Chapter Seven
The next day, a vivid blue sky and enough sunlight to chase away the chill greeted the occupants of Aldmist Fell. Perfect conditions for an ice skating party. Fergus glided around the ice, dodging McTaggarts and Thornes alike.
He was glad some of his kin had accepted Helena’s invitation to join her and her guests. Miss Gracie’s eyes had doubled in size when they’d topped the hill and spotted skaters already on the pond. Her first party was a grand success.
“Fergus, look at me!” The lassie shuffled toward him, knock-kneed and as clumsy as a newborn colt, but what she lacked in coordination, she made up for in enthusiasm.
Fergus skidded to a stop, giving her room to demonstrate her skill. “Verra well done, lass.”
As with most everything she tried, she tackled skating without fear. Consequently, she built up speed, approaching faster than he liked.
“Do you remember how to stop?” he asked.
“No.” She giggled, windmilling her arms. “Help!”
Laughing, Fergus scooped her up before she collided with him and carefully lifted her to sit on his shoulders. She screeched as they teetered and covered his eyes.
“Now I cannae see.”
“Sorry.” She moved her hands to his forehead, knocking his hat askew. “Take me around the pond.”
He considered it for a fleeting moment. He’d strapped on his first pair of skates as a boy of three. Skating was in his blood. But carrying the little miss around on his shoulders would earn him a good tongue-lashing from Mistress Gallagher. And perhaps he’d deserve it, for no matter how confident he was, accidents did happen.
“No’ the best of ideas, lassie.” He pulled her from her perch and held her upright until she found her balance. “It’s high time I started using the brain God gave me.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Edith,” she quipped, wrinkling her pink nose.
He laughed. “Aye, perhaps that’s so, and I feel smarter for it, too. We can skate together if you want.”
Spinning around, he took her hands and began skating backward at a gentle pace. It didn’t take long for Miss Gracie to find her skating legs as they circled the pond. “You’re a natural, lass.”
She pulled one hand free. “I want to try by myself.”
Hesitantly, she loosened her grip on his other hand and slid it from his hold until only their fingertips touched. Her chin jutted with determination, reminding him so much of her older sister Helena.
“I think I can do it,” she said.
“I know you can.”
Her beaming smile when she let go and didn’t wobble warmed his heart from the inside out.
“Look, Fergus. I’m doing it.”
“Aye, keep your head up. You’re doing a fine job.”
It hit him full force that he wanted to teach his own child to skate while he was still able bodied. His mother’s harping on finding a wife and filling a nursery seemed less like a burden in that moment. It wasn’t just a duty to fulfill in the future. Fatherhood became a gentle tug of longing in his chest.
“I’m going to show Helena and Lavinia I can skate now,” Miss Gracie said, already headed in the direction of the two ladies chatting around the warming fire. “Maybe you can teach Edith, too.”
His gaze was drawn to Mistress Gallagher where she was huddled around the fire as well. She stood at a slight distance from Helena and Lavinia, making a show of warming her hands. Perhaps she was allowing the sisters some privacy, though at a glance, she appeared slightly uncomfortable, as if she was uncertain of her place.
As Miss Gracie approached the fire, however, Mistress Gallagher’s face transformed with the most beautiful smile. Her eyes radiated love and her joyful applause for the girl’s accomplishment rang with genuine pride. A powerful force slammed into his chest, stealing his breath.
Crivvens! The mother of his future children had been under his nose this whole time.
When Edith cheered for Gracie, Lavinia and Lady Thorne swung toward the ice, both gasping.
“Would you look at her?” Lavinia said. “She is in her element. I must admit, she has thrived under your care, Helena.”
