Elena couldn’t breathe. She stared at Gabriel a moment before dropping her eyes. “I didnae ken.”
“So go on and continue to hate me. Go on and think I’m some vile human bein’ for tryin’ to give ye somethin’ better than what yer uncle or any of yer family wanted for ye. I daenae care anymore Elena. Ye’ll never see me as anythin’ other than a villain to yer story. A Puck if ye will,” he said. The name jogged her memory as her thoughts flashed back to their time in the carriage and the book she read to him.
Suddenly Elena wished she could take back every mean thing she ever said to him. Gabriel pushed off the chair and turned his back to her. She rose slowly to her feet and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“I’m…” Her throat closed around the words. Her body trembled as all the hatred within her ebbed. Swallowing hard, she turned and fled from Gabriel’s presence.
Chapter 14
“Elena,”Gabriel called after Elena as he bounded the stairs, following her. He never meant to cause her tears, and the very sight of them shattered his spirits. “Wait. Please. Daenae turn yer back to me.”
“I cannae,” she said, rushing down the hallway. Gabriel reached for her. Curling his fingers around her arm, he pulled her to him before she could slip into her room. Her blotchy cheeks were wet from the torrential stream running down her face. She glanced up at him with red, puffy eyes before dropping her gaze once more.
Without saying a word, he held her close to him as she rocked in his arms. The onslaught of her sorrow broke him. All his scheming to get her to come to him wasn’t worth it. All the years he had pined for her, he never thought he could cause so much harm to her.
“Why did my uncle nae tell me about Laird Boone? How could he think I’d want such a man? And ye. Ye married me despite my hatred for ye. But yer right, all ye’ve ever shown me is kindness. And what have I done for ye in return?” Her words were muffled from him crushing her against his chest. In all the years he knew her family, he was just as surprised to find them trying to pawn her off to another.
“I daenae ken what possessed yer uncle to want that union. But look at the bright side,” he said molding his hands to her face to draw her eyes to him. “That is nae yer fate. Yer here wit’ me. Nae Laird Boone.”
She pounded her fists against his chest as more tears flowed from her. Releasing her face, he stared at her, letting her express all the ire that she had pent up within her.
“I want to hate ye.”
“I ken,” he said, taking the blows.
“But I cannae. Nae anymore.”
“I told ye before and I’ll tell ye again,” he said as her blows weakened. He could see the fire dwindling within her. “I love ye, Elena. I’ve loved ye for a very long time. And I ken ye better than anyone ever could ken another person.”
“Why?” she sobbed, dropping her shoulders and head.
“Because ye stole my heart a long time ago. Do ye ken why I left Scotland all those years ago?”
She swallowed hard and raked her hand across her nose. “Because yer a rake and a scoundrel and ye wanted to hurt me.”
“Nay, none of what ye’ve heard about me is true. Nae one single thin’ yer family has told ye about me is absolute truth.”
“Then what is the truth? Huh?”
“I left because I asked for yer hand a long time ago and yer faither denied me,” he said. Elena’s eyes widened as she shook her head.
“That’s a lie. Ye are lyin’ to me.”
“He told me I had to make somethin’ of myself and so I did. I went out and started a trade. I acquired the lands and the fortune I ken yer family wanted for a dowry. But when I came back, I found yer uncle negotiatin’ wit’ Laird Boone for yer hand. My heart broke and I saw an opportunity. So, I took it.”
Elena’s knees gave out. Gabriel scooped her up into his arms. Holding her close to him, he brought her into her room and laid her carefully on the bed. He rushed to the basin and doused a rag in the water. Ringing it out, he brought it back to her and dabbed her forehead with it.
Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. She looked at him and looked through him. He could tell she was finally beginning to realize everything he did was for her.
“Would ye like some whiskey? I can have Emily fetch us some if it’ll help wit’ yer nerves.”
“Nay,” she said trying to sit up on her own.
“Do ye remember the promise I made to ye when we were only knee-high?” Gabriel asked as he stroked her hair. She shook her head. Her tongue grazed across the dry landscape of her lips.
“I told ye I would be there for ye nae matter what.”
“Ye tormented me as a child,” she interjected. “Ye were awful and mean.”