The Highlander's Woman (The Reckless Rockwoods #3) (14 page)

“Enough tears, sweetheart. Where is…who’s with you?” If she’d said Julian’s name everyone would hear the tears in her voice.

“No one,” Muireall said with a contrite expression before she frowned. “Julian would no’ have let me come.”

Louisa’s gasp of dismay matched her own consternation as well. Percy uttered something unintelligible beneath his breath. Despite her appalled reaction, she experienced great relief that Muireall had arrived at Melton House unharmed.

“Come, we’ll go into the morning room.” Patience looked at the butler, whose face was one of fatherly disapproval and concern for the girl. “Madison, would you see to it that someone brings a tray into the morning room. Also, please arrange for a telegram to be sent immediately to Crianlarich Castle. Let Mr. MacTavish know his sister has arrived here safely, and we will send her home tomorrow with a chaperone.”

“Of course, Lady Patience,” Madison said

As Patience guided the girl past her siblings, Percy touched her arm in a silent question, and she shook her head. Whatever had possessed the girl to come here alone, it had to be important, and she knew Muireall’s actions were connected to Julian in some way. Her heart constricted at the thought. Was Julian miserable without her? The thought warmed and pained her at the same time.

“When did you last eat?” Patience wrapped her arm around the girl’s waist as they walked toward the morning room.

“Cook gave me porridge this morning before Julian was up. I told her I was going to Callendar for the day as I have a friend there,” Muireall said with an expression of satisfaction at her ingenuity before she grimaced. “Although I did no’ expect the train to take so long to reach here. Julian will worry when I do not return home.”

“The telegram Madison sends will reassure everyone at Crianlarich that you’re safe,” Patience said in a soothing voice.

“He will no’ be happy with me,” the girl said with a troubled frown furrowing her brow.

“I should think not,” Patience said as she chastised her young sister-in-law. “What if something terrible had happened to you on the way here? Julian would miss you terribly.
I
would miss you.”

“You would?” The disbelief in Muireall’s voice made Patience frown in puzzlement.

“Why would you think I wouldn’t?”

“Because you never came back to Crianlarich,” Muireall said in an injured tone.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, but it was difficult for me.” She didn’t know what else to say without speaking ill of Muireall’s father. “But you did come to spend a month with us last spring.”

Us. Just saying that word made Patience think of happier times. Muireall reached out to touch Patience’s hand.

“I know my father was no’ kind to you, Patience, but everyone in the castle loves you. Julian most of all.” The moment Muireall mentioned Julian’s feelings for her, Patience pulled her hand back. With a shake of her head, she quickly tried to change the topic.

“When you arrived, you made it sound urgent that you see me.”

“Aye,” Muireall nodded as a look of deep sorrow darkened her sweet features. “I know Julian would be furious, but I can no’ bear to see him suffering.”

“Muireall, if you—”

“No, you do no’ understand,” her sister-in-law said fiercely. “There was an accident. My father…he was killed…”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, dearest,” Patience exclaimed softly as she caught Muireall’s hand in hers and leaned forward to press a kiss against the girl’s forehead.

“I know he was a hard man, but he loved us, and I miss him,” Patience’s sister-in-law said quietly before she shook her head. “But it is Julian. He was in the carriage, too.”

“Carriage?” she barely breathed the words, and she could feel the blood draining from her cheeks.

Her heart slammed to a stop in her chest before it began to race inside her breast. The
an dara sealladh
. The images of carriage wheels spinning madly in the air filled her head. She’d seen both the fire and Julian’s accident, but had been helpless to stop either one. Patience suddenly felt light-headed, but the dizziness passed after a few seconds. She focused her gaze on her sister-in-law.

“When did it happen?”

“A little less than three months ago. It happened the day he returned to Crianlarich.”

“Why didn’t he…” she whispered as a chill spread across Patience’s skin. He believed she didn’t care what happened to him.

“I
knew
Julian was wrong. You
do
still care for him.” Satisfaction brightened Muireall’s face as she squeezed Patience’s hand. “You must come home to Crianlarich.”

