“How does it keep getting better every time?” Maude wondered. “I pray this never changes.”
“Shh, my love. I feel the same. I never want to stop, never let you go,” Kieran soothed.
* * *
At the end of their sixth sennight at Stornoway, Maude’s family accepted that they had to depart. Maude arranged a feast for their send-off, and it was the first time she had enough energy by the evening to dance. She twirled and laughed as she moved from one partner to another, including her father and brother. She prayed her family would arrive in time for the birth of her bairn or soon after, but she was due in winter, and travel in the Highlands was unpredictable. Kieran claimed most of her dances, but he beamed as he watched her enjoying herself. He looked around the Great Hall, noting all that was right in his life. His wife was healthy and happy, and his family-by-marriage hadn’t murdered him for Maude’s injuries, nor when they learned of her cold reception. His mother and sister were like new women, and he had a bairn on the way. His life had never been so full of blessings, and he intended to appreciate every moment.
As the music ended, Maude squeezed her way through the crowd until she reached Kieran, who leaned against the far wall. She flashed him the wide smile she reserved for him as he opened his arms to her. As he enveloped her in his embrace, she snuggled closer.
“This is the best day of my life, with the exception of our wedding. Thank you for allowing my family to remain for so long.”
“Allowing? It’s thrilled me to have them here. They’ve made you so happy, and I’m sure it helped speed along your recovery. And it let me leave your side without fretting.”
“Without fretting?” Maude giggled. “You fret more than an auld woman. But I confess: I like it when you fret over me. I do the same when you ride out on patrol. I don’t think I’m controlling, but I don’t care for you being out of sight and out of reach.”
“You may fret aboot me anytime you’d like. I know it means you love me.”
“Just a little,” Maude giggled again and dissolved into peals of laughter as he tickled her healed ribs and the crook of her neck.
“Keep pressing against me like that, and I’ll take you to bed before you bid your family goodnight.”
“Then I’d better hurry because I have every intention of you taking me to bed right now.”
Kieran swept her into his arms and carried to her the dais. “Maude wishes to say goodnight,” he announced.
“Goodnight,” she chirped before Kieran raced to the stairs and took them two at a time.
The night slipped into early morning before they fell asleep, exhausted but sated.
* * *
Morning came too soon, and Maude found herself in the bailey saying goodbye to her parents, brother, and sister. After her emotional ups and downs of the past sennights, she expected she’d fall apart, but she found peace as her family prepared to depart. She’d enjoyed their time there. She’d been proud to have her parents see what she’d accomplished, and she enjoyed her time gossiping and laughing with Blair. She’d shared several lengthy conversations with Lachlan as he confessed his fears of one day inheriting the lairdship. Maude suggested tactics Kieran used to lead their clan, and she reassured him that he’d grown into a man anyone would follow without hesitation. She admitted her own worries about what life would be like once the Sutherlands left and she was once more left to manage the keep. She appreciated his council as much as he did hers.
As her family rode out of the bailey, she felt a contentment that hadn’t existed before they arrived. She wished it hadn’t been under such inauspicious circumstances, but it did wonders for her. Kieran wrapped his arm around her and watched as she waved once more to her relatives. She reached into her pocket and retrieved a small pouch her father had given her that morning with strict instructions not to open it until after they departed but to be sure she did it with Kieran.
“Da gave this to me this morning. I have no idea what it is, but he said I was to open it with you once they left.” Maude drew the strings open and dumped the contents into her hand and gasped. Hamish had carved another figurine for her. This one had a man with one arm wrapped around the woman and the other helping to support the babe the woman held. It didn’t take any imagination to see the couple was Kieran and Maude. The etching was clear and intricate, capturing their likeness.
“It’s remarkable,” Kieran’s voice held reverence as he ran his finger over the notches and grooves. “Your father possesses a gift, and this is a rare treasure.”
“It is. This is us,” Maude murmured as the tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She pressed the carving to her lips, then her heart. “This is our future. Yours, mine, our family’s.”
Kieran placed his hand over Maude’s belly. “I never imagined when I caught you eavesdropping that I’d meet the most remarkable woman who would steal my heart. Discovering you on the terrace was the greatest gift God ever gave me. I found my other half; the half that makes me a better mon. I love you, buttercup.”
“And I love you, turtledove, just as much.”
Kieran and Maude stood together in the bailey, embracing and kissing as clan members passed by, now accustomed to seeing their laird and lady share their deep and abiding devotion.
Epilogue
Maude looked across the solar to where Kieran sat, pulling his hair until it stood on end as he attempted to write a missive while jiggling a three-year-old lad on his knee. She would have laughed if her breath hadn’t escaped in a puff when their five-year-old daughter leaped into her lap, waving a leaf she’d gathered earlier that day. Maude glanced down at their six-year-old twins–a son and a daughter–as they played with wooden soldiers Hamish had carved before the birth of his first grandchildren. Maude inhaled deeply before releasing a slow sigh. She had more than she’d ever dreamed of when she arrived at court all those years ago. She shared a wonderful life with a doting husband and adorable children. Maude smiled as she watched Kieran adjust their son as a small hand kept attempting to capture the quill that danced before him. When the little boy succeeded, Kieran gave up and carried a squealing toddler to the chair beside Maude’s. The four children returned to playing together as Kieran took Maude’s hand. They watched in silence as the children marched the soldiers across the floor, the fire crackling and popping in the background. Dissatisfied with the distance between them, Kieran lifted Maude into his lap and nuzzled the corner of her jaw as she stroked his chest and shoulder.
“Do you think Da will have time to carve another set of toys if I give him six moons’ notice?” Maude mused.
Kieran froze and leaned to look at her. Maude’s enigmatic smile made his heart race for more than one reason. It still aroused him in an instant, but as her words registered, his mouth broke into a wide grin.
“Another bairn?”
“Aye. I don’t understand how you haven’t figured it out this time.”
