Chapter Twenty-Four
Six years later…
The little pony stepped out briskly, with its grey head held high and its furry ears pricked forward. At first, Hamish hardly dared lift his eyes from the pony, and the precious load it carried, but eventually the tension in his shoulders began to drain away.
His daughter was a natural horsewoman. Even though the pony was new to their yard and this was their first foray beyond the castle walls, she retained the confident seat and light hands of a much more experienced rider.
He had naught to fear.
Luar snorted as if in agreement, breaking into a trot as she traversed a ravine and splashed through a shallow river. Brianne squealed and wiped droplets of water from her pink cheeks.
“Can we go to the cave, Papa?”
Hamish reined Luar in until the little pony caught up with her long stride. They were climbing a wide path lined with an abundance of purple heather; the day was warm and birds chirped happily from nearby bushes. Even the incessant buzzing of summer insects could not dampen his mood.
“Who told ye about the cave?” he asked genially, thinking it was most likely Siegfried. The elderly seneschal had a great fondness for Lady Brianne, and they were often found exploring the castle grounds together, her small hand clasped in his.
Brianne tossed back her chestnut curls and smiled over her shoulder. “’Twas the pretty lady.”
Hamish gulped, steadying himself. Brianne was soon to celebrate her sixth naming day, and it had been many moons since she last mentioned a visit from ‘the pretty lady’ who had been a frequent guest in the nursery.
Isabella had long thought this visitor was a product of their daughter’s overactive imagination.
But when Frida once came to them at Twelfthtide, she’d calmly observed how her niece had the same coloring and impish smile as her namesake.
With no likenesses of his sister, Brianne, hanging in the keep, Hamish had opened his mouth to ask how Frida knew this.
Then he recalled the particular gifts of the de Nevilles, and merely nodded in agreement.
“What did she tell ye, about the caves?” he asked.
Brianne clung onto a clump of the pony’s coarse mane as he plunged through the heather.
“That they are cold in winter and smell bad. But in the summer, they can be a fine place to light a campfire and play games of pretend with a brother.” She wrinkled her small nose.
“She must mean David, because Adam is too little to do anything but sleep and cry.”
“She must be talking of the future,” Hamish interjected firmly, knowing that if anyone was determined enough to take a four-year-old boy to a cave, it was his spirited young daughter.
A lump formed in his throat as he remembered how he, Brianne and Elena had played together as children, clambering over rocks and chasing one another over the hills.
Oft-times he had run so fast he thought he might fly.
“Mayhap.” Brianne considered this. “David and Adam will be more fun when they are bigger. That’s what Siegfried says.”
“Siegfried is usually right.” Hamish sat deep in the saddle and reined in Luar. “The cave is up there.” He pointed to a grassy promontory jutting out from the rocky cliffs. “We don’t have time to go this day, but I will take ye there afore the summer ends.”
Brianne pouted. “It willna take long, Papa.”
“Aye, but we have the feast to prepare for.” He smiled as the spark returned to her blue eyes. “Had ye forgotten?”
“Never,” the little girl declared. “’Tis a feast in honor of my naming day.”
“’Tis the Lammas Feast, and ye came ter us on Lammas Day, the greatest gift I e’er could have gotten.”
His eyes misted at the memory. Baby Brianne had been born almost nine months to the day that he and Isabella had first come together at Ember Hall. He had held his tiny daughter in his arms and thanked God for the blessings raining down upon him.
Brianne beamed up at him, bringing him back to the present. “Can I stay up and join in with the dancing? Please, Papa.”
“Ye can stay fer a while,” he allowed. Isabella would raise her eyebrows at his leniency, but Hamish found it difficult to deny his daughter aught she desired. It was fortunate indeed that Brianne had a sunny disposition and rarely expressed discontent.
Brianne dropped the reins to clap her hands together, and the pony quickly ducked his head to snatch up a mouthful of moorland grass. “I will wear my new plaid and sit beside Mama who always looks so pretty on a feast day.”
“Aye, she does that.” Hamish waited until Brianne had gathered her reins again. “Though yer mama looks pretty all the time.”
“Less so when she’s working in the kitchens,” Brianne opined. “If I was the Lady of Greenock, I would do naught but wear pretty dresses and sit in the long gallery and eat sweetmeats.”
“Well, mayhap that day will come.” Hamish smiled down at her daughter, but she had twisted in the saddle and was looking back at the cave.
“Do ye think we will e’er have to leave Greenock and live up there?” she asked.
“I dinna think so,” he answered honestly.
“I willna lie to ye. And if I have learned one thing in all my years on this earth,’ tis that ye rarely ken what events are ahead of ye.
But our castle walls are strong and our guards are stronger.
Balliol’s troops ne’er troubled us, e’en when most of Scotland fell to them.
And now peace is the victor in these lands. ”
“Good. I wouldna like it in the cave.” Brianne shook her head so vigorously her curls bounced.
“’Tis not all bad.” Hamish remembered playing the lute on warm summer nights, with his sister singing along beside him.
Brianne’s attention had moved to other things.
“Can we race back, Papa?”
“Race?” He feigned astonishment. “All the way back ter the keep?”
Brianne squealed with glee and urged her pony into a gallop.
The little creature moved at quite a lick over the moors, but Hamish ensured Luar stayed a nose behind all the way back to the outer walls.
The guards saluted smartly as they passed through the gates and a breathless Brianne declared herself the winner.
“’Twas nay fair. Ye started afore I did.” He frowned down at her in jest.
“Dinna worry, Papa. We can race again another day.”
They trotted into the stable yard where Siegfried was deep in conversation with a young groom. His lined face lit up at the sight of Brianne and he lifted his arms to help her down.
