Agnes fell asleep in Kieran’s arms within seconds. She’d worn herself out helping Clarissa today. He’d nearly given all of himself to the war he’d fought in India, and it had torn him to pieces. He’d honestly thought that he had nothing left to give in this world. But Agnes was changing him. The way she gave to others, it filled the world with goodness and love. It made everyone around her happier.

He might not be able to do that for everyone the way she did, but he could do it for her. He could fill her back up with love and joy after she gave to those around her.

He loved her. The realization came with such startling clarity that it made his breath catch. Being near her was to be bathed in light. What was more, he had learned that because he understood the darkness of the world, rather than imposing it upon her, it would be his job to protect her from it.

Though, he didn’t know why that hadn’t occurred to him sooner. But he’d keep Agnes safe, protect her, love her as long as he had breath left.

Knowing all this to be true, he fell asleep.

The next morning when he woke, it was to the sound of the door clicking closed. The bed next to him was still warm, but Agnes was gone.

She’d be back, but he wished she hadn’t left yet. He had things he wanted to tell her, so he gingerly rose from the bed and washed and dressed.

Making his way down the hall, he headed for Ewan and Clarissa’s room. The door was ajar and Agnes sat in the sitting room, holding a bundle in her arms.

His heart climbed into his throat, and he had to swallow a lump back down. “There ye are.”

She gave him a glowing smile. “Here I am.”

Then she lifted a tiny hand from the bundle. “I was just about to count her fingers and toes.”

Keiran couldn’t help but smile back. “Why?”

“Because they are so perfectly tiny,” she replied as though the answer were obvious.

With a chuckle, he settled himself on the floor, next to her chair. Reaching his good hand up, he touched the baby’s tiny palm with the tip of his forefinger, and those miniature fingers wrapped about his digit.

“I’ll love her forever,” he whispered, choking back emotion he hadn’t expected to feel.

“Me too,” Agnes murmured.

“Agnes,” he looked up at her then. “I’ll love ye forever too. As long as there is breath in my chest, I’ll keep ye heart and protect ye from the harms of the world. And after that, I’ll love ye from the grave, stand next tae ye in heaven.”

She made a choking sound as a tear slipped down her cheek. He wished he could wipe it away, but he still couldn’t use his other arm.

“Yes,” she whispered, speaking after several seconds had passed.

“Yes, what?” he asked, perplexed by her response.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.” She slid to the floor then, carefully holding the baby. “I love you too, Keiran. I’ll love you, forever.”

Connected by the baby between them, Keiran leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Agnes’s lips. “As soon as yer aunt and uncle arrive, we’ll be married.”

Someone cleared his throat behind them.

Keiran turned to see Ewan standing in the doorway of the bedroom, his expression unreadable. “Ye’ve forgotten to ask my permission.”

Agnes leaned her head into the crook of his neck. “You’d better ask,” she murmured as the baby cooed contentedly, snuggled between the heat of their bodies.

“Why do I need to ask you?” Keiran raised an eyebrow.

Ewan pushed off the doorframe and crossed the room to stand next to them. “I’m Agnes’s closest male relative.” He let out a deep sigh. “And I need the practice. Not only did I have a daughter today, but Haggis has asked for my help in finding suitors for Ainsley.”

Ewan lowered himself to the floor next to them. “It shouldn’t be hard finding suitors for her. She’s quite lovely.” Keiran had meant to console Ewan but Agnes gave him a look that might have curdled milk. “If ye like that sort of thing,” he added. “I personally don’t, but—”

“Enough,” Agnes rolled her eyes. “I don’t think finding suitors is the issue. I think a suitor holding Ainsley’s attention is more the problem.”

“Quite right.” Ewan let out another sigh. “Where would I even begin? What do you think, Ava?” Ewan looked down at the baby.

“Ava?” Agnes watched the little girl too, the expression so angelic that Keiran caught his breath. Agnes was lovely. He suddenly couldn’t wait to see her hold their child just like this.

“What do ye think?” Ewan asked. “Do ye like it?”

“It’s beautiful,” Agnes whispered. “But ye don’t have to ask me.”

“I’m asking ye both. Since Clarissa and I would like ye to bear witness for her. If anything should ever happen to us, we’d ask ye to raise her.”

Agnes looked at him and gave her a nod. It was the first decision they’d made together and they managed it without speaking a word. The rightness of it all made him ache with love. “We’d be honored,” Agnes said.