“I…it’s not quite that simple, Muireall,” she stumbled over her words as her sister-in-law’s expression mirrored one she’d seen many times on Julian’s face. Despite having two different mothers the brother and sister possessed the same stubborn nature.

“Julian needs you, Patience. He was hurt.”

“
How
?” she whispered hoarsely.

“He’s blind.”

Muireall’s quiet reply made Patience grateful she was seated as a tremor rocked her body. It was the worst thing that could happen to a man like Julian. He would be unable to function without someone’s aid, and if there was one thing her husband didn’t like it was feeling helpless. She recalled the instance shortly after they’d married when he had slipped on the stairs and sprained his ankle.

During that short time of healing, a lion would have been easier to manage than Julian’s frustration at not being able to do things for himself. No one had been spared his sharp tongue, not even her. She grimaced at the thought. The soft clink of china announced one of the maids arriving with Muireall’s luncheon tray. Patience gestured for the servant to set it on the coffee table, and thanked the woman. Her gaze returned to Muireall’s hopeful expression.

“Eat your lunch.”

“Will you come home with me?” Once again Muireall’s persistence illustrated how much she was like her brother. Patience could only assume their headstrong nature was a trait they’d received from their father.

“I shall consider it. In the meantime, I want you to eat,” Patience said firmly. “I need to ensure that telegram to your brother has been sent.”

“He’s dismissed several nurses and the last one only lasted a week, Patience. He needs you more than you know.”

“I said I shall consider it. Now eat.” At her instruction, Muireall nodded and leaned forward to pick up a plate. She stopped and turned her head toward Patience. “I am sorry for your loss, Patience, and I’m sorry you suffered so terribly.”

“Thank you, Muireall. Now stop dawdling and eat. I’ll return shortly.”

Patience choked out her words as her throat closed up with tears. She quickly stood up and headed toward the morning room door. She had just reached the door when Muireall called out to her.

“Julian says you’re the bravest woman he’s ever known.” Muireall’s words wrapped themselves around her heart and squeezed it tightly. “I believe him. Your scars prove it.”

Patience responded with a sharp nod then pulled the morning room door closed behind her. With her back pressed into the wood door, she closed her eyes for a brief moment. What was she going to do? Did she have the courage to go to him? Would he even want her? Julian thought she’d sent him away because she believed him unfaithful. How could she explain the real reason and her own lie? He would be justified in throwing her out the door of Crianlarich Castle.

“Well?” Percy’s voice echoed quietly in the foyer and her eyes flew open to see her brother studying her from the salon doorway. “What did she have to say?”

“Julian’s been hurt.” Patience started forward, her body feeling wobbly and weak.

“Good God,” her brother exclaimed in a low voice. “Is he all right?”

“He’s blind.” Just saying the words made Patience’s stomach churn. Percy was across the foyer in seconds as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Come sit down before you faint.”

“I’ll be fine,” Patience said with a shake of her head. But she didn’t object as her brother guided her into the main salon. As they entered the room, Louisa, her aunt and sister-in-law all stood up with expressions of curiosity.

“What’s happened?” her sister asked quietly.

“Julian and his father were in an accident the day Julian returned to Crianlarich. Muireall’s father is dead, and Julian is now blind.”

“Sweet heavens,” Aunt Matilda exclaimed as Helen and Louisa echoed her dismay.

“But why did Muireall wait until now to tell you?” Helen exclaimed in dismay. “And for that reason, why did she come to Melton House to tell you, when a telegram would have been easier?”

“She wants me to go home with her to Crianlarich,” Patience said softly. “She says Julian needs me.”

“What was your reply?” Louisa’s gaze was probing as she looked at Patience.

“I said I would consider it.” At her response the entire room was filled with a silence that she recognized as shocked surprise. Patience’s gaze scanned the faces of her family and grimaced. “I know I have been adamant about my refusal to see Julian, but this is different.”

“What you really mean is that when he wanted to remain at your side, you sent him away. You pushed him away because you thought he only wanted to stay and care for you out of pity and his sense of duty,” Louisa scolded her quietly. “And what if he thinks you’ve returned to him for the same reasons? How do you think he’ll react to that?”

