He didn’t like the stormy look that clouded her typically bright face, and even the concerned glances from his clansmen alerted him to the fact that he couldn’t let things go on this way.
“Keira, go and find Grannie Ava,” he told his daughter. “I will try to cheer Violet up.”
“Alright, Da,” Keira answered, before walking off towards the morning room, where he knew his grandmother was holding court.
Ruaridh hurried his steps to catch up to Violet, who turned briefly, surprised to see him, but continued walking. He stilled her with a hand on her arm.
“Come, lass,” he murmured. “I want to take ye somewhere.”
She raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. “Where?”
He tried for a small smile. “Ye’ll see.”
He knew she liked the loch where he had taught her to swim and decided that would be a good place to try to cheer her up. Though the memories of how their last swimming lesson had ended made his blood sing, he pushed it down and focused on keeping his steps light.
He didn’t risk glancing back at her until they were by the loch, and when the first cool draft blew the scent of the flora their way, he knew he had made the right decision.
He turned to her and noted how her eyes widened.
The scenery was indeed beautiful, as the early morning sun made all the colors of the surrounding greenery more vibrant. Even the otherwise grey water looked inviting in the morning light.
“I come here whenever anything upsets me,” he admitted, moving to take off his boots so he could sit by the water’s edge and dip his feet in the cool depths.
He held his breath, wondering if she would join him, and when he heard the rustle of fabric, he turned to see her taking off her shoes as well.
She joined him by the water’s edge, staring off into the distance.
“’Tis alright to mourn, Violet,” Ruaridh said softly, drawing her gaze to him. “But ye shouldnae let it consume ye so.”
She eyed him, watching the subtle shadow of grief in his eyes, and knew then that he had suffered a great loss as well.
“I don’t know how,” she admitted, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
“’Tis nay easy feat, but if ye take time to admire the life and beauty around ye, it chases the darkness away one bit at a time.”
“You sound as though you have a lot of experience,” she joked softly, meeting his eyes.
His nod surprised her. Not because she didn’t know the answer already, but because she hadn’t expected him to admit it so readily.
“May I ask what happened?” she asked.
If he answered her, she would be even more surprised.
His suggestion to go to the loch because he noticed her sadness was out of character for him. Not shutting her out would only confirm that something had changed about their relationship, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.
Her heart began to race in anticipation as his eyebrows dipped in a frown, as though considering her request.
“I lost me parents when I was young,” he started, his tone gruff. “And I had to become Laird early. It was gruelling work, and I made many mistakes, but I didnae even get time to mourn them as I should. I buried me feelings and worked at keeping the clan afloat. Nae long after, I married Keira’s maither.”
He paused and swallowed.
She reached out her hand before she could stop herself and placed it over his. He eyed her hand before giving her a grateful nod.
“You don’t have to tell me,” she assured, even if she wanted to know.
She had never heard him talk so much, and now that he had mentioned Keira’s mother, her curiosity had reached its peak. She had not heard much about his first wife, and she thought it strange that no one had even told her about the woman.
“Her name was Mary,” he continued. “She was the daughter of the Laird of a neighboring clan, and we had Keira in our first year of marriage. We were nay great love story, but we were friendly. I…”
