Jack said, “Da!” And then “Gee!” Which is what he had named Haggis apparently. Haggis jumped around as if he hadn’t seen us in forever.
Jack giggled like a maniac.
“Och, yer face.” Magnus took Jack from my arms. “Even in the dark it looks verra painful.”
“Yes,” I pouted. “And you are not allowed to say ‘och yer face’ to me. I thought you were trying to be romantic.”
He pouted back. “I am sorry, does it hurt?”
“My nose is so swollen I can’t breathe lying down.”
“Well, tis a good night, some fresh air will do ye good, and I am glad ye are here.” He drew me down the walls to a section of the battlement where we could lean.
Jack put his head on Magnus’s shoulder. I said, “He’s going to fall back to sleep.”
“Aye, tis a beautiful night and tis stuffy down there. Tomorrow we go tae the woods, being out will do us good.”
We watched the horizon for a bit, then I asked, “Does it feel different?”
He began nodding before he spoke. “Aye, it does, it feels like it belongs tae us now, truly. Sean and Lizbeth will make this our home, not as guests of the Earl but as the lairds of the castle.” He smiled at me. “I canna wait tae see what we do next.”
“You have big plans?”
“Aye… first I hae tae deal with Birk, and then ye will need tae bear the son ye are carryin’.” He chuckled.
I jokingly huffed. “You are insistent?”
“Aye, I insist ye are carryin’ our son, he was conceived in a time of peace?—”
I interrupted with, “Whoa!”
He followed my eyes to the sky. “Och, a shootin’ star, right when I said it?”
I nodded.
“This portends good fortune.” He put his free arm around me and squeezed, kissing the top of my head.
I said, “I’m glad you’re feeling hopeful with the state of this castle, the sight of my nose, the amount of rain.”
He smiled down on me. “Aye, but the clouds have cleared. And if I stand here and look out on the night in this direction, the destruction is behind me. If ye canna see it, it daena bother ye.”
I said, “And my nose?”
“Tis more troubling. Ye are alright?”
“Yes. I’ll be fine, just looking forward to getting home to a steamy shower.”
He nodded. “It has been a strange visit, last night I spent m’last guard duty on the Balloch walls. Tonight I am spendin’ m’first night as the Laird of Balloch castle.”
“It’s been a roller coaster. You’ve been really caught up in the idea of memorializing this place, of remembering it well…”
“Aye, I…” His eyes drifted around the landscape, then looked back at me. “I think with all the turning of the wheel I am feeling a need tae hold ontae important things, the ground shifts beneath us. I want tae remember it all, mo reul-iuil. I want tae hold ye and Jack and breathe in the Scottish air and I want tae keep this moment in my heart.”
“Thatis very romantic.”
“I thought I had tae say goodbye and that the memories would be all that were left. But now we get tae keep the castle, and our lands, and the woods that I love, the dock where Fraoch likes tae fish, our boats, the moor, there, the sky and the mountains ringing us, I will never forget this moment — we won the day.”
CHAPTER 46