Ewan gave a nod. “Thank ye both fer yer help. It hasn’t been easy, but I don’t ken how we would have done it without ye.”

Agnes handed Ava back to Ewan. “I wouldn’t have missed it for all the gold in England.”

“Me either,” Keiran replied. He’d been shot, and it had still been the best week of his life.

* * *

A half hour later, Keiran kissed her goodbye at the door of her room. She didn’t want to be away from him now, but for appearance’s sake, they had to go to their own rooms. “Today, I’ll finish the cradle.”

“Who came to visit ye yesterday?” he asked, bringing his hand up to stroke her hair.

She sighed contentedly, leaning into his touch. “The girl we bought the cradle from. Her father has passed, and they are selling what they can to survive. She asked if I wanted to buy anything else. I’m sure I don’t need it, but they are trying to feed their baby sister.”

“Buy whatever ye want, Agnes. We’ll find a use for it.” He bent down to place a kiss on her exposed neck.

It felt divine. “I might be able to purchase something small. My pin money is nearly—”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He laughed a little against her neck, sending vibrations down the column of her throat. “I’ll give you all the money ye need fer whatever ye wish to buy.”

“Keiran, you don’t have to do that.” She brought her hands to his chest meaning to push him away so they could discuss this, but his lips were sliding lower and she found herself grasping his shirt instead.

“Agnes, ye’re about to be my wife. Ye might as well get used to it.” He’d reached the top button of her dress and he used his teeth to open it so that his lips could slide farther down her skin.

“That is quite the trick.” Her breath hitched. “I knew you were a rogue.”

“Only fer ye.” He undid another button.

Her breath was coming in short gasps. Having her very own rogue did sound rather delightful, after all. But before she could tell him so, footsteps sounded down the hall, and Keiran opened her door and gave her a nudge inside. “Later,” he winked and then he was gone.

Agnes was too excited to take a nap, despite having slept so little so she headed to the barn to finish the cradle. It would need a few days before Ava could use it, but she suspected Ewan and Clarissa would have a difficult time putting the little girl down anyway.

She hummed softly as she worked, content to breathe the crisp air while protected from the wind in the barn.

The grooms were working to feed the horses and clean the stalls and the gamekeeper had come in from his morning hunt to sit by the stove. “Can’t find any more signs of that poacher,” he grumbled to someone. She assumed it was one of the groomsman. “He’s been damned hard to track. If he weren’t a criminal, I’d say he should be a huntsman or a gamekeeper. He’s got skills.”

Agnes frowned. If shooting her intended was a skill, then she supposed it was true.

Tuning out the other voices, she continued to work until the door to her stall creaked. Keiran walked in, his arm in a sling.

“What are ye doing out of bed?” she cried, standing and splattering the oil stain on her dress.

One side of his mouth quirked up. “I was shot not very far from here. I couldn’t let you out in the barn by yourself.”

Agnes paused, her cheeks warming in pleasure and annoyance with herself. “Oh, Keiran. I should have thought of that.”

“It’s quite all right. I needed an excuse to be out of bed. I’m damned sick of it. In the army, they plop you back on the front unless ye can’t walk.” He sat down on the stool in the corner. “Not that it isn’t good to recover, but I needed to move. Besides, I got to speak with the gamekeeper.”

“He was talking to you?” Agnes began painting again. “What did he say besides the fact that he hasn’t found any more signs?” Agnes frowned despite herself. She couldn’t help but think if the gamekeeper were more on top of things, Keiran wouldn’t have been shot.

Keiran only chuckled. “It’s definitely someone from the village. A single man working alone. I saw him, and while I didn’t get a good look at his face, he’s younger, tall, broad, and well-muscled.” Keiran paused then. “And I can’t get over the feeling that there is something familiar about him.”

Agnes stopped again, and she watched Keiran’s face as he thought about it. “Mayhap you can ask around the village for a young man who is a good hunter? I promised Olivia I would come to look at the furniture as soon as I could. We could go together once you’re better.”

Keiran nodded. “That makes sense. I’d like to go tomorrow, if you’re up for it.”

“Me?” She quirked an eyebrow at him. “I’m not the one who has been shot.”

He stood then and crossed over to her, his hand tangling into the loose coif of her hair. “Ye must be worn out completely from taking care of Clarissa and myself.”

She looked up at him, and she hoped he could see the softness she felt in her heart. “It was a labor of love. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

His eyes closed for a brief second before he bent down and captured her lips with his own. It was tender and fierce, stoking the fire that was burning in her. But they weren’t alone, not really. The grooms were still hard at work. “You are more than I deserve, Agnes Faulkenberry,” he whispered. “Finish yer cradle. I’ll sit with ye.”

