EPILOGUE
Two weeks later
Bryce looked down at the soft ribbons crisscrossing his hand as it held onto Lorna’s. They were soon to be married. Old Father McCauley spoke in a low, droning voice; very slowly, of course. And there were so many people in the pews. Everyone was watching Bryce and Lorna as they made their vows. And before him she stood. Her lovely gold-flecked eyes were shining with tears as the priest continued to speak. It seemed they were in a world all their own.
He could see no one but her. She looked like the most beautiful woman in the world to him. Her beautiful blonde curls were pinned on her head, and flowers were laced through them. A veil of white was tied in her hair as well, and she wore a light-colored woolen dress. Pearls were sewn into the bodice, and she wore a ribbon around her neck. Her smile was bright and loving.
A flush was on her cheeks, and in that moment, she looked older, more mature, and she had now come into her beauty in a new and fresh way. She had also now seen more of the world in terms of people, and he wanted to show her even more. They would spend some time traveling Scotland and England before they returned to the McAdam Keep. It would be good for them both. He would lose his bitterness and the shadows of his darkness, perhaps, and she would gain a whole new perspective on life. She was eager to go as well, to see more than the lands of her people and his.
He heard Father McCauley mumble something, and then Lorna responded. After that, the priest looked to him. He had to use all his focus to get out of his daze and hear the man’s words.
“Bryce MacDowell, do ye take this woman, Lorna McAdam, tae be yer lawfully wedded wife? Tae have and tae hold, tae love and tae cherish, for as long as ye both shall live?”
“Aye. I do.”
Father McCauley nodded calmly. He removed the ribbons from their hands. After taking a breath, he said a little louder, “By the power vested in me, by the holy and Heavenly Father, I now pronounce ye husband and wife.”
The elderly priest smiled, stepping back a little, and said, “Ye may now kiss yer bride, Bryce MacDowell.”
Grinning, his heart tripping out a new beat, Bryce pulled Lorna close and kissed her softly. Those in the church began to clap their hands loudly, and there were cheers and whistles. Even after so much trouble had happened in the village, there was happiness to be had.
He leaned his forehead on hers, clutching her face in his hands. He couldn’t believe it was real. In a whisper above the sound of the crowd, he said, “We are married now, lass. I feel like I am floating through a dream.”
She put her hands on his wrists. “Aye, I feel it too. Now, we can have the life we desire.” Together, they turned toward the church, and smiling, they watched as people left first, allowing them to walk out last through the wooden doors of the church into the bright summer sunshine.
Bryce took her hand as they proceeded through the congratulatory crowd and were ushered into a wagon that rode up the side of the valley toward the keep. Other wagons rode after them, taking as many of the people as they could. There was to be a feast for them when the married couple arrived, and there would be much celebration late into the night. But Bryce wanted to savor these few moments he had Lorna to himself.
He drew her close and kissed her temple. “Ye look beautiful, Lorna. The perfect bride. It was even better than in me imagination.”
“Ye look very handsome yerself, Bryce. But then I always thought so. Even when we were younger.” She paused. “Ye must tell me about the wedding ye imagined.” She grinned and snuggled closer, the sound of the wagon loud, but sitting close, they could hear one another.
“Well, I will tell ye if ye tell me why ye never revealed tae me before that ye thought me handsome when we were younger.” Bryce chuckled.
Lorna rolled her eyes. “I thought I had. But of course, I did. I thought I loved Watt, but there was something special about ye. Nae that I could identify it at the time.”
He kissed her on the cheek. “Well, I am glad that ye could finally identify it,” he teased. “I have been waiting for this day for a long while. I was always jealous of me brother and the love that he had with his woman. On his wedding day, it was even worse. He was so happy, and I wondered if I could ever have that. And ye were watching him with love in yer eyes.” He hit a fist against his chest. “It was heartbreaking.”
“Aye, but now we donnae have tae worry about all that. We are taegether now. Forever.”
“And we will see Watt at the feast.” Bryce looked at her. He knew that he had her heart, but it still made him a little nervous that she was about to see his brother for the first time since she’d tried to ruin his wedding. What would she feel when she first saw him again? Would she still regret that he hadn’t loved her?
“Aye, we will.” McAdam Keep came into view, and he knew they didn’t have much more time to be alone. “I can tell what ye are thinking,” she said softly, and she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. “But ye donnae need tae think it. I love ye. What I felt for Watt was never love. It was mere infatuation, and only because he was kind tae me. I thought meself in love at the time when it was ye who actually taught me what love was. I hope ye are nae too worried about it. Us seeing him again.”
“Nae,” he shook his head and smiled. “It was just a thought. That ye might feel something for him upon talking tae him again.”
“Well, donnae worry on that score. Me heart is entirely yers.” The wagon stopped in front of the castle and after jumping down, Bryce reached up for her to help her down. Her dress trailed behind her slightly. Taking her arm, they walked into the castle together, enjoying the last bits of the sunshine before they walked through the entryway. The servants had spent hours preparing the keep’s hall for the gathering. When they entered, Lorna gasped.
“I have never seen it like this,” she said, breathless, looking at the large fires in the hearth, some of them cooking meat; the flowers on every table and flat surface. Tables were piled high with food, and barrels of wine and ale stood ready at the side to be tapped.
Bryce grinned and pulled her close. “I wanted it tae be special. I asked the servants tae take special care.”
“But after so much turmoil, Bryce, I feel as though we donnae deserve it.”
“Deserve it we do,” he said and motioned to the musicians to begin playing. People began to enter the hall and give their hearty congratulations on their wedding. And one of the first few people to walk inside the hall was Watt.
* * *
Lorna had no fear about what she would feel when she saw Watt again, in terms of love. She didn’t understand Bryce’s concern for she had given her heart to him entirely, and she was now a little worried that Bryce would forever think that a piece of her heart was with his brother.
