Epilogue
There was no maid attending Amanda on her wedding day. Instead, her two sisters fussed over her, Rose with her hair, and Claire with her dress.
Since Amanda had been so closely involved with the clan, and was about to become one of them, she insisted on wearing a dress made of McNeill tartan. It was predominantly green with stripes of deep blue and yellow, and brought out the hazel of her eyes perfectly.
Claire was enchanted with it. “Oh, Amanda!” she cried, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Hamish is so lucky to be marrying such a beautiful bride!”
“I am sure you were both beautiful too,” Amanda remarked, smiling at her sister.
Then, looking down at Claire’s rounded tummy, she said, “You are even more beautiful now, Claire. There is something about pregnancy that gives a woman a certain glow, I was told. I used to think that was fanciful, but now that I look at you, I see that it is true.”
“Pfft!” Claire flapped a hand at her, laughing. “You are just as bad as Iain. I told him he will not be saying that when I look like a huge ball.”
Rose came forward to hug Claire. “You will always be beautiful,” she told her sister, kissing her cheek.
Then she gazed at Amanda for a few moments before giving her a beaming smile. “But no one can ever outshine a bride on her wedding day. You look radiant, Amanda. Does she not, Claire?”
Claire’s eyes filled with happy tears. “Indeed you do, my lovely sister,” she said. “Who would have thought that in less than two years we would all have found love despite our father selling us off like stock? It seems so hard to believe, yet it’s true.”
“We used to think the Scots were savages,” Rose said, shaking her head incredulously. “Now we know better. Much better. Who knows what Sassenach,” she said the word playfully, “is next in line to marry a savage Highlander.”
She smiled mischievously.
The three sisters embraced, forming a circle of love that would never be broken, and when they drew apart they smiled at each other, then linked arms and walked into the chapel.
There was a long queue of villagers outside it, many of whom bowed when they saw the three sisters.
Hamish was standing there, facing the altar, as he waited for Amanda.
She hesitated, heart hammering, then Rose and Claire stepped forward, taking Amanda with them, and the congregation turned to watch them, alerting Hamish to their presence.
When he saw Amanda his face broke into a wide smile, and as she moved to stand by his side he took her hand and raised it to his lips. He said nothing, but his eyes said everything for him; they were shining with love and happiness.
They turned to the minister, Reverend Kelly, a young, newly ordained member of the clergy, who looked as though he was about to burst into song.
He opened the ceremony by announcing, “We are here today to celebrate the marriage of Lady Amanda and Laird Hamish. I must preface this by telling you that weddings are my favourite duty as a member of the church, and I hope that you all feel as much joy as I do today.”
He turned to the bride and groom, his whole face beaming. When he had said a blessing and read a passage from the bible, he looked at each of them in turn, then joined their hands.
“Now it is time to pledge your lives to each other. My Laird?”
Hamish nodded and looked deep into Amanda’s rich brown eyes. He had been nervous before he walked into the church. However, all he felt now was an overwhelming joy as his beautiful Amanda stood beside him. She was dressed in his clan finery, and his heart swelled with pride.
“Amanda, mo chridhe,” he began. “Thank you for healing me, for mending a heart I did not know was hurt. Thank you for giving me the help I did not know I needed. I was shouldering a huge burden all by myself, but you helped me carry it, and for that, I will be eternally grateful, my love. Now, I give you my heart, my hand, and all my tomorrows.”
“Oh, my Hamish,” Amanda breathed, smiling with sheer joy. “I was happy to heal you, but you have healed me too with the balm of your love. When we first met I was frightened of you, but now I know that you are my home and my shelter, and everything I have is yours.”
Then the minister asked, “Hamish, do you take Amanda to be your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, till death do you part?”
“I do,” Hamish replied, smiling.
“Amanda, do you take Hamish to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, till death do you part?”
“I do,” Amanda answered.
She watched as Hamish slipped the plain gold wedding band onto her finger, then they smiled at each other joyfully as Claire and Rose came up to them holding a length of McNeill tartan between them.
Rose tied a loose knot around their joined hands, and she and Claire stood on either side of the newly married couple as they stepped back, tightening the knot that symbolised the bond of their love.
It was not quite the done thing in a church, but Hamish folded his arms around Amanda and kissed her passionately in front of the whole congregation. There was a gasp of shock, then a cheer went up as they drew apart, laughing.
“My people, come and feast with us!” Hamish announced to his people, and more cheering erupted.
Amanda looked up at him, and her heart swelled with love. Even though she had come to him against her will, she knew that she could have walked away any time she liked. Now, nothing or no one could ever drag her away from him; they were tied with bonds of love too strong to break.
Hamish looked down into his wife’s eyes and said softly, “I cannot wait to be alone with you.”
“Likewise,” Amanda replied wickedly. “But I have enlisted my sisters to help us escape, so there is nothing to worry about, my love.”
Hamish chuckled. “Do you have a solution for everything?”
“Of course,” Amanda replied. “And I am a healer; if I have none, I can always mix one.”
The night seemed endless, a round of meetings, greetings, well-wishing and trying to eat some of the delicious food that had been prepared by the kitchen staff, who had laboured long and hard over their magnificent feast.
When they had been there for two hours, Amanda caught Rose’s eye and raised her eyebrows to send a signal that it was time to go. Rose came over to them and asked Hamish to dance, but when it ended, Hamish, who was near the door, slipped out as the other guests were leaving the dance floor.
