Chapter 11
Moira hurried down the stairs and toward the keep’s front entrance, her happiness nearly overflowing. Today her sister Fennella was due to arrive and she was overjoyed.
“Is she here yet?” Sorcha asked as she joined Moira at the entrance.
Moira grasped the handle on the door and pulled it open, the sunlight pouring in. “Shall we see?”
Together the sisters stepped outside and were both excited to see the caravan approaching the entrance of the keep, with two riders following the warriors that were at the helm.
“She’s here!” Sorcha cried happily, running down the stairs. Moira followed in a more subdued manner for the lady of the keep, though in her heart she was just as excited. Fennella was the first to dismount, holding out her arms to her sisters. “I cannae believe I am here!”
Moira joined Sorcha as they hugged their older sister, a fresh wave of tears crowding her eyes.
Before Fennella had been married off, the sisters had always been together, weathering the storm that was their father and his reign on their lives.
She did not realize how much she had missed Fennella until she had come for her laird ceremony, but it was obvious to everyone that Fennella was happy with her new husband.
Fennella pulled back, tears glimmering in her eyes. “Look at ye both! I cannae believe how much ye have changed.”
“And ye,” Moira stated, noting the flush of her sister’s cheeks. “Marriage agrees with ye.”
“Aye,” Fennella replied as her husband joined her. “As does motherhood.”
“Aleck Campbell,” Moira stated, dipping her head. “Welcome tae Clan McPherson.”
“Lady McPherson,” he stated, pressing his fist to his chest, and bowing. “Thank ye for having us.”
“Enough of that,” Fennella laughed, tucking her hand in his. “We are family.”
“Speaking of,” Sorcha stated, looking beyond them, “where are yer bairns?”
“In the wagon,” Aleck offered as the wagon rumbled to a stop. “We rode tae have a bit of peace.”
Aileene, the nursemaid, climbed down from the wagon, a babe on each hip. “Och, I believe yer words were that ye wanted me tae know what it was like tae have bairns.”
Moira smiled as she saw her two nephews, both reaching up for their da. Aleck took them in his arms and Fennella tousled Ewan’s hair, earning a laugh from her son. They were a happy family, one that had started out not so different than most Scottish marriages did.
But within the hasty marriage, Fennella had found love with the burly Scot and Moira suddenly found herself jealous of her sister’s happiness. She thought of Tavin and the kisses they had shared. Could they be this happy?
Did he want to be like this with her? She wasn’t sure. Her dreams had been filled with his handsome face, yet the hesitation he had given her just the night before had her worried that he might not have the same intentions as she.
“Well now,” Fennella stated, hooking her arms with her sisters. “Aleck is in charge of the bairns for a while so shall we find some ale?”
“Fennella, lass, ’tis not fair,” Aleck groaned. “I thought ye said this will be another time for us.”
“That’s why I am here,” Aileene laughed, joining the women. “But a pint of ale is too hard to resist.”
Aleck frowned, wincing as Callum grabbed a fistful of his hair. “When did ye become higher than me?”
Fennella grabbed Aileene’s hand. “When she became mah closest friend, that’s when. Take care, Husband.”
The ladies giggled as they walked inside the keep, Fennella pausing at the doorway. “I never thought I would step back inside this place.”
Moira gave her arm a squeeze. “’Tis a work in progress but I am restoring it back tae it’s glory Fennella. I want this tae be a home.”
Fennella’s eyes shined with tears. “I can see that.”
Moira looked around the great hall, from the colorful tapestries she had hung on the wall to the clean rushes that covered the floor and felt her heart swell with pride.
She had worked to make the McPherson name something to be proud of in the past year.
She wanted Sorcha to be proud to be part of this family, to have other clans look at them as one of the greatest and not because of their father’s disturbing reign.
More importantly, she wanted their family name to be carried to the next generation, which meant she would have to wed in order for that to happen.
No matter how much she detested the very fact, she was the key to carrying on their family’s name.
After a round or two of ale, Sorcha and Aileene went in search of Aleck and the boys, leaving Moira and Fennella together and blessedly alone. “I cannae believe that mah sister is the true laird now,” Fennella remarked, her ale in her hand.
