“Please, dae tell me the reason, Laird Angus,” Kieran said from where he was sitting, his brow slightly furrowed as he waited.
“We wish tae put our differences aside, all o’ us, as lairds o’ the clans o’ the Highlands, an’ form an alliance,” Angus said, no hint of jest in his voice, “We have seen that if we put our minds tae it, we can beat the English scourge in our land. An’ if we can dae that on our own, imagine what we can dae as a united front.”
Another chorus of “ayes,” fists banging on the tables and feet stamping on the ground went up around the hall.
“If yer all truly in agreement as tae this,” Kieran said, standing up, a broad smile on his face, “Then I say let us discuss this fully tomorrow. We will hold an official meeting, an’ we will come tae formalize this. But for tonight,” he paused, his eyes drifting across the Lairds gathered in his hall, “Tonight, we celebrate!”
If he had thought the “ayes” he had heard before were enthusiastic, Kieran could not have been more mistaken as the lairds stood up and called their agreement, their faces lit up with joy – and a hint of whisky, Kieran thought sardonically.
Epilogue
Kieran was fidgeting, Vivien observed, as they sat at the breakfast table in comfortable silence. Vivien had never known that a meal shared with a man could be so enjoyable. She was used to Reginald's cold, vicious temperament, not the warm, amicable, and joyous company that Kieran offered.
They spoke of all things during their time together; there was never an awkward silence, and Vivien never felt threatened or unsafe. Kieran treated her well, in ways she had never experienced before.
Vivien knew she was falling more and more in love with him with every passing day. She hoped that the same was true for Kieran.
Kieran had met with the other Lairds the previous day; he had come back to Vivien excited and thrilled at the positive outcome of it, relaying the entire meeting to her. Vivien was excited on his behalf; she knew that this was something that Kieran had been fighting so hard for, for the last several months, if not years.
At long last, the Lairds had seen the wisdom of Kieran’s proposition.
“We will be having a feast tonight,” Kieran said quietly, contemplating the plate of food in front of him, his fingers twitching nervously.
“Is there a special occasion I do not know about?” Vivien asked anxiously. She was still becoming accustomed to her new life and wanted nothing more than to succeed and blend in with her new people. While she had been born in England and would always be English by blood and nature, she had chosen the life of a Highlander.
Kieran’s apparent nerves had Vivien on tenterhooks, wondering if she had done something he did not like, or worse, if he was already tired of her and no longer felt the passion that he had before.
“Nae,” he replied, sighing heavily, tucking his hands on his lap, where Vivien could not see them shaking slightly, “It is a celebratory feast – mostly for the signing o’ the agreement with the other Lairds.” He smiled slightly, not quite meeting her gaze as his eyes darted around the room – looking anywhere but directly at her.
Vivien furrowed her brow, wondering what could possibly be ailing Kieran – was he ill, or was he really looking for a way to remove her from his bed and his side?
“I will be sure to dress appropriately,” she said softly, chewing her bottom lip. “I look forward to it – it will be my first feast with you, here in my new… home,” Vivien said, dropping her eyes to the floor. She could not face looking Kieran in the eyes and risk seeing his distaste for her or something akin to that.
“I am sure ye will. Ye always look breath-taking in anything ye wear,” Kieran said, as he stood up and kissed her on the top of her head before taking his leave.
“Or anything ye dinnae wear too,” he called over his shoulder as he left the room, a wicked smile on his face.
Vivien felt herself almost sighing in relief. Perhaps her fears were unfounded.
* * *
Vivien had spent the better part of the day looking for suitable clothing for the feast and having her new maids – including her favorite, Helen – dress her and prepare her for the feast.
She sat next to Kieran, nerves fluttering around in her stomach as though she had swallowed a swarm of butterflies. Kieran smiled at her, his hands hidden under the table, where Vivien assumed he was still fidgeting with his fingers. She did her best to smile back and hide her own fear. Her hands trembled in her lap, but she refused to let anyone even see a hint of her panic in her body language or tone.
When dessert was finally served, Vivien’s nerves were completely wrecked – Kieran had been anxious the entire way through the feast. His eyes were barely meeting hers; she caught them straying to her several times, only for him to jerk them away as quickly as he could, a flush crawling up his neck, tinting his face light red.
Kieran stood up suddenly, a goblet of whisky in his hand, a knife in the other. He tapped the knife against the glass gently, one, two, three times, and called out for the guests to quieten down. The main hall was packed to the brim, not only with his own clansmen but with the Lairds who had signed the agreement as well.
As silence filled the room, as best it could in such raucous company, Kieran cleared his throat.
“Thank ye all for coming,” he started off, “I cannae say how much it means tae me an’ my clansmen that we have the support o’ our fellow Lairds.” A cheer rose up through the guests seated in the hall, their smiles and laughter genuine.
“I dinnae want tae interrupt yer feasting for too long, so I will get right tae it,” Kieran turned to Vivien, his hands visibly shaking. He put his hand out for Vivien to take and helped her to her feet.
She stood next to him, doing her best not to frown but instead to smile as best she could while she looked at him. In all of their time together, Vivien could still not believe how magnificent Kieran was, even more so because of his wild, warrior-like ways.
“If it were not for the Lady Vivien, our clan would have suffered much worse than it already did. I cannae say it has been an easy journey; I cannae say it was not without its sorrows and trials. But I can say that one good thing came o’ it,” Kieran paused, inhaling deeply.
