The Bewitching Twin(95)

“And you don’t? You jumped into marriage with a man you love, to discover he loved you only to be betrayed by him. You then enter a bargain with him giving the idiot time to prove his love, which evidently he’s done. But still you continue to worry if it’s all real.”

Aliss stared dumbfounded at her. Where had that come from? Her sister’s mind should be on her delivery and here she was pointing out Aliss’s problems.

“I know the way you think,” Fiona said with a shake of her finger.

“You seem to,” Aliss answered calmly, knowing this was not the time to discuss her and Rogan’s relationship.

“Why afraid to speak up?”

“This isn’t a conversation we should be having now,” Aliss warned.

“Why not? We have nothing else to do but wait for the babe, who will come in his own good time. Your words, not mine. If it were up to me, he would have been here weeks ago. Now tell me if I am right.”

Her sister would harp and harp if she didn’t speak, and besides, she ached to talk with Fiona. They might argue, but in the end, problems would be hashed out and decisions made. “Rogan has proven he loves me time and again. He confided much in me over the time we have been here . . .”

“But?”

Aliss knew she should not let it bother her, but it had been such a shock to find out, and even more of a shock that he had not told her about it before anyone else. “Rogan did not confide in me about Tarr being his half brother.”

“Understandably. It would have only caused more friction at a time Rogan was focused on getting you to realize how much he loved you. You came first to him. Damn, I hate taking his side, but the truth is—” A sharp pain robbed her of her words.

“No more talk, save your strength,” Aliss ordered, wiping her sister’s perspiring brow with a cool, moist cloth.

“No, this needs to be said,” Fiona insisted on a rolling breath. “The truth is, the man has put you first.”

“How so?” Aliss argued.

“Don’t sound like a spoiled child,” Fiona scolded. “He could have spilled his guts from day one and made everything worse.”

“He would have made it better.”

“That’s a laugh,” Fiona said. “Think of it. It would have sounded like you meant nothing to him and he did everything to get revenge. I imagine the idiot figured his only chance was to prove his love before he enlightened you to the truth. He actually put you first, thought of your feelings. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

That her sister made sense stunned Aliss to silence.

“My advice to you, dear sister? Feel love, accept love, live love, and stop worrying about all the extra nonsense.”

“I didn’t know you were such an authority on love.”

“I didn’t either, but I learned that you need to respect and honor love even if it doesn’t turn out exactly as you wanted it to. I’ll get used to the idiot, and the only reason why is because he loves you and will keep you safe. He’s—” She cleared her throat and rushed to add, “He’s a good man.”

“You’ve changed your mind about him?’

“A little, just a little.”

Aliss sat beside her. “Why?”

“I didn’t realize until today how much you both loved each other.”

“What do you mean?” Aliss asked.

“When Rogan explained what this land meant to him and that he was willing to give it up for you, that spoke volumes. He would sacrifice all he had planned and held dear, for you.” She shook her head. “That takes real love. And the way you rushed after him, the hurt in your eyes over his suffering and wanting to comfort him—” She shook her head again and swatted away a fat teardrop. “You two love each other, plain and simple.”

Another pain attacked and had Fiona mumbling several oaths beneath her breath as she grabbed her stomach.

“How much longer?” she pleaded.

“A couple of hours at least.”

Fiona groaned and dropped her head back on the pillow. “Enough talk. Tell your husband you forgive him and love him and get it over with. I can guarantee it will be much less painful than what I am going through.”

“Did you hear that?” Tarr asked, springing away from the tree trunk he sat braced against.

The other two men cringed as they shook their heads.

“I don’t know how much more I can take,” Tarr admitted.

“I think it should be Fiona considering that,” Raynor said.

Tarr groaned and dropped back against the tree trunk.

That evening, as the sun set, Elizabeth entered the world, to her mother and father’s relief. The two very proud parents cuddled her close while the whole village celebrated the first birth of a child in their new home.