Page 106 of Marin’s Promise

He nodded. “He is being summoned from the practice yard. This time while you've been resting, he has been treated not as a prisoner, but as a guest.”

Marin gave a shuddering exhale and scarcely acknowledged the streak of agony it produced in her lungs.

“Ena?” she gasped out.

“She is on her way as we speak.” Marin’s father smirked. “With Kerr’s gross misuse of his power, I was able to quickly summon all the wardens together. He was all too easy to deal with when confronted about his plans to take my castle. The other wardens sided with me. Kerr will be punished appropriately, and Sir Richard was sent to where Ena was being held captive to bring her here. I came home as quickly as I could, out of my concern for you.”

Marin closed her eyes in relief. “Thank you. You have saved her life.”

“She is an innocent in all of this. As was Bran.” The earl stared down at Marin and his face softened. “I have a wedding present for you.” He smiled now, the loving grin she knew so very well. “The castle and lands in Kendal, the one we visited when you were a child, if you remember.”

She did remember. The sun’s heat on her face, the sweet perfume of roses around her in the sculpted garden, the ornate beauty. There had been happy times at Kendal Castle.

“They are yours,” her father said. “For you to go to with your husband. For his sister and her new husband to be safe. I have already made arrangements to hire more servants there and have accommodations made ready for your new life.”

Marin blinked, unsure what she could possibly say in gratitude for such generosity and understanding. “Father, it is so much.”

His brow furrowed with concern. “Are you unhappy?”

A choked cry emerged from her heart. “I could not be happier with your generosity, Father. You have given me everything.”

“As you have for me.” He approached her bed and gingerly embraced her. “I love you, Marin.”

“And I love you too, Papa.” She had not used the girlish endearment in more than a decade. It filled her heart to do so now and brought tears to her father’s eyes.

“Marin.” The deep, familiar voice of her husband interrupted the embrace.

Her father cleared his throat and eased back. For the first time since she thought her husband lost to her, Marin laid eyes on Bran.

* * *

Bran ranto his wife's bed as the earl drew away with a smile. The older man nodded at him and left the room with Isla, leaving Bran and Marin alone.

“Marin,” Bran said again. He wanted to say her name over and over again, to reassure himself she was here. With him. Alive.

“My father told me the most joyous news.” She beamed up at him in the beatific way he remembered.

“Ena is safe.” Though he said the words, he still did not believe them. He could not until he saw her standing in front of him.

“Aye.” Marin held out her hand and he took it. “She will be safe with us as well, for father is giving us a castle near the sea that once belonged to my mother.”

He gently drew his arms around her, fearful of causing her pain. She was sweet and precious in his hold, the way he remembered. Her head came to rest on his chest, and he found himself stroking the silky length of her hair before he realized what he was doing. He wanted to touch all of her, to ensure himself this moment was real and not yet another dream.

He'd had too damn many of those. They'd been so vivid, each time he'd rushed from his chamber, sure he would find her sitting up and fully recovered. Once he'd found she had developed a fever instead, and he sat with her the two days it took to finally loosen its grip on her hot, reddened cheeks.

“I thought I'd lost ye, Marin.” His voice clogged with emotion. “When I realized that battered lass on the ground was ye.” He gritted his teeth to fight for control. “There were so many times after. When ye became so still on the way here, when I saw the extent of yer injuries, when ye developed a fever. And all the while, even as I feared losing ye, I could never regret having let myself love ye.”

“I love you with all my heart, Bran.”

“Ach, I know it.” He closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her in his arms. “A wee bit too much, judging by yer attempt to try to find me. It was reckless and impulsive and—”

“You would have done the same for me,” she said against his chest.

“Aye.” The love he had for her was so great, it welled in his throat and made his voice tight. “I would do anything for ye.”

“With good fortune, neither of us should face such circumstances to save the other again.”

He stared down at her and imagined her in their new life. In a castle where the land was safe, and the border territory was only a distant memory.