Page 7 of The Lady of Her Highland Clan

Grace beamed down at her. The warm morning light cast a glow over her, making her even bonnier. It was true; motherhood and marriage suited her well. However, Fiona did not feel the case would be quite the same for herself.

Fiona looked up plaintively at Grace. "Grace, I'm nae ready to get wed. An' anyway, what man would take me?"

But Fiona almost instantly regretted saying that, as Grace's eyes widened in raucous laughter.

"Och, Fiona, only about half the clan!" she chortled, and Fiona sighed. She knew she had walked into that one. "I can provide ye wi' a list o' the Highlands’ most eligible bachelors. All ye have tae do is ask!"

Fiona rolled her eyes, but her answer was firm.

"Nay," she said softly, but with a look in her eyes that meant she intended the subject to drop now. "Nay, I am nae getting wed. That is no solution to it, Grace. I will just have tae convince the clan elders, somehow, that I am worthy of being the lady."

"Well, that shouldnae be too hard," said Grace optimistically. But Fiona could see that her face told another story. Seeing her sister's expression, Fiona sighed hard.

"Och, I dinnae who I am kidding," she said, downbeat for a minute. Fiona turned to the vegetable bed, tugging for all she was worth on the cabbage in the ground. Suddenly, it came loose, sending her shooting across the ground into Grace's lap.

"Aye, a real catch, arenae I?" Fiona grinned, shaking herself down and trying to get rid of the soil she was apparently wearing. "Now ye see why I need another way o' changing the elders' minds...that I am fit tae be lady...an' just maybe, I have found one..."

"Aye, what?" asked Grace, her amber eyes flashing.

With the cabbage tucked neatly into her knapsack, Fiona dusted herself down and smiled at Grace. From her pocket, she unfurled a parchment.

"Wi' a feast, dear sister. Taemorrow, we are holding a feast in honor o' a clan guest," Fiona smiled teasingly, enjoying Grace's confusion. "I thought maybe if we did it right, perhaps the elders would be impressed."

Deep down, Fiona knew it would take more than a feast to change the elders' minds, but she had to start somewhere. It was certainly true that there had not been much occasion for a feast in recent times. If she was lucky, maybe it might help things over.

And then, there was the thought of the guest who was coming!

A strange tingling ran through her. Maybe it was not entirely an accident who the invitee was. She had been hoping he might finally put in a visit to the Duncan lands. His announcement had been rather last minute, but that did not matter.

"What guest? What feast?" Grace asked, bewildered. She grabbed at Fiona's letter and unfurled it, curious.

"The Laird o' Greenock," announced Fiona proudly. An involuntary glow erupted all over her. "He arrives taemorrow on business, an' it's up tae us tae produce the best feast that Duncan Castle has ever seen!"