He saw his mother approach and he honestly was pleased to see her. He had always found it easy to speak with her. She was never one to berate or judge, instead she talked, asked questions and made suggestions, and you suddenly realized a solution to your problem.
“May I join you?” Addie requested with a smile, though she didn’t wait for an answer. She sat beside her son.
“Are you here to lecture me?” he asked teasingly.
“Do you need one?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought I was doing well, being a good husband.” He shook his head again. “But Artair suggests that being a husband can sometimes get in the way.”
“While there is logic to Artair’s observation, it is being a husband himself that allowed him to learn that.”
“So he didn’t really become the all-wise-one until he got married?”
Addie laughed. “Your ability to see humor in life is what makes you so special.”
“I always thought I was special,” Lachlan grinned proudly.
Addie rested her hand on his arm. “Your uniqueness serves you well. While Cavan concerned himself with everything and everyone, and Artair sought logical solutions, and Ronan tried to be as brave and wise as his older brothers, you stood apart.”
“How so?” he asked, touched that his mother thought of him that way.
“You always smiled and always had a good word for someone, always treated others with respect and you were always confident in your decisions.” She smiled. “Cavan came to me once when he was about ten and you just six. He wanted to know why everyone liked you better.”
“Truly, he did?” Lachlan asked, stunned.
Addie nodded. “He did, and I tried to explain to him that it was your nature and you would always be that way and that he shouldn’t fret over it, for he had his own good nature.”
“So you told him that I was always going to be liked more than he,” Lachlan said with a laugh.
Addie laughed along with him. “I suppose that is the truth of it.”
“Cavan is a great leader and respected. I much admire his strength and courage.”
“And a leader needs both,” Addie said, “for he must make decisions that are not always easy and will not always please everyone and at times may cause him to be disliked.”
Lachlan had to grin. “So this is a lecture.”
“Nonsense,” Addie said grinning. “I wouldn’t lecture my grown son, though I will leave you with a reminder.”
“Which is?”
“You knew who your wife was when you married her.”
“Not so,” he said. “I first thought her a nun, then a woman named Terese, and then I finally learned she was Alyce all along.”
“Precisely,” Addie said, her smile spreading wide. “I must go. I will see you later.”
“Damn,” he mumbled after his mother left. Alyce was who she always was no matter what name she went by. He had been privy to her biting nature on occasion, and though it had seemed foreign to him, it was a part of her.
And the woman he had known and come to love was the true Alyce Bunnock. And why was that? It was simply because she was allowed to be who she always was. Her father never truly made her who she was; she was who she was all along, just as he was. And while his family accepted his nature, Alyce’s father made her suffer for hers, but regardless, she continually struggled to remain true to herself.
Lachlan felt pride swell near to bursting in his chest that he should have a wife who was a true warrior.
The doors to the great hall burst open and along with the wind Alyce entered. She shut them tight and hesitated where she stood. He couldn’t blame her for being cautious, though he was relieved they would get to speak with one another alone before his brothers descended on her.
He started toward her, ready to wrap her in his arms and kiss her until they were both mindless. He cringed and turned when he heard his brother’s voice ring out.
“Good, you’ve returned,” Cavan said, entering the great hall with Artair not far behind. Honora was close on her husband’s heels, and Lachlan wasn’t surprised to see Zia follow. The only one missing was his mother.
Lachlan shook his head when he saw her hurrying in a few feet behind Zia.
Zia went to Alyce’s side. “You are feeling well?”
“I feel wonderful,” Alyce said with a hesitant smile at first. “The ride in the autumn chill exhilarated me.”
“You look great,” Honora said. “And I’m envious how the babe has not prevented you from doing anything.”
“Yours did?” Alyce asked with interest.
“Enough female chatter!” Cavan ordered and had the women shooting heated glares his way. “We have a serious matter to discuss.”