Aulay nodded. “Ye like and respect the man, trust him and enjoy him in bed.”
“She loves him,” Dougall announced, and she saw her brothers grin at each other.
“Aye,” Rory agreed with a smile as he finished cutting away the bandages and began to examine her chest wound.
“I am glad ye do. I like and respect him too,” Aulay said quietly.
“Aye,” Dougall said. “He could ha’e been a Buchanan.”
Saidh smiled, knowing that was the biggest compliment her brother could give.
“Ye’ve made a fine choice fer a husband, sister,” Rory murmured.
“Thank ye,” she whispered and glanced down as he began to replace the bandages he’d cut away with fresh strips of linen. “I do no’ need more stitches?”
“Nay. A couple stitches had torn a bit, but are still holding and already healing. Ye’re a fast healer,” he added, as though congratulating her on an unexpected skill.
Saidh just shook her head and watched as he finished binding her up. By the time he was done, she was pretty much covered from her waist to her neck in bandages with just her arms and one shoulder still on view. He’d even fully covered her uninjured breast this time, she noted mournfully.
“All done,” Rory announced, straightening.
“Then we should leave the two o’ ye alone,” Aulay announced, then bent to kiss her cheek before saying. “Put yer husband out o’ his misery and tell him ye love him.”
“Aye.” Saidh nodded, and then watched her brothers leave, before turning to peer at Greer. He’d stopped pacing to watch them leave as well, his expression unreadable, and Saidh bit her lips, wondering how she should tell him she loved him. Should she just blurt it out, or wait for him to say it again? She wondered and then worried that he might not say it again. He might even regret saying it the first time. Or he might be waiting for her to say it herself, ere repeating it.
“What were ye and yer brothers whispering about o’er here?”
Saidh raised her head at that quiet question and found her husband standing in front of her. He looked . . . She frowned, trying to find the word. Stoic was the only one to come to mind, but that was not it. It was more as if he were braced for a blow.
“We were no’ whispering,” Saidh protested, and then admitted, “They were trying to help me sort out if I loved ye.”
That had definitely surprised him, Saidh thought wryly as his jaw dropped to hit his chest. Quickly pulling it closed, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “And? What was the conclusion?”
“That I want to hit ye e’ery time ye kiss me, and would no’ save ye were the castle on fire,” she blurted.
He reacted as if she’d punched him in the gut, stumbling back a step, his face paling. Pulling himself upright, he asked gruffly, “When are they taking ye?”
“Taking me where?” she asked with confusion.
“Home to Buchanan,” he said stiffly.
Saidh shook her head with bewilderment. “Why would they take me to Buchanan?”
“Because ’tis obvious I am a poor excuse fer a husband and can no’ keep ye safe,” he said shortly.
Saidh snorted at the claim, but asked, “That is why ye were pacing so angrily? Ye blame yerself fer me injuries?”
“I am yer husband. I should ha’e kept ye safe,” he said grimly.
“And ye did. Ye saved me and Alpin from Tilda in the bell tower,” she pointed out with a shrug.
“No’ before ye took yet more wounds.”
“Me brothers were watching me when Tilda took me,” she pointed out. “They were also supposed to be guarding me when Alpin and I slipped away to the gardens and got hurt. So, if ye want to blame anyone, blame them.”
“Oy!” The shout came muffled through the door. It was followed by, “We can hear ye! These doors are thin.”
“Then stop pressing yer ears to it and go below. I’m trying to talk to me husband here!” Saidh snapped and heard the shuffle of feet as her brothers moved away from the door. Honestly, they were like a heard of bulls the lot of them, she thought and then glanced back to Greer and said solemnly, “This is me home now. Me brothers ken I love ye. They’ll no’ be taking me anywhere.”
Greer blinked as if uncertain he’d heard her right, or unable to process her words. “Ye love me?”
“Aye. Did I no’ jest tell ye me brothers helped me sort that out?” she asked impatiently.
“Nay. Ye said ye want to hit me e’ery time I kiss ye, and would no’ save me were the castle on fire,” he snapped.
“Exactly,” Saidh said with satisfaction. “That’s how much I love ye.”
“What?” he asked with disbelief. “Ye think the fact that ye’d rather hit me than kiss me and would leave me to die in a burning building means that ye love me?”
“That’s no’ what I meant,” Saidh squawked, and then clucked under her tongue. “And I told them ye were clever.”
“Wife,” he said through his teeth.
Saidh sighed, and shook her head. “I would ne’er leave ye to die in a burning building,” she said with exasperation, and explained, “Aulay asked me who I would save were the castle on fire, and I said Alpin, ’cause he was weakest. And he asked why no’ you, and I said because ye’d already be up and about trying to drag me out o’ the castle.” She raised her eyebrows. “See? He says that’s a sign that I trust and rely on ye, and I do. Like me da and brothers, ye’re a brave, braugh man with a fine head on yer shoulders. I trust that ye’ll always be there and ha’e me back. I can count on ye.”