"I know what you mean. I'm compelled to give Anna anything she wants. Her happiness is more important than mine own."
"Aye, we risked our lives for them and would again," Colin said.
"Indeed. So… will you ask Lady Kristina to marry you?"
***
The next morn, after Colin had gotten little sleep, that monumental question was still burning in his mind—would he ask Kristina to marry him? Hell, he wanted to, but many things made him hesitate. First, he had to figure out whether she would accept without actually asking her. What if she didn't wish to marry, and instead wanted to stay with her sister? What if, God forbid, she rejected him just as his former fiancée had?
Kristina truly did astound him. He wished to get to know her better, but something held him back. He sensed something was holding her back, too. It came through in some of her snippy comments, as if she were trying to push him away. But after that, she couldn't prevent her true self from emerging.
After breaking their fast, he, Neacal, the MacKenzies, and some of the other men went out searching for Tom Thorburn and Patrick Cameron, his two clansmen Holme and his cronies had ambushed days ago. Colin had sent some men to search for them after they had arrived back the day before, but no one had been able to find them.
Gray, leaden clouds drifted low over the loch, the pine forest and the rugged landscape as if the rain might begin at any moment.
When they were deeper in the wood, Neacal's brown wolfhound, Dunn, stuck his nose in the air, drew in several whiffs, then sprang forward at a lope. The men followed at a brisk pace, scrambling over the rocks and rough terrain, struggling to keep up with the long-legged, shaggy animal. A sinking feeling of dread lodged into Colin's stomach.
A few minutes later, they found the bodies, covered by leaves and pine needles, hidden in a shallow ravine in the wood. Even though Colin had known, deep down, that they were dead, a merciless mixture of anguish and fury slammed into him.
"Bastard!" Colin growled. "Holme will pay for this."
"Blackburn taught him well," Neacal muttered.
"Or maybe his father did. To think, Holme had Kristina captured and at his mercy for hours. He could've killed her so easily." Latent fear for Kristina rose up and gored him.
Neacal clasped his shoulder, gaining his attention. His sharp blue gaze speared through the dark haze of angst and rage. "But he didn't kill her. You saved her life."
'Twas true. He couldn't allow Holme's evil deeds to drown his rationality. "I couldn't have done it without all the men you sent who helped."
Neacal nodded. "She's safe now."
"Aye." Colin had to keep telling himself that. "But from now on I will have to be on my guard until Holme is either dead or imprisoned."
***
Later that day, they held funerals and burials for his two fallen clansmen.
Afterward, Colin bathed, needing to wash the death and destruction from his body and mind. Though he soaked in the wooden tub before the fireplace in his room until the water grew cold and the room darkened, gloom still hung over him, and he felt sullied by the lingering thoughts of Red Holme's evil.
He needed to see Kristina. If he could only talk to her for a few minutes, she would lighten his soul. He shoved himself from the tub, dried off and dressed in a clean shirt and belted plaid.
He had looked in on her earlier, but she'd been sleeping. He hoped that meant she was recovering quickly. 'Twas almost time for supper to be served, but he would visit her first. He looked forward to the time when she would be well enough to join them in the great hall for meals.
At her chamber door, he knocked.
Anna opened it. She smiled and turned back to the bed. "You have a handsome visitor, Kristina."
Colin felt his face heating. Hell, since when did he blush? He was no green lad.
"I thank you." He bowed, and when his gaze lit on Kristina's face, he found she was blushing, too. As well, she was sitting up in the bed, leaning back against pillows. Her golden hair had been washed and brushed. Some of her curls had been braided into a beautiful style. If not for the horrific bruise on her cheek, she would've looked like a princess.
"You ladies are both exceptionally lovely this eve."
"Such flattery will gain you many smiles," Anna said. "Right, Kristina?"
Her blush deepened and she grinned, magnifying her beauty a hundredfold. "Aye."
"Would you mind keeping her company while I dress for supper?" Anna asked him.
