Alasdair would have continued to the hall, but Leila laid a hand upon his arm to halt him.“There is a reason I resemble the Saffirah you loved so well,” she said softly.“And I can tell you that she had one child, a daughter.”
He stared at her, aghast.“She did wed, then...”
“Nay, she did not.She told her brother that she had been abandoned by her lover, no doubt to win his mercy.He took her into his home but she died in the bearing of her child.”
Alasdair crossed himself, obviously struck with grief.
“Hakim moved us all to Jerusalem.He raised me along with his own daughter and called me his little flower.”
Alasdair was clearly astonished.“Saffirah,” he whispered.
“She never wed,” Leila said with a smile.“She told Hakim that my father would hold her heart forever, but I was never told that man’s name.”
Their gazes locked and held, so much joy and hope in the eyes of Alasdair that Leila could scarce take a breath.“You did not tell me your name, little flower.”
“Leila.Leila binte Qadir lufti al-Ramm.”
“Leila.Lady Leila.”Alasdair wiped a tear, then bowed low over her hand.He kissed her knuckles and she felt him tremble.“And so God’s mercy is shown to an old man in his winter years.I wish you every joy, my daughter.”
“And I am slow in offering you hospitality, my father,” she said with a smile.“Come, come into the hall, for Calum will be glad of these tidings.”
“Perhaps not,” Alasdair acknowledged with a laugh.“For he will see far more of me now, and have competition to dote upon that child you carry.”
They laughed together and entered the hall arm in arm, Leila’s heart full with the unexpected joy the older man’s arrival had brought.Fergus glanced up from a discussion with his father and smiled at her, the sight of her beloved making Leila feel that she was fortunate indeed.
Then she felt a contraction, a hard wrench of her womb, and caught her breath.Alasdair seized her arm to steady her and Fergus hastened to her side.It was only a few moments before she felt the pain again, and she gripped Fergus’ sleeve.“I believe, sir, that there may be a babe in hall for the Yule,” she said, trying to make a jest.
Fergus’ eyes lit and he swept her into his arms, carrying her to the solar even as he shouted for the midwife.
“It will not come so quickly as that,” Leila chided, but Fergus would not heed her.
“The babe will come when it chooses, but we shall be prepared,” he said with resolve.“And if there is so much time, you can tell me how you made old Alasdair smile.”
By the time Leila’s water had broken and the midwife arrived, she had done just that and could not fail to see how the tale satisfied her husband.
Her cry at the next powerful contraction, however, did not.
It was justas he had dreamed.
Fergus sat in the solar late that night, holding the tiny miracle that was his son.Leila’s labor had been short and fierce, and though the midwife had warned him that it might be thus, he had been terrified by her ordeal.In truth, he could not have endured it much longer and he marveled at her strength.
She slept as he rocked the babe, and he was glad that they were once again alone in the solar.The candles burned low and the coals glowed in the braziers.The shutters were closed tightly against the chill of the night, though Fergus had liked that the night was clear and the sky filled with stars.The keep had fallen silent at this hour, particularly after the excitement of the heir’s arrival.
The babe stirred and fussed a little, and Leila seemed to sense it.She awakened in almost the same moment and sat up.Her hair had grown longer this year and spilled over her shoulders, though her smile was as warm as ever.“Let me try to coax the milk again,” she said and lifted her hands.
“He is so tiny,” Fergus said as he laid the precious burden in Leila’s arms.She smiled and nestled the babe close, offering her breast to him.
Fergus smiled at the sight of the babe’s dark auburn hair.The color had only been discernible once his hair dried, but proved Fergus’ forecast true.The boy’s skin was palest gold, lighter than Leila’s and darker than Fergus’ own.He watched, wondering how many other traits he would notice over the coming years, in which the boy took a bit from Leila and a bit from him to make his own way.
The babe caught the nipple in his mouth and sucked with such vigor that Leila caught her breath, then she smiled at Fergus.
“And he is strong.I was so afraid that Stewart had damaged him.”
“He is perfect.”Fergus sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders.This was the scheme he had envisioned so long ago, Leila nursing a child.The boy opened his eyes and they were of clear blue, as vivid a hue as those of Alasdair.“Which grandfather is more proud, do you think?”
Leila laughed.“It is impossible to say.”Her eyes were shining, as if lit by stars in the way that he found most enticing.“I think his father is most smitten of all, though.”
“If only because his lady wife is hale,” Fergus said and kissed her brow.“I see how he makes you happy.”
