Chapter 20
Amonth had passed since Bram’s criminal group had been disposed of.
The children had been rescued. Some of them had been kidnapped from their parents and were returned to their homes, while others were unaccounted for.
There were seven girls in total, including Lillie’s sister.
Amanda had wept profusely at the family reunion, and even more so when Lillie brought her frightened sister up to Amanda and told her that she could trust Amanda.
It meant so much to Amanda that she had been able to earn the trust of Lillie; it gave her confidence that she would be able to earn the trust of all the other children as well.
The village was alive with the news of the wedding, and almost everyone was happy.
Not all the criminals had been killed. Some of them had been captured and were now imprisoned in the dungeons.
Amanda noticed that Lydia often took a package of food to the dungeons.
It appeared that she was remaining loyal to Stevie despite his mistakes.
There were some in the village who thought it was too soon for Amanda to be marrying again, but of course they were not aware of the circumstances of Amanda’s marriage.
In the days leading up to the wedding, Amanda dreaded receiving a letter from England—from her father—forbidding her from marrying Logan.
She wouldn’t have obeyed it anyway, but even so, she hated the thought that her father might still believe he could control her life.
However, no such letter arrived. For all intents and purposes, England had forgotten her and she was free to live a life of her own design.
There was nothing in that month to suggest that she was making a mistake either.
Logan’s wound had healed, and he had proven himself just as adept at earning the trust of the children as Amanda had been with Lillie.
He gave them rudimentary lessons about how to defend themselves in case anyone should ever come up to them again, and they seemed to enjoy this treatment.
They were given plenty of food and water, and Amanda arranged for them to have fine clothes made, as they had been wearing rags.
They were gaunt, small things, but after a number of weeks they were back to looking hale and hearty, and Amanda was pleased to think of them all as her own children.
She had learned that life never turned out the way she expected.
She had thought being married would lead to falling in love, but her first husband had instead exiled her and treated her as though she was a taint upon his life.
She had instead fallen in love with a man she would never have encountered unless Hamilton had exiled her, and she tittered at the irony of that.
She had always wanted to be a parent too, and now she was.
The more she thought about it, the more it didn’t matter to her that she had not given birth to these children or nursed them when they were babies.
It did not change the love she felt in her heart or the fierce need to protect them.
When she took them in her arms, she felt the same love and the same bond that any mother would have with their children, and she vowed to do everything she could to make their lives as happy as possible.
She had gone from being alone to suddenly having a family with seven children, and if she had her way, then more would be on the way.
The wedding took place in the village. Ann and the girls helped Amanda get ready.
Amanda’s stomach fluttered with nerves, but this time it was the good kind.
Getting married for the second time was a completely different experience from the first. She beamed with happiness and couldn’t wait to be wed to Logan, when before she had felt nothing but trepidation.
Lillie and the other girls were her bridesmaids and had all picked their favorite flowers from the garden to wear in their hair.
Amanda had commissioned fine dresses to be made, for she wanted this wedding to be a spectacle.
As she walked through the village, she breathed in the sweet Highland air and knew that she was home.
Her smile was wide and her dress trailed behind her, while a small tiara sparkled as it caught the light.
The people of the village had gathered and gave a rousing round of applause and loud cheers as she approached, but all the vivid sights and sounds melted away as soon as she saw Logan.
He was taller and more striking than all the others.
He wore a crisp shirt and a kilt, with high socks.
His strength could not be bound by clothes, though, and he radiated this glorious masculine energy that drew her in completely.
A wave of attraction passed through her.
It was a curious sensation that she had not quite gotten used to.
She had assumed it would have faded the more time they spent together, yet it had not.
She smiled sweetly as she took her place beside him, and they were married.
Logan’s family stood beside him, with Hamish still looking sickly, although making the effort for his son.
The mood was joyous, and the party that ensued was filled with frivolity and revelry.
Merry tunes were played as people danced happily.
Ale and wine flowed freely while a delicious feast was presented to people.
Nobody was left with an empty belly. Amanda smiled and laughed more than she had ever done before as she danced with her husband and just about everyone else, and it was truly a moment that needed to be celebrated.
But the most fun she had that day was whenever she turned to her husband and gazed at him longingly, knowing that she was blessed to be able to spend the rest of her life with him.
With Hamilton, that had seemed like a grim prison sentence, but with Logan it was a blissful promise that was coated in a shining ray of sunlight that would never fade. For all the sorrow they had both endured, they deserved a life of happiness.
In time the night dwindled and Amanda and Logan were eager to get away.
They were going to spend their first night as husband and wife in the keep, as was tradition, although they planned to live in Amanda’s estate afterward, leaving the keep to Logan’s family and the warriors who protected the village of Stirling.
She was now Amanda Stirling and was perfectly happy to take Logan’s name.
They stepped into his chamber, and he pulled off his shirt.
“Well, that was…” he said, but never got a chance to finish his sentence as she pounced on him.
All day she had been longing to share a deep intimate bond with him, and now that they were alone, she finally had the chance.
He seemed surprised when her arms curled around his neck and she pressed herself against his strong body, but he quickly fell into the kiss.
His strong arms rested against her waist; as they kissed, she could feel them slipping around her body, untying the strands that held her corset together.
She exhaled as it fell away, and then Logan continued on with the clasps of the dress, eventually expressing his exasperation.
“I suppose they’re there to make sure you really want to get at what’s underneath,” Amanda teased.
Logan smirked, and after this, it did not take him long to peel her dress away.
Amanda let it fall down her body, forming a puddle of fabric on the floor with her other clothes.
She stood there naked in front of him, and he had a look of awe on his face.
When he touched her, it was with reverence, as though she was a dream made real, and she felt the same way about him.
She ran her hands down his bare chest and kissed his warm skin.
She looked at the marks on his body, the wound she had healed, and then she reached down to his trousers, pushing them away, feeling the arousal surge through his body.
His hands were rough against her soft and supple skin, but his kisses were deep and shot right through her.
Amanda let out a small, squeaking moan as his hands passed over her breasts and sensitive nipples.
Ripples of pleasure shot through her and her entire body began to tingle.
He kissed along her neck and kept going down, leaving a trail of tenderness along the rising curve of her breasts and in the valley that existed between them before descending down her stomach to the warm, dewy part of her that blossomed with femininity.
Unlike Hamilton, he was slow and deliberate, taking his time to enjoy every part of her and more concerned with her pleasure than his own.
Shuddering breaths passed through her and her knees went weak.
His tongue danced around her most intimate area, and she had not known such a thing was possible.
It was almost as though she was a virgin again, for Logan was teaching her how to feel things a woman should feel with her husband.
Her hands ran down and rested on Logan’s head, feeling the thick hair running in between her fingers.
She arched her neck back and felt her soul soaring to the heavens as the pleasure burst through her.
She would have melted to the floor along with her clothes if it hadn’t been for Logan keeping her upright.
His breath washed over her, his tongue swirled around, and his lips kissed her lovingly.
She knew that he adored every part of her.
Then he rose, bringing his hands up with him, placing them at the small of her back.
She lost her strength as the world tumbled around her.
He nudged her back and she fell onto the bed.
The mattress creaked under their weight; they were a tangle of arms and legs and hair, their lips locked together in sweet kisses, a thrum passing through her body.