She nodded and tried to concentrate. It was going to be a long day.

Unfortunately, she’d had no idea how long. Her mother discovered that Keiran had asked for her hand and that Ewan had given his blessing. She’d no more come back from the barn when her mother found her, chattering about what a blessing this match was. Keiran had walked her to the door and gone back to the barn to talk with the grooms. She wished he were here now. Her mother fluttered about Agnes the entire day and even stationed herself in her daughter’s room that night. She was beside herself with joy, which Agnes was grateful for, but her mother was badgering her with questions. “How did he ask, dear?”

“I told you already. He asked while I was holding Ava. I said yes, and Ewan gave his blessing.” Agnes wasn’t quite telling the truth, but it would have to do.

“Does he know of our situation?” Her mother wringed her hands. It was subtle, but she caught it nonetheless.

Agnes reached to still her mother’s movements. “He knows.”

Her mother nodded. “You have a dowry. Be sure to tell him. I can go live with my brother, I’m sure of it.”

Agnes looked up at her then. “Why wouldn’t you stay with me?” This had not occurred to her before now, and it alarmed her to have her mother a country away. She understood it was what most women did, but it had been the two of them for so long, she struggled to think of her life without her mother.

Her mother, for the first time in forever, grew pink in her cheeks. “Your husband may not want me in the house with you.”

“I’ll speak with him.” Agnes gave her mother a little pat. That is, if her mother ever left her alone again. She had talked with Keiran about her need for security, she had just assumed that extended to her mother, but she wasn’t sure.

“There is something else.” Her mother cleared her throat, her cheeks growing pinker still.

Alarm rang in Agnes’s head. “What?”

“You should know what happens on your wedding night, dear.” Her mother took a breath. “A man is different from a woman—”

“Mother, really. You needn’t explain.” She'd already slept in his bed. “Clarissa informed me of all I need to know.”

Her mother nodded looking very relieved. “Excellent, dear.” Finally, she stood. “Well, I will head off to bed then. As soon as your aunt and uncle arrive, we’ll make arrangements for the wedding.”

Agnes waited for several minutes, not wanting to go to Keiran’s room too soon and be caught. When a soft knock sounded at her door, she was glad that she had, sure her mother had returned with another question. “Yes,” she asked as she opened the door.

“Were ye ever going to come to my room, lass?” Keiran quirked his brow at her.

She bit her lip as she pulled him gently into her room and clicked the door closed behind him. “My mother just left. Ewan told her we were engaged.”

He let out a soft laugh as he wrapped his hand around her waist and he pulled her close, but his face looked troubled. “What did she say? Does she approve? I should have asked her first.”

“Please don’t worry. She is quite happy, but she did bring up an interesting point. You know my father left us with nothing. My uncle has provided me a dowry, and it is by his grace that my mother now lives. She said she could return to England with him, but…” Agnes didn’t know quite how to ask such a large question.

“Do ye want her here, lass?” Keiran kissed her neck, finding that sensitive spot on her neck.

She tilted her head to give him better access. “Yes. If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Ewan is giving yer aunt and uncle property to build their own house, but perhaps we can put a dowager house on the same plot of land?”

Agnes leaned back. For her mother to have her own home again, it was too much. “Keiran, that isn’t necessary. I…”

“Just big enough so a few staff can run it. Yer mother would like her own home, I’m sure, and we’ll want ours.”

“That is perfect,” she whispered as his lips slid lower.

He was shuffling them along as he kissed her, but she wasn’t really aware of where they were going until the back of her legs bumped into the bed. “Help me take my shirt off, lass. I can’t do it alone. Ye should have seen me tryin’ to get it on.”

She grinned as she slowly undid the buttons and then slid the garment off his shoulders, taking care not to hurt him. “Let me help you with your pants too.” She grinned up at him as she slid to her knees on the floor.

He tangled his fingers in her hair. “Agnes.” He breathed. But she’d unlaced his breeches and pulled them off his hips and down his thighs. His manhood sprang out, begging for attention. Giving the tip a tiny kiss, she urged him to sit on the bed as she removed the Hattians she’d become so familiar with and then stripped off his pants. “I like undressing you.”

She allowed her hands to glide back up his thighs, but he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “As soon as I am recovered, I’ll return the favor, but right now, I want to watch you take your clothes off.”

