Arthur cleared his throat. “I would like to say, now that I have three children married, and with each union I have had to somehow placate another clan to keep the peace, I can only hope that when my other two decide to marry, they follow common decorum in doing so.”
Laughter filled the hall, breaking the tension, and Torquil felt himself relax a bit.
After a meal of perfectly stewed meats, roasted vegetables, and decadent sweets, they all gathered round the hearth, where Torquil had noticed his lute and Eilidh’s fiddle had been set at a prominent spot.
With a dip of their heads in silent agreement, they both retrieved their instruments. Together, they began to play their song—the one he wrote, the one she finished. Unlike their melancholy melodies of the past, this one was full of life, full of wonder. It brought a smile to their faces and those in attendance as they watched them play.
Lillias wiped a tear from the corner of her eye as she tapped her foot. Even Alpin, who had sat stoically all through the meal, remaining quiet and closed off, seemed to relax a bit.
When the song ended, Eilidh and Torquil came together in a kiss. In front of everyone. No shame, no fear. Only love shining bright in the night.
The fire crackled, and Torquil whispered in Eilidh’s ear, “I think they finally see us.”
Eilidh smiled and replied, “Nay. Now they hear us.”
Epilogue
Three months later
Summer
Eilidh had allof the shutters open in the cottage, allowing the wildflower-scented breeze to filter through each room. Since they had returned from Hartsmoor, amazingly, with the blessing of both Laird Hart and Laird MacGregor, they had been making their home welcoming and warm. Not that it wasn’t that way when only Torquil lived here alone. But it had been missing a woman’s touch.
With the help of her mother’s and sisters’ needlework skills, there were splashes of soft-colored fabric throughout the house, calming the space. Soft, fluffy, pillows that Morven had stitched padded wooden chairs that Torquil had built. A gorgeous quilt that had taken her mother weeks to finish covered their bed. The colors matched the gown Eilidh wore the night that everything had finally been settled—deep blues and greens. Moira had gifted them with a beautiful needlepoint that they hung over their hearth.
Her brothers, along with Errol, and Torquil’s brothers, joined forces to help Torquil expand the cottage, adding two additional rooms to give them more living space and a proper kitchen that Eilidh could prepare meals in. The extra room would serve as their nursery.
It was not long after they left Hartsmoor that she found herself with child. Torquil was thrilled with the news and began planning the expansion right away. She was both nervous and excited. Unsure ofhow she would handle a bairn of her own. But with her family’s support and Torquil by her side, she felt like she could do aught.
The door opened and Torquil ducked inside. His face splitting with a huge smile as his gaze fell on her.
“Is the food ready?”
“Aye,” she stood up and pointed to the basket on the table. He grabbed that, along with the blanket she had folded beside it, and offered Eilidh his arm.
Accepting it, she let him lead her outside. The day was warm, the sun bright. She kenned exactly where they were headed. Back to the spot where Torquil had first made her his. She smiled when they stopped at the glen and Torquil laid out the blanket, the same way he had done all those months ago.
“I had a feeling this was yer plan,” she said happily, settling onto the blanket, and leaning into Torquil when he dropped down beside her.
“I have fond memories in this place.”
“As do I.” She brought his face to hers, and kissed him, sliding her tongue into his mouth. His hands were everywhere all at once as he eased her back on the blanket. The warmth of his body covering hers.
“This is how I want to spend all of my days,” he whispered betwixt kisses. “Lost in yer softness.” He splayed his hand across her belly that was now beginning to round. He placed a gentle kiss there. “I cannae wait to meet ye, our wee one,” he said softly.
He took his time loving her, with slow, drawn-out movements that soon had her crying out his name, the sound echoing through the trees. Until his cries of her name joined hers. She could not think of a more perfect way to spend the day.
Later, as she sat in the cradle of his legs, leaning her back against his chest, she said, “I ne’er kenned I could e’er find such happiness. Thank ye for showing me what it feels like to be loved.”
She felt him kiss the top of her head. She loved when he did that. “Och, my little firebrand. I believe we showed each other what it feels like.” He brought his hands around to her growing belly. “Ye are blessing me with a bairn. Ye have made me a verra happy man. Something that I did no’ believe aught I would find. At least, no’ until I saw yer beautiful blue eyes meet mine for the first time. And then I heard ye play and I kenned ye were special.”
“And we managed to not start a war betwixt our clans,” she chuckled.
“’Tis true. And now they are in an alliance that will carry through in the future. Who could have kenned ye would change the world?”
She shifted so she could meet his eyes. “Nay,wechanged the world together.”
The wind picked up, moving puffy gray clouds in that blocked the sun, threatening a storm.