Claire pretended to need some help as she bent over, frowning as if she were in some distress, then Amanda came and took her arm to lead her out of the hall.
Behind the door stood Cormac, Iain, Hamish and Rose, and everyone grinned as Amanda, her arm around Claire’s shoulders, came through the big doors and walked straight into Hamish’s open arms.
No one said anything, but the family, as they now were, smiled and watched the newlyweds as they ascended the stairs to their chamber.
As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, Hamish swept Amanda off her feet and carried her in his arms along the corridor to the Laird’s chamber, both of them laughing happily.
Amanda leaned over to open the door, and Hamish walked across the room and set her down next to the bed.
“Thank you,” he said huskily, cupping her cheek in his hand and smiling.
“For what?” Amanda asked.
“For seeing the real me,” he replied. “For forgiving me for all the injustices I committed against you and becoming my wife.”
Amanda grinned, her eyes twinkling. “I am not your wife yet,” she pointed out. “There is still the matter of…”
“Consummation?” Hamish supplied. “Oh, dear, I had forgotten all about that!”
They laughed at his remark, which was patently untrue, then he smiled at her lovingly. “I have been thinking about nothing else since I saw you at the church, my Amanda.”
Amanda gently pushed his jacket from his shoulders.
“I have dreamed of officially becoming yours for so long, Hamish.”
“Dream no longer, my wife,” Hamish told her, grinning wickedly.
He turned Amanda around and began to undo the fastenings at the back of her dress as fast as he could, cursing occasionally when he came across a stubborn lace or button.
Amanda giggled as she listened to him, then turned around to watch him as the dress slid from her shoulders. Hamish’s eyes widened as he gazed at her, clad now only in a flimsy chemise, since she had never liked the feel or look of corsets.
He could see her round, dark nipples through the translucent muslin, and felt his manhood stiffen in anticipation of what was to come. Suddenly, he had to be naked, and began to rip his clothes off as though they were burning him.
When he had shed every stitch of clothing, he gently removed Amanda’s chemise and drawers, then backed away a little so that he could look at her.
“My god, Amanda,” he breathed. “You are a goddess.”
He devoured her with his eyes, from her glossy brown hair, swan-like neck, and her upstanding breasts with their rose-pink nipples. Her waist was tiny, and curved outward into round, womanly hips and long, shapely legs; she took his breath away.
For her part, Amanda was gazing at the most magnificent man she had ever seen. As a healer, she was well acquainted with the male body, but she had never seen one as beautiful as this.
Hamish’s shoulders were broad, as was his chest. His biceps bulged, and his torso, with its rows of rippling muscles, tapered down to narrow hips, then powerful thighs and calves.
“I have never seen such a magnificent man,” Amanda breathed, before she moved into his arms. “Make me your wife, Hamish.”
“Gladly,” Hamish said, smiling at her lovingly.
He picked her up and laid her down on the bed, then looked her up and down for a long moment before he kissed her tenderly.
In moments, they were tangled in a passionate frenzy, with Hamish suckling Amanda’s breasts, and Amanda gripping and pumping his hard shaft with a tight grip that made Hamish groan with pleasure and moan her name again and again.
He moved down to work his magic on her most sensitive spot, loving the scent and taste of the woman he loved, then he looked up.
“Are you ready for me, Amanda?” he asked.
He was desperate to be inside her.
Amanda shook her head.
“Kneel,” she commanded, pointing between her legs.
Hamish was baffled, but obeyed Amanda’s order.
She reached out and took the shaft of his manhood in her mouth, then proceeded to suck it hard and pump it with her hand, faster and faster, till Hamish was almost at the point of no return.
She heard his desperate moan of need, then suddenly she slowed down and stopped, looking up at him with a mischievous grin.
“You’re killing me, woman,” he whispered hoarsely.
For answer, Amanda took him in her mouth again and began to lick and swirl her tongue around his shaft and gently scrape him with her teeth.
It was the sweetest kind of torture, but just as Hamish was about to reach out to grasp ecstasy, Amanda let go. She looked up at him, then smiled and licked her lips.
“You are so wicked!” he said hoarsely. “Where did you—”
“Learn about using my mouth?” Amanda asked, her eyes twinkling. “From my sisters, of course. They told me all about it. Now, make me your wife, Hamish. I can’t wait any longer.”
Their first coming together as man and wife was not tender, but hungry and passionate, as Hamish thrust into Amanda harder and faster than he had ever done before, since now, there was no need to hold back.
For the first time, he spilled his seed inside her as he reached the most titanic climax ever.
Amanda could hardly believe the sensations he was awakening inside her now that they had time and space to themselves, and when she came, it was akin to a lightning storm inside her.
She cried out Hamish’s name, but he silenced her with a passionate kiss, and they shuddered in each other’s arms, breathless for a moment before descending into the delicious languor of the afterglow.
They lay, still silently joined together for a long while before Hamish asked, “How do you feel, Lady McNeill?”
Amanda sighed as she looked into the apple-green eyes of the man she loved. “As if I could fly,” she murmured, smiling. “And you, My Laird Husband?”
“Free,” Hamish replied. “For the first time in my life I feel free, Amanda, because of you.”
He planted a soft kiss on her lips.
Amanda reached up to run her hands over his thick golden hair and smiled.
“You will never be free of me, my love,” she said lovingly. “For I will never let you go.”
Thank you for reading my story!
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