James smiled, a little too morosely for her liking. “Go to them, Jannie. Declare yourself. You know as well as I do that happiness can be snatched away in a heartbeat, the one you love gone from you in an instant due to illness, nefarious actions, or an accident. Revel in every moment you have. Go now. I will act as host, as I have done so many times in this house.”
She ran to him, kissing his cheek and embracing him tightly. “Stay safe. Scotland needs you, Your Grace, for a very long reign. You will always be dear to my heart.”
“God bless and keep you, beloved.”
With one last deep curtsy to her king, Janet turned and departed the chapel, nearly stumbling on the stairs in her haste to get to the solar where Lachlan and Marjorie waited. And yet when she reached the door, her steps halted.
For a woman who had fought so hard and so long to establish command, choosing to be vulnerable again was an unnerving thing. The notion did not sit at all easily on her shoulders, and here she was about to offer her heart into the safekeeping of not one but two people. Love carried great risk, even more so as a trio, and the likelihood of her making mistakes as she’d done, of closing herself away from the chaotic nature of emotion was high.
And yet…love brought joy. Comfort and understanding. The promise of a better and brighter tomorrow.
She wanted that in her life. Needed it.
Taking a deep breath, Janet pushed open the solar door before latching it behind her. In the center of the room, seated on the chaise, were Marjorie and Lachlan.
Both rose to their feet, Lachlan bowing and Marjorie curtsying.
“So,” said Janet, inwardly cursing as a boulder lodged in her throat. “Here we are.”
“Lady…” said Lachlan hoarsely. “Mistress.”
Wordlessly, she held out her arms, and soon she was whole again as they embraced, her body rejoicing at the sensation of Lachlan’s brute strength and Marjorie’s plump curves pressed against it.
“My pet,” she whispered, kissing Lachlan square on the mouth before turning to Marjorie and doing the same. “My dear one. I was so afraid this might end differently. So very afraid. To lose you both would have been…”
Marjorie shuddered. “I cannot bear to think about it. When that vile lawyer burned the copy of the promise in front of me, I despaired that he might have found your copy and done the same. But it was in your bodice!”
A soft laugh escaped. “I tucked it there when I saw the lawyers arrive. They did in fact search my chamber. I wish them to purgatory for what they did.”
“You were so steadfast,” said Lachlan. “You and Marjorie. No forsaking. No betrayal. Even when…they offered temptation.”
Janet raised an imperious brow. “They could have offered all the gold in Scotland, and I would not break. Some things…some things are so precious they must be fought for until your last breath.”
“Such as?” said Marjorie, her gaze intent, her smile hopeful.
“Come with me. To the chaise,” she replied, guiding both until they settled on either side of her on the sturdy piece of furniture. Ensuring all hands were clasped, she took another deep breath to prepare for the most important declaration of her life. “I did not think to love again. I thought my heart died with Fergus and that I would be content with affairs where they did not truly know me. I did not want them to know me, for when another knows your true self, they have great power. But then the king gifted me a Highland Beast and a convent virgin, and my entire world turned upside down. I began to feel again. I liked it not.”
“And now?” Lachlan rasped.
Janet shifted on the chaise. Devil take it, words were difficult when she would much rather show them with acts. “Now…it seems my world can only be complete with both a man and a woman to love. To protect. To cherish and command. No other man but Sir Lachlan Ross and no other woman but Lady Marjorie Ross will do. And that is that. I love you both. For always.”
Silence greeted her words, and Janet tensed. Then Marjorie burst into tears and cuddled closer, and Lachlan moved to kneel at her feet, and a flame lit inside her. A flame that no trial or burden or unspoken words could douse.
Joy. At long last.
…
Lady Janet loved them.
Staring up at his two women, Lachlan drank in the perfection of the moment. Their clasped hands. Lady Janet’s smile. Marjorie’s tears of happiness.
After the trial, when he and Marjorie had sat on the chaise, waiting for their mistress, they’d both been too weary, too emptied by the events of the previous days, to do more than just lean against each other, heads touching and fingers linked. Each taking comfort in the other, each waiting for the fiery redhead needed to make their world and marriage complete. The wait had seemed forever as he stared at the door, his ears straining for the sound of footsteps on the stairs, tormented by an agony of hope. For justice to be served, the king had taken everything he and Marjorie possessed, except their marriage. Lady Janet had offered shelter, and he yearned for that to mean so much more than charity.
What she’d just declared had been beyond his wildest dreams.
Lady Janet loved them.
Lachlan swallowed hard. “I am s-so…h-h…”
He cursed as a rush of emotion tangled his tongue and robbed him of speech. He wanted to say the words. Needed to say them after holding them inside for so long.
Lady Janet let go of his hand and instead leaned forward and cupped his cheek. “Yes, my pet?”
“Take your time, Lachlan,” said Marjorie, beaming at him. “We have all the time in the world now.”
Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed it swiftly. Then he rubbed his cheek against Lady
