“Caitlin and Henry are workin’ together. She’s promised him her affection and he has been daft enough to believe her,” Noah continued, in a bitter tone. “This afternoon, I went to the village to try and find the person who hurt ye in the forest. I wanted to do it in secret, so ye wouldnae worry aboutmegettin’ hurt. Nae for one second did I think that the woman ye met in the forest was Caitlin. If I had, I would’ve taken a full complement of guards and had her marched from territory.
“At the village, Henry approached me. He was bruised, like he’d recently been attacked. He told me that he’d seen ye and Scott together in the hayloft, caught in a compromisin’ position, and that Scott had threatened his life if he said a word.” Noah took a breath. “To my shame, I believed him for a moment. Then, I realized he must’ve seen someone else—a lass named Christie Malloy. I kenned it couldnae be ye, but I couldnae return to ye until I was certain. I went to speak to Christie, but she wasnae home. So, I decided to wait until she was… and, as I waited, I drank. I drank because I was terrified it might be true, even though I kenned, in my heart of hearts, that it couldnae be.”
Saoirse sniffed, seeing an unsettling pattern in his story. After all, Henry had told her the same thing, though it had been Noah and not Scott who’d beaten and threatened him.
“But… Henry had yer ring,” she said quietly. “He said ye left it on the table when ye went upstairs with Caitlin. I have it right here.”
“I drank too much, Saoirse. It knocked me out. Caitlin must’ve taken it while I was asleep, and given it to Henry to give to ye, so ye’d think it was all true,” Noah told her, in a voice so sad that she nearly opened the door and forgave him there and then. “I never betrayed ye with Caitlin. It was all part of her plan to chase ye away, so she could swoop in.”
Saoirse swallowed. “But… ye love her.”
“Nay, I daenae. I daenae think I ever did. It was just a young lad’s idea of what love should be,” Noah replied. “And aye, she broke my heart, but I can see now that there was nay love between us. I wanted someone to need me, she wanted fortune and fine things, and when I couldnae offer that, off she ran. I became unworthy to her, never pausin’ to realize that she wasnae worthy of me. That’s nae love, Saoirse. What ye and I have—that is love.”
“If ye feel nothin’, why were ye alone in a room with her?” Saoirse’s breaths began to calm, the tears drying on her cheeks. It wasn’t over yet, but she was prepared to keep listening.
“I ken the innkeeper well. It’s nae the first time he’s put me in a room to sleep away my drunkenness,” he explained. “I imagine that’s what he did tonight, and Caitlin found a way to sneak inside. But nothin’ happened, love. I slept, I was awoken by her, then she told me what she’d done and what her plan was. She lunged for me, aye, but I threw her off me and came straight to ye, prayin’ I wouldnae arrive too late.”
Stubbornness and lingering doubts made Saoirse want to stay inside the carriage, keeping him out. But a greater part of her, the part that still hoped all was not lost, slowly lifted her fingertips to the bolt on the carriage door. With a breath, she pulled it back and turned the handle, opening the door wide.
Noah stood there with his head bowed, as if expecting the worst. “I’m sorry, Saoirse. I’m sorry for givin’ ye any reason to doubt me.” He hesitated, raising his gaze. “If I’d just told ye that I loved ye, as I’ve wanted to a thousand times, ye wouldnae have thought my heart belonged elsewhere.”
“So, ye dinnae betray me?” Saoirse got to her feet, leaning on the doorframe for support.
He shook his head. “I wouldnae. I’d kill myself before I hurt ye like that, as seein’ ye leave would kill me anyway. I love ye, Saoirse. There’s nay one else.” A loud gulp bobbed the apple in his throat. “But if ye cannae trust me, and ye still wish to leave, then ye can. I willnae stop ye, but nor will I survive the heartbreak.”
Steadying herself, Saoirse observed her husband for a few minutes. She looked to the creases around his eyes and the downward turn of his sad mouth, feeling the sorrow coming off him in waves. As she watched him, everything he’d said repeated slowly through her mind, giving her the time to sift through it all and decide what to do.
“Will Henry confirm what ye’ve said?” Saoirse spoke, at last.
Noah shrugged wearily. “I daenae ken if he’s still around to do so. He told me he was runnin’ away to the north, though I realize that was probably a lie, too. He’ll be hidin’ somewhere until Caitlin comes to him.”
“Nay, he’s still at the Castle.”
Noah’s eyes widened. “He is?”
“Aye, he’s bein’ tended to by the healer. At least, he was when I departed, and that wasnae so long ago.” She hated the formal sound of her voice, when all she wanted to do was throw herself into Noah’s arms.
“Then, aye, he’ll confirm it!” Noah said desperately. “He’ll try to lie and weasel for a while, but a few nights in the dungeons ought to get the truth out of him. Or, the moment he realizes that Caitlin wasnae ever goin’ to offer him her affection. My love, we should return to the Castle at once! Let me prove it. Please.”
A small smile lifted the corners of Saoirse’s lips. Dangling Henry like a carrot had been her final test, and the one thing preventing her from walking into her husband’s arms. If Noah was lying about the betrayal, he wouldn’t have been so eager to speak to Henry and have the truth pried from the man’s lips.
“So, we have both been tricked,” she said quietly.
Noah frowned. “There’s nay time to delay, Saoirse. We must apprehend Henry immediately. We cannae let him get away, or ye’ll never hear what he has to say.”
“I daenae need to hear it.” Saoirse stepped down from the carriage, flinching as cold raindrops splashed her feverish face. “Nay adulterer would be daft enough to let their wife speak to the only person who could confirm the adultery.”
Confusion flickered across Noah’s face. “But… ye said ye wanted to hear it from him.”
“And I ken now that I daenae need to,” she repeated. “I believe ye. Ye forget, I saw the madness in that woman when I encountered her yesterday. If it hadnae been for that, maybe I’d still have my doubts, but I’m certain that the woman I met in the forest was capable of doin’ somethin’ this cruel.”
A swift flow of emotions moved across Noah’s features, twisting and creasing and smoothing them in quick succession: relief, apprehension, fear, but above all, love.
He jerked forward, like he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her close, only to rock back on his foot again. “Might I hold ye?” he asked softly, reaching out his arms. “Even though ye say ye believe me, I ken ye might nae wish to be touched.”
She didn’t reply. Instead, she walked straight into his arms and looped her own arms around his neck, pulling him close. Her fingers slid through his hair as she buried her face in his shoulder, inhaling the scent of the rain that soaked his shirt.
“Does this mean… all is well?” he whispered, wrapping her up in his embrace.