He had risen, and he fought a growl, as he reached for her, before dropping his arms. “I won’t force you. I won’t pressure you. But I love you, with everything I am and with everything I hope to be. I want to love you and to protect you and to cherish you forever. If you’ll let me.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her breathing shallow, until she stilled and stared at him in wonder. “Let you?” she breathed. “It’s my choice?”
At his terse nod, a smile burst forth, causing his breath to catch at its brilliance.
“You want me,” she whispered, “not the fantasy?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Being your husband will fulfill my greatest fantasy, Maggie. You are my one true dream.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “My lode star,” she whispered. At his grunt of agreement, she met his gaze, where he failed to hide his impatient nerves. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” She gasped, as he pulled her close. “Please don’t regret loving me.”
“Never, my Maggie. Never.”
* * *
Seamus wandered to the kitchen’s back door to peer outside, but he could see nothing. “He would maneuver them behind a shed,” he muttered.
Mary chuckled. “You’d have done the same thing with me,” she teased, as she stroked a hand down his tense back. “They’ll sort out their problem, and all will be well.” She stilled when he turned to stare at her with a fearful gaze.
“How can you be so sure, Mary?” he whispered. They spoke in low voices, as their children sat at the kitchen table, chattering away, while waiting for Maggie to return for her birthday dinner.
“I’m certain because I learned to trust again. So will our daughter.” She smiled at her husband, as he glowed with love for her. “She will see in Dunmore what I saw in you, Seamus. A good, honorable man. She’ll have the courage to believe in him.”
He turned to look out the door again and then sighed, as he leaned against the wall in the tiny entryway. “I failed her, Mary. First by not protecting her from the likes of Jacques, and then by not having the ability to track him and to free her of him.” His gaze filled with impotent fury. “And now, all these weeks, she’s been hidin’ away from us, and I didn’t have the courage to confront her.”
When he turned to look out the back door again, Mary hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around his strong middle. “Shh, my love,” she whispered. “You’re always too hard on yourself. Forgive yourself for being human, as we all have to forgive ourselves.” She kissed his back. “My faith in you never wavered,” she whispered.
He gripped her arms, clasping him around his waist, holding her arms tight. “I know, a ghrá mo chroí.” He murmured the most precious endearment he had for his Mary, love of my heart in Gaelic. “’Tis at times difficult to accept my limitations.”
She chuckled, pressing another kiss to his back. She eased her hold on him, when she felt him stiffen. “Shay?”
He stood tall, his hand reaching back for Mary, so she could squeeze beside him. “Our Maggie’s comin’, an’ she’s been cryin’,” he said. He stared hard at his daughter, but he could see no sign of current distress. Instead his daughter walked hand in hand with Dunmore and leaned against him, as he murmured something in her ear. “Finally,” Seamus whispered.
Mary kissed his cheek and nodded her agreement. “Aye, finally, Dunmore broke through.” She eased back, tugging Seamus with her, so that they were at the kitchen table, rather than crowding her daughter in the small entryway.
Seamus never stopped staring at the door, his tension not easing until Maggie walked through with Dunmore. “Darlin’ girl,” he murmured. He waited for Maggie to meet his gaze, and then he nodded at the older man he respected and trusted. “Dunmore.”
“I’m sorry supper was delayed,” Dunmore said, as he kept his hand linked with Maggie’s. “We had to clear the air.”
Seamus smiled, admiring the man’s ability for understatements. “Aye, well, ’tis apparent you did.” He slapped Dunmore on the shoulder. “Come. Enjoy supper and our celebration for wee Maggie.”
Maggie reached forward and gripped her father’s arm, her gaze filled with excitement, although she quivered with anxiety. “Da?” she asked, lowering her voice to a barely audible whisper, as she didn’t want her brothers to overhear. “Dunmore and I are to marry.”
Seamus stared at his daughter and then at Dunmore. After a prolonged silence, he asked in a soft voice, “’Tis what you desire, Maggie?”
She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “Aye,” she breathed. “So much. I didn’t believe I deserved him. Or that kind of happiness.”
Seamus broke off what more she would have said by tugging her into his arms. He spoke loudly enough for Dunmore to hear. “Oh, my lass, I’m so happy for you. And so proud of you,” he whispered in her ear. “You’ve found the courage to trust again.”
She backed up and smiled through her tears. “To dream again.” She laughed as her mum pulled her close, rocking her from side to side.
“What’s the news?” Declan called out. He had an arm wrapped around Lorena, and he remained vigilant about her health, although she was fully recovered from her ordeal. When Maggie and Dunmore remained silent, Declan asked, “Da?”
Seamus shook his head. “No, ’tis Maggie’s news. And it’s appropriate she should have so much to celebrate on her birthday.” He watched as Maggie released her mum and burrowed into her Dunmore’s side again. A gratified warmth filled Seamus at seeing his daughter finally reclaiming her life and some of the peace that had been stolen from her.
Maggie sniffled and then burst into a bright smile, as she faced her family, watching her expectantly from the table. “Dunmore and I are to marry.” She burst into a girlish giggle, when her siblings let out a roar of joy and rose to pounce
