Bride of the Beast (45 page)

".
.. as we knew..
." Duncan mimicked beneath his breath, but even he couldn't sound very fierce with a quavering voice and over-bright eyes.

Joining them at the bedside, Caterine smiled down at her sister as Elspeth smoothed a damp, scented cloth over Linnet's brow.

Pale and shadow-eyed, Linnet MacKenzie lay back against the pillows, her new daughter cradled in her arms.

"She is beautiful." Caterine touched a finger to the babe's teensy, pink hand, her heart swelling.

"And
you
are beautiful, my sister. I am so pleased to have you back." Linnet reached for her hand. "You are not angry at me for... for..."

"For sending my champion?" Caterine glanced at him, her free hand straying to the large ruby ring hanging about her neck. "Nay, my dear, I only wish you had sent him sooner."

Linnet nodded, clearly pleased. "And neither because I—" "Because you kept a sweet secret from me?" Caterine reached out to stroke the black down crowning the babe's head. "Nay, that, too, I understand," she said, sending another sidelong look at her love, her heart swelling when he wrapped an arm around her, drew her close.

"And you were right... had I known, I would have come at once, and then a certain champion would ne'er have known if I'd truly given him my heart."

"And have you?" Linnet asked. "Do you love him as—" breaking off, she shot a quick glance at her own husband, "as we'd hoped you would?"

"Nay." Caterine shook her head. "I love him more. Much more," she assured her sister, and anyone else who cared to hear.

An audible sigh, or mayhap just the restless night wind, issued from somewhere close by, but when Caterine glanced around she didn't see anyone standing near enough to have made the sound.

Rubbing at the odd tingling along her nape, she gave her sister a tremulous smile. "You've created a fine and beautiful new life."

"You
have a fine, new life, too," Linnet said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Aye, I do," Caterine agreed, reaching for her husband's hand. "A new and
good
life."

"And what shall we call
this
new life?" Duncan wanted to know, his dark blue eyes gleaming a tad too bright. He touched his wife's cheek. "Have you thought of a name for our fair daughter?"

"What do you think of calling her Arabella?" Caterine suggested, the name popping into her mind just then, but somehow seeming so very right.

Her husband glanced sharply at her, but when she squeezed his hand and smiled, the look he gave her wanned her clear to her toes.

"Well?" Caterine glanced back at her sister, at the wee girl-child.

"Aye, Arabella is a fine name," Linnet agreed, glancing at her husband. "And you, my lord?"

Duncan peered hard at Sir Marmaduke, then, apparently satisfied by what he saw, a bold smile spread across his handsome face. "Arabella, it shall be."

And the moment the words were spoken, somewhere in the dark of the cold, blustery night, a raven-haired angel smiled.

sue-Ellen Welfonder
is dedicated medievalist of Scottish descent who spent fifteen years living abroad, and still makes annual research trips to Great Britain. She is an active member of Romance Writers of America and her own clan, the MacFie Society of North America. Her first novel,
Devil in a Kilt,
was one of
Romantic Times's
Top Picks. Sue-Ellen Welfonder is married and lives with her husband, Manfred, and their Jack Russell Terrier, Em, in Florida. Visit Sue-Ellen's website at
www.welfonder.com.