He’d not have it and grabbed at her hands, pulling them away. “Talk to me,” he demanded. “I am here. I have been here, Gwen. ’Tis you who have not.”

“I can’t remember, Greylen,” she shouted back. “I can’t remember what he did to me. I didn’t seek Kevin. I am to blame for everything that happened.”

“Gwen, there were five of them. They would have taken you both and most likely killed Kevin had he been with you.”

“I gave in, Greylen. I couldn’t let them torture Alex.”

“Gwen, you’ve never been put to something such as that. How can you blame yourself for such a sacrifice?”

“How can you ever forgive me for what I’ve done?” she cried. “What they’ve done…to me. How?”

“You think so little of me, that I’d cast you aside or shun you?” He had to make her see. “You fought them, Gwen. You acted without fear, no matter what you felt inside. You performed as a leader. You spared your man’s life for the sake of your own. You thought to kill your enemy yourself.”

“How do you know? ’Twas only Malcolm and I in that room, and I did try to kill him, but he stopped me. I don’t know what else he did.”

“He did nothing, Gwen. Gavin’s father stopped him, and he’s the one who told me of your battle with Malcolm. Just as Alex told me of your behavior as they tortured him before your eyes.”

She was silent for a moment before she spoke again, her words only a whisper this time. “He didn’t?”

Greylen knew what she asked and knew she needed to hear it again. “Nay, he did not. And had he, ’twould not have mattered to me. You are mine, Gwen. Nothing could shame you to me, especially a circumstance beyond your control.”

“But you’ve not talked to me—you’ve not brought my son to me. Not even a whisper as you hold me.”

“Ah, Gwen.” He sighed, shaking his head in regret. “I knew not what to say. How could I promise to love and protect you in the aftermath of what happened? You suffered for hours without my protection. ’Tis I who have failed you.”

“You never failed me, Greylen. You saved me from them.”

“Is it so bad that you can’t live with it?” he asked of her walk to the water.

“It just called to me, Greylen, or maybe I called to it. I don’t know. But then you were there. You are always there.”

He pulled her into his arms, all of the unspoken words at last put to rest. They lay on the beach a long while after, exhausted from their outpouring.