Page 30 of The Madam’s Highlander

“It means it's not yet safe for me to come back.”

Marian reached from beneath her cloaks once more, this time to grab Freya's hand with the comforting heat of hers. “Then ye need to stay with us for a wee bit longer. And at least everyone at Molly's is safe, and it will be there for ye when ye get back.”

Marian always did have a golden perspective of the world. It was one of her many admirable traits.

“I dinna deserve a sister as good as ye,” Freya said again.

This time Marian rolled her eyes playfully. “Says the sister who has sacrificed everything for us, and worked hard to keep us in our home and well cared for. For what it's worth, I'm glad ye'll be staying,” Marian said. “I know I shouldna have such selfish thoughts, but I love ye.” She stopped suddenly and jerked upright, dropping Freya's hand.

Alarm jolted through Freya. Every muscle in her body went tight and on alert. “What is it?”

A smile bloomed on Marian's face. “The babe. I think he’s dancing in here.” She laughed softly, her eyes sparkling with genuine joy.

She loved the child within her.

Freya remembered then what Ewan had said. The child would be a product of Marian's goodness, a symbol of love regardless of how it was placed in her womb.

“May I...” Freya regarded the bulk of the cloaks where the belly jutted taut beneath. The belly she had come to hate with a baby she hoped to love. And this would be the first step. “May I feel?”

Marian lifted her face slowly, her eyes lighting up. “Ye want to? Truly?”

Freya nodded, though in truth, there was a hesitation - a fear. What if Ewan was wrong? What if she could never love this baby?

Marian stood and parted her cloaks to reveal the overlarge blue gown beneath where her stomach swelled outward.

“My hands are cold,” Freya said, half hoping Marian would tell her it was unnecessary to touch her stomach.

“I dinna mind, and neither will he.” Marian smiled. “Besides, my stomach is hot as an oven. Mind ye dinna burn yerself.”

“No wonder he's wriggling in there then.” Freya drew her hands forward, slowly, carefully, until she met the bulk of Marian's stomach. It was indeed hot, a nice reprieve from the biting cold, and surprisingly hard. But then, it was full of a babe, all curled up within the protection of Marian's womb.

Marian placed her hands over Freya's, pushing her palms deeper into the firm skin. Something within pushed back. Freya gasped and tried to draw back, but Marian held her in place. There was another shift, a form within swelling and then fading back away. Then something hard, possibly pointed?

“I think I just felt an elbow,” Freya said, disbelief in her voice.

Marian laughed. “Aye, ye probably did. He loves to jam those things around inside of me. But then he's a healthy lad, strong and fiery. Like ye.”

“Like me?” Freya pulled away slowly.

Marian drew the cloaks over herself once more and nodded with a smile. “Aye. I imagine him being like ye – able to take on anything.”

“I dinna deserve a sister as good as ye,” Freya said for the third time.

“Aye.” Marian put her hands on Freya's cheeks. “Ye do.” She glanced behind Freya's shoulder to the open door of the barn and grinned. “I need to get back to the house.”

Freya looked at her in confusion before glancing over her shoulder to find Ewan standing there. And damn it all if her heart didn't give a silly leap of excitement at the sight of her pretend husband.

***

Ewan couldn't help the smile on his face as he regarded Freya standing in the center of the barn. Her simple black cloak made the fairness of her skin as white as fresh snow and the rosy freckles he adored stand out even more.

He nodded at Marian as she passed with a secret smile playing on her lips. She put a hand to her belly in a gentle caress, and he knew she'd seen him watching.

He'd been there when Freya had touched Marian's stomach, and when her wonder-filled voice echoed through the large, open space. He knew how great a step Freya had made in loving the growing child, and he knew how much that meant to both women.

“Good afternoon, husband.” Freya emphasized the word husband and cocked a hand on her hip. “Should ye no' be in bed?”

“I canna take being there anymore.”