Epilogue
One Week Later
Dominic leaned against the side of the wall and watched the carriage approach.
It was a neat one, a bit small and ill-fitted for a trip through the Highlands, and in the latest English style.
It was driven by a nervy-looking coachman in ugly green livery, and he could see faces pressed up against the window as it rolled past.
"This is them, then?" Catriona said, appearing at Dominic's elbow.
"Aye, Paisley's family," Dominic replied absently.
"She wrote them a week ago, the day after all that happened with Lord Ainsley, but there was no reply until yesterday.
It seems that they dashed off a letter back and set right off to make it here in time for the wedding as soon as they received it.
They've beaten their own letter here, almost."
Catriona pursed her lips thoughtfully. "And dae we like them, then?"
He shrugged. "Paisley loves her family, so for all intents and purposes, I love them too. Time will tell whether I mean it or not. Dae ye want an introduction?"
She shook her head. "Too much to dae. I'll introduce meself tomorrow, at the wedding. I came out here to talk to ye, lad."
Dominic dragged his eyes from the approaching carriage and glanced down at his mother.
She was clearly tired from the hurry and bustle of wedding preparations, but her eyes glowed in a way he hadn't seen for quite a while.
Veronica had thrown herself into the preparations, as had Thomas.
Their respective spouses, Colby and Emma, were less keen on the whole wedding business, but were gamely helping out with whatever they had been asked to do.
"Ye dinnae ask for me blessing," Catriona said, amused, "but I'm givin' it anyway."
Dominic smirked at her comment. "I'm sorry, Maither. I thought ye liked Paisley."
"I dae. She's the loveliest lass I could have imagined marrying me son to, and I'll be pleased to give up the title of Lady MacLennan to her. She's English, which isnae ideal, but naebody's perfect, eh?"
Dominic chuckled. "Aye, Ma, naebody's perfect."
Catriona reached up, placing her palms on either side of his face, and drew his head down so that their foreheads touched.
"I'm so proud of ye, lad," she said softly. "So, so proud of ye. I hope that ye know that."
A lump formed in Dominic's throat. "I know. I love ye, Ma."
"And I love ye too, lad. Now, I'll go away and let ye deal with ye in-laws," she pulled away with a mischievous smile and a wink. "Good luck."
Catriona turned and hobbled back inside, leaving Dominic with a lump in his throat, tears in his eyes, and a very English-looking carriage heading towards him.
The carriage jerked to a stop, disrupting the flow of the crowd across the courtyard towards the Keep.
It was a laird's wedding, after all. Everyone was invited, and everyone was coming.
There was a lot to be done. Inside the Keep, the Great Hall was being prepared for the wedding.
The floor was ankle-deep in fresh rushes, scented with herbs and wildflowers.
Greenery and boughs of pine littered the tables and mantelpieces, and several huge vases of flowers were being arranged at that very moment.
In the kitchen, the cooks and their assistants were working diligently, roasting incredible amounts of meat, fowl, and fish for the feast tomorrow.
There would be delicacies of all sorts, fruits, bread, vegetables, sweetmeats, and more.
The whole Keep hummed with activity, and the smell of herbs, flowers, and delicious food hung in the air.
The coachman bounced down from his seat and hurried to open the door. One after the other, four people tumbled out, two ladies and two gentlemen, muttering between themselves and glancing around anxiously.
"Duke and Duchess of Danforth, I assume," Dominic said, his voice carrying easily across the courtyard. "It's a pleasure."
The newcomers flinched, glancing nervously up at him.
The oldest gentleman cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders, managing what he clearly hoped was a confident and easy smile, and held out his hand.
"It is indeed. May I present my dear wife, the Duchess of Danforth, and my two youngest children, Lord Alexander and Lady Eliza. May I assume that you are Lord MacLennan?"
"Laird," Dominic corrected, grinning. "And aye, that is me. So, ye are Paisley's parents. I'd say that it's a pleasure to meet ye, but I haven't decided yet."
"Where is Paisley?" the girl, Lady Eliza, interrupted.
Dominic gave the two youngsters a calculating look. The family had an easy, good-natured air about them. Lord and Lady Danforth were jovial, round-faced sort of people, dressed in their finest and most uncomfortable best, and rather strongly resembled each other.
Alexander and Eliza looked entirely different to their parents. They were milky-skinned, tall and graceful with dark hair and large brown eyes, slim and fashionable and somewhat androgynous. They looked like two young swans, accompanied by a pair of ducks.
