Chapter Nineteen
With the hopes of ridding the household of all the tension that had taken over Hartsmoor since Eilidh and Torquil’s arrival, Eilidh decided to call a family meeting.
No in-laws. Only immediate family so they could finally air all their grievances, and in doing so, she hoped they could find a path to move forward in accepting her husband. She smiled.
Her husband. It was an odd phrase to her, but it felt so right.
After the conversations she and Torquil had shared the night afore, she was for certs she made the right decision in agreeing to marry him. Now she only had to convince her family of that.
They gathered in her father’s study. A warm fire glowed in the hearth, but her father’s look was aught but. She was for certs if he stood too close to the flame, it would freeze over.
She had first approached Moira with the idea. Eilidh wanted to be heard, truly heard. Not just tolerated. Something that she felt her family had been doing with her for quite some time. Moira was hesitant, but finally agreed, telling Eilidh that she could see that she was being sincere.
The word was sent and now they waited for Alpin to arrive so they could begin.
He entered with a scowl on his face that told Eilidh he would rather be anywhere but here.
“Can we hasten this? I have duties to attend that I cannae put off because ye want to gather and speak of yer feelings.”
“Alpin,” Lillias scolded. “Eilidh has called us here to explain her side of things. I believe we all owe her our time so she can do so. Ye may no’ like it, or e’en agree with it. But what is done, is done, and naught can change the past.” She nodded to Eilidh, giving her a reassuring smile.
She took a deep breath, her nerves climbing into her throat, and began to speak openly.
“I first saw Torquil at the gathering at the village. We shared a common spark afore we e’en met or said a word to each other.
We met ofttimes. First at the market,” she slid a guilty look toward her father.
“But usually at the glen near his cottage.”
Arthur fisted his hands, his face turning a brilliant red. Lillias rubbed his shoulders as she whispered words in his ear that Eilidh could not hear. Whatever she had said had some impact on her father as he relaxed just a wee bit.
“He didnae seek me out. ’Twas I that found him.
Aye, he was glad I had done so, but he also warned me of my reckless actions.
Our feelings grew. From our music, to friendship, and,” she paused, gazing into the fire, smiling at the memories of she and Torquil, “and then to love. I ken that my actions were shameful for no’ waiting afore acting upon them.
We moved swiftly. But I doonae regret aught.
And if given the chance to do it all o’er again, I wouldnae change a thing.
” She took a steadying breath, refusing to wilt under the stares of her family.
“The night I didnae come home, I was on my way back when the storm hit, fast and furious. I kenned I wouldnae make it home and needed to seek shelter. Torquil’s cottage was the closest. When Fergus found me the next morn, he demanded Torquil make things right, forcing marriage upon him in the name of my and my family’s reputation. ”
Her mother sucked in a breath.
Eilidh shook her head. “Ultimately the choice was mine and Torquil’s. If we didnae wed, my reputation would be ruined, but to be honest, it already was for nay reason. But I didnae marry him because I was forced. I married him because I wanted to. We had already professed our love.”
“Christ!” Arthur swore.
But Eilidh would not be deterred. “I chose this. Me.” She jabbed her finger into her chest to drive the point home.
Alpin retorted sharply, “Love doesnae erase blood feuds.”
Eilidh rolled her eyes at Alpin’s exaggeration.
She had had enough of her brother and his doom and gloom.
She fired back. “How can ye say such things? Look at the Harts and MacLeods. We had been battling for years. Generations. So long that no one could remember exactly why. The love betwixt Moira and Errol fixed that rift. One, that mind ye, was way deeper than whate’er ye have with the MacGregors that ye cannae prove.
Ye dinnae battle with them. Other than with words.
“Love is foolish and should ne’er override one’s duty to their clan. ’Tis why I am no longer courting Effie. Duty above all else,” Alpin grumbled.
Eilidh scoffed. “And look how miserable ye are now?”
Morven, quiet until now, stood up, and addressed the room. “Mayhap we are all just scared to want what she has. She didnae conform to duty. To expectations. Just like with her music and the freedom that she had with it, she found the freedom to love on her own terms.”
The room’s silence was deafening as everyone pondered Morven’s words.
“I cannae understand how the three children of mine that are married cannae follow the normal pathway to said marriage. Is it too much to ask?”
Lillias spoke with a giggle. “Arthur, dearest. You forget how we wed. Do not fail to remember that we were destined by an old legend. Things happen for a reason, and not always in a way we feel they should. What is important, is that our children are happy.”
Arthur shook his head. “Yer words are wise, but once again we are in a position where we need to acquiesce with another clan because of the actions of one of our children.”
Lillias shrugged. “It should be the MacGregor coming to us for forgiveness, if aught. ’Tis our daughter that was wed to one of their clansmen. But that should not matter. They are happy. Without our interference and grumbling, you can see the love they share. That is what is important.”
The room was quiet. The only noise the crackling of the logs in the hearth.
With a soft voice, Eilidh spoke. “I am still yer daughter, Da. And Alpin, I am still yer sister.” She reached out a hand and grasped Alpin’s, squeezing. “I need ye all. And I would love yer support. It would mean much to me.”
Moira pushed out of the chair where she had been sitting and gave her a tight hug, breaking the tension in the room. She, more than anyone else in the room, understood the difficulty in loving someone that the family did not approve of.
Rory did not move—he only listened. Stoically silent as always. When their eyes meet, he gave Eilidh a stiff nod.
With naught further to say, Eilidh exited the room, breathless, needing fresh air. She was unsure of how the talk went. Of whether she had won or only managed to open old scars. She thought she may have won over her mother, Moira, and Rory. She already had Morven.
But the two people that could rip her and Torquil apart—her father and Alpin—remained gruff.
Unsure of what the future held, she ran outside, gasping for breath.
Torquil said he would fight and continue to do so.
She would do the same.