Melody inclined her head toward Isobel, a glint of mischief in her eyes. “Everyone knows the fearless Laird MacLellan. We only had to say we were looking for the castle with the new wall.”
Isobel’s mouth curved. “Aye. The new wall gives us away, I am afraid.” She nodded to Melody and then to Calum. “Ye are welcome here.”
Introductions properly done, they all sat. The trenchers came out, and soon, the table was laden with bread, eggs, and a pot of tea. Conversation flowed for the rest of breakfast, and laughter eased the tightness in Emma’s chest.
For a short hour, the room felt like something she knew well.
After breakfast, Isobel rose with a clap of her hands, cheerful and firm. “This has been fun and all, but it is time to prepare the bride. Come. The light is good in the music room.”
Emma laughed again and rose to her feet. They moved as a small flock down the hallway.
The music room had a taller window and a mirror polished so well that it caught more than faces. Melody worked on Emma’s face carefully while Isobel opened a chest, took out the wedding dress with care, and then laid it on a nearby bench as if setting down a promise.
“Are ye excited?” Isobel asked, voice warm.
Emma smoothed a hand along her bodice and paused. “I miss my brother.” She looked at the mirror, not her own face.
“I am sorry he could not make it, Emma,” Melody said, pity plain on her face as she stared at her in the mirror.
Emma fell silent for the briefest of minutes, before exhaling and letting out a low laugh to lighten the mood. “It is probably a good thing he is not here anyway. I would not want him to watch me get humiliated again if Logan forgot to attend.”
Isobel looked down at once. “It isnae like he wanted to miss it the first time,” she said softly.
Immediately, Emma felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Isobel had taken it seriously.
“It was a bad joke,” she offered, her voice unwavering. “I am sorry.” She drew a breath and decided not to hide the rest. “You see, my father told my brother not to see me again until I am properly married. You can understand why I miss him now.”
Isobel’s head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. “I am sorry,” she said, sincere to the root. “That must be hard.”
“It is all right,” Emma assured, because anything else would shatter her heart even more. “This is why we are doing this anyway.”
Her mind traveled from her brother to Logan, and as usual, the first thing that came to her was the woods. She tried not to think about the kiss or the way it had driven thought out of her head like a door opening to salt air.
Melody’s bright voice brought her back to the present.“You are beautiful,” she said, like it was the truest thing anyone had ever said.
Emma blinked hard and smiled at the mirror. “Thank you.”
They continued to dress her up. Isobel fastened the back with deft fingers, while Melody lifted Emma’s hair and laid it forward, then drew it back in sections until it sat in order. Jenny slipped in once with a tray of pins and slipped out again.
The room settled into the silence that usually came when women knew what they were doing and were doing it together.
Emma looked from Melody to Isobel. “I would like to ask you both something.”
Melody went still. “Anything.”
“I would like both of you to walk me down the aisle,” Emma requested. “If that is not too much to ask.”
Isobel’s eyes shone. “Aye,” she answered. “I would be honored.”
“So would I,” Melody said, her hand already on Emma’s elbow as if the walk had begun.
Emma let out a breath she had been holding since she woke. The weight in her chest shifted into something she could carry, and the room suddenly felt anchored by their presence.
She had chosen this life.Now, it was time for this life to choose her.
Isobel smoothed the fall of her dress and stepped back to see it whole. “There. That is a bride.”
Emma nodded and kept her voice steady. “Good. Then we will do this.”
