"Ye ask too much," he said in sudden anger.
She edged closer to Callum. "Perhaps for tonight," she said gently.
"I should banish ye from my sight."
"That would do ye more harm than you deserve, sir," Callum said. "Is there nae way we can reconcile, given we both love this fair lassie and it seems she loves us both?"
The Drummond's glare was murderous. He was still a long way from content with the choices his daughter had made. "And if I cannae stomach a Mackinnon son-in-law?"
Mhairi finally stepped away from Callum, giving him a glimpse of her face. In less fraught circumstances, he would have smiled. Bonny Mhairi even managed to look picturesque after crying an ocean of tears.
"I’ll have nae other, Da," she said softly. "Even if ye murder him."
The Drummonds in the tent drew in an audible breath at her effrontery. For a moment, the old man scowled at her. Then he sighed and sheathed his sword. At this sign of capitulation from their chieftain, his men lowered their weapons, too.
"Och, lass, if ye love him, how can I kill him?" Mhairi’s father said wearily. "Even if the bastard deserves it."
Callum sucked in his first full breath since he'd entered the tent. It seemed certain that he was going to survive after all. He caught his kinsmen's eyes on him and nodded briefly.
The Drummond opened his arms to her. "Come and make peace with your old father, lass."
Mhairi didn't immediately move. "So you'll give me your blessing and welcome Callum to the family?"
The old man's frown for Callum was inimical but no longer promised violence. "That might be too much to ask just now. But ye ken I hate to be at odds with you."
"Aye, Da," she said with a docility Callum had never heard from her before.
She embraced her father with a sincere affection that he couldn’t mistake. Callum was a long way from liking his new kin, but as he said, a mutual love for Mhairi was a good place for any rapprochement to start.
Mhairi drew away, sniffing.
"Och, what are ye crying for now, ye daft lassie?" the Drummond asked with a rough fondness that made her lips stretch in a shaky smile.
"I've missed ye so much. And I hate that you're angry and disappointed in me."
Her father shook his head and spoke with more of that gruff tenderness. "Ye were always inclined to go your own way. Why should I expect ye to do anything different when it comes to the laddie you set your heart on? Now kiss your old da and let's stop all this brangling."
She kissed her father's cheek and gave him another long hug. "So you'll accept Callum as the husband of my choice?"
The eyes the Drummond focused on Callum were sharper than he'd expected, given his softness with his daughter. "At the very least, I'll let him walk free and alive out of my camp tonight."
"And you'll let me go with him?" Mhairi asked.
The silence probably only lasted a few seconds, but to Callum it seemed an eternity. "Och, lassie…"
"I'll fight for her," he said. “I’ll fight ye until there isn’t a Drummond standing to stop me from getting her back.”
"What about peace in the glens?" the Drummond jeered.
"She's my wife, and I love her. Ye willnae take her from me, Drummond."
"Perhaps ye do love her." Callum felt the old man striving to see through to his soul. "You’d damn well better. If ye treat her badly, I'll be back with my guns to pound Achnasheen to dust."
Heady relief crashed down. In the end, his gamble had paid off. The Drummonds weren't going to kill him, at least tonight. His men would leave safely, too. They'd all walk out of here with Bonny Mhairi, and the siege would end. Even bett
er, Mhairi and her father had reconciled. He wasn't so hopeful about whether the old man would ever accept him as a kinsman. But all in all, it had been a good night.
Better than good. Mhairi had said she loved him. Elation made his heart leap against his ribs. She loved him. Soon he'd have her back at Achnasheen and he’d get her to tell him in private, instead of in front of the world at large.