Secrets of the Heart by Suzan Tisdale

Author:Suzan Tisdale
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781943244485
Publisher: Suzan Tisdale

He wasn’t telling her these things in order to convince her to lift her skirts. There was too much sincerity in his voice, too much adoration in his eyes. Still, doubts lingered. Not that tiny voice of warning, but one born of self-doubt, years of feeling unworthy of affection or kindness. How could anyone, especially the chief of her clan, possess such feelings toward the likes of her?

“Ye cannae say such things, Connor,” she told him, fighting back the urge to run fast and far and never look back.

“Why? Why can I nae say what be in me heart?”

Swallowing hard, she replied, “Ye need a better woman than me. A woman the clan can admire. Ye need someone who kens how to read, write, and cipher. A woman who kens how to run a keep. I cannae do any of those things. I’d only bring ye shame.”

He scowled at her. “Never say that,” he said firmly. “Ye could never bring me shame. I’d be very proud to call ye wife.”

One errant tear escaped and trailed down her cheek. “Ye say that now, but what of yer clan? Are ye prepared fer them to hate ye fer tossin’ o’er one of yer own fer me?”

He took in a deep, cleansing breath. “Onnleigh, I be nae tossin’ anyone aside. There be no one else I want but ye. And the clan? They be yer clan as well as mine.”

Shaking her head, she had to disagree. “Ye ken what Helen and Margaret think of me. Do ye really believe they be the only two who think that?”

“I dunnae care what anyone thinks. I ken that once they see ye as I see ye, they’ll soon be changin’ their minds. Besides, we already have allies in me brothers, in Bridgett, and even in Louisa. She’s quite fond of ye, ye ken, and that, dear Onnleigh, is nae an easy thing to accomplish.”

With the pads of his thumbs, he brushed tears from her cheeks. “Please, Onnleigh, say ye’ll marry me.”

“I dunnae understand,” she told him through free-flowing tears.

“Dunnae understand what?” he asked, wiping away more of those tears.

“How could ye have feelin’s fer me?”

“I dunnae understand it meself. All I ken is what is in me heart. And me heart says ’tis hopeless to deny these feelin’s. I want ye to be me wife.”

She thought back to the day she’d made her wish at the old well. She had not wished for anything for herself that day, only for her babe. A warm, safe home, with parents who would cherish her, provide for her.

Now, she was sitting beside Connor MacCallen, the chief of their clan, and he was asking for her hand. Hers. The thief’s daughter.

“Are ye sure ’tis nae pity that makes ye want me?”

He looked aghast at the idea. “Nae, I feel no pity for ye, lass, only admiration.”

One look in his eyes was all she needed. He was nae telling her these things just to get under her skirt. These weren’t empty, false words, but words from his heart.

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