She looked into the mirror and found someone she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t the fancy hair or dress that made her appear different. It was how she looked, the way her eyes crinkled and the corners of her mouth turned up. More than that, she glowed from her soul. The light radiated from every fiber of her being.
“Ah look different,” Mazey commented to Malmuira.
Malmuira looked over her shoulder and into the looking glass. “That’s because ye look happy. Ah don’t think ah’ve ever seen ye happy until ah saw ye with my faither.”
Mazey dabbed the corners of her eyes with a cloth. “Thank ye, Mal. Ah’m forever grateful to ye.”
Malmuira knelt in front of her and took Mazey’s hands in hers. Malmuira didn’t have her father’s eyes. They must have been her mother’s. “Mazey, ah’ll be forever grateful to ye. Ye have made my faither happier than ah have seen him since my maither died. He loves ye, ye know. Ah can see it.”
“He made me happy. Ah didn’t know what real love looked like until he loved me.” The tears flowed freely now, unchecked. “What about ye, Mal? Are ye happy too? Ye look happy.”
The softest grin danced across Malmuira’s face. Her hand went to her swollen stomach. “Ah never thought ah could be this happy. And now, with Faither settling and ye as Siusan’s maither, ah feel at peace. Ah‘ve worried so much about them, but now ah know they will be okay.”
“Ah’m so happy for ye, Mal. Ye deserve to be happy.”
“As do ye. Ye more than most.”
“We need to get going. Baile will be at the dining hall already.” Mazey went over to the window. A dish held the pearl Baile gave her. She wanted it with her on their wedding day. The pearl was gone. She frantically searched the floor and everywhere else in the room. Panic tore through her.
“What’s wrong?” Malmuira asked.
“Ah can’t find it. It’s gone.” Fear tore through her, but she squashed it. I‘m safe. Baile won’t be upset. I’m okay. She walked herself through the words to calm her heart.
“What can‘t ye find?”
“The pearl yer faither gave me. It was just here last night. Ah always put it back.” It wasn’t in the room.
Malmuira put her arm around Mazey. “Ah‘m sure it will turn up. Let’s go.”
Mazey sniffed and wiped the tears on her face. “Okay.”
Mazey led the way while Siusan and Malmuira followed behind.
A small group of people waited. Gilla waited with Desmond, wrapped in a blanket. Baile stood in the middle along with the priest who would wed them. Mazey hurried to the front. Baile took her hands in his and for the first time, she saw his cheeks rosy. He looked bashful, and it delighted her to no end he was the one feeling that way instead of her.
“Ye’re the most beautiful woman ah’ve ever seen,” Baile commented to her quietly.
“Thank ye.” She curtsied to him the way she saw important people curtsy before.
He took her around the room and introduced her to people she didn’t know yet. A few she knew well. There were the guards who accompanied them both on their beach trip and other people that worked in the keep. Gilla gave her a hug and whispered a sweet “good luck” in her ear.
Oidche introduced his friend. “This is Kyle. Ye’ll probably be seeing Kyle even more than ye already do.”
A quiet look passed between him and Kyle after those words and Mazey wondered what Kyle’s secret was. She’d find out soon enough, she was sure. They never kept secrets long in the Buchanon keep. Lara and Balloch were there with their daughter. They arrived the night before from a neighboring clan. Balloch was working on strengthening ties between clans and was absent since before Mazey had her boy.
“Lara, ah haven’t seen ye in forever.” Mazey said with a hug.
Lara was already crying tears of joy. “Ah never thought this day would come. Baile deserves ye. Ah’ve never seen him so happy.”
“He’s a good man.”
Balloch hugged Mazey. “So should ah call ye Maither?” He laughed so hard he snorted.
Mazey made a face at him and looked at Lara. “Keep yer husband in line, will ye.”
Lara rolled her eyes. “If ah could do that my life would be so much easier.”
Balloch stopped laughing and made a sour face while both women laughed. He couldn’t hold a straight face for long, however.
