The Keep was quiet once the great door shut behind them.
Duncan did not set her down. He told himself he would, once they reached the stairs. Then they reached it, and his arms refused to listen to the thought.
Julie's fingers were laced at the back of his neck, her face pressed into his collar. She was warm. She was breathing. Every few steps he felt the rise and fall of her against his chest, and each time it came, something in him loosened a little more.
"You can put me down now," she murmured, not moving at all.
"Aye. In a wee while."
"Duncan."
"I can hear ye fine, lass."
Jane had made sure that all the kids were sleeping comfortably at The Bell. Colin and Riley were also alone in the homestead, those two needed time on their own. The revelations that they all heard have left all of them weak and vulnerable.
