Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Marissa stood at the large windows at the front of the castle, eagerly staring out across the grounds into the distance. Her breath fogged up the glass, and she reached up to wipe it.
“Any moment now,” she whispered, her voice low enough that no one else could hear.
A messenger had arrived nearly fifteen minutes ago, announcing that her family should be following after him shortly. And ever since, she had been rooted to the same spot, waiting to see them.
“How much longer do ye think it will be?” Ayla asked, drawing Marissa’s attention away from her vigil.
Her soon-to-be sister-in-law had joined her only a few moments ago, seeming to think that waiting for her family was some sort of adventure. But she had quickly grown bored.
“It cannae be too much longer,” Marissa answered, before turning her attention back to the grounds.
Just as she did, movement within the trees beyond the gate caught her attention. For a moment, it was nothing more than a shifting of light. Something large moving between the trees to block out the sun.
However, a second later, a carriage came into view. A familiar one that even at a distance made a wide smile tug up the corners of her mouth.
“There they are!” she cried, jumping back to grab Ayla’s hand and sprint toward the door.
The two girls laughed as they ran, their boots pounding on the stone as they threw themselves down the stairs. The gravel crunched beneath their feet, and then they halted.
Arthur and Joseph were already in the courtyard, instructing the servants as they prepared everything for the cèilidh.
Marissa watched her soon-to-be husband. Something deep and primal coiled in her belly as she studied the self-assured way he moved about. Since their interlude the night before, she had found it hard to meet his eyes for any prolonged period of time.
Not that she regretted it. She’d meant it when she had told him that.
But every time she looked at him, images of him kneeling between her thighs, his head moving in the silver light of the moon and the blue hue of the glow worms dancing along his skin, flooded her mind.
She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do it again.
Or if she felt ready to do anything further.
And so looking at her future husband and getting so aroused by him was creating quite a problem for her. Especially as her family grew ever closer, their carriage seeming to grow larger with every passing second.
Get a hold of yerself, lass.
She chastised herself inwardly, smoothing down her dress absentmindedly as she and Ayla stood in the courtyard, eagerly waiting for the arrival of her family.
“What are ye the most excited about?” Ayla asked.
But before Marissa could answer, the door to the castle opened. A quick glance over her shoulder showed Amara, copper hair braided around her head like a coronet and round cheeks flushed with excitement as she rushed down to join them.
“I just finished layin’ out yer things for the cèilidh,” Amara told Ayla as she approached.
Ayla thanked her, and the trio stood, watching as the gate to the courtyard rose. Marissa’s heart fluttered as a featherlight touch skittered across her left arm.
A glance down showed Arthur standing by her side and watching the gate.
“Are ye happy to have them here?” he asked, prompting her to nod.
“Of course she’s happy,” Ayla chimed in, her tone telling everyone that she thought his question was ridiculous. “That’s like askin’ if ye were happy to be back home with us after the war!”
“It’s nae quite the same,” he shot back. “But I understand what ye mean.”
Marissa chuckled to herself, but there was no time for her to interject, as the carriage rolled to a stop before them. A footman walked forward, prepared to pull open the door, but he did not have a chance.
The door to the carriage burst open, and in a flurry of fabric and squawking, her sisters hurled themselves down the steps and onto the gravel.
“Marissa!” Abigail yelled.
She was the first to throw herself at Marissa, her arms wrapping tightly around Marissa’s slender shoulders. Marissa hugged her back tightly, choking out a laugh.
Freya followed after. She was a little less exuberant as she accounted for her rounded belly, but her arms found their way around Marissa all the same.
“I’ve only been gone for two days!” Marissa laughed, hugging her sisters back with equal enthusiasm.
She couldn’t help her laughter, and despite her words and the truth of them, she still felt tears welling up in her eyes.
“That doesnae matter!” Abigail argued. “It could have been only an hour and we’d still be happy to see ye.”
