Page 67 of This Laird of Mine

Tears shimmered in her glorious golden eyes, as did joy and relief. One tear broke free to roll down her cheek. “The money never mattered to me. It still doesn’t. As I got to know the laird of Kildare Manor, I wanted a different outcome from the one I’d been sent to obtain.”

His breath caught as he dared to hope. “What was that?”

“You. True love. A real family.” She dropped one of his hands and reached inside the bodice of her gown to pull out a gold chain that held her locket as well as another object. On that chain dangled his mother’s ring.

“How? Where?”

“I saw it in a store window in Edinburgh, and I realized what you had done in order to keep the estate afloat. I know how much this ring meant to you, as the only reminder you had of your mother. And as the only reminder I had of you, I bought it back.”

He frowned as he reached out and fingered the metal that still possessed the warmth of Claire’s body. “How did you get the money to buy it back?”

Releasing his other hand, she slipped the chain over her head and placed the ring, the locket, and chain in his hand. “I hired myself out as a painter, and since I did not intend to ever go back to Edinburgh, I moved us out of my studio.”

With a raw ache in his voice he said, “That studio was your livelihood, your life.”

She shook her head. “Something else took its place not too long ago as the center of my world.”

He hid a smile as he unhooked the chain and slipped the ring off. The rubies caught the light, sparkled as though they had suddenly come back to life. He took her left hand in his. “I know I have no right to ask you this, not after everything I put you through, but you would make me the happiest man in the world if you would take a second chance with me. You as you. Me as me. No secrets. No ulterior motives. What do you think?”

Tears spilled onto her cheeks. She nodded. “It is an honor to meet you, Lord Kildare,” she said, her voice rough with tears.

“This question is long overdue, but Claire Elliot MacIntyre, it would mean the world to me if you would wear this ring as a sign of my love and be my wife.”

“I already am your wife.”

“Then let me marry you again, and be by your side as we take our vows. No proxy. Only me. Will you do it, Claire?”

“Yes, Jules, I will marry you again and live the rest of my days in your company because without you, the sun does not shine.”

Moved by her tears, Jules slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her against his chest. He did not feel so empty anymore. Nay, his soul felt full to overflowing with love and joy.

“I will need a lifetime to make up for all the pain I’ve caused you,” Jules spoke the words in his heart. “I am so sorry for my hurtful words the last time we were together. I did not mean—”

She kissed him, cutting off his words. “Don’t torture yourself,” she said several moments later. “We hurt each other. And that is in the past. Second chances mean a fresh start. There are no ghosts of the past to haunt us any longer. It’s just you and me and the girls—” She pulled back suddenly as her eyes filled with concern. “The girls. I cannot abandon them.”

He smiled and cupped her face between his palms, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. “The girls are already on their way back to our home,” he whispered, his voice raw with his own unshed tears. “I do not want just a wife, Claire, I want a family. That includes the girls.”

Fresh tears glistened in her eyes. “How did you know we were here?”

“Penelope.”

“Remind me to thank her later,” Claire said as she valiantly tried to hold back her tears.

“Much later,” Jules said with a smile as he gathered Claire to him. He bent to kiss her.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked, stalling his movements.

His eyes widened as he stopped midway to her lips. “Now?”

She nodded as determination flared in her golden eyes.

He released a frustrated sigh. “Anything for you, my dear. What would you like to know?”

She hesitated for a heartbeat then said, “I want to know what happened between you and Agatha, but only if it will not hurt you to disclose that secret.”

“I have no secrets where you are concerned. Not anymore.” Jules threaded his fingers through hers. “Agatha demanded my father bring me home from the Lennoxes. She did so under the pretense that she wanted us all to be a family.” He could feel his lips twist into a bitter smile. “She did not want a family.”

Claire looked at him, her brow furrowed. “What did she want?”