She would—possibly? maybe?—continue to try to remember on her own.
She had left him with nothing to cling to. No plan. No action. And in a sense, no real hope.
She turned her head, going back to watching the flames dance.
He continued to study her, his heart thudding in his chest.
Who was this woman, in the end?
Were they even suited anymore?
Or would it be better for them both if he waved goodbye and wished her well with Simon the Sassenach?
Burying his Jamie once and for all?
21
December 1815
Jamie was impossibly lovely.
How had he convinced this bonnie, brave lass to marry him?
Kieran stared at her, wonder and awe fizzing in his veins.
She smiled back, eyes shy for once, a blush climbing her cheeks.
They stood on a secluded stretch of beach along the endless shoreline of Sydney Harbor, the warm sun sinking toward the rolling hills of the hinterland, rays of light fanning upward, painting the clouds in pink and orange.
They had rowed across the inlet from Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair—a bench carved into the sandstone where the current governor’s wife could sit to watch arriving ships—and then picked their way through the rocks until they reached a sandy stretch hidden by a stand of eucalyptus.
“Are ye ready then?” Ewan asked. Their friend held a silk ribbon in his hand, prepared to witness their handfasting and solemnize it by tying Kieran’s hand to Jamie’s.
“Aye,” Kieran said.
Jamie nodded.
His Jamie was a proper lass today, dressed as fine as any lady.
“I want to feel pretty, Kieran,” she had whispered to him that morning. “Just for today. Just for a wee while. I want to remember what it feels like to be Miss Eilidh Fyffe. I want to be a lady marrying her gentleman.”
He had purchased her a gown at a second-hand shop in Sydney—a pretty blue frock that clung to her figure and sent his thoughts tumbling.
Here on the beach, Kieran took Jamie’s hands in his, staring into her quicksilver eyes and the vibrant sunset colors reflected there.
Before they could begin the handfasting ceremony, she popped up on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear. “I have a surprise for ye later.”
He pulled back and wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She blushed more deeply and squeezed his hands. “A different sort of surprise. You’ll like it.”
He smiled, but then it felt as if he hadn’t stopped smiling in weeks. Even Cuthie had commented on it.
“Are ye sure there isnae something I should know about?” the captain asked. “Ye seem a bit too happy.”
Kieran had brushed it off. “I find Sydney agrees with me.”
That was true.
