Chapter Twelve
The Earl of Cornwall’s bloody face lifted in astonishment. Evander turned and found Diana with a pistol in her hands, aimed at her father.
Cornwall sneered. “You can’t do it.”
A loud bang came from the gun and his shoulder jolted backward. Evander used the distraction to his advantage. He lunged through the cloud of acrid smoke and slammed Lord Cornwall to the ground. The man grunted below him, but Evander did not move. The cut on his chest left him near blind with pain, but he let the weight of his body pin the earl where he lay.
Diana approached with a dagger in her hand. The blade trembled. Evander knew she could do it if she must and also appreciated the difficulty of the action – no matter the hurt her father had caused.
And he knew men like Cornwall. He would persist until one of them was dead. Warmth from the earl’s shattered shoulder seeped against Evander’s knee while he held the man in place. Evander held out his hand for the blade.
This must end.
Lord Cornwall bolted upright suddenly, his arm sweeping upward. A streak of black flashed in front of Evander, followed by a savage rending tear. Diana screamed behind him, but Evander could not pull his gaze from where Zeus’ jaws clamped on the fragile flesh of Cornwall’s neck, now jagged and bloody. A blade fell from the earl’s clenched fist.
Evander ignored the burning of his chest and drew himself to his feet. Diana. She would be upset. She needed to be comforted. She needed…him.
She needed him, and he needed her.
He pulled her against him, and she came willingly, wrapping tight and secure around him. Agony pulsed hot in his chest, but he ignored it, for the pleasure of holding her in his arms was far, far greater.
“I would never have gone with him,” she breathed. “I thought…I thought I was going to lose you.”
He smoothed her hair and kissed the crown of her head before tilting her face to his and kissing her full on the lips.
She put her hands to his chest and gasped. “Your injury.”
He waived her off. “I’ll have a healer see to it soon. We need to get the gold inside and the men need to be imprisoned.”
“No.” She shook her head. “They are good men.”
She turned to the silent army around them, rendered immobile by the death of their leader. “You know my father has treated me unfairly in the past. I will not put his crimes on you, but I implore you now to return home. Do not start a war with the Mackenzie clan, or try to bring back more troops to take the castle. Please, I…” Tears shone in her eyes and she paused to swallow. “Please, just let me have a chance, for the first time in my life, to be happy with the man I love.”
Evander’s heart leapt in his chest. The man she loved.
The tallest soldier approached her. Silver glinted in his dark hair.
Evander tensed, his hand twitching at the hilt of his blade. He wanted to curl his entire body around Diana to keep her from harm, to cradle her against him, and damn the rest of the world.
Zeus appeared on the other side of Diana, ensuring additional protection. Blood still glistened on his muzzle from the killing tear of Lord Cornwall’s throat.
But the man did not look at Evander, or Zeus. He observed Diana with the soft, quiet affection of a father. He knelt in front of her and inclined his head respectfully. “Lady Diana.” He took her hand, kissed it, and looked up at her. “I’ve had the honor of knowing you most of your life. I watched you grow from a child to a woman abused by her father.” He swallowed. “I followed orders, and I regretted it every damn day of my life. I cannot ever expect your forgiveness for such acts, but I will take these men from here and give you my word we will leave you to your life.” A smile touched his lips. “To your much-deserved happiness.”
Despite Evander’s longing to beat the man for his part in Diana’s misery, she had been right to speak to them rather than fight. Amid famine and freezing weather, the Mackenzies did not need war.
Not only had Diana brought coin to his people to prevent their starvation, she’d also delivered peace.
She pursed her lips and motioned for the man to rise. “Richard, you’ve always been kind to me. I forgive you for what you did under my father’s orders. And I accept your offer to take your soldiers from here and leave me in peace. And I thank you.”
With that, the man called Richard gathered the Englishmen and took the Earl of Cornwall’s body with them as they departed. Diana had watched her father be carted away with one long, final stare.
Once they made it back to the castle, Evander’s cut was easily tended to by the healer, a wound deep enough to scar, but certainly not fatal. It wasn’t until later that evening when Evander and Diana were finally alone once more, away from the bustle of the Mackenzie clan, with the coin securely put away.
Evander took Diana into his arms. She came with a tentative glance at the linen wrap on his chest. “Ye’ll no’ hurt me, lass.” He stroked the softness of her cheek. “But I need ye to do a favor for me.”
“What?”
“Tell me again what ye told Richard today.” He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over his lips.
A smile perked at her mouth. “That I wanted them to leave?”
Evander shook his head.
“That I wanted a happy life,” she said softly.
“Close.”
Her gaze met his and his heart glowed warm beneath the dull throb of his wound.
“That I love you,” she whispered.
“Aye.” He swept an errant strand of golden hair from her brow. “I love ye, lass. Even if I had been near death, those words would have plunged the life back into me.”
“That’s what you’ve done to me.” Her soft palm lay against his cheek. “You’ve given me my life back. You’ve shown me what it is to love.”
“I intend to show ye more and more every day.” He took her left hand and put it against his right. Warmth pulsed between them, the legend not a binding which would keep them together, but rather a door opened, an opportunity created, for true love to enter.