Page 29 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance (Highland Revenge Trilogy #3)

“I first saw you when I accompanied my da to your clan for him to speak with your father concerning trade. I saw you sitting under a tree hugging a kitten, kissing him on the head, smiling. I never saw someone as beautiful as you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.

You were on my mind day and night. I finally told my father that I wished to wed you and to make an offer of marriage to your father. ”

Ryland turned quiet a moment. “I fear my offer spurred Torrance to make an offer of marriage for you since he forever felt in competition with me. I was furious when I found out what he did and that your father accepted his offer over mine. I confronted him and we fought, actually fought over it, and even though I bested him, it didn’t matter.

He laughed and said it was done, the agreement signed and that you would be his wife. ”

Quiet settled over him once again. “My first thought when I saw Torrance near death was that you would be free to wed again and I didn’t intend to lose you a second time. When he presented his plan to me, it wasn’t only my clan I wanted to protect… it was you.”

Esme stared dumbfounded at him. “My father never told me. No one ever told me. I would have gladly accepted your offer. It has been so difficult thinking you two different men, finding that I enjoyed being with one and fearful of being with the other. To realize I cared for one and not the other.”

“You care for me… for Ryland,” he asked anxiously.

“I do and it shocked me to realize it, to favor your kisses, your touch… when you could be so cruel at other times.

He cringed. “I hated treating you badly. It tore at my heart.” He reached out to rest his hand on her cheek.

“I should have waited until you knew who I was to couple with you. It should have been your decision whether you wanted Ryland or not, but—good, Lord—it was torture keeping my hands off you. I want to love you so badly.” He shook his head.

“The way you challenged me that night sent me over the edge. But it was not the way I wanted it for us, especially after learning you and Torrance never consummated your marriage. It should have been your choice.”

“It was,” Esme said, turning her face so that her lips grazed his palm with a kiss. “My thought had been that if you were Torrance, I would least have the chance to get with child and if I was right and you were Ryland, I believed you an honorable man who would do right by me.”

He leaned his head down and kissed her. “I will do right by you, Esme. I will love you more each day for the rest of our lives and keep you and…” He rested his hand on her stomach. “Our future bairns safe. I only hope someday you can love me half as much as I love you.”

“Now that I know it is you, Ryland, I can care, feel for you without fear.”

“Take your time, Esme, I want you to be sure that you love me, and not that you’re just grateful I’m not Torrance.”

“I more than care for you, Ryland, but Torrance left me wounded and I need to heal, to know you are not him so Torrance can never darken my life ever again.”

“I understand that Torrance isn’t out of your life yet. And that it doesn’t help that you must continue to call me by his name and I must continue to treat you badly in front of others.”

“But it will be different his time,” Esme said. “I will know your words hold no truth and that you are Ryland, a good man, a good husband.”

“But you cannot act kindly toward me, show me favor when it is fear people expect to see in you when dealing with Torrance.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult, for when you snap at me, berate me, talk badly to me, I believe you are Torrance.”

He lowered his brow to rest on hers. “Any unkindness or meanness I show you know that I will make it up to you when we are alone.”

A tingle rushed over her. “And how will you do that.”

“Like this.” He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.

Esme enjoyed the kisses she had shared with him, but they were not nearly as amazing as the way he kissed her now. His arm slipped around her back, drawing her up against him as his lips took command in such a way that she could swear she felt the love he had for her.

But then she thought how easily she could love him, the caring Ryland, and she kissed him with all the power such a love could feel.

It was like being swept away in a haze of magic where everything felt just right, where two hearts beat as one, where silent promises could be heard, where fate was willingly sealed.

Ryland reluctantly tore his mouth away from hers. “You are mine, Esme, mine forever.”

“Aye, Ryland, and you are mine forever,” she whispered.

“Good, for I have no intention of ever letting you go,” he said and wrapped his arm around her as his lips settled on hers once again.

The kiss lingered between them, warm and full of unspoken promise—until the sound shattered it.

A heavy, drawn-out weeping echoed from above. A woman’s sorrowful cry, raw and unrelenting, drifted down through the rafters like a chill wind.

Esme stiffened, her eyes lifting to the darkened ceiling. “That… that wasn’t the wind.”

Ryland was already rising to his feet, lifting her along with him. “Stay here. I’ll go look.”

“You are not leaving me here alone,” she said, latching onto his arm as tight as a shackle. “I’m going with you.”

His eyes met hers, the firelight catching the fear in their depth. “Alright, then we do this together.”

Esme agreed with a nod. “Aye, together.”

A torch that Ryland took off the wall sprang to life when he held it to the hearth’s fire.

