Epilogue
A month after Codlington’s disgrace in front of the inquest, Lissa found herself at yet another public gathering — but this one, thankfully, couldn’t have been further from that dreadful day.
If she never experienced another inquest again in her life it would be too soon.
But as the gathered crowd rose to their feet to applaud as she and Niall took their first few steps down the aisle as man and wife, she reflected that she wouldn’t mind repeating this one a few times.
It was a simple affair, the wedding — neither Niall nor Lissa had been interested in making too much of a fuss, though Amelia and Hamish had pressured them into allowing them to throw a feast in celebration of their union.
They’d agreed on the grounds that it allowed the ceremony to be restricted to mostly family.
To Lissa’s surprise, Lord Weatherby and Sir Baldric had been among them.
They’d extended the invitation more out of courtesy than the belief they’d show up — but sure enough, they’d been there right on time, and a cheerful-looking Allan driving his carriage.
Things had been very quiet since Codlington had fled from the lands, though they knew that it was only a matter of time before he started causing trouble again.
Still, they’d be ready if and when they needed to be.
The Laird had been in correspondence with the King regarding the conspiracy, ably assisted by Hamish and Niall — Lissa had been asked to weigh in on a few matters, too, which had been a surprise as well as an honor.
Looking around at her new friends’ smiling faces as she and Niall made their way down the aisle again, hand in hand, Lissa was surprised by the intensity of the gratitude she felt to be there with them.
She’d never felt more lost in her life than in those early days, when she’d come to grips with where she was — but the people here had been at her side every minute, not only helping her to survive, but showing her that she could live as happy a life here as she could ever have dreamed.
And the person she was most grateful to of all happened to be the man at her side, holding her hand so tightly in his that she wondered if he was afraid that she was going to run away.
Niall smiled down at her, his eyes full of feeling, and she squeezed his hand back as hard as she could, laughing a little.
After they’d ridden back from Weatherby’s manor after all the chaos with Codlington had subsided, they’d talked long into the night about their relationship, and the future they could have here, together.
It had taken a few days of long conversations — not only with Niall, but with her new friends, too, who after all had been in her exact position before — but in the end, it was obvious that she and Niall were perfect for each other.
How could they not be? Fate itself had picked them out for each other… whatever the precise mechanism, she didn’t know or care.
All she knew was that of all the people in the world, it had been her that had been dragged back through time to fall into Niall’s arms.
She’d been scared at first, of course — scared of the force of her feelings, scared that he didn’t actually feel the same, scared that he’d confuse his feelings for his lost wife with his feelings for her… but none of those fears had been based in reality.
Niall loved her for who she was — not who she happened to look like.
The loss of his first wife — her past self — would always be part of their relationship, but that didn’t have to be an obstacle to their love, did it? That had been proven over and over again by the happy unions of all the other time-lost women around them.
They couldn’t have chosen a more perfect day for their wedding.
As the evening closed in, the feast began in earnest, with just about everyone in the Keep turning up for the festivities.
Even Sir Baldric had allowed himself a glass of wine or two and had ended up deep in conversation with half a dozen of the Keep’s guardsmen on the relative merits of concealed weapons, much to Lissa’s amusement.
She had half a mind to join in on the conversation — she wanted to weigh in on how best to conceal a blade in the bodice of a dress — but then she felt Niall’s hand slip into hers.
She looked up to meet those blue eyes, that faint smile dancing around the corners of his lips… and in that moment, she realized that she had absolutely no interest in staying at the feast for another moment.
Suppressing their laughter, Niall and Lissa ran hand in hand through the festivities like fugitives on the run, knowing that as the guests of honor they’d be stopped if anyone saw them making their escape.
They were almost struck by disaster when they ran into Amelia and Hamish — but the pair took one look at their faces before grinning identical grins.
Amelia put a finger to her lips in wordless promise to protect their secret — and then they were away again, laughing fit to burst as they finally made it to the upper floors.
The hallway was dark and almost silent, with just about every resident out at the feast in the Dining Hall — but Lissa and Niall didn’t pause to enjoy the rare luxury of having the place to themselves.
They had one destination in mind — their shared chambers, where at last there would be nothing left to distract them from the absolute joy of each other’s company.
And as Lissa followed the love of her life through the winding corridor of Castle MacClaran, she knew that there was nowhere in the world — and no time in history — that she would rather be than right here, right now.