Standing between his thighs, she peeled off her pantaloons and stockings. A wicked smile teased her lips. “Very well, but you’ll have to help me with the buttons on my dress.”

He reached for the tiny row of buttons down the front of her day gown. Agnes was glad she’d never had the opportunity to change into something more formal.

Swatting his hand away, she moved up his body until the buttons were aligned with his mouth. “Not like that, like this.”

He gave a deep growl as he worked his mouth over each tiny pearl, her dress soon gaping open to reveal her shift.

His good hand was tugging the fabric off as she wriggled to be free of it, and then just as quickly, the shift went sailing over her head. She straddled his waist in the most delightful way and he reached up to tweak first one nipple and then the other. She tossed her head back as she moaned. “Yes, like that.”

He didn’t respond other than to make a guttural moan deep in his throat, but he urged her down so his mouth could do what his hand had.

As he kissed and sucked her breasts, heat curled in her belly until she found herself grinding against him. “Oh, please,” she begged as his lips trailed lower.

He kissed across her ribs, nipping down her waist, urging her hips to continue up his body until her center was aligned above his mouth. As he reached his tongue out to drag it across her sex, Agnes gave a cry of pure pleasure.

Words she hardly remembered later tumbled from her lips as she urged him to continue his ministrations. She could barely contain herself as she exploded above him.

But the tremors had scarcely receded before he glided her back down his body, before his manhood was at her entrance. “I ken we’re not married yet.” He gritted his teeth as he asked permission.

Agnes pushed down a little farther until he was pressing inside her, stretching her in the most interesting way.

She knew there would be pain, but she wanted this. “I want all of you, Keiran.” And then she moved farther, an ache starting deep inside.

“Go as slow as ye need, lass,” he said through gritted teeth, the veins of his neck protruding.

Agnes realized it was causing him discomfort to wait. She could take a little pain to relieve his, so she pushed again, with a thrust to seat him all the way in her body.

She cried out in pain as he moaned in pleasure, but his hand came to still her hips. “Give yerself a minute to adjust.”

“But what about you?” She rested her forehead against his.

He kissed her lips. “This is the best kind of torture I ken.”

When the pain receded, Agnes moved again, sliding him back out her body, and found the ache significantly diminished. When he was nearly out of her, she wondered what happened next. This hadn’t been part of the explanation and she hadn’t asked because she was sure when it had been explained that the man would be on top and fully aware of what to do.

But Keiran guided her hips back down his length, and this time, Agnes found it to be…pleasant.

A few more strokes and her own need began to build again as she moved with an eagerness she wouldn’t have thought possible.

He sensed it too and his thrusts increased in tempo, driving her mad with want until she was begging him for more.

“Agnes,” he rasped in her ear. “Had I known the woman underneath, I wouldnae have resisted fer so long. This is more than I ever dreamed—” But a groan interrupted his words as his entire body tensed.

It set off her own end as she came apart in his arms.

As she slowly floated back down to Earth, she lay her head on his shoulder. “Had I known all I needed to do to find the gentleman inside the rogue was to sneak into your bed…”

He burst into a laugh before settling her close. “If yer aunt and uncle don’t arrive within the week, we’re goin’ to have to marry anyway. I can’t spend the night without you.”

She tried not to worry too much. She was sure they had a reasonable explanation for why they were so late and had missed the birth of their granddaughter.

She sighed. There were several mysteries floating about.

But she forgot them all in the comfort of Keiran’s arms and the contented aftermath of their lovemaking. She hadn’t slept very much these past several days, and without meaning to, she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning she woke to Keiran kissing her face repeatedly. She’d had no idea when she’d first met him that he would like this, but she looped her arm about his neck. “Good morning,” she murmured as their lips met.

“Good morning,” he replied. “I have to go, but I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

She nodded, smiling and pulling him closer, not letting him leave just yet. “I’ll see you at breakfast?”

He nodded. “Come as early as ye can. I can feel the weather changing, and if we’re going to make it to the village, we’ll need to go today or be forced to wait.”

“All right,” she answered. “We can wait if you’d like. Your arm…”

“My arm is fine, lass. I’ve been in good hands.” He gave her a devilish grin. “Let’s take care of yer villager before the weather sets in.”

But it was after lunch before they were able to set out the following day. Her mother and Ainsley insisted on joining them in order to begin looking for wedding dresses.

It meant they needed to wait for Ainsley and her mother to ready themselves.

