Page 59 of A Temptress in Tartan

Emotion thickened her throat as she looked at Lachlan. He tried so hard to put on a brave face, but she could see the wrenching emotions in his eyes, the regret and the sorrow over the loss of her father that matched her own. Even as horrible as her father had been to her all through her life, Lachlan realized she would mourn his loss just as much as she had mourned her mother.

“This tribunal is adjourned,” the Lord Advocate announced. Slowly the crowd dispersed until only Lachlan and Elizabeth, the king, the guards, and her father and Keddy remained.

“I will give you a moment to say goodbye to your father, Elizabeth,” the king said.

When they were gone, Donald Ruthven rounded on his daughter. “You never did anything right for me or the clan, Daughter. If you were a true Ruthven, you would have fought for me. I’m tempted to charge you of using witchcraft!”

Lachlan stepped forward, putting himself between Elizabeth and her father. “That is enough. I beg you not to leave your daughter with angry words that you will regret in the years ahead.”

“I regret nothing, except having a daughter instead of a son,” Donald Ruthven growled.

Lachlan straightened. He stood with his legs widened and by placing his hands on his hips, he made himself appear larger than he usually was. “Whether you want to hear this or not, I forgive you for all you put me through,” Lachlan said as he slipped his arm around her waist. “I will show that forgiveness every day as I care for your daughter.”

“I forgive you as well. I know you are angry and do not really mean what you say. At least, I hope not,” Elizabeth said, suddenly seeing her father as her equal and no longer through a child’s eyes. He was a man filled with strength and faults. Perhaps in a new location he could find a place for himself and use his strengths for the betterment of all those whom his life would touch. For an instant she felt a pang of regret that she would not be a part of that new life, then a warm ripple of contentment flowed over her as she turned to gaze at Lachlan. Her life was here with her husband.

Lachlan held her tight against his side as the guards led Keddy and her father away and the king followed, leaving the two of them alone.

“I won’t see him ever again, will I?” Elizabeth whispered.

“None of us know what the future holds,” Lachlan replied as he bent and placed a kiss atop her head. “I, for one, would like very much to put some distance between myself and Berwick.”

Just then the yowl of displeasure filled the chamber. “The cat! They left the cat behind.” She turned to him; her eyes wide. “We cannot leave him here. Can we please take him back to Whittingehame with us?”

“As a once-suspected warlock, you wish me to harbor a black cat in my castle?”

Elizabeth frowned. “You and I both know he has no great powers other than ridding you of vermin.”

“Very true.” He sighed. “As you wish. We shall give him a new home.”

She smiled her pleasure, but a heartbeat later that smile faded as she looked about the chamber one final time. “Before we leave, I want you to know I didn’t want to testify against you. I do not believe you killed my mother. I wouldn’t have said anything if my father—”

“I was angry when I came to Ruthven Castle that night,” he explained quietly. “I wasn’t sure why I was even there, other than that I had to see with my own eyes the man who had killed my parents. When I stumbled into your chamber instead of your parents’ by mistake, I watched you sleep for a time before you woke. And once I looked into your eyes, I knew I could never do to you what had been done to me.” His lips twisted. “I left you then and went to your parents. Again, I was angry, but instead of harming them, I wanted fate to take its course. Today it did with your father. Your mother . . .” He paused as his gaze dropped to the floor. “I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.”

“I don’t believe in curses,” she said, “or witchcraft or sorcery. You did not hurt my mother. As I said, she had a headache that night. I truly believe something happened in the night that stole her from us—something normal and natural—something beyond our control.” She paused and swallowed back the tears she could feel burning at the back of her throat. “I should be the one apologizing. My family has been nothing but trouble for you.”

He looked at her with a smile in his beautiful blue eyes. “Some things are worth a great deal of trouble.” He lifted her chin with his finger and searched her face. “You are worth everything. You are the prize I always wanted and never thought I would have. I love you, Elizabeth. I have loved you from the first moment we met, so many years ago. And I loved you more when I saw you on the cliff, and every day after that, my heart was filled with joy as we put our families’ past behind us to make a life of our own.”

Everything they had been through in the last week suddenly came back to her. Without either of them knowing, the pain and the turmoil of those events had shaped their future, inexorably interwoven their paths, leading them to right here and now. She smiled at him, allowing him to see all the love in her heart. “True love and true forgiveness are gifts given to those who survive the peaks and the valleys of this life.”

He bent and kissed her tenderly then whispered against her ear. “You and me, not a Ruthven and Douglas, but simply two souls uniting as one.”

Elizabeth’s chest suddenly felt too small for her heart. She didn’t know love could feel like this—so filled with joy and magic.

As though reading her thoughts, he pulled back and smiled. “I am no warlock, but I do believe in magic . . . the magic of love, and forgiveness, and the magic of you, my love.”

He held out his hand to her then. “Are you ready for the next part of our adventure?”

She curled her fingers around his. “I’m ready.”

Chapter Twenty

Lachlan and Elizabeth returned to Whittingehame Castle that night along with the balance of the king’s Magnificent Seven, who had insisted on escorting them home to prevent further incident. When all were settled in their chambers, Lachlan presented Elizabeth with a gift.

“What is this?” she asked, staring down at the folded piece of red silk with what felt like a small object inside.

“Open it up to find out,” he said with a grin.

When she pulled the silken edges of the cloth back, she felt tears come to her eyes. “My mother’s ring. How did you accomplish this?”