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“Ye ken me. I never refuse.” He smiled.

She poured two glasses, and then, handing him one, they both moved to the chairs at the fireplace.

Domhnall didn’t speak once he was seated, and instead, he gazed into the flames, clearly thinking about what he wanted to say. Or at least, that’s what Katherine assumed, which is why she remained perfectly quiet and waited.

After another little while, he took in a deep breath and looked at her.

“How are ye?” he asked.

His question surprised her, and she shrugged. “I’m fine.”

“O’ course,” he smiled knowingly. “Katherine the strong.”

One might have taken his words for sarcasm, but she knew that was not how he meant them. Since their ordeal, he seemed to see her in a different light. Like the experience had strengthened her. And she supposed, in some ways, it had. In other ways, however, it had accomplished quite the opposite.

“I have written tae King Edward and told him that I refuse tae abide by his arrangement,” Domhnall said evenly. “I made it clear in me correspondence that neither o’ us wanted it.”

“Oh,” Katherine said.

A cold sensation ran through her entire body at the shock of his statement. Of all the things she had imagined he wanted to say, she had not foreseen that. In fact, his statement turned everything she had thought about over the last few days on its head.

Under the impression he had been waiting upon her decision, it was now evident that Domhnall had made the decision for her. Or maybe, he had grown tired of waiting. But that didn’t make any sense, given the tender way in which he had treated her. And yet, how else was she supposed to see this? He had stated plainly that he did not want to marry her.

“Katherine? Whatever is the matter?” Domhnall frowned.

Clearly, as her mind had been trying to assimilate his words, her expression of confusion and disappointment was evident on her face.

“I… I don’t understand,” she whispered.

Domhnall frowned even deeper, gazing at her expectantly.

“You told me that you love me,” she continued.

“I dae,” he said eagerly. “I always will, fer as long as I live.”

Katherine was now completely thrown. He was not making any sense.

“But, if you love me, why do you not want to marry me?”

He now looked as confused as she, until his eyebrows lifted and he looked at her desperately. “Nay, Katherine. Ye dinnae understand. I would marry ye in a heartbeat,” he declared. “It is only the king’s offer that I am refusing.”

A sudden wave of relief washed over her as she immediately understood, and, in that exact same moment, she knew.

She had been so devastated to discover that Domhnall did not want to marry her, that she immediately realized what it was that she wanted. Of course, she loved him. She had never stopped. His soft comfort over the last few nights had been her saving grace, and she had slept soundly in his arms until the morning.

He was her bulwark, her protector, the man who had opened her mind, heart, and soul to another way of being, living, existing. He had proven that he would do anything for her, even give his life. She. too, was prepared to do the same.

Placing her glass on the hearth, she stood from her chair. Moving toward him, she placed her hands on his shoulders, and lifting one leg at a time, she straddled his lap.

While Domhnall was utterly surprised at her impromptu actions, he placed his glass on the floor beside him and snaked his arms around her back, lifting her closer, until her face was only inches away from his.

“I love you,” Katherine whispered. “I will always love you.”

As his face broke into the largest smile she had seen from him in days, light danced in his eyes as he gazed up at her.

“And I love ye, me darling Katherine. Now, and forever.”

“Take me to bed,” she breathed. “I want you to make love to me.”