Braden shook his head. “I would not have done any differently. I almost could not order their execution.”
Ian sighed heavily. “They were always strange children. Instead of playing with the other children in the clan, they would find small animals and kill them for the joy of it. I would hear stories of the things they had done, and it would make my skin crawl, and I tried to stop them. I would tell them how wrong they were, and I would punish them, but it did not seem to matter. They enjoyed killing.”
Katerina shuddered, thinking of all the hours she had spent alone with Andrina. “We respect you for telling us all this. You did not have to, Laird.”
“I know I did not. I felt like you had the right to know that you made the right decision—the decision I should have made a few years ago. I apologize for making you clean up my mess.”
Braden smiled. “Thank you for the information, Laird. It does make me feel better about the decision I made, and I thank you for telling me.”
Mary came into the room then with a tray of food she set down on the table, and then she hurried away again.
Katerina gestured to the food. “Please eat with us. There is a feast scheduled for later to welcome you to our home. We would be pleased if you chose to spend a night or two here with us. We have had chambers readied.”
“We thank you for the offer, but our land is close, and we will be more comfortable there. Lorna is expecting again, and she feels safer sleeping in her own bed.”
Katerina smiled. “Congratulations! How many children do you have?”
Lorna smiled, obviously thrilled to talk about her children. “I have four daughters and one son. Three daughters are older than Little Ian and one is younger. I do pray for another son.”
“Boys tend to be born in my husband’s family, so I believe I will have the opposite problem. I would love to have a daughter, but I fear I will have many sons instead.”
“All children are a blessing from God,” Lorna said with a smile.
“Aye, they are.”
Katerina was surprised by how well she and Lorna got along, and before they left at the end of the long day of feasting, she made certain she invited her to come back for a visit. “We would love to see more of you. I have yet to make many friends here in Scotland, and I would be pleased if I could count you as one.”
Lorna hugged Katerina, a smile on her face. “You are truly an understanding and good lady. I am sure Ian and I will return to see you often.”
“This pleases me. Mayhap one of my sons will marry one of your daughters.”
Lorna laughed. “You had better hurry and start having babies if that is what you want. I hope I will not have a great many more.” She patted her belly. “I love them all, but their births are hard on me.”
Katerina blushed, and it told Lorna all she needed to know. When Lorna said goodbye to Braden, she smiled at him. “Congratulations on the upcoming birth of your son, Braden. I hope our children will play together and mayhap even marry someday.”
Braden looked stunned for a moment, and then he smiled. “I would enjoy that as well.”
Laird Campbell shook hands with Braden. “I hope you will come to see us in a few days. I would like for you to see if there is something that can be done for my crops.”
“We will be there,” Braden said, smiling. “I will bring my parents and grandparents as well.” His mind was spinning. Why had his wife not told him she was expecting? She told a stranger before him? That was not the way things should have happened.
After they were gone, and he was standing alone with his wife, his arm around her shoulders, he asked softly, “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Katerina frowned. He could not possibly know she was expecting, could he? “What do you mean?”
“Lady Campbell congratulated me on the child we are expecting,” he said softly. “Surely if you were carrying a child, you would have told the father of that child before you told anyone else.”
“That would make sense, would it not?” Katerina sighed. “I meant to tell you, but I wanted to know how you felt about me first. I know you want children, and I did not want your feelings for me to be colored by the fact that we are expecting.”
He took her hand. “Walk with me.” They walked down toward the lake, and he had a frown on his face. “In my family, we marry the woman we are destined to marry. I knew from the day I met you that you were meant to be my bride.”
“Being meant to be your bride is very different than you loving me. Mayhap you felt like you could eventually love me. Or mayhap you just felt as if you could have handsome sons with me. Either way, it is not love. Love is what I want from you, Braden.”
“I see. And how do you feel about me?” he asked softly.
She sighed. “I knew I loved you when I saw how you were with the clansmen here. You are a gentle, good man, and you are always so good to me. Of course, I love you. I would have to be crazed not to.”
