The Highlander's Forbidden Bride(80)
“I could tell you how very much I love him. How nothing would make me happier than to carry his child, the first of many. But I don’t believe that would appease you,” she said. “The problem is, you think of me as your enemy.”
“Yes, I do,” he said.
“Until you believe me your enemy no more, there is nothing I can do to convince you.”
“For my brother’s sake, I urge you to try,” he insisted.
Her brow puckered. “Why the urgency?” Before he could respond, she gasped. “Ronan gave you an ultimatum.”
“He did. I either make peace with you or you both will leave and find a place where you will be accepted.”
Her heart soared, then plummeted. She did not want to see Ronan give up his family for her. Family was much too important, and she would not let him do that.
“He can’t do that,” she said.
“I told him the same, but he is stubborn, or I suppose, stubbornly in love.”
She smiled then, finally understanding. “You are trying to give him what he wants.”
“If I don’t, my wife will stop speaking to me, as will my mother, not to mention Zia, and Alyce has mentioned several times that it is wiser to keep an enemy close.”
“The women defend me?” she asked surprised.
He shrugged. “I can only assume they see something I don’t.” He grinned. “Though my wife is a good judge of people, and I trust her opinion. Besides, I would miss talking with her.”
Carissa held back her laugh.
“So tell me, Carissa, daughter of Mordrac, why I should allow you to join my family and my clan.”
“If I confide in you, Cavan, laird of the clan Sinclare, will you give me your word not to share what I tell with anyone?”
“Does that include Ronan?”
“Yes, it does,” she said softly.
“I give you my word as laird and as a warrior.”
Carissa did the only thing she believed she could do. She trusted Cavan. She shared stories with him that she had never told a soul. She told him about her father’s cruelty from when she was young. And then she explained how she had helped Ronan and how she fell in love with him. Finally, she finished by explaining why she had treated him as she did when he was a captive, how it was all a ruse so that she could help him without her father knowing. She told him how the water she had thrown on his wounds had contained herbs that had helped to heal him. And she explained how she had planned and executed the escapes of many prisoners and slaves, including him. And then she detailed how she had formed the mercenary troop and finished with a surprise that left him speechless; she explained how she had helped his wife escape so that her father could not use Honora as a pawn against him.
Cavan sat staring at her.
“I can’t make you believe me,” she said. “But I must tell you that I have never entrusted anyone, not even Ronan, with all of what I just told you. And while I don’t know if you will believe me, I have spoken the truth to you.”
Cavan sat silent for a few moments, then finally found his voice. “I am grateful and honored that you trusted me. And oddly enough, I do believe.”
“And now do you know enough about me to pass judgment?” she asked, her head held high.
“I do,” he said.
“Wait,” she said making a decision that she felt was for the best. “There is one more thing I must confide to you.” She told him about Cregan, and that she had not confided this for fear of placing the Sinclares in danger.
“Thank you, Carissa,” Cavan said. “You have given more than I needed to make a wise decision, and I do agree that we tell no one about Cregan just yet, not until we find out more. And I’m very proud to welcome you to my family and my clan. You are truly a Sinclare warrior.”
Carissa jumped out of the chair with a cry of joy.
Chapter 33
Ronan didn’t wait long after Dykar had taken his leave to hurry to the keep. Carissa had been gone too long, and he was worried. He shouldn’t have sent her there alone. Not after the heated discussion he and Cavan had.
He had tried to get his brother to understand how he felt about Carissa and that there was nothing he could possibly say that would change his mind. He had surprised Cavan and himself when he told him that if Carissa wasn’t accepted into the family, he would find a place that would accept them. And he had meant it.
After last night he knew that Carissa belonged to him and always had. The more they made love throughout the night, the more he watched as Hope and Carissa blended together as one. At times he heard the sweet kindness of Hope, then the bluntness of Carissa, until after a while he could barely tell the difference. Hope and Carissa were one and he loved that one…he loved Carissa.