“Of course, anything. I apologize if my offer was…”
“No, it was very generous.”
“If he dosnae want the money, can I have it?” Miss McAllen asked, breaking the tension. I shot her a grateful look. She flushed, returning her gaze to her potatoes.
“When you solve all of my problems single-handedly and discover a way for me to marry the man I love, you may have £10,000.”
“I provided ye with an heir.”
I rather thought her point was a fair one.
He considered for a moment. “I’ve already dowered you. And you stole from me for years.”
“And that dosenae do anything for me in the moment,” she retorted without a hint of shame.
It was at that point that the evening dissolved into the inevitable bickering. Too many Haskets in one place was never without chaos. When Xander dropped a bite of potato on the baby’s head, Tom slipped the boy onto his lap without a word as though it were commonplace.
I’d always thought Davina the argumentative sibling, but it seemed I was mistaken. Or I was until she joined into the fray with a well-placed, “Ugh, Xander!” The sound was so familiar, it warmed the still-broken pieces of my heart.
Thirty-Seven
KILMARNOCK ABBEY, EDINBURGH—APRIL 15, 1817
DAVINA
After supper,I’d run out to the drive with every candle I could locate. Xander’s insistence on the dilapidated little shed and a half-collapsed sheepfold for the ceremony location was a little bizarre. But who was I to question a man on his wedding day? He was off changing into his wedding clothes, and I hadn’t the foggiest idea what Tom was doing.
I enlisted Alfie’s assistance in forming two rows of candles along the gravel path and ensuring they were evenly spaced. Then I set about lighting them one by one until there was a flickering, glowing path through the darkness that enveloped us. Rory provided droll commentary from her place leaning against the tree at the end of my makeshift aisle.
Tom was the first to arrive with a gasp. He’d changed as well, donning a bluish-green waistcoat that matched his eyes.
He caught my hand in both of his. “Thank you, Davina. For everything.”
“Are you certain you wish to do this? It’s not too late to escape the madness,” I teased.
“You’ve met my brothers, have you not? And my mother…”
“You’re right, there was never any hope for you.”
Kit appeared behind Tom, surveying the scene with a soft expression, and my heart wrenched at the sight.
“I need to go get Xander,” I said to Tom. “Otherwise he’ll never be finished fussing with his hair.”
“I’ll be right here,” he said, taking his place at the end of the aisle.
I used my thumb nail to slice off a single white daisy growing wild by the door. A little bird perched on a nearby tree chirped his approval twice.
I found my brother inside fussing with his black cravat. He wore his usual black-and-white attire, never a pop of color for him. I set the daisy aside on a table and batted his hands away. The fabric was fine but the knot was simpler than his usual style. I fluffed and smoothed until it was coaxed into that perfectly disheveled elegance he liked.
Then I snagged the flower and pulled a pin from my hair to fix it in place.
With the arm opposite the flower, Xander pulled me into a hug. “I love you, Dav. Thank you.”
I flushed at the praise and pulled away. “You do not need to thank me. It’s just repayment for all the times you saved me.”
“With Kit’s help.”
I swallowed at that thought. At the understanding that I would have to rescue myself from here on out. “Come, it’s time to get you married.”
