Calum's head was still spinning as he and Jenny took a swim that night. Stunned though he was at the revelation that Mrs Doyle was Jenny's real mother, several things had all clicked into place when the housekeeper had made her declaration of protection. Mrs Doyle had always been protective of Jenny ever since the three of them had moved in several months ago, and her stern manner that afternoon had been very reminiscent of a concerned mother ready to defend her child tooth and nail. Not to mention the unspoken pain in her eyes when she'd all but confirmed she'd been the one isolated from her daughter thanks to her sister's machinations at Jenny's birth.
"God be good," he murmured, shaking his head. "The Lady Roisin is not going to be best pleased when she finds out. It'll be like a ghost has risen from the grave. D'you think that might scare her straight?"
Jenny managed a faint smile, as stunned as he."I hope so," she said. "M- Aunty Roisin is going to wish for death to claim her by the time Ma is through with her." 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHPpBQPPKx
Calum didn't miss the change in address for both Roisin and Mrs Doyle, and he blessed his wife's inventiveness at choosing a form of address for her mother that distanced herself from Roisin. "Does this make you feel better about challenging your aunty?"
"God yes," Jenny said fervently. "You've no idea what sort of a load's been taken off my shoulders. I was scared to challenge Aunty Roisin, but now that Ma is in my corner, I feel like I can take on the world."
"That's my girl," Calum said proudly, kissing her forehead. He then blushed. "Sorry," he said. "That was a wee bit patronising, wasn't it?"
"Don't be an eejit," Jenny chided, kissing his cheek. "You're the least patronising man I know. Besides, it's nice to hear I'm yours. You should do it more often."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9kVMj9FFs
That provided the opening Calum had been searching for all afternoon, but he hesitated, still somewhat unwilling to broach the subject in the midst of the current crisis going on around them. In the end, though, he figured it would actually make their current troubles a little less troubling. "Well, since we're on the subject, I'm as much yours as you are mine," he said. "Never doubt that for a minute, dove. I know you and Finn loved each other as much as a man and a woman can do so, and far be it from me to replace him in your heart. But I've never stopped loving you. From the moment I met you as a boy, I fell over heels in love, and truth be told, I haven't quite stopped falling yet. Nor, to be honest, do I want to."
Jenny stared at him in silence, her eyes growing large. Calum had ten seconds to wonder if perhaps he'd misstepped, before she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him as if her very life depended on it. Calum took another ten seconds to get his bearings - only having kissed his wife once they were married (and even then it was a chaste peck on the lips) - before kissing her back with no small amount of desperation mixed in. He admitted to himself he was probably a bit clumsy, having never made out with a girl before marrying Jenny, but she didn't seem to mind, and when they finally broke apart, he was lightheaded, breathless, and in awe of just how good a kisser his wife was. "I'm going to take that as confirmation you feel the same," he said when he got his breath back.
Jenny nodded against his neck, holding him as close as her growing belly would allow. "I never dreamed you felt the same," she said, her voice choked as sudden tears came to the surface. "I thought you'd got over that as we got older - no offence - so that's why I accepted Finn's suit when he asked me out."
"Well, that makes two of us," Calum said, fighting tears of his own. "Well, apart from accepting Finn's suit, that is," he added, and Jenny giggled against his neck. "But I do mean everything I said. I fell so fast and so hard it was a wonder I didn't get bruises on landing. Though as I said, I haven't stopped falling yet, nor do I want to."
"Good." Jenny lifted her face and kissed him again. "Because I'm still falling too," she said once the kiss ended. "And I'm scared to death."
"Me too," Calum said, tightening his hold. "I thought this might take our mind off the current crisis, but I don't know if it's helped or made it worse."
"It's helped," Jenny assured him. "And I'd rather be scared than not, because it's strengthening my resolve to fight Aunty Roisin tooth and nail."95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpS7i0rAQB
"It's glad I am to hear that," Calum confessed. "Because I'm about ready to rip the Lady Roisin's face off and skinning her alive, only now that urge has increased tenfold. Not that I would, but she's run me ragged worrying meself sick about you and the babe."
"Let's settle for destroying her in court," Jenny suggested. "I'm rather interested in seeing her face when Ma makes herself known."
Calum kissed her again, savouring the moment as their love finally found fruition, and noting he seemed to be getting better already. "I'm going to bring a goodly amount of popcorn," he said, and Jenny laughed, hugging him ferociously. 95Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOuQYYSo34
