Epilogue
Nine months later…
Islay was pacing about the hall of her castle, gazing out towards the sloping road that led down to the town.
She gnawed on her lower lip and had to rest to lean against a wall as a pain stabbed in her stomach.
She placed her hand upon her pregnant belly and sighed, wondering how long it was going to be until the child arrived.
He was already later than the healers had predicted.
The last nine months had been revelatory for Islay.
She had learned things about herself that she had never known before, and she had grown in immeasurable ways.
She was Lady Connall now, wife to a laird.
And sometimes that could be a very worrying position.
The doors burst open and Callum came striding through. Sweat dripped from his brow and his boots were scuffed. There were marks and scratches on his face, but he didn’t seem to be harmed.
“The last of the bandits are gone,” Callum said. “We routed them out of the forest. They’ll nae trouble us again. Yer da and his guards were a lot of help. This alliance has ensured the safety of the region.”
Islay breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to her husband’s side. “That’s wonderful news, Callum! I’m glad that we can be done with all this and put this terrible time behind us.”
“Aye, at least for the moment.”
“What dae ye mean?”
“Islay, there hae been bandits for as long as there hae been men. We are always gaeing tae hae tae remain vigilant. But the world is a little safer now,” he said gently.
Islay smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.
Just knowing that there were bandits out there made her uneasy after all that she had been through.
It had taken the better part of a year to hunt them all down, for they were tricky men, always finding some new place to hide, but the tenacious efforts of the Gallach and Connall clans in tandem were too much for the bandits to cope with.
The marriage between Islay and Callum had done what it had been intended to do.
“I’m glad the people are safe, but I dinnae appreciate being left alone when sae heavily pregnant,” Islay teased.
Callum smirked and approached her, kissing her on the forehead. “I’m sorry. Any news from the wee one?” he asked, resting his hand against her stomach.
“No,” Islay sighed. “And at this point, I’m nae sure there will ever be.”
“I’m sure once he’s out ye’ll be wishing he was back in. If he’s anything like his mother, he’ll be a real troublemaker,” Callum teased.
Islay playfully hit him. “If ye are gaeing tae be like this then ye can gae back out and find some more bandits tae hunt down. Jean is more agreeable company than ye are,” Islay said.
At first, Islay had been wary of Jean because the girl had seemed more intent on spending her time lost in books rather than anything else, but the more time Islay had spent in the castle, the more she had gotten to know Jean.
Jean was a font of knowledge and had helped Islay cope through the pregnancy.
She had a keen mind, and once Islay had gotten to know Jean, she found her warm and personable.
It was nice to know that she had friends here, as she missed Kirsten deeply.
She and her cousin had made efforts to see each other, but it was not as easy as it once had been.
She missed Iona dearly as well, and so Jean acted as a surrogate for her friend and her sister.
“I’m glad the two of ye are close, although I hae been thinking that it is time I try and arrange a marriage for her.
It should nae be difficult tae find a well-matched suitor,” he said.
Islay glanced at him, unsure about the prospect of losing someone she had come to look at as a friend and a sister.
“We should allow her tae make her own choice, tae be free,” Islay said. She had never had the freedom to choose, but she wanted to make sure that girls like Jean and Iona did.
Callum stroked his chin. “An arranged marriage worked out well for ye.”
Islay smiled and walked towards him, wrapping her arms around her husband’s head. “Aye, but I was lucky in that I had a good man. Jean may nae be sae lucky. Dinnae ye trust her tae make the right choice?” she asked, sealing her words with a kiss. Callum pulled his head away.
“Ye cannae convince me by using yer feminine charms. That isnae fair.”
“If ye want me tae stop all ye hae tae dae is ask,” Islay whispered, planting soft kisses just below his beard, along his neck and collarbone.
He murmured with delight and laughed, but then he suddenly stopped.
Islay cringed and clasped her stomach as something flowed out of her. She looked up at Callum with wide eyes.
“I think the babe is coming,” she said, her words turning into an anguished groan as her knees buckled.