With so much time on her hands, she and Keiran used it to deliver the cradle to Clarissa and Ewan. “It’s beautiful,” Clarissa glowed as two groomsmen carried it into the sitting room. “And perfect. I can’t imagine putting Ava in the nursery yet.”

Agnes gave a shy smile as Ewan winked at her. “Thank ye fer such a thoughtful gift, Agnes. We’ll be sure to return the favor.”

Her smiled grew. She’d be surrounded by her family when it was time for her to deliver her first child. “Any word from your parents?” Agnes asked, her thoughts immediately returning to the family who hadn’t yet arrived.

She could see the worry that pinched Clarissa’s face. “None.”

Ewan stepped to his wife’s side, wrapping an arm about her waist. “I’m sure they’ve just been delayed. They are only a few days later than planned.”

Clarissa nodded. “I think I expected them to come early, but my father can have a difficult time extricating himself from London.”

“I’m sure that’s it,” Agnes soothed. But she was worried. While her uncle could be hardheaded, he was a man who loved his family. She and her mother were proof of that.

Ewan gave her arm a squeeze. “If they don’t arrive by the beginning of the week, I’ll write to your father’s solicitor to find out when they left and what their travel plans were.”

“That would be lovely.” Clarissa took a deep breath. “Though I am sure you’re right and they will arrive soon.”

Agnes and Keiran left Clarissa’s room to wait in the library for Ainsley and her mother. An hour later, as they loaded into the carriage, Agnes still couldn’t push away the worry that something was wrong with her aunt and uncle.

Her mother chattered as they travelled, asking Agnes about dress styles and the wedding breakfast. Ainsley piped in the tidbits about the latest fashions, only marginally different than those currently in London. But Agnes barely answered, and her mother finally stopped. “Agnes, dear, what is the matter? You are so quiet.”

“I’m worried about Auntie and Uncle—“

“Don’t be,” her mother soothed. “The baby is earlier than we thought, and your uncle was likely delayed. He’s always swept up in some important business, remember? It’s how you and I ended up in Scotland in the first place. He couldn’t get away to chaperone Clarissa’s trip.”

Agnes remembered. She’d missed her first season, and her mother was right. Perhaps, she’d just assumed nothing would be more important than the birth of their grandchild. But she allowed her mother to draw her back in to conversation about the wedding.

They spent the afternoon shopping both for wedding goods and essentials that Agnes wanted to gift to Olivia. But as the afternoon progressed, the wind began to howl terribly. Keiran had been correct. A storm was coming.

Keiran sent her mother and Ainsley to secure four rooms at the inn, a trip home would be dangerous in such weather. “Agnes wants to stop and see the girl she bought the cradle from, but we’ll meet you at the inn in a few minutes,” he nearly yelled to her mother, handing her a coin purse.

Her mother nodded, content to let them go on their own, and Agnes marveled at her new freedom as an engaged woman.

It didn’t take but a minute to arrive at Olivia’s cottage, and Keiran knocked loudly on the door. Olivia answered, holding a toddler in her arms. “Miss Faulkenberry, ye’re here!” she near yelped. “I didnae expect ye in such weather.”

Rain began to patter down on them. “I apologize if we’ve come at a bad time. We didn’t know if you needed supplies before the storm.” Agnes held up a basket filled with flour, eggs, lard and other essentials. “I can come back and look at the furniture another time.”

“Let them in, Olivia,” A man’s deep voice called from inside the house.

It made Agnes shiver to hear it. While Olivia’s brother wasn’t unattractive, there was something in the way he’d stared at them their first meeting that made Agnes uncomfortable.

Olivia hesitated for a second as more rain began to fall, the wind near whipping it into Agnes’s face. Her own look mirrored Agnes’s uncertainty. But finally, the girl swung the door wider.

“What is your sister’s name?” Agnes asked, trying to cover the awkward silence that had fallen with some sort of conversation.

“Sophie,” Olivia answered as they moved into a small sitting room.

“I can hold her while you take the basket.” Agnes gave Olivia an encouraging smile, hoping to set the girl at ease.

Olivia slowly handed Sophie to Agnes as she took the basket. “Thank ye for these. Ye didn’t need to bring them. It wasn’t charity I was after.”

“Please don’t worry. It’s very admirable how you’re trying to raise your sister,” Agnes assured her.

“Ye might not think it so admirable if ye knew some of things we’d done,” her brother called from a dark corner. The sky had turned black, and the fire cast shadows about the room. Agnes tried, but couldn’t make out his details in this light. But a tremor of fear rumbled through her at the sound of his voice.