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“Ye know that ’twas only because of the old tradition, lass, do ye not?” Keir reminded her, remembering how Kenna had suddenly stood before him, pointing to the small flower attached to his brooch. Only Keir had had no notion how it had gotten there.
“I dunna believe ye,” Kenna snapped, and then she suddenly stood right in front of him just as she had that night. “I could see it in yer eyes. Ye wanted to kiss me. But then ye were called away and…” She swallowed hard, her lips pressing together tightly. “If yer grandmother hadna sent for ye, ye would have kissed me.”
Keir nodded. “Aye, I would have,” he admitted, concerned by the look of triumph that came to her face. “But,” he rushed to say before she could draw the wrong conclusion, “that woulda been it. Only a kiss, nothing more.”
Stunned, Kenna stumbled a step backward, staring at him.
“We’re friends, Kenna,” Keir told her, needing her to understand. “I love ye as I love yer brother. Nothing more would’ve ever happened between us.”
Pain stood in Kenna’s eyes, and Keir made to reach for her, wanting to offer comfort. Yet before he could, she snapped, “I dunna believe ye. Ye’re only saying that now because she bewitched ye.” Seeking his gaze, Kenna stepped toward him, her hands settling upon his upper arms. “Had ye kissed me that night, ye would’ve known.”
Slowly, Keir shook his head. “I would’ve known us to be friends, Kenna. Nothing more.”
As anger sparked in her eyes, her fingers dug into his arms. “No, ’tis not true! Kiss me now, and ye’ll see.” Suddenly reaching for him, Kenna pushed herself up onto her toes, her lips seeking his.
“No.” Keir turned his head, his hands finding her arms, urging her back. He met her eyes then, shaking his head. “No, Kenna.” He sighed, seeing tears collect in her eyes. “It pains me to see ye like this, and I wish I could—”
“Are ye afraid to be proven wrong?” Kenna demanded, once more inching closer, her chin raised and her gaze straying to his mouth as she spoke. “Are ye afraid of what a kiss would prove to ye?”
Keir stepped back, holding her at bay. “I need no proof.” He paused, his hands still holding her wrists, his eyes imploring as they looked into hers. “Hear me, Kenna.” He waited as she drew in a slow breath. “My heart belongs to Sarah. I love her, and that will never change.”
Her lower lip trembled, and yet she continued to glare at him.
“Yer time will come,” Keir counseled gently. “Believe me. One day, ye’ll find love, and it’ll knock ye off yer feet. There willna be a single doubt in yer mind that ye’re meant to be with that person.”
Fresh tears gathered in the corners of Kenna’s eyes. “But I want ye.” Her eyes closed, and the tears that had lingered spilled over and ran down her cheeks. “I’ve always wanted ye.” She raised her eyes to his once more. “How could ye not have known?”
Keir hung his head. He felt awful for doing this to her. Truly, how could he not have seen how deep her affections for him were? Yet he had not. “Why?”
Kenna frowned. “Why what?”
“Why do ye wantme?”
For a moment, Kenna simply stood before him, the picture of misery, her mouth opening and closing, as though, for the first time that night, she did not know what to say. “Because… Because I love ye.”
Smiling at her, Keir slowly shook his head. “I dunna think ye do,” he murmured, thinking of Sarah and how she had spoken to him of how he made her feel. She had been so expressive, words flowing from her lips with no need for thought. “Perhaps ye love the idea of us. Nothing more.” He looked into her eyes. “Ye know that there’s never been more than friendship between us, and so I beg of ye, do not cling to this or ye’ll not notice when love finally does show its face.”
As much as Keir had hoped that Kenna would heed his words, the look upon her face became defiant. “Dunna treat me like a child! I know what I feel, and I know what I want. Perhaps ye are the one who is confused.” She glared up at him, her hands balling into fists. “Ye left, and then months later ye return with a woman ye barely know.” She shook her head at him, holding up her hands as he tried to console her. “No, I dunna want to hear anymore.” Tears still clung to her lashes. “Leave me alone.” Then she dashed past him, the sound of her footsteps swallowed up by the heavy rugs upon the stone floor.
Keir heaved a deep sigh, raking his hand through his hair once more. If only Grandma Edie were here, he mused. No doubt, she would have Kenna fixed up with her true love in a matter of days.
At the thought, Keir chuckled.
If only.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
A KINDRED SPIRIT
Standing by the window, Kate gazed out at the starry night. The wind howled around the castle towers, and she could make out the soft pelting of rain upon the windowpane. Yet the shimmer of the moon above the harbor cast everything in a beautiful light. It seemed surreal and sort of magical, as though this was a night where anything was possible, where the border between wishing and existing became blurred.
With a smile upon her face, Kate moved closer to the bed where her eldest daughters slept peacefully, their eyes closed and their faces relaxed in slumber. Nearby stood Frederica’s crib, her little fists raised as though she were prepared to fight some sort of nightmarish creature. In the next moment, though, an almost angelic smile flitted across her little face, and Kate exhaled the breath that had briefly lodged in her throat.
Indeed, she could not remember the last time she had seen her children like this. The world they had been born into had been harsh and treated them ill, forcing them away from their mother at such a tender age. Kate still felt guilt well up in her heart whenever she thought about it, knowing she ought to have interfered, knowing she ought never to have allowed that to happen. And yet she had. To her great shame, she had.Yet what could I have done? I did the best I could, or didn’t I?
Another deep breath raised her chest, then she let it fall softly. It felt good simply to breathe in the night, her thoughts now free of a mother’s duty, able to stray back to moments of the day and truly savor them.
Never would she forget the eager look upon her daughters’ faces, seated in Lady Adele’s parlor with Bonnie and other children from the village. To Kate’s surprise, Keir’s grandmother had taken it upon herself to teach the children of her clan Latin and Greek. As a duke’s daughter, she had received a formal education and now sought to pass that knowledge on to the next generation.