The sisters stepped out of their embrace, and Marissa wasn’t surprised when she saw tears dancing in their eyes. It sent them into another fit of giggles, each one chuckling about how silly they were being.
Abigail and Freya turned their attention toward the castle, and Marissa didn’t miss the awe written all over their faces.
“It’s quite grand,” Freya mused, her hand fluttering absentmindedly to her belly as it so often did.
“Aye,” Marissa said with a nod.
It had only been a couple of days, but somehow Castle Reid had already begun to feel like home, and she’d almost forgotten just how large and opulent it was.
She was seeing it through her sisters’ eyes, remembering the wonder that had filled her when she first laid eyes on it.
The memory of how awestruck she had been at that moment made Marissa suddenly, unbelievably grateful that she got to call this beautiful place home.
“There’s a loch nearby,” came Ayla’s voice, and the sisters turned to her.
In her fervor to see her sisters, Marissa had forgotten about her soon-to-be sister-in-law and Amara. They were standing where she had left them, watching the exchange with smiles on their faces.
“Ayla! Amara!” she gasped, her eyes filled with apology as they flicked between the two. “I’m so sorry I didnae introduce ye. These are me sisters, Freya and Abigail.”
She pointed to each of them in turn, and Ayla wasted no time greeting them.
Just as she’d done when she’d met Marissa, Ayla breezed forward, wrapping them both in an affectionate hug. She welcomed them to Castle Reid with a warm smile. Then, she turned, waving Amara over and encouraging her to introduce herself as well.
“Dinnae be a stranger!” she urged.
Before Amara could do anything, her eyes flicked beyond Abigail and Freya’s shoulders. Immediately, her cheeks reddened, and her eyes went wide.
Marissa watched as Amara tried to compose herself, swiping at her cheeks and blinking rapidly as she focused her attention on Abigail and Freya.
What has her goin’ so barmy?
As she followed Amara’s gaze, what she had seen became clear. Cody was standing a few feet behind the girls, talking with Arthur and Michael while Joseph instructed the servants on where to put the luggage they had brought with them.
Marissa smiled to herself, taking note of Amara’s clear attraction to Cody and filing it away for later.
“It’s very nice to meet ye,” Amara said, her voice soft as she greeted the newcomers.
Ayla blinked, clearly perplexed by her friend's sudden bashfulness.
I’ll have to tell her what I saw later.
It was then that Cody turned his head, spotting Marissa standing with the group of women, and his face broke into a wide grin.
“There ye are!” he boomed, rushing forward and pulling her into a hug.
He swept her off the ground, her feet swinging as he spun her around. Marissa couldn’t help but throw her head back and laugh.
“Put me down, ye great oaf!” she cried, playfully swatting at his arms.
He did as he was told, still grinning like mad as he lowered her onto her feet. Her heart felt as if it would burst from happiness, having all of the people she loved most standing around her in her new home.
Soon, Michael, Joseph, and Arthur joined them. Her gaze flicked to her husband-to-be as he walked up, shocked to find his eyes fixed steadily on her.
Something smoldered within her, and she stumbled over her words. “I suppose… we should… inside… yer chambers.”
As hard as she tried, she could not form a proper sentence, with Arthur looking at her in that manner. Everyone chuckled, but her betrothed’s eyes never once left hers.
“I think what me bride is tryin’ to say,” Arthur spoke, the sound of his voice making goosebumps erupt across her skin, “is that we should all go inside so we can show ye to yer chambers. We have a cèilidh to prepare for tonight, so we want ye to have time to rest from yer travels.”
Everyone agreed, and Marissa hung back a bit as the group walked toward the castle. Arthur slowed his pace, allowing Joseph to head up the group and show them toward the door.
“Gettin’ yerself all flustered?” he asked, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Marissa rolled her eyes at him, but that didn’t stop her cheeks from flushing.
“Dinnae kid yerself,” she quipped. “I was just excited to see me family.”
Arthur snorted a laugh. “Aye, yer family is what got ye all flustered like that. Surely it wasnae the fact that ye were thinkin’ about the other night.”
