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.Lara curled her lips and gave him that “just wait till later” look.The group of women pouted as they saw Bram wrap his arm around Lara’s and escort her into the next room.Lara walked slowly and with dignity, hoping to appear as a threat.Inwardly, she smiled.Bram glanced around the room expecting to see his brother sitting at the head table and his mother sitting by the fire attending to her needlework, but the room was vacant.After a few short moments, the kitchen door swung open as though blown by a furious wind.His brother Rory filled the doorframe.He looked at Bram as if he could not believe his eyes.It took only moments until he ran towards him and wrapped his younger brother in such a tight embrace that Bram could barely breathe from his grip.With Rory’s forehead pressed to Bram’s, he said to him, “My brother has returned from the grave and has come home.” Looking into his eyes, Rory pleaded, “Why? Why did ye leave? Ye dinna have to go into battle.I had sent plenty of our men.I did no’ mean fer ye to go.Please forgive me, if ye thought any different.I ne’er would have wished fer it.No’ fer my only brother to put himself into danger.We thought ye were dead.Poor Ewan has been heavily weighed by guilt o’er it.He blamed himself, as did I.Forgive me, brother.”Bram placed his hands on the sorrowful man’s shoulders.“Ye have nay reason to be burdened by guilt, brother.‘Twas no’ yer fault or doing that I left.I went on my own behalf and of my own doing.It was where I belonged, on the battlefield, no’ here.Dunakin is where ye belong.Ye are Laird of this clan, and this clan needs their leader.My only regret is that I did no’ kill enough of those bloody bastards before they rendered me unconscious,” Bram replied, ending in sarcasm.“Well, ye are home now.Mother will be most pleased.She has mourned yer death every day since Ewan returned wit’ the news.”“Rory, I would like ye to meet Lara, my wife.Lara, this is my brother, Laird Rory MacKinnon, Laird of Dunakin Castle.”“Wife? Well, my lady, ye have my congratulations, and I welcome ye to the family, though I must say ye have questionable taste in men,” Rory said jokingly.“Thank ye.But I can promise ye yer brother is a kind and honest gentlemen.”Ewan leaned into Rory and whispered, “I knew it! She’s daft.No woman in her right mind would think of Bram as gentle!”The two of them laughed until tears filled their eyes.Bram squeezed his brows together, creasing his forehead and stared at them angrily as they openly whispered to one another, giving him a reason to toss each one of them over his shoulder and knock them on their arse.Not that he’d ever needed a reason before.Rory’s laughter broke.“Tonight, we will feast in honor of my brother’s return,” he announced.Chapter 27As Bram gave Lara a tour of the castle grounds, it looked exactly as Bram had described it.Floral tapestries hung on the walls, and the rooms smelled of fresh rushes and lilac.Wooden rockers sat before a giant hearth in the great hall with needles and unfinished blankets folded over the arm of the chair as if someone had not quite finished the stitching.And in the hearth, a roaring fire blazed, keeping the first floor of the castle warm and comforting.Overall, the castle folk were very welcoming and very different than where she grew up at Stearns Castle.Lara was grateful for Rory’s generous hospitality and the warm greetings she received fromBram’s clansmen.With each person they passed, more and more people expressed their happiness for Bram’s return.Every thought and assumption she had about the Highlanders, she realized, was wrong.Her only accurate preconception about them was that they were indeed tall and fierce, though they were also kind and friendly.Lara looked forward to beginning her tasks around the castle helping the women, and starting her new life here.Excitedly, Colin and Connor helped Bram with the tour, showing Lara all of their favorite places to play and hide, as well as where they lived in the village.Lara was surprised to know that the two boys were only half-brothers, and did not live within the castle.But their homes with their mothers were close to the castle grounds, and they could see Bram whenever they wanted.As they walked around the grounds, they entered the burial grounds of the church.A chill shook Bram causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand.Along the path next to his father was a fresh grave marked with a slab of stone - his grave.It only made sense that they would have made a grave stone for him and placed it next to his father’s since they had believed he was dead, but seeing his own stone was too surreal and it made him uncomfortable.Bram’s first task at hand would be to make sure the stone was removed until the day when it would be needed again.By mid-day the kitchen staff had created a plentiful feast with enough food to fill every belly.Minstrels played their instruments while others ate, drank and danced away into the evening hours.Throughout the entire day, Bram could not take his eyes off his wife.She was absolutely glowing.Lara had worn the blue silk dress he had bought her, which made him smile.Bram grabbed Lara’s hand and dragged her away from the crowd into a private alcove within the hallway.Bram brushed her hair to the side and pressed his body close to hers.“How would ye like the tour of our room now?” he asked, as he started kissing her neck and nibbling on her ear.Lara softly moaned.How could she refuse? Bram took her moan as affirmation and led her up the stairs.The bedchamber they were to share was only one floor up, and he thanked the heavens for the short distance.Bram opened the door to his room and escorted Lara inside.The first room they entered was the solar.The room was an unorganized and disorderly mess.On top of a dusty wooden desk were stacks of books and papers, and in the corner of the room were two chairs next to a small fireplace.Lara made a mental note to clean and organize the room when her time permitted.Turning to face him, Lara wrapped her arms around Bram’s neck and planted several tiny kisses all over his face.“I love ye,” Lara whispered in his ear [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]