Dominic hid a smile at that idea.
"Paisley is her chambers. It's bad luck for a bride to see the groom the day before the wedding, I'm told."
Lady Eliza glanced at her brother for support and lifted her chin.
"We want to see her. Right away. Don't we, Alex?"
Before Alexander – Alex – could reply, Dominic inclined his head. "Certainly. I'll have someone show ye the way" he said and turned to their parents "But, I'd like a wee word with ye before ye go up to see ye daughter, if that's all the same to ye."
The Duke and Duchess of Danforth exchanged nervous glances.
"Very well," Paisley's father said.
Dominic nodded, turning to summon over a soldier.
"Lad, take Lord Alexander and Lady Eliza up to Lady Paisley's chambers, and find someone to take their things up to the guest chambers, aye?"
"Aye, laird," the man said obediently.
Lady Eliza and her brother followed the man halfway up the stairs, then she paused, and came back down.
"Since you'll be marrying my sister," Lady Eliza said firmly, "and we'll be family, you might as well just call us Eliza and Alex."
Dominic gave a twisted smile.
"And ye had better call me Dominic, then."
She gave a small smile in return, then the two young people disappeared into the Keep. Dominic turned to face the Duke and Duchess and pursed his lips.
"Right, then. Shall we talk?"
"I know what you must think of me," the Duke said, his voice quiet in Dominic's still study. "Of us, even. Believe it or not, we are not greedy, hard-hearted fools who were prepared to marry our daughter off to a madman. We... we simply thought we were doing what was best for us."
"I don't believe we had two hours of sleep together after Paisley left," the Duchess spoke up.
Her voice had the raspy, tremulous quality of somebody who had been crying too hard for too long.
"We had no idea where she'd gone, once we realized that she was not at her aunt's.
Even then, we worried. If I'd known that Eliza and Alex were helping her, I might have felt a little better.
Of course, I understand why they chose not to tell us the full story.
We didn't exactly prove ourselves trustworthy. "
Paisley's father moved his hand over to where his wife's hand lay on the arm of her chair and gave it a squeeze.
"You shouldn't trouble yourself, my love," he said quietly. "The blame is mine. I was the one who was taken in by Lord Ainsley. I am the one who tried to push Paisley into a marriage she did not want. I should bear the blame."
Dominic pursed his lips, glancing between the two of them.
"But ye know now that Lord Ainsley was a vile man, a murderer, even?" he said slowly. "Ye regret what ye did?"
The Duke frowned. "Of course. What parent could think otherwise, after learning such a thing about the person they hoped their child would marry? I'm heartily ashamed of myself. I can't tell you how glad I was to receive Paisley's letter. Shocked, certainly, but relieved."
"We never expected an invite to her wedding after all of this," Paisley's mother butted in, "and I think Society in general did not expect us to accept. You were very kind to offer us a place to say, Laird MacLennan."
"Please, call me Dominic. Look, I have me opinions on what happened between ye and Paisley, of course I do. But ye are her parents, and she decided to forgive ye. Ye will be naything but welcome at me home."
The Duke and Duchess shot each other surprised glances.
"Really?" he said, blinking. "I... I assumed you were horrified at what we'd done. And rightly so. I've been braced the whole journey for a tongue-lashing."
"Why did you want to speak to us in private, then?" his wife asked, confused.
Dominic chuckled. "I wanted to ask for yer blessing, of course."
"Our blessing?" the couple repeated in unison.
"Aye, yer blessing to marry yer daughter. Of course," Dominic added thoughtfully, "it will be a wee bit awkward if ye say nay. The wedding is tomorrow, after all."
"What dae ye think?" Ava asked, leaning down to meet Paisley's eye in the mirror. "Ye wanted a simple style for tomorrow, after all."
Paisley turned her head this way and that, taking in the hairstyle Ava had made for her.
It was a simple braid, pulling back across the crown of her head and wound into a knot at the base of her neck, decorated with fresh wildflowers.
A few artful strands had been pulled out to frame her face, and she had to admit that the end result looked very becoming.
"I love it," Paisley said, beaming. "The wildflowers are a lovely touch."
"I thought they'd match your dress. Dae ye nae want anything fancier?" Ava asked, pursing her lips and glancing over at Paisley's dress. It was pretty enough, a simple white gown with a cloak of MacLennan tartan.
Paisley smiled. "That'll do for me, thank you. Besides, it's too late for..."
She broke off abruptly at the sound of footsteps racing towards the door.