Her stomach fluttered as images of him kneeling before her flashed through her mind once more. Not trusting herself to speak, she waved him off before turning to follow everyone into the castle.
Joseph’s voice carried through the corridors as he pointed out various paintings and mounts from their hunts along the walls. So, it made it easier for Marissa to track them down.
Michael and Cody were at the front of the group, clearly eager to ask questions about the history of the things they’d collected. Freya, Abigail, Ayla, and Amara walked in a small, tight-knit group. Their heads were bowed together as they talked, tittering behind their hands.
A rush of affection washed over her, happy that her sisters were getting along so well with Ayla and Amara.
“What are ye gossipin’ about?” Marissa asked as she threw herself into the group.
Amara let out a yip of surprise, drawing Cody’s attention. Her cheeks flushed anew under the weight of his gaze, and the other three women burst into another fit of giggles as she waved them off.
“We were just laughin’ about how up Joseph’s arse Cody seems to be,” Abigail answered. “Ye ken how he is when it comes to war. So he seems to hero worship everythin’ that Joseph has to say.”
Marissa laughed. “Aye, and I’m sure that Michael is as happy as a lark to be askin’ him all about the suits of armor.”
“And the paintings,” Freya said, her voice laced with amusement.
“And the mounted boar’s head,” Abigail supplied.
The women all looked at each other, grinning as they walked before each one opened her mouth.
“Men!” they all admonished in unison, shaking their heads before bursting into another fit of laughter.
Joseph stopped speaking, causing the corridor to be filled only with the women’s laughter. Marissa glanced up, finding that the men were staring at them, their eyebrows raised with skepticism.
The five women glanced at each other before bursting into more laughter, almost entirely overcome.
The men willnae understand this.
The thought filled Marissa with pride and an unabashed affinity with the women that surrounded her. She had always thought she would never find closer friends than her sisters.
But as she looked at Ayla and Amara, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was more room than she had initially thought for a friendship that felt like sisterhood.
“Can we get on with it?” Arthur grumbled, waving them all forward.
The men started back down the corridor. Marissa paused just long enough to link arms with Abigail and Ayla, finding Freya and Amara doing exactly the same thing before following after them.
Their walk to their chambers was as to be expected. The men continued to comment on the items adorning the walls, and the women commented on the words of the men. By the time they reached the suite of rooms that had been prepared for her family, Marissa could see the amusement on Arthur’s face.
He hadn’t laughed at them as they’d walked. Hadn’t so much as smiled. But she hadn’t missed the way his mouth quirked up and the way his eyes lit up with mirth. Which only served to egg her on further.
“The rooms are so grand,” Freya commented, mostly under her breath, as she stepped into her chambers.
“Me betrothed couldnae wait to show off,” Marissa chimed in, offering Arthur a wink.
Her reward was a roll of his eyes before he turned his attention to Freya and Michael.
“I wouldnae have me wife’s family sleepin’ in rooms that werenae fit for them,” he assured them, exuding nothing but confidence.
“Well, we appreciate it all the same,” Michael said. Even he couldn’t hide the awe that had taken over his features.
Arthur only bowed his head at that, accepting Michael’s praise.
Marissa watched eagerly, a rush of pleasure flooding her at how well everyone seemed to be getting along.
It wasn’t long before Arthur, Joseph, Cody, and Michael had fallen into conversation. Soon, Arthur proposed that the men retire to the game room for drinks while the women got ready for the cèilidh.
“Good man,” Michael said exuberantly, clapping Cody on the shoulder. “We could use a good dram after a day of travel.”
“And to get away from the chatter,” Cody added pointedly, shooting Abigail and Marissa a wink.
“Ye love the chatter!” Freya argued, swatting his arm playfully.
The men said their goodbyes before exiting the chambers, the sound of their chatter echoing off the walls until it finally faded entirely. Leaving Marissa alone in the room with her sisters, but with nothing more than her betrothed on her mind.