“Yes, you would.” He said with a wink. “Katerina, I have loved you from the moment I asked you to marry me. I did not quite know you yet, but I knew you were the woman I needed in my life. The woman I could not imagine living another day without. You have grown so much during our time together. Now you are a strong, feisty woman who is willing to do anything for the people she loves. I am so proud of who you have become.”
“Really? You are not just saying that because I carry the first of your sons?”
“I am not. I do not know why I thought you knew I loved you, but I did. I did not think it was something I needed to tell you. I thought I showed it every time I stroked your cheek. Every time I kissed you. Every time we made love.”
She stopped walking, looking up at him. “Every woman needs to hear she is loved. But mayhap I should tell you first. I love you, Braden. I love you in a way I never thought I could love a man. You found a devastated girl at your castle in England, and you made her one of the happiest women alive. I thank you for that.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. “Our people will be pleased to hear you are expecting a son.”
“Your wife would be pleased to hear a declaration of love.” Katerina wanted to kick him. She had poured out her heart to him, and he had talked of the baby and what it would mean to their people.
He laughed. “I love you, Katerina McClain. I love you with everything inside me. I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much love a man can have for his wife.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “That is better. Now you can tell me every day for the rest of our lives.”
As they walked back toward the keep, he asked, “How long have you known about the baby?”
“Only a few days. I planned to tell you the night word came that the Campbells were visiting. Then their visit took precedence, so I decided I would tell you as soon as they left, but while I was talking with Lorna, she guessed from my reaction that I was expecting…and…she told you. I am very sorry you did not hear it from me as you should have. I will do better next time.”
“Aye, you will.” He grinned at her. “I want to shout it from the rooftops. I am going to be a father, and you are going to be a mother. We are going to have a baby!”
She laughed. “It is almost like you did not know that what we do together could make one.”
“I knew. And I tried hard to make a son, but confirmation that a man has achieved his goals is always good.”
He saw his father and mother walking toward the lake. “We are having a baby!”
Robert laughed and shook hands with him. “It seems as if you are surprised. Did you not expect to have sons?”
Matilda folded Katerina in her embrace. “The day you came to us, I knew you were meant to be my daughter. I did not yet know if you would be a daughter of the heart, or one who would marry my son, but I knew you were mine. I am so happy to hear of the babe!”
Katerina sighed happily. “I am happy that I can finally talk about it.”
&nbs
p; “I wonder if he will have a power…” Matilda said with a smile.
Epilogue
Katerina walked with her seven sons, holding the hand of the youngest, Kennan. He was three and the slipperiest child she had ever seen. One minute he was beside her, and the next he was across the way. She only let him leave the keep when she had a firm grip on his hand.
When they reached the cottage of the children’s great-grandparents, she led them all inside. Lina kissed her cheek, while Alex exclaimed over the brave boys he saw before him.
Finally, Katerina could let go of little Kennan’s hand. She swore the boy must be practicing to escape from a prison later in his life. He could get away from anywhere and anything.
Katerina sat down at the table and reached for Kennan, meaning to hold him on her lap to be certain that he did not escape. Her hands slipped right through him. She rubbed her eyes and tried again, and this time her hands met in his middle. “Grandfather? Grandmother?”
They both looked and saw what she was doing. Alex gave a hearty laugh. “I wondered when his powers would make themselves known.”
Katerina shook her head. “Did you know he could do this?”
Lina shook her head. “We did not know, but we were expecting something. No wonder he is always getting away.”
Katerina tried once more to pick the boy up, and that time it was possible to hold him. “How long have you been able to do that?” she asked.
The boy shrugged, a wicked gleam in his eye.
Katerina was not sure if she was going to survive the raising of this one. Her seventh son.
About the Author
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Also by Kirsten Osbourne
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Braden: A Seventh Son Novel (McClains Book 3) Page 10
