He held out the rough heart shape toward her and said, “Be me wife, Eithne. Do me the honor of letting me ken that I’m yer husband. I want to be tied to ye in every earthly way imaginable. I love ye, and ye’re the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me. Meeting Killian was already great, but now I ken the truth – God brought Killian and me together so that one day I’d find ye.”
“Ivor…” she whispered, tears shining in those impossible eyes. “Ye dinnae have to…I dinnae expect…”
“Marry me, Eithne,” he said, both a command and a plea.
“I will,” she replied. She sounded genuinely spellbound. “I will, and I will a third time.”
He pinned the makeshift luckenbooth into a buttonhole of her man’s shirt, then pulled her close. The two held each other – they were due to be married and knew that nothing would ever separate them again.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The Family
“So, you’re Eithne,” the woman, Sadie, said with some amusement as she and Eithne waited for Ivor to return downstairs. “I’ve heard much of ye. Can ye pass me the bowls?”
Eithne did without question. She’d found herself taking an immediate liking to Sadie and her odd little orphanage home. Eithne had been worried she’d feel some jealously, knowing that Sadie and Ivor had previously been lovers, but she felt no such thing. It was clear that Sadie had no romantic interest in Ivor or vice versa.
“Thank ye for looking after Callum and Mossie,” Eithne said. “And Aibreann, as well. Is she all right?”
She and Ivor had traveled to Lingow just after Jonah’s official swearing-in as Laird of MacDuff, which now included the lands that had once been Kinnear. Jonah had offered to return them to Eithne, but Eithne told him to keep them. In a strange way, it felt right that her little sister would one day be the Lady of those lands.
“The horse is grand,” Sadie told her, filling bowl after bowl with a cheap but delicious-smelling stew. “She’s been a good blessing since she got here, I’ll tell ye. The bairns love her, and she’s been helping me with the grocery runs.”
Eithne smiled, imagining Ivor’s horse surrounded by sticky children looking to hug her. “She’s a good lass. I’m glad ye’ve found her helpful.”
“I’ll be sorry to see her go,” Sadie said, holding out her hand for another bowl. “And the lad and the pup, too. He’s a sweet boy. What will ye do with him?”
Eithne hesitated. “I…we’re gonnae look after him,” she promised. “Ivor cares a lot for Callum, and so do I. We cannae replace his parents, but we can be a family for him and that pup of his nonetheless.”
“And ye’re to be wed,” Sadie commented, glancing at the rough twigged luckenbooth. “Well, well. I never thought I’d see the day when a woman would tie Ivor Sinclair down for good. Congratulations.”
Eithne touched the twigs. Ivor had offered to go to a silversmith the very next day and fetch her a proper brooch, but she found that she didn’t want him to. She’d claim a sturdier one on the day of their marriage. Still, until then, this ramshackle luckenbooth was as good as a symbol of their love as any she could imagine.
“Thank ye,” she replied genuinely. “I hope ye and some of the bairns here will make it to the wedding.”
Sadie grinned. “Och, there’s an offer ye’re gonnae regret,” she teased.
Eithne smirked. Before she could say anything else, there was a thumping sound on the stairs, and Callum came rushing in. He ran straight to Eithne, throwing his arms around her waist.
“I kent ye’d be back, Miss Eithne!” he cheered. “I kent it! Did ye slay the bad guy?”
“That’s enough, Callum,” Ivor said, stern but gentle as he entered the kitchen behind the excitable boy. “We dinnae need to talk about such things.”
Callum blushed. “Och, I’m right sorry,” he said bashfully.
Eithne laughed and hugged him back. “Never mind that,” she said. “We’re all just gonnae move forward now. Ivor and I are gonnae take ye back to live with me sister, Myrna, and our friend Betty. Betty’s got a bairn of her own, though he’s a lot younger than ye are. Would ye like that?”
“Aye!” Callum said, then he frowned, glancing at Sadie. “If…well, I’m allowed to come and visit sometimes?”
Sadie snorted. “I’ll never be rid of ye and that pup,” she said, though she was obviously speaking with affection.
“Of course ye can,” Ivor said, walking forward to stand next to them. “We’ll come back and visit the other bairns and Miss Sadie all the time. And dinnae ye worry, Mossie can come with us.”
Callum’s eyes lit up with delight. “We’ll be a family, just like ye said, Ivor! Forever!”
Eithne watched Ivor’s face. Was he thinking of his sister? Of Killian? Both of them were dead and gone, and yet Eithne could very much feel their presence in the room now.
“Aye,” Ivor said softly. “Aye, we’re gonnae be a family. Ye, and me, and when I marry her, Eithne as well.”
