Epilogue
ONE MONTH LATER
The chapel was full as sunlight fell through narrow windows and turned the dust to gold. Flowers lined the aisle in layered abundance as Bettie and Katie took their time with the petals.
Erica stood outside the chapel doors, listening in.
“He seems excited to be here. Does he ken it’s a wedding?” one of the guests, perhaps a clansman, asked.
“Who cares? The dog is enjoying the occasion. This wedding will only take place once, after all,” Grandmamma’s unmistakable voice replied.
Erica bit back a smile. She knew the old woman would do anything to ensure it.
It felt almost bizarre to think that a day like this would never come. It had felt so distant back when they had planned it. She could still hear Alex’s voice when he spoke to her about it for the first time.
“We need to pick a date. Really pick a date.”
Erica remembered laughing at how determined he had been to pick the perfect day. He had consulted people who studied the weather to determine what kind of day it was going to be.
“I am certain it will be a perfect day, nay matter what happens,” she remembered telling him at some point.
“I would rather have some control over that day than consolation,” he had responded.
Now the day was here.
Erica continued to watch the twins scatter petals down the aisle. The sight made something in her chest swell, but she swallowed it, deciding to keep it for later.
The girls scattered more petals, then raced each other to the bowl and scooped more. The puppy forgot every instruction at once. He bounded after the flying petals.
Laughter rose through the murmurs and settled everyone. A guard reached down to catch the pup, but it slipped away and raced down the aisle with a petal stuck to its nose.
Erica stood in the doorway, wearing a pristine green gown that shimmered in the afternoon light. There was no crowd to hide behind. No charade to carry out. Only a room of witnesses and a choice she had already made.
Her mother smoothed a strand of hair and stepped back. “Ye look breathtaking, me dear.”
Leah squeezed her fingers once and stepped to the side. Evander stood among the lairds, a proud smile on his face. He lifted his chin to her. She lifted hers back.
She walked alone, and the chapel breathed with her. People turned and smiled. Some bowed. Some looked content.
“She looks bonny.”
“Bonny doesnae even begin to describe her.”
“Ma, she is a princess.”
“A lady, lass. Ye should ken the difference.”
Something about those conversations happening almost offhand made her feel like the most special woman in the world. But then, maybe she was. She was marrying the most revered Highlander of this time. It did not get more special than that, did it?
At the altar, Alex waited without armor or a guarded posture. He stood as if nothing in the world could rush him and nothing could keep him from this.
For the second time in her life, Erica felt both fear and certainty. This time, though, she knew exactly which one she wanted to speak.
Bettie and Katie reached the end and dumped the last of the petals in one generous heap. The pup leaped into it and sneezed, causing the priest to chuckle and then clear his throat.
Erica stepped up beside Alex, and they turned to face each other.
“Aye, Katie,” Bettie whispered loudly. “We did it.”
Erica stifled a smile. Alex did not bother; his mouth curved.
The priest asked if they came of their own will.
They said yes. He asked if they would be honest, even when honesty cost more than they were willing to pay.
They said yes. He asked if they would keep faith through the seasons that crowned love and the seasons that tested it sorely. They said they would.
Erica spoke first. “I choose ye. Nae because I must, but because I can. I promise truth where I can give it, and patience where I cannae. I will stand with ye when the days are easy and when they arenae.”
Alex’s good eye was steady. “I choose ye,” he answered. “I promise ye me name, me house, and me word. I will stand with ye when the world is at our backs and when it isnae.”
The priest nodded.
Erica’s hands were sure in Alex’s. Heat and determination moved between their palms like a vow.
“I love ye,” she said, low enough for only him to hear.
He exhaled like a man allowed to breathe at last. “I love ye.”
The kiss was joyful and deep, and cheers rose from the crowd. A whistle sounded, quickly stifled by a single look from Grandmamma. Bettie clapped her hands, and Katie stamped her foot and tried to shush the pup, which set him barking again until a guard scooped him up and let him lick his chin.
If there was a way to freeze this moment in time, Erica would do it, and a part of her knew that Alex would do the same.
Right here, she had everything she could ever need: her mother, her brother, the love of her life, and the two girls she had come to love like her own.
It felt surreal, considering everything she had been through, that a day as simple as this would give her all the joy in the world.
The girls stood proudly at the front like architects admiring their finished work. Leah wiped her eyes and pretended she was only fixing a ribbon. The men who trained in the yard grinned like boys.
For a heartbeat, the chapel felt like a warm and cozy fireplace.
They stepped out into the light, and the banners lifted on a mild breeze. The courtyard spread wide, full of color and food and tables pulled close. Music began to thrum in a steady beat that found the feet before it found the ears.
The clan poured out after them with the slow press of people who meant to stay, who meant to eat and talk and dance until the sun set.
Grandmamma waited near the steps with her cane planted and her eyes bright. She looked them over from crown to boot and bit back a smile that fooled no one.
“I always kent yer fake betrothal would become real,” she said. “Took half the castle to teach ye, but stubborn folks require elaborate lessons.”
Laughter rippled, and the twins beamed as if they were paid for the joke.
Alex shook his head, resigned but smiling. “Well, it only worked because ye meddled,” he said.
“Och, daenae give me all the credit,” Grandmamma answered serenely. “But aye, I agree. What I meddle with thrives.”
Erica let out a loud laugh. It felt new and also like something she once knew and set down by mistake.
She looked across the yard and found her brother speaking to men who used to measure him with suspicion. Now, they had nothing but respect in their eyes.
For a brief minute, she watched him converse with these people, and it felt almost like he had not spent months on the run. Like he was back where he belonged. Just like she was.
As if he could feel her staring at him, he caught her eye and threw her a wink. She smiled in response.
A small hand tugged at her sleeve, and she looked down to see Bettie lifting her arms in demand. Erica bent to the hug without thinking. Katie tucked herself under Erica’s other arm as if this had always been the arrangement.
“The feast willnae start itself,” Grandmamma said. “Go on. Be married in public. Ye were already married in private.”
Erica took Alex’s hand. “Laird MacMillan.”
Alex smiled at her. “Me Lady.”
Her heart fluttered. “All right, why was that so attractive?”
“Ye like hearing me call ye me Lady?”
She shrugged. “It does have a certain ring to it.”
“Well, I will be calling ye that a lot later tonight.”
“Oh, will ye now?”
“Aye. Me Lady.”
Erica laughed, and he did as well.
He laughed.
Swept up in the moment, she tightened her grip on his hand and leaned in. “Dance with me,” she murmured.
“Aye,” he answered. “Always.”
They stepped forward together as the first tune found them.
The End?