EPILOGUE
On the North Coast of Sutherland
Margaret weeded her kitchen garden while Ella and wee Robbie played with the dog on the beach, under Una’s supervision. She found it immensely satisfying to see the new plants poking through the ground and putting down roots, just as she was.
She paused to take in the beauty of the landscape outside her door—the quiet, sandy beach across from the house at the base of their inlet, the grassy, windswept slopes of the headland dotted with sheep on one side, and the path to the village through green fields on the other side.
The house behind her was not a grand castle, but it was solid and always full of love and laughter. At the moment, Finn was inside settling a dispute over a cow between two of the villagers, who were their tenants.
In a few weeks, they would return to Dunrobin to meet Alex’s new bride, who was the Earl of Huntly’s older sister, and they would visit her sister Sybil’s family on the way. While Margaret looked forward to seeing them all again, she would always be happiest at home.
“Mamaidh!” Momma! Ella called as she ran up from the beach with Cù-sìthe yapping at her heels. “Someone’s coming.”
Margaret shielded her eyes with her hand and examined the young man walking up their path with a bag over his shoulder. She knew all the villagers, and he was not one of them. Besides, the young man was better dressed and wore expensive leather boots.
She could not put her finger on it, but there was something familiar about him. Perhaps he was someone she knew from Dunrobin, a messenger from Alex.
Margaret was surprised when she noticed Ella sucking her thumb, something she’d given up a long time ago. Her daughter’s gaze was riveted on the young man.
The young man dropped his bag in the middle of the path and started running toward them. “Ella!” he shouted. “Ella!”
“Merciful God,” Margaret cried. “It’s your brother Brian.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. When Brian reached them, Ella retreated behind Margaret’s skirts, but Margaret threw her arms around him.
“Lady Marg—”
“I’m Maggie now,” she said, smiling and brushing her tears away. “Ella, come greet your brother. He’s come a long way to find you.”
Brian waited patiently while Ella first peeked at him behind Margaret, then slowly inched her way out. Finally, she raised her arms, and Brian swooped her up off the ground.
“You’re so big!” Brian said.
Brian himself had grown from a pale and skinny twelve-year-old lad to a strapping youth of fifteen.
“I was afraid she wouldn’t recognize me,” Brian said, looking at Margaret.
“We spoke about ye often so she wouldn’t forget,” Margaret said.
“This is my other brother, Robbie,” Ella said, pointing, as Una and Robin joined them from the beach. “And my grandmother.”
“I promise I won’t impose on ye long,” Brian said to Margaret. “But if I could sleep in your barn tonight, I’d be grateful.”
“I’ll not hear of ye sleeping in the barn,” Margaret said. Before she could say more, she saw Finn bid the two village men goodbye and start toward them.
“He’s my da!” Ella said, beaming at Finn.
Brian eyed Finn with suspicion as Margaret introduced them.
“Welcome!” Finn clasped Brian’s shoulder, but immediately released him when Brian flinched.
“Ye must be hungry and thirsty from your travels,” Margaret said. “The noon meal will be ready soon. Come inside, and I’ll show ye your bedchamber where you can leave your bag.”
Before going upstairs, Margaret asked the village girl she’d hired to help in the kitchen to put the food out and reminded Ella to set the table. Then she led Brian up to the small bedchamber at the top of the house.
“Thank you for taking such good care of Ella,” Brian said when they were alone. “I can see she’s happy here.”
“She’s a joy in our lives,” Margaret said. “Looks like you’ve done well for yourself.”
“I’ve sailed all over—to Ireland, France, even Spain,” he said, his face lighting up. “You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve seen.”
“How did ye find us?” Margaret asked.
“I went to Blackadder Castle and asked to speak with Lady Alison. After I showed her my ring with the wee stone ye gave me,” he said, holding out his hand so she could see the silver ring with the tiny black chip on his little finger, “she told me where ye were.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Margaret said. “I hoped and prayed every single day that you would come to us.”
Brian’s cheeks colored, and she saw confusion in his eyes before he shifted them to the side.
“I almost forgot,” Brian said, and leaned down to pull a folded, water-stained parchment from his bag. “Lady Alison wrote ye a letter.”
Brian was quiet during the meal, his gaze flicking uneasily around the table as everyone else talked.
“Stop feeding the dog under the table,” Margaret chided Robbie, as she tried to think of what else she could do to make Brian feel at home.
“Brian,” Finn said, when they’d finished eating, “I could use your help with something behind the house.”
Brian did not look as if he wanted to go anywhere with Finn, but he followed him out. While Una took the children outside to play, Margaret went upstairs to straighten the bedchambers. When she heard Finn’s voice through the window, she looked out and saw Finn and Brian talking below her.
