Page 49 of Her Forbidden Highlander Husband

“It will be over soon enough,” he promised, trying to be quick about it.

The next thing he saw were stars as he fell backward. Evelyn stood over him with a large stick screeching at him.

“Don’t hurt her!” she screamed.

He blinked, trying to understand why she was so angry at him. Did she think he had hurt Gwennie?

He took in the scene before him. Gwennie sobbing, blood on her palms, and Liam holding onto her with his dirk in his hand. He realized then what it looked like to Evelyn. That he was threatening their daughter with his knife.

Stumbling away, he dropped the cloth. He had been trying to help, but Evelyn obviously thought he had caused her injuries. He would have thought she knew him better than that, but of course, she would have jumped to this conclusion given what she’d seen.

Still, it hurt him to think she didn’t give him the benefit of the doubt. He’d made strides to earn her trust, but she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Rather than make things worse, he left through the gates and kept walking.

…

Gwennie was crying so hard, Evelyn put her down to look her over. She saw the blood on her daughter’s dress and began to shake uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry.”

Kenna rushed up with a distressed Douglas. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall on her,” the little boy said. “Will she be all right, Mama? She’s crying so.”

“She’ll be fine, Douglas,” Kenna said. “You know how a scrape can burn for a bit. I’ll put something on it straightaway.”

It wasn’t until Kenna pulled up Gwennie’s dress that Evelyn saw her bloodied knee. “Oh, God,” she gasped. Douglas’s words repeated in her mind. Gwennie had fallen.

“Calm yourself,” Kenna whispered. “If you act like it’s nothing, they’ll go along with it most times. They follow our lead.”

Evelyn slumped to the ground, covering her face with her hands.

“What is it? Are you one to swoon when ye see blood?” Kenna asked patiently.

Ev shook her head. “I stepped into the bailey to see Gwennie crying, and Liam was… There was blood, and he was holding his dirk. I thought…I… All I could think of was Sheamus and the day his father was hurting him.”

Kenna looked at her, confused. Of course, she wouldn’t understand, because she knew Liam well enough to know it was beyond reason for him to hurt a child in any way.

It took Kenna a few moments to comprehend. “Liam? Never.”

It was then that Mari came up, carrying Aiden and holding Lizzy’s hand. Gwennie was instantly healed of her earlier injury and asked to go play with her friend once more.

“What’s wrong with Liam?” Mari asked over her shoulder. “I just passed him and he looked miserable. Are you and Gwennie well?”

Evelyn covered her face with her hand. “I’ve made a terrible mistake. I need to go see him. Would you watch—?”

“Of course. She’ll be fine with us,” Kenna said before Evelyn had the chance to even ask. With her daughter taken care of, Evelyn hurried to catch up to Liam.

His long legs had carried him quickly away, but Evelyn caught a glimpse of him at the edge of the forest and hurried in his direction.

She was out of breath as she continued to follow him along the loch to the stream. Finally, he stopped. He hadn’t seen her when he screamed into the air, “What have I done? When will I have paid enough for whatever sin I committed?”

Evelyn stopped in her tracks when he pulled his sword and slashed through some nearby branches before striking a tree. The blade stuck fast, and he slumped to the ground, his back against the bark.

She delayed for only a moment before going to him. When he spotted her, he shook his head. “You thought I would hurt a child? Please, just leave me alone.”

Part of her wanted to do just that, but she’d done him a horrible wrong and needed to make it right, if there was a way to do such a thing. She had to try.

“I must apologize. I made a dreadful mistake.”

He shook his head. “It was I who made the mistake. I thought myself in love with you from the moment I met you. I was a foolish boy at the time. Then last night, I thought I knew better what it was like. Not just the way we brought each other pleasure but talking with you. Getting to know the real you.”

He tried to free the blade and kicked at the sword when it wouldn’t relent.