had never felt warmth like this around his castle. For the first time in many bleak years, it seemed like his fortune had changed.

For good this time. He was hopeful, and it was all thanks to Maeve. She brought light…she made him want to be better, and he vowed right then to spend the rest of his days being the better man for her.

The O'Kane's and the Devlin's celebrated till late in the night. Neither of them was aware of the man in shadows, lingering, watching, and waiting for the right moment to shatter the foolish hope that they to.