Rory lifted a brow. “That was kind of him.”
“I did offer him compensation, but he refused.”
“And MacDonell? What of him?” Rory asked the questions that were burning in his chest. He wasn’t sure where they went from here.
“He expects the coin he paid for me to be returned with interest for the inconvenience of dealing with me,” she answered, rolling her eyes at the audacity of the bastard.
“He really is a louse.”
“The biggest I have e’er had the displeasure of kenning.”
Rory thought of her statement earlier. “Does yer father have the funds or has he already spent them?”
Alana sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “I dinnae have any idea, really. I hadnae realized how dour our financial situation was until I left. On our travels, I had a lot of time to reflect. I could see the signs. My father is inept at financial management. I see that now. He always comes up with some kind of scheme which nets him coin, and then once ’tis gone, he comes up with another one. I just happened to be his latest, and his last. Without me, he has naught left to bargain.”
Rory pulled at the back of his neck. “So, the chances of him being able to repay MacDonell are unlikely.”
“I believe so.” She frowned. “What does that mean for us?”
He pulled her into his arms. “Dinnae fash aboot it. We will find a way.”
And he would. He would take her to Hartsmoor and explain the situation to his father. Hell, if Moira could marry their enemy, then he for certs can take a wife that was originally promised to another. The Hart coffers were large enough. Rory would convince his da to repay the Duran’s debt and then he would work to repay his father.
It might take some convincing, but he could do it.
He’d had Alana all to himself, then he had to let her go. Rory wouldn’t make that mistake again.
*
Since they hadthe horse, traveling back to Hartsmoor went much quicker than their journey to Caer Rannoch. They did spend two nights at village inns. Rory smiled as he thought of the nights they spent learning every inch of each other’s bodies. But more importantly, they talked. For hours on end.
He truly felt that he had met his soulmate.
“What are ye thinking aboot?” Alana asked.
“Why do ye ask? I am no’.”
She twisted to face him. “Ye fib, Rory Hart. Yer arms tightened around me just then.”
He smiled. “Cannae I just want to hug ye? But, aye, ye are right. I was thinking of us. How lucky I am. How ye came into my life at just the right time, and when I was least expecting it.”
“I would argue that ye entered mine just in the nick of time. Saving me from a life of misery.”
Now that the landscape had leveled out from the rocky terrain further north, Rory kicked the horse into a trot. “Ye dinnae give yerself enough credit, Bluebell. Ye would have saved yerself, I’m for certs of it.”
She settled in front of him, her back to his chest, and he kissed the top of her head.
“Mayhap,” she said quietly.
He nudged her. “Positively. I have nay doubt in my mind. Ye are the strongest woman I ken. No’ many lassies would be able to face what ye had to and do it with her head held high.”
“Do ye ken my parents are aware of what has happened?”
He sighed, maneuvering the horse around a large boulder. “They will soon enough. My parents as weel. ’Twill take a lot of explaining as to the e’ents of what have happened. But I believe we will win in the end.”
“Getting away from MacDonell, I feel like I have already won.”
Rory chuckled. “I can understand that.”