“How is the new pony, Lady Brianne?”
“Fast,” she answered with satisfaction. “Faster than Luar.”
“’Tis true.” Hamish ruefully swung himself down onto the cobbles. “I may have to borrow him.”
Brianne looked alarmed. “Ye are much too big for him, Papa.”
“Then he will have to grow.” Hamish nodded seriously, then ruffled his daughter’s hair. “Siegfried, do ye ken where I might find my wife?”
“The Lady is busy in the kitchens.”
“Of course she is.” Brianne sighed with exasperation. “But she needs to make herself pretty for the feast.”
“She needs little time fer that.” Hamish waved his hand in farewell. “But I shall go and hurry her along all the same.”
Leaving Brianne in the capable care of Siegfried, Hamish walked briskly over the cobbles to the long and low granite building which housed the castle kitchens.
The air was thick with steam and the enticing aroma of roasting meat.
Two pink-cheeked maids turned a large spit whilst the redoubtable cook used a long iron handle to fetch bread from the oven.
Isabella was in the far corner, biting her lip in concentration as she rolled marzipan for a large fruitcake.
She didn’t hear as he snuck up behind her, and she gasped in surprise as his hands closed about her waist.
“I am come to steal ye away,” he whispered in her ear.
Isabella giggled. “I must finish this cake before I do anything else.”
“Ye forget who ye address. I am the Laird of Greenock and my word is law.”
“Are ye certain of that?” Isabella turned in his arms and dabbed sugar onto his nose with the tip of her forefinger. “For I am the Lady of Greenock, and ’tis my word that is law, at least in this kitchen.”
Hamish guffawed, resisting the urge to kiss her in front of the servants. “Yer word is law, Isabella. In each and every room of this castle and wherever else we may roam together. But I have hardly seen ye this day. Would ye be so cruel as ter deny me yer company, just for a short time?”
She nodded slowly, her long blonde plaits swinging over her shoulders. “For a short time, then. In truth, there is something I must tell you.”
Hamish grasped her hand and led her from the heat of the kitchen to the herb garden, pausing only long enough for Isabella to give her instructions to the servants.
Outside, the warm breeze was pungent with the scent of mint.
Isabella wiped her sugary fingers on her apron and pushed back a loose strand of hair.
“The herbs are flourishing.” She turned around slowly, looking at the well-stocked beds with a proud smile.
“We are all flourishing.” He pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to her golden head. “Thanks to yer tender care.”
“’Tis thanks to the mighty Laird of Greenock that we have such a fine and prosperous home.” She ran a hand over his cheek and he closed his eyes at her touch. “You have not rested since we wed. Are you not tired, Hamish?”
“Never.” He caught her hand and pressed it to his lips. “I have the energy of a boy. Especially since our wool exports to France are doing so well. I ken ’tis likely thanks to the intervention of yer brother Tristan that trade flows so freely from Greenock.”
“The unrelenting hard work of yourself, plus the odd word from Tristan, mayhap.” Isabella shrugged. “’Tis in the interest of the de Nevilles to stand side-by-side with the McIvors now that we are joined in marriage not once but twice.” She smiled up at him, haloed by the noontime sun.
Hamish fought to keep his focus on the conversation they were having, but it was difficult when his wife was so alluring. “Jonah and Elena make a fine couple,” he managed. “I ne’er thought I would consider a man worthy of my little sister. But Jonah de Neville has proven me wrong.”
“And I ne’er thought to see my youngest brother so happy.” She shielded her eyes from the sun. “Remember, they expect to be with us before the harvest.”
“So that Elena’s first child can be born at Greenock.” He fastened his arms about Isabella’s waist. “I havena forgotten.”
Isabella took a breath. “So it’s true, you have not yet grown exhausted by all this?”
He raised his eyebrows. “All what?”
“Everything.” Isabella caught at her lip with her teeth and looked away.
Hamish pulled her closer. “What are ye trying to tell me?”
Slowly, Isabella took his hand and placed it on her belly. “By Twelfthtide we shall have another babe in the cradle.”
“Ye are with child?” He smiled broadly. “Ye Gods, that is wonderful news.”
Isabella inclined her head as a furious wailing erupted from the nearby western tower, which housed the nursery. “I am glad you think so. Especially as our latest babe is hardly out of the cradle. Nor has he afforded us more than one night of sleep since his arrival.”
“Our Adam has strong lungs and a strong temperament.” Hamish was still smiling; he thought he may never stop. “And the patience of a highland warrior hungry for his supper.”
“Your son,” Isabella said lightly. “I hope this one may be a girl. A sister for Brianne.”
“Girl or boy, I care only that it is healthy.”
“Amen to that.” She rose onto her tiptoes and kissed him. “I know that Adam is in good hands with his nurse, but I cannot bear to hear him cry. I must go to him.”
With some regret, Hamish released her. “I will come and find ye later,” he promised. “There is unfinished business between us.”
Having taken a few steps away, Isabella turned toward him, her eyes bright with merriment. “Still?” she enquired, one hand lingering over her belly.
“Always,” he said firmly.
After six years and three children, he loved and desired his wife more than ever.
“I will hold you to that, Hamish McIvor,” she teased.
“I ken ye are a woman who keeps her promises, my lady.”
The sound of Isabella’s laughter mingled with the song of a blackbird as she resumed her journey to the keep. Hamish put his hands on his hips and gazed up at the granite fortress that had dominated his decision-making almost since birth.
In years gone by, he had felt the weight of history pressing down on his shoulders. But now he looked to the future with a heart that was light and filled with love.
THE END