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Keeley’s eyes widened. “ ’Tis you I’m concerned about. You looked fair to exhausted at dinner.”
Mairin grimaced. “Aye, I was, and ’tis grateful I am for your rescue.”
Mairin sat and Keeley took the babe from the woman charged with her care and handed her to Mairin. Mairin dismissed the nurse and then turned her attention back to Keeley.
“Are you all right? I know this can’t be easy for you.”
Keeley forced a smile to her face. “I’m fine. Truly. I had a chance to speak with Rionna. She has suffered as much as I have over the years. She is the sister of my heart. I have no wish for her to suffer more pain.”
“And so you’ll suffer instead,” Mairin said in a low voice.
Keeley sighed. “I want her to be happy. I want Alaric to be happy. I believe she can make him so. She’s a good woman. She’ll be loyal and true to Alaric. She’ll give him strong sons and daughters. She is a worthy mate to a laird.”
“So are you, Keeley,” Mairin said quietly.
Keeley smiled crookedly. “Maybe one day I’ll find a laird of my own.” But even as she spoke, she knew that no one would ever take the place of Alaric in her heart.
“Stay with me,” Mairin invited. “Ewan will be late this night. It will surprise me if he finds his room before dawn.”
Keeley agreed, because the thought of enduring her chamber alone was more than she could bear. Somehow the company of good friends alleviated some of the pain in her heart and she found it didn’t hurt so much to smile.
A soft knock at her chamber door awakened Keeley. She rubbed her eyes and blinked in confusion. ’Twas not even dawn yet. She’d barely gotten to sleep after staying with Mairin through most of the night.
Hoping nothing was amiss, she rolled from the bed and went to crack her door.
When she saw Caelen there, she swung the door wider. “Caelen? Is something amiss?”
He held a finger to his lips. Then he leaned forward. “Alaric sent me to you. He’d like to see you. He didn’t want to chance coming to your bedchamber.”
Keeley swallowed. “Where?”
“Dress warmly. He’s down by the loch where Crispen skips his stones.”
“Give me a moment. I’ll be ready.”
She hurriedly dressed and went back out to where Caelen awaited her. Halfway down the stairs she stopped and frowned.
“You realize that if anyone were to see us, they’d assume that you and I—that we—were …”
“Aye,” Caelen said quietly. “I know it.”
Keeley bit her lips and resumed the trek down the stairs. Caelen hovered protectively as they exited the keep and walked toward the loch in darkness. They entered the small grove of trees and came out by the shore of the loch where several boulders jutted outward from the banks.
“Thank you, Caelen,” Alaric said as he stepped forward.
“I’ll wait for Keeley through the trees,” Caelen said as he retreated.
Keeley turned nervously to Alaric. It felt as though it had been forever since they’d seen each other. Since they’d touched or kissed.
Alaric reached for her hands and grasped them gently in his. “I had to see you this night. One more time before I say my vows tomorrow. Once spoken, I’ll never break them. I’d not betray my wife or my clan.”
Tears shimmered in Keeley’s eyes as she gazed upon the man she loved more than life. “Aye, I know it.”
He raised her hands to his lips and pressed them to his trembling mouth. “I want you to know that I love you, Keeley McCabe. I’ll always love you. I want you to find happiness. I want you to find a man who’ll love you as I have loved you and who’ll give you the family you deserve.”
Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. “I want you to be happy, too, Alaric. Rionna is a good woman. She’ll make you a good wife. Try to love her. She deserves to be loved.”
Alaric pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, his head rested atop hers. “I’ll do anything you ask of me, Keeley.”
“Then be happy,” she whispered. “Remember me with fondness. I’ll never forget our time together. I’ll hold it to my heart always. You are a wonderful man and proud warrior. The McDonald clan will be all the more great with you as laird.”
Alaric slowly pulled away, and she knew that the time had come to let him go. Her chest hurt so badly that each breath was agony. She steeled herself, determined that she’d be brave and would bear the parting with dignity and grace. Alaric deserved that much. The last thing he needed was a hysterical ex-lover on the eve of his wedding to another.
She reached up to touch his face and traced the lines of his strong jaw and the angles of his cheekbone.
“Live long and be happy, my love.”
He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. When she pulled her hand back, it came away damp with his tears. ’Twas more than she could bear, the thought of her warrior grieving for what was not to be.
She turned and walked briskly toward the woods. “Caelen,” she called softly.
“I’m here,” he said as he stepped from the shadows.
“Please take me back,” she said in as level a voice as she could manage.
Caelen took her arm and guided her toward the keep. With each step, the pain became so unbearable that she thought she might die.
They returned to the keep in silence. Caelen escorted her to her chamber and opened the door. For a long moment she stood, so numb she wasn’t sure if she could even manage the short distance to her bed.