“But I thought they had a fight before the—”

“For heaven’s sake, Percy, do be quiet,” Louisa snapped with irritation without bothering to look at their brother. Her sister narrowed her gaze at Patience. “Well, Patience?”

“He will be like a lion in a cage, ready to eat me alive. But I have no choice but to win his heart again.”

The moment her words drifted through the air, she knew she had made her decision. She would go to Crianlarich. While her task would be difficult, if Julian still cared for her as Muireall said, she would find a way to make him believe she loved him. The silence in the room lasted only a minute, before her brother exhaled a loud breath.

“About bloody damn well time,” Percy muttered. Louisa eyed him with annoyance before she moved forward to take Patience’s hand in hers.

“I think I can speak for the rest of the family when I say we’re relieved.”

“Aye, that we are,” Aunt Matilda said as she moved forward to kiss Patience’s cheek.

As she studied the expressions on her family’s faces, she shouldn’t have been surprised at their relieved expressions, but she was. They clearly believed she’d made the right choice, but she was far from certain of that. Julian could be even more stubborn than she was. Her heart rose up in her throat. He would fight her every step of the way when it came to her convincing him pity had nothing to do with her return. The thought made her wince, and Aunt Matilda squeezed her arm.

“Ye are a Rockwood, lassie,” the Scotswoman whispered in a reassuring tone. “Challenges are something we thrive on. The mon
will never know what hit him.”

Patience turned her head to see a twinkle in the older woman’s eyes. For the first time since she’d made her decision, a small measure of confidence sought to suppress her uncertainty. Perhaps Aunt Matilda was right, but only time would tell.

“B
loody hell
,” Julian snarled as he hobbled to an abrupt stop and bent to rub his throbbing shin. Behind him, the sound of running feet made him quickly straighten upright. He turned toward the sound.

“Are ye all right, Julian?” Worry made his sister discard proper English as she came to a halt in front of him. He dismissed her question with a sharp wave of his hand mindful to keep the gesture as far above Muireall’s head as he could visualize. The last time he’d swung his arm outward, he’d hit her.

“I’m fine, lass,” he snapped, unwilling to admit what had just happened. His blundering only reinforced Muireall’s argument that he needed a nursemaid. It was a proposal he’d been fighting tooth and nail since the last nurse he’d discharged.

“You didn’t sound fine a moment ago.” The relief and irony in his sister’s response made his mouth twitch with a small smile despite his irritation at her escapade more than a week ago.

“No, I suppose not,” he said reluctantly as he fought to see Muireall’s face. Unable to do so, a furious frustration snaked its way through him until he wanted to hit something.

“What were you trying to do? Marry your leg to the chair behind you?”

“And why would you make that assumption?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Because the chair has been knocked a kilter,” his sister said with a sigh as she brushed past him to push the chair back into its normal position.

He tried to follow her movements, but all he saw was a slender black shape against the light gray landscape that was all that remained of his vision. Silently, he shouted with rage at his inability to see his sister’s face or the displaced chair that had betrayed his clumsy attempt at independence.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he growled.

Muireall’s adroit methods of staying out of earshot over the past week illustrated her awareness of his anger. But it also displayed a shrewd understanding on her part that time would ease his outrage. His sister had known he was furious, and she’d stayed out of his way until now.

“I knew you were angry with me,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice. “I thought it best to wait for your anger to become irritation before I threw myself at your feet begging forgiveness.”

“You’ve a touch of the devil’s tongue, Muireall MacTavish,” he said with amusement before he frowned with disapproval. “You shouldn’t have gone to London without an escort.”

“What you mean is that I shouldn’t have gone to see Patience.”

Her impertinent tone made him look heavenward as if he could actually
see
heaven. But that realm had disappeared the day Patience had sent him away from Melton House. With the cane he’d been using to find his way around the castle, he searched for the chair his sister had adjusted. When the wood stick connected with the side of the chair, Julian sank down into the seat. With a sigh of frustration at his sister’s meddling, Julian rested both of his hands on the eagle-shaped metal cane top.