“I wouldnae say true laird,” Moira laughed, the ale making her body warm. “But I am giving it mah best.”
Fennella reached across the table, covering her sister’s hand with her own. “Ye are doing a fine job, Moira. The village is thriving. The keep looks better than I have ever seen it, and ye look happy.”
Moira squeezed her sister’s hand tightly. “Fennella, how did ye know ye loved Aleck?”
A dreamy look crossed her sister’s face. “It was a feeling, one that I couldnae ignore, in mah chest. I felt like Aleck was that missing piece and one day, it just clicked and I knew I could never live without him.”
Moira listened to her sister’s words, her own heart aching as she thought of Tavin. When had he become all that she could think of?
Was she in love?
Surely not. She barely knew the Scot.
“Is there someone?”
Moira looked at Fennella, swallowing. “I dinnae know.”
Fennella laughed. “Well ’tis why we are all here is it not? I hear some of the finest Scots around have come to win yer hand.”
Moira frowned. She was not a prize to be won, but a person who wanted what her sister had. She wanted a husband who saw her as a person, a partner even.
Yet most of the clans saw her as a means to strengthen their own ties with Scotland and to make their holds vast. She was naught but a pawn in most of their minds. “I want love.”
“And ye should have it,” Fennella said gently. “Love is but a precious thing mah dear sister, and I am fortunate tae have found it in Aleck. The man vexes me tae no end on some days, but I could never love another as much as I love him.”
Moira sighed, looking down at her mug. She was the laird of this clan and could pick her own husband from anyone, heedless of what the elders wished for her to do. Yet she owed it to the elders and her clan to not jump at the first Scot to turn her head.
A handsome Scot at that.
“Are ye certain there is not a Scot in mind?” Fennella prodded.
“Aye,” Moira whispered. “There is one, but I am not sure if he wants the position.”
“Then he’s a fool,” Fennella stated, her eyes darkening. “Ye are a lovely lass, with a good head on yer shoulders. Look what all ye have accomplished! Any man would be lucky tae have ye as their wife.”
Moira wished she could believe her sister’s words. This marriage business was not something she had thought she would be dealing with so soon, yet it was important to the future of the clan and as their leader, she owed them an heir, a future.
“Marriage is not easy nor is it perfect,” Fennella continued, shaking her head. “But I wouldnae trade it for all the money one could have.”
Moira thought about Tavin and how he had come into her life at the most opportune time. What was he looking for?
Could she be what he was looking for?
“Come,” Fennella stated, standing. “We need tae find mah husband. I’m afraid he might have gone back home.”
Moira smiled as she followed her sister out of the keep, finding Aleck and the boys in the courtyard. Aleck did look haggard indeed, but his eyes still lit up when he saw his wife. Moira’s heart twisted. It was the look of love, the one she wanted to see one day.
“Och lass, I need a rest,” Aleck sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.
Fennella pressed her hand to his chest, rising up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Go get ye an ale. I can watch them.”
He squeezed her waist and walked off, leaving the women with the children.
Moira knelt down beside her nephews and watched lovingly as they made shapes in the dirt with their fingers, their clothing dusty from playing in the dirt.
Perhaps I should give the gathering a chance.
Though her thoughts were filled with Tavin, he was the only male she had been around lately, and she could be enamored for the wrong reasons.
But in her heart of hearts, she heard his tender words, felt his touch on her skin when they had danced in the shadows. Those feelings were real.
Those feelings were frightening.
Moira drew a heart in the dirt, laughing as Callum messed it up with his grubby fingers.
She had always wanted bairns and heaven help her, her thoughts were filled with bairns that had Tavin’s eyes.
To be her husband was more than just protecting her.
To be her husband was to be the head of a clan, to realize that she was their true leader.
She felt like Tavin could be that man.
A tender smile crossed her face and she stood, looking at her sister. “Ye are lucky.”
Fennella returned her smile with one of her own. “Luck has nothing tae do with it, Sister. ’Tis fate.”
Moira was inclined to agree. After all they had been through, each sister was finding their happiness rise from the depths of the lives their da forced them to live.
She believed that her happiness would be with Tavin.