“Ye don’t have to worry,” Brian said. “I’ll be gone in the morning. There’s a boat waiting for me at Durness.”
“You’re Ella’s brother,” Finn said. “That makes ye part of this family.”
Brian mumbled something she couldn’t hear, so she leaned closer.
“You’re a young man with a taste for adventure,” Finn said. “Go on your travels, but know that ye have a home and a family here to come back to.”
Brain sniffed and wiped his eye with the back of his sleeve. When Finn patted him on the back this time, Brian did not flinch.
“Come home as often as ye can,” Finn said. “We’ll always be here.”
Finn turned away to give Brian a moment to gather himself, then they walked together toward the front of the house. By the time Margaret ran down the stairs to meet them outside, Ella and Robbie had taken Brian’s hands and were pulling him toward the beach to see a castle they had made in the sand.
“You’re a good man, Finn.” Margaret put her arms around her husband and kissed him.
“I should have known ye were listening,” Finn said, smiling down at her.
“Let’s take a walk out on the headland,” she said, taking Finn’s arm. “Brian and Una can mind the children, and I’d like to read Alison’s letter out there.”
“You understand that Brian has to leave?” Finn said as they started out.
“Now that he knows we’re here, he’ll come home again,” she said. “He’ll always come home.”
They walked the two miles through grassy hills and the occasional sandy dune until they reached the end, where they were surrounded on three sides by the sea.
After taking in the glorious view of the stunning coastline on either side, they sat down in the tall grass, and Margaret pulled out the letter.
“Alison and David have had another babe—this time it’s a girl,” Margaret told Finn as she began reading it. “Our youngest sister, the one married to Lord Glamis, is widowed and having an affair.”
“Ye don’t mention that sister much,” Finn said.
“She was just a bairn when I left home, so we were never close,” Margaret said. “And her husband would not let her have anything to do with us after Archie was banished.”
She turned back to her letter and read aloud.
“Wretched William has died of a painful and disfiguring disease. Though he got his heir and one to spare before he died, everyone says both boys are the spitting image of the castle steward.”
“He deserved worse,” Finn said.
“Good heavens, the king escaped to Stirling Castle!” Margaret exclaimed as her eyes raced down the page, then she read the next lines to Finn.
“The king had cannon brought from Edinburgh and bombarded Tantallon, where our brothers and uncle retreated. The walls held, however. In order to end his embarrassing, failed siege and be rid of the Douglas men, the king was forced to allow them to escape to France. All this has only made the king more furious.”
If only Archie had mentored the king as Finn had done with Alex, instead of using him, Archie could have earned the king’s favor and kept his powerful position and vast lands. But her brother always wanted more.
“Lizzy has disappeared!” Margaret said, grasping Finn’s hand. “The king sent men here looking for her, so at least we know he hasn’t got her.”
“I’m sorry, mo rùin,” Finn said. “I know you’ll worry about her now.”
“I always worry about Lizzy,” Margaret said, “but she always manages to get out of trouble. My cousin is a verra resourceful lass.”
Knowing Lizzy, she had found a good place to hide. Margaret prayed she had. After she put the letter away, Finn helped her to her feet, and they stood together facing the sea.
“I have some news of my own.” Margaret took Finn’s hand and placed it on her belly.
“Another babe?” he asked, as a grin spread over his face.
“Una killed a chicken and told me this one will be a girl.”
“Another lass in the family!” Finn swung her around in a circle, laughing. “How did I ever get this lucky?”
“I’m the lucky one,” Margaret said, smiling up at him.
She had been ready to settle for a small, lonely life of lost dreams before a charming and handsome rogue kidnapped her and changed everything. Because of Finn, her beloved husband, she had the home and family she’d always longed for—and, most of all, love.
“Let’s go home,” Finn said, nuzzling her neck. “We can sneak up to our chamber while Una and Brian have the children outside.”
“Thought I wasn’t your kind of woman,” Margaret said, tilting her head.
“You’ve ruined me for my kind of woman, m' eudail,” Finn said, and gave her a smoldering kiss that made her toes curl. “You’re the woman I did not dare hope for.”
Before they turned back, Margaret stood at the point facing the sea with her arms outstretched and the wind blowing her hair, and she laughed out of sheer happiness. She felt fearless and strong and free. No matter what troubles came, she and Finn would face them together.
She vowed that every day she would cherish the love he gave her and embrace the joy that filled their lives. Then she took the hand of the man she loved with all her heart, and they raced home together.
THE END