Page 130 of Claimed Highland Brides

She pouted at Aileen. “No! I can ride him well. I’m a big lassie the noo!”

“O’course ye are.” Aileen suppressed her laughter. “I dinnae mean to imply ye werenae.”

They descended the stairs, bickering good-naturedly about what Ùna was old enough to do. At the bottom of the stairs, they ran into Fiona, chasing her twins as they screamed and ran down the corridor.

“Come back here, ye scamps!” She clawed her hands and bared her teeth. Aidan and Rorie just screamed and laughed louder, waddling down the corridor, until their father appeared out of nowhere and scooped them up into his arms.

“Got ye!” he growled as he hoisted them over his shoulders as if they were sacks of potatoes. The twins giggled as they entreated him to put them down.

“No, no. I cannae let ye run off again. It’s time for breakfast, and ye will eat if it’s the last thing ye do.”

Ùna let go of Aileen’s hand and took off after Daividh and the twins. “Wait for me!” she cried.

Aileen looked at Fiona, and they exchanged smiles, shaking their heads. Aileen stepped down the last stair and looped her hand with Fiona’s. “Remember when we could sleep until the sun actually rose in the sky?”

Fiona threw back her head and laughed. “No. I dinnae think my memory goes back that far.”

Aileen reached out with her other hand and touched Fiona’s delicately rounded belly. “And here ye are, wanting to add to the brood.”

“Ach, like I had much choice aboot it. Daividh willnae leave me be.” She pouted, pretending annoyance.

“Go on wi’ ye! As if ye dinnae accost him just as much. I’ve seen th’ two o’ ye together. Always touching. It’s disgusting. Ye’ve been marrit three years, noo!”

“Three years?” Fiona looked surprised. “It cannae be that long.”

“I suppose it’s been an interesting time. Ye hardly notice the time passing.”

“Och, aye.”

They walked slowly into the dining hall, where Daividh was still wrangling his children with Ùna’s help as the serving girl poured them some parritch.

Aileen and Fiona took their seats as their twin sisters barreled into the room from the kitchens. “Good morning,” they called in perfect harmony as they took a seat.

Aileen looked up and smiled. “Fenella, Maisie, where’d ye come from?”

“Ooh, there was a tinker come from Drumacree. He had some news,” Maisie said.

“Ye mean gossip,” Fiona replied with a frown.

“Aye, weel.” Fenella shrugged. “It wasnae of any interest. Nothing much is going on.”

“And that’s a relief,” Aileen said. “We’ve had enough drama here to last us a lifetime.”

“I say amen to that,” someone said from behind her. She turned to see her brother-in-law and Daividh’s steward, Delwyn Barton, helping her sister Jamesina to the table. She was awkward with her first pregnancy, and Delwyn was the soul of solicitousness. He seated her first before fetching a bowl of parritch for her. Only then did he take his own seat.

“Weel, guid mornin’ t’ye both,” Fiona said with a grin.

Jamesina smiled. “Guid mornin’ family.”

“Good morning, everyone,” Delwyn chimed in.

Mrs. Fitz, the housekeeper, brought in a tray piled high with bannocks. Aileen straightened up with delight, inhaling the doughy scent as it swept the room.

“Mm, that smells delicious,” Daividh declared.

Mrs. Fitz slapped at his reaching hand before distributing bannocks to everyone’s plate. “I’ll bring out the tea the noo,” she declared as she waddled off back to the kitchens. Everyone dug in, not much in the way of conversation happening as they cleared their plates. Most of the castle inhabitants had already had their breakfast and were going about their business, so it was just the family at the table. Aileen looked at them all, grateful to have them all around her. She recalled the lost, rudderless feeling that had engulfed her after their father’s death four years ago. Fiona had struggled to hold them together while their uncle tried to marry her off.

Now both Fiona and Jamesina were married to men they loved. The gold mines were thriving, as were the farms. Hunting was good. There was absolutely nothing to worry about anymore. Aileen had no need to worry about scoundrels seeking to marry her for her share in the gold mine. Not when people hardly noticed her at all.