A chandelier, a grenade and the coat of arms that I know matches Isaac’s surname, his mother’s name. The last is ivy creeping over each of the faces.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We watch Blair open hers, see tears when she puts on the earrings I’ve chosen for her. Isaac’s gift is similar to mine, a pocket knife with fewer blades and more things she might need.
Then she passes me mine.
There are books, aftershave, socks, small silly things that she’s thought about and then there’s a picture of us in a simple gold frame. We didn’t know it was being taken and we’re not looking at the camera. We’re looking at each other and smiling and only a fool wouldn’t see that we’re in love with each other.
I look at Isaac, needing his reaction, but it’s one of pleasure. He isn’t jealous.
“Franklyn took it,” she says. “There’s a smaller one for your wallet. I have it for you upstairs. Do you like it.”
I nod. Speechless.
“You look very happy in that photo, both of you.” Her mother examines the picture. “It’s so good to see.”
It is. Just for today it’s all I need.
Chapter Twenty
There is such a thing as too much juniper being burned. The smell of it is so potent in the hallway outside the banqueting room that Isaac and me are choking. Ivy laughs, clearly having stronger lungs.
The room is full of people close to the family, aunts and uncles, cousins I’m aware of but don’t know. There are faces I recognise from years before, children who spent summers at the castle, all now grown up and there are children too, toddlers sleeping in a corner, worn out from playing hide and seek in the rooms.
It’s nearly midnight. The old year is about to die and the new one about to be born. When the sun rises in a few hours over the loch there will be resolutions and hope. A new year and a new day, with a lot of resolutions having something to do with the headache people will feel.
The king is asleep in the private wing. The evening has seen him have visitors, passing the time with his smile still there but his energy is dwindling. It’s muted the atmosphere somewhat but for the children.
Someone announces that the countdown to midnight is starting and the vibe in the room crackles.
It’s an occasion, a milestone. A leap off a cliff into what the next year holds. Blair breezes past us wearing tight black trousers and a shirt that’s cut low enough to remind me of what’s under it, if I needed reminding. She grabs my hand and pulls us back into the room that’s set for midnight, overlooking the loch.
We stand on the dance floor, Blair next to me, Isaac behind us. Ivy is somewhere nearby, lost in the world where it’s just her and her fiancée. The compere starts the countdown.
Ten, nine.
Blair’s arm wraps around my waist and I find myself holding her.
Eight, seven.
I pull her into me, because even if this isn’t protocol or expected, being with her security, I’m not passing on this moment at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
A hand touches my back. Isaac.
Six, five.
I glance at him and see him smiling. His eyes full of more than I can interpret.
Four.
Blair stares up at me. Her lips move and I recognise the shape of the words they make.
Three.
I love you.
