Ariella cradled the baby close, adjusting her hold until the baby’s head rested securely. The newborn made a small sound, not a cry, but a soft coo like a question.
Ewan drifted closer, hands still damp. “Can I hold her now?”
Mairi’s brows lifted. “Can ye sit still?”
Ewan nodded vigorously. “Yes.”
Moira snorted. “That’s a lie.”
Ewan ignored her and climbed carefully onto a stool. Ariella sat beside him and tilted the baby slightly so he could see.
Ewan’s face softened into awe. “She’s tiny.”
Isla stood behind him, pale as parchment. “She’s too tiny.”
Ariella smiled gently. “Babies are.”
Isla whispered, “What if she breaks?”
Mairi laughed. “If she breaks, I’ll break ye.”
Isla swallowed. “All right. I willnae touch her.”
Ariella rocked the baby slowly, feeling something settle in her chest. Not only wonder. Not only tenderness.
A strange calm.
Like holding the baby was the most natural thing she’d ever done.
And across the room, Maxwell stood near the hearth, watching, silent, his expression unreadable.
But his gaze did not leave the baby in Ariella’s arms.
“Callum,” Mairi called, sharp as a whip. “Stop moving. Sit.”
“I am sitting,” Callum insisted, though he was absolutely not. He was hovering near the table, then the hearth, then the kettle, as if the room might collapse if he stayed in one place too long.
Moira leaned against the wall, arms folded, delight in her eyes. “He’s been like this since last night. Running in circles, making sure Mairi doesnae lift a finger.”
Mairi shifted her shawl. “As he should.”
Callum frowned. “I am only trying to help.”
Mairi’s gaze softened slightly. “I ken.”
That alone seemed to ease him. He returned to the table and began pouring cups, hands still restless but less frantic.
Ariella sat with the baby still in her arms, rocking gently. The newborn’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused, then drifted shut again. Her little fingers curled around nothing, opening and closing as if she were grasping at air.
Ewan leaned close, whispering, “She smells like milk.”
Isla hovered behind him, hands clasped tight. “She smells like… a baby.”
Ewan nodded solemnly. “Yes.”
Ariella laughed softly. “Would ye like to hold her, Ewan?”
Ewan’s eyes went wide. “Aye!”