He held it out in front of them as they climbed the winding stone stairs, the cold deepening with each step.

Cobwebs brushed their arms, and the air felt as if it grew still.

The upper level of the keep sprawled before them, shrouded in shadow.

Old wooden doors lined the hall, some partially open, others closed.

Silence hung heavily around them as if whatever was here had heard their approach and grew quiet at their intrusion.

A creak sounded and was followed by footfalls, light but unmistakable, padding across a wooden floor and coming from just ahead, yet they could see no one.

Esme tightened her grip on Ryland’s arm. They moved slowly, cautiously, past each door, peeking in the open ones and pushing open the closed ones. Dust floated everywhere and cobwebs were plentiful. Some furniture pieces had decayed while others stood the test of time.

But no one was about.

Then another sob broke the silence, low and heartfelt, coming from further ahead.

They followed it down the narrow corridor, the sound leading them like a pulled thread.

Something made Esme turn her head, and she gasped.

A shadow darted across the far end of the hallway, too swift to see clearly, yet it carried the shape of a woman, hair flowing behind her like smoke.

Esme clutched Ryland’s arm with both hands, pressing herself close. “Did you see that?”

He turned fast, raising the torch above them. “See what?”

A strange heaviness suddenly descended on her, as if the sorrow of the weeping ghost had seeped into her chest. Her eyes stung, a lump lodged in her throat, and she could no longer bear it.

Ryland saw her struggle. “What’s wrong, Esme?”

“Please,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Get me out of here. I… I can’t stay up here.”

Ryland didn’t hesitate. He wrapped his arm around her and led her down the stairs, guiding her back into the comforting glow of the hearth. She trembled as she sank down onto the blanket.

After returning the torch to its bracer, he sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms.

She clung to him tightly, burying her face in his chest, seeking his strength, his warmth, cold having sunk into her bones.

The sorrow lifted slowly, like a veil being drawn back and the deep cold began to fade. Her breath steadied, but her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke.

“It was unbearable… like grief had taken root inside me. As if I’d lost someone, I loved so deeply it hollowed me out.”

Ryland pressed his lips to her temple and held her closer. “You didn’t imagine it, Esme. Something lingers here.”

She nodded against him, her fingers curling into his shirt.

“I don’t think it means us harm,” she said quietly. “But, like you, it searches for something.”

The fire burned strong, leaving shadows lingering in the corners, but the weeping had ceased, leaving only the quiet crackle of the logs and the sound of their breathing.

Esme remained nestled against Ryland, his arms strong around her, anchoring her to the present. She could still feel the lingering echo of that sorrow, like the fading ache of a bruise on her soul.

“I wonder who she was,” she murmured. “What loss broke her so deeply that it still echoes through these walls?”

Ryland didn’t speak right away. His fingers slowly traced a soothing path along her arm. “Maybe someone who loved fiercely,” he said at last. “And had that love torn from her.”

Esme closed her eyes. “It frightens me, how easily sorrow can slip inside and steal your breath. For a moment, I felt like I couldn’t bear it. Like I might never feel light again.”

He turned slightly, his cheek brushing her hair. “I would never let anything happen to you. I’m with you now and always.”

She pulled back just enough to look up at him. In the firelight, his features softened, shadows and flame playing across his face. There was something unguarded in his eyes, something he hadn’t shown her before. A quiet kind of protectiveness. A tenderness she’d never known.

“I don’t know what happens next or where it will take us,” he said, brushing his finger against her cheek. “But I do know we will face it together.”

Her eyes shimmered, not with sorrow from before, but something gentler and warmer now.

She felt loved and that faded her worries, though not completely.

Not that it was any fault of Ryland’s. It was the damage Torrance had done to her, how inadequate he had made her feel, the games he played that left her frightened and unsure of herself.

That damage lingered in her and while Ryland was far different from Torrance, he wore the same face.

And she couldn’t help but worry, try as she might, of it hurting her chance of true happiness with Ryland.

“Aye, together,” she said.

Ryland held her throughout the night as she slept in his arms. He remained alert, dozing now and again but never letting himself fully sleep, keeping alert, ready to protect Esme.

He could feel and see the worry in her. Though she said she would no longer let Torrance darken her life, he knew it would not be that easy for her.

Torrance had a way of leaving his mark on people one way or the other.

He had tried to do it to him but had failed.

It takes time to erase, to be rid of such a burdensome mark.

But Ryland had faith that the love he had for Esme would make all the difference and that time would heal the invisible wounds she had suffered, and Torrance would be nothing but a faded, powerless memory.