For the first time since he had returned from London, Adam stepped into his workroom and looked around it in silence. It was near completely bare now but for wood shavings and the odd piece of metal he hadn’t seen fit to use sitting on or under the table. He was typically fairly particular in keeping his space tidy, but had left in a rather bit of haste. It had only been a few weeks, and yet it seemed like it had been a lifetime ago that he had held such high hopes for both his work and his life with Rebecca. Now the emptiness of the room reminded him of all that he had lost.

He sighed as he threw his bag on the table, emptying it of the contents he had managed to bring back with him. His mind was as blank as the workspace when he tried to think of what next to work on. Clearly, anything regarding his wind model was no longer an option, as Trenton would have the patents on it. If nothing else, the man had enough guile to cover off anything that might be required to keep Adam from having any sort of claim to the invention.

He turned around and leaned back against the table, looking out the building’s lone window at the hills beyond. At the very least, he was back where he belonged, he thought.

His attention was directed to the door as he could hear footsteps approaching. Not the heavy footsteps of one of his brothers, but the light, skipping pattern he would recognize anywhere as his sister’s. The girl never walked anywhere, he thought with a grin, but rather ran or floated her way through life.

“Adam!” she said as she came sailing through the door. “I thought I might find you here.”

“Find me you did,” he said, as he pushed away from the table and stood to face her, knowing what was to come. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“We just haven’t had any time alone since ye returned—”

“I only returned yesterday.”

“Aye, but still,” she said, determined to say whatever it was she had come here to say to him. “You must tell me what happened, Adam. Tell me all of it. And not just about your wind invention, but about Rebecca. And don’t try to tell me there was nothing, because I saw the way the two of you stared at each other, thinking no one was looking. You have feelings for her, I know you do, and I know she feels the same for you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Peg,” he said, as he pulled the two stools of the room from under the table and carried one over to her. “Sit. ’Tis a long story.”

He told her, then, of all that had transpired, leaving out their activities in the hunting cabin, of course. He told her of their feelings for one another, of the proposal her father made to him, and his decision to travel to London. She knew most of that, but when he told her of their marriage agreement she gasped, light coming into her eyes before seeing his expression. For once, she sat and listened, as Adam spoke more words than he likely ever had in one sitting before. Somehow, as much as he had tried to bury the whole situation, it felt good to say it all out loud, to put it out there and get it off his chest. Peggy, for her part, made for a rapt audience, tearing up when Adam told her of Rebecca’s decision to do her father’s bidding and marry Thompson, gasping when he told of Trenton’s betrayal.

“So I came home,” he finished. “From where I should never have left.”

“Oh, Adam,” she said softly, her eyes full of tears of pity for him that he didn’t want. “I’m so sorry. What a despicable man.”

“He is,” he said, nodding in agreement.

“But are you absolutely certain,” she asked hesitatingly, “of Rebecca’s involvement?”

“What do ye mean?” he said, not answering her question.

“It’s just that, when she was here, she was so sweet, and so wonderful, and I could tell how much she not only admired you, but seemed to feel something toward you,” she said. “And not only that, but she told you about Vincent and her decision to follow her father’s wishes. Do you really think she would have given you that information were she knowingly betraying you?”

He shrugged. “When I returned to the house she was in his arms.”

“Did she say anything about that?”

“She tried. I wouldn’t let her — what is there to say when actions speak louder than words?” he asked, as he tried not to let Peggy’s own words sway him in any way.

“I just think, Adam, that perhaps ye should have given her the opportunity to explain herself. She may have known nothing of her father’s plans and was as shocked as you were. She probably feels betrayed herself by the fact you would think she was capable of such.”

“Peggy, why are ye speaking to me of this if you are only to take her side?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” she said. “I am simply pointing out that perhaps there is another option ye never considered.”

He nodded, not wanting to listen to her words, but they slowly penetrated his consciousness anyway.

“Adam … have you ever considered just why ye’re so angry at her?”

“What do you mean?” his head snapped up to her face, as she looked at him with sympathy.

“You wanted to marry this girl, and suddenly she told you she was going to marry another. No matter her reason, that must have hurt. Did ye perhaps so easily believe she had betrayed you in order to provide an outlet for your anger? When you love someone—”

“I dinna love her.”

“No?”

“No, I simply … cared for her.” He uncrossed his arms and began pacing back and forth over the worn wooden floor in front of her.

“I dinna believe you would have such deep emotions for someone you simply cared for,” she said softly.

He rubbed his temples. “I don’t know, Peg. I just … dinna ken what to do.”

“Well,” she said, folding her hands in her lap. “What do you admire about her? What made you want to marry her?”

He sighed. “I admire her gentle spirit. She appreciates the beauty of life, be it a lovely dress, the crystal of our loch or rain falling from the sky on a cloudy day. She has not an opposed word to say about anyone, be it her father or even the fiancé I know she dreads. She sees the best in everyone. And she has a loyalty unlike any I’ve ever seen. While ’tis the reason we are apart, I also admire her for it.” He paused for a moment, reflecting on the words that had come unbidden from his mouth. “Damn it. I do love her.”

Peggy let out a stifled giggle, and he looked up at her to see what she found so humorous.

“Oh, Adam,” she said, and he could see the smile she tried to hide behind her hand. “Never have I seen a man so angry to discover his love for another.”

“What does it matter?” He shrugged. “’Tis not as if anything will come of it.”

“Adam,” she said, hopping off her stool and walking over to him. “Do you know, before she left back to London, she gave her beautiful fine dresses to the women of the village? Molly and some of the others had expressed such envy over her garments that she gave them all away. And when she was here, we had so much time together, and she told me of her hopes and dreams. She wants love, Adam. She’s a romantic. She lives by her emotions, wanting to spend her life in the arms of a man who will love her in return. That vile man you say is now her fiancé — the man who shot her Adam — he is not that man. You say she is loyal, but you must make her understand that there is more to life than that. Save her, Adam. Be her knight in shining armor. Sweep her off her feet, and throw her over your mighty steed, bringing her back to the castle where she belongs.”

“Oh Peggy,” he said, with his first laugh since his return to the Highlands. “You are the romantic, sister. But you’re right. You’re right!” His heart began to race. He would never admit it to his sister, but he had been a fool. While Rebecca was loyal to a fault, she was too kind, had too gentle a spirit, to have ever conspired against him. She was too honest, and he had taken his anger out on her. If nothing else, he needed to apologize to her, to tell her how he truly felt. If she still decided to resign her life to that of a martyr, then so be it. But he had to do what he could.

“And maybe, if you return, you can get your wind design back?” Peggy asked hopefully, brightness coming into her eyes.

“Trenton can have the wind machine,” he said. “But his daughter … his daughter I will fight for. Even if it means I must remain with her in London, I — I’ll stay there with her.”

“But you hate, London!” said Peggy, a troubled look coming over her face. “And your family is here!”

“I do and ye are,” he agreed. “And of course I would love nothing more than to return here to you, with Rebecca by my side. But … but I dinna ken if I can live without her.”

“Then that,” said Peggy, smiling at him despite the tears in her eyes, “is true love. I’ll pack you a lunch.”

And with that, she marched over, enveloped him in a huge hug, and then walked out the door, leaving it open behind her.