Page 159 of The Laird's Masked Passion

Colin pulled the sword free. Robert fell before the ruined altar. No one moved.

Sir Malcolm stepped forward and looked down at the body. Then he turned to the surviving soldiers.

“Robert Munro confessed before a representative of the Crown,” he announced. “Laird MacKenzie and his clan acted in defense of Lady MacKenzie and under direct threat.” His gaze moved to Colin. “The Crown will receive the truth.”

The words should have brought relief. Elspeth felt none until Colin crossed the space between them. Then she ran to him. His arms closed around her with enough force to lift her from the ground. Elspeth buried her face against his neck, gripping his coat as the fear she had held back finally broke through her.

“I thought ye meant tae die,” she whispered.

“I did.”

She struck his chest. Colin barely flinched.

“Ye impossible, monstrous man.”

“Aye.”

“Ye offered him everything.”

“I offered him me.”

“That was everything tae me.”

Colin went still. Then his arms tightened. Around them, men gathered weapons, bound prisoners, and tended the wounded. The Crown’s representative spoke with Niall and Domhnall while Breac began counting the living.

Elspeth heard none of it clearly. Robert was dead. The Crown witnessed his guilt. Colin’s name and clan were cleared. But all she could understand was the man holding her. Colin had laid down every weapon. He had been willing to die without resistance because her life mattered more to him than his own.

Elspeth lifted her face. “Ye will never dae that again.”

Colin looked down at her. “I will if I must.”

“Then I shall never fergive ye.”

His expression softened with exhausted tenderness.

“Aye,” he murmured. “Ye will.”

Elspeth kissed him while blood, smoke, and the last of Robert’s war settled around them. For once, Colin did not attempt to argue.

EPILOGUE

One month later, Colin received an apology from the Crown.

It arrived upon expensive parchment, beneath a royal seal large enough to suggest remorse might be measured in wax. Colin read it in his study while Elspeth stood at the window, pretending not to watch his face.

The Crown expressed its deepest regret for the delay in recognizing the full extent of Robert Munro’s crimes. It acknowledged that Colin’s warnings had been justified, that the attacks against Clan MacKenzie had been deliberate, and that the deaths upon his lands might have been prevented had the matter been treated with greater urgency.

Robert’s surviving men had confessed. Sir Malcolm Douglas had given a complete account of the ruined chapel, Robert’s admission, and Elspeth’s abduction. The Crown formally cleared Clan MacKenzie of wrongdoing and promised compensation to the families who had suffered.

Colin reached the final line.

“Well?” Elspeth asked.

“They regret everything.”

“How fortunate. Dae they intend tae raise the dead through regret?”

“Nay.”