Callum caught her and yelled out to the handmaids and the servants that the baby was coming.
People rushed out from different rooms to help support Islay as they took her to a special chamber they had prepared for the birth.
Jean’s eyes were wide with excitement as she rushed downstairs.
Islay could barely speak as the pain became intense.
She clutched Callum’s hand as pain blazed through her.
In the moment, all she could do was wish for it to stop.
The healers and maids made her as comfortable as possible, and Callum remained by her side throughout the birth.
She breathed deeply and reminded herself that this was natural, that there was nothing to worry about, that all this would pass and soon she would be holding a baby in her arms.
The thought of having a child had filled her with uncertainty when she and Callum had first spoken about it.
Callum had never seemed to have any second thoughts about it whatsoever.
He was always happy with the idea of continuing his legacy, and it was Islay who had to adjust her thinking.
But the more time she spent with Callum and the more time they spent talking about the future, the more she looked forward to having a child.
The excitement grew along with the baby as well, as there was a deep and intimate connection that existed between her and the child.
Even though she hadn’t met them yet, she knew she was going to love the child with every ounce of her heart.
The chamber was filled with her screams as the pain of birth burst through her.
She cursed whoever had decided that having a child should be this painful.
Her throat was raw and her golden hair was plastered to her forehead as she pushed and pushed...
and then another sound entered the room—the sound of a baby’s cries.
Islay looked down. There were tears in her eyes as her child was handed to her: a little boy who looked so beautiful and so innocent.
“He’s perfect,” she said, beaming up at Callum, who was crying as well.
He placed a hand on her head, and with the other, he reached out to their son.
He gently stroked the baby’s stomach and caressed his cheek.
The baby seemed impossibly small, especially when compared with Callum.
He nestled into Islay’s arms. The weight was so tiny, so fragile, and her heart burst with love.
She knew in that moment that she would never have had this if she had fled for an adventure elsewhere.
There was enough adventure here, with her family.
She looked up at Callum with wonder in her eyes, glad to see that he was just as happy as she was.
“Aye, he is. He takes after his mother, after all,” Callum said with a sincere smile.
“I was just about tae say he takes after ye.” Islay looked down at the baby again, smiling and making faces as the baby stretched out his limbs for the first time, getting used to being out in the open air rather than in the warm safety of his mother’s womb.
“Are ye still fine with calling him Malcolm?” Callum asked.
“Oh, aye, I think the name suits him well,” Islay said.
Callum smiled widely. It was a tribute to his father, a man who had died some years before.
It was a shame that he would never get to meet his grandchild, but Islay and Callum promised to love him enough that he would never know the pain of being unloved.
“There are sae many adventures waiting for ye,” Islay whispered, pressing her nose against the child’s.
She was filled with so many warm feelings.
Already the pain of childbirth had receded and she was looking forward to the rest of her life, to watching the child grow, and suddenly she thought about her mother.
Holding a child in her arms brought Islay closer to her mother as she now understood something of the feeling that her mother must have had when Islay and Iona were born.
The tears that flowed were a mixture of joy and sorrow, and as she gazed down at her son, she knew he had no idea how much he was loved or how much he meant to the people around him.
One day he would, though. One day he would understand, just as she did.
She knew now all the sacrifices her parents had made for her, and she vowed that as soon as she saw her father again, she would apologize to him for all the trouble she had caused over the years.
She should never have doubted his wish for her to be married as he only ever wanted the best for her, just as she would always want the best for Malcolm.
Just as when she and Callum had been married, the world seemed to open up for her and there were many things to learn.
She wondered how many other things were waiting to be learned, and also how many things there were to teach Malcolm.
He gurgled and dribbled, but to her, she had never seen anything more beautiful.
He had been created from her and Callum’s love, and there was nothing that gave her greater satisfaction.
Laird and Lady Connall later welcomed visitors to the castle so they could pay their respects to the new arrival. It was a joyous time for all in the area, and this time, there were no bandits to ruin the celebrations.