And at herthroat was Alexandra’s necklace. The symbol of the MacTavish clan, gleaming in the afternoon light.
“I daenae look like meself,”Piper whispered.
“Ye look like a bride,”Amara corrected. “Ye look like a woman about to marry the man she loves. And trust me, dear, Elijah is nae goin’ to be able to take his eyes off ye.”
A knockat the door made them both turn. Masie poked her head in, her own face freshly scrubbed and her hair braided with blue ribbons.
“Everyone’s ready,”she announced. “And Da keeps pacin’ like he thinks ye might change yer mind and run away.”
“I’m nae runnin’anywhere,” Piper said with a smile.
“Good.”Masie came fully into the room, and for the first time since Piper had known her, the girl looked genuinely happy. “Because we, Connor and I… we want ye to stay. We want ye to be our maither. Properly.”
Piper’s throat tightened.“Ye really mean that?”
“Aye.Ye’ve been more of a maither to us in a few weeks than…” Masie stopped, her voice catching. “Than anyone has been in years. And we love ye. Both of us.”
“Oh, Masie.”Piper crossed to the girl and pulled her into a hug. “I love ye too. Both of ye. So much.”
“Are ye cryin’?”Masie asked, her voice muffled against Piper’s shoulder.
“Maybe a little.”
“Good. Me too.”
They stoodlike that for a moment, holding each other, until another knock sounded.
“Miss Armstrong?”It was Connor’s voice. “Are ye almost ready? Da says if ye daenae come soon, he’s goin’ to come get ye himself.”
Masie pulled backwith a watery laugh. “He probably would, too.”
“Then we‘dbetter nae keep him waitin’ any longer.” Piper took a deep breath, smoothing down her gown. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful,”Amara said firmly.
“Perfect,”Masie added.
“Like a princess!”Connor called through the door.
Piper laughed,feeling some of her nervousness ease. This was right. This was exactly where she was supposed to be.
She openedthe door to find Connor waiting, dressed in his finest clothes and practically bouncing with excitement.
“Ye really do look like a princess,”he said, his eyes wide. “Da’s goin’ to… he’s goin’ to?—”
“He’s goin’to what?” Piper asked, amused.
“I daenae ken the word.But his face is goin’ to do that thing where he looks all soft and happy.”
“That sounds perfect,”Piper said.
They madetheir way through the castle, down corridors Piper had walked a hundred times, yet they felt different now. Special. As if the castle itself knew something momentous was about to happen.
The ceremony was heldin the castle’s small chapel, a beautiful stone room with stained-glass windows that cast colored light across the floor. Piper had asked for it to be private, just family, and Elijah had agreed immediately.
She didn’t needa grand wedding with hundreds of guests. Didn’t want strangers staring at her, judging her, whispering about the governess who’d somehow caught the Laird’s eye.
She just wantedthe people who mattered. The people who loved her.
