Page 82 of A Healer for the Ruthless Highlander
The ladies ushered Leana up to her room to fix her dress, and soon she understood that it was better not to fight them. So, she waited patiently while they bathed, combed, groomed, and perfumed her.
In the end, they had to decide on another dress, which Brenda herself gave to Leana as a personal gift.
“I wore it on me weddin’ day. It was a gift from the Queen herself, which I now give to ye,” she said as she helped her into a cream-colored gown adorned with pearls.
“It’s… it’s beautiful. Gorgeous…” Leana whispered.
Brenda smiled warmly at her. “I was unhappy in me marriage to the previous Laird,” she admitted. “But I ken that curse was broken with ye. I only wish for ye and Kenneth to be very, very happy together?—”
“Nay, daenae start cryin’!” Valerie shrieked suddenly, noticing the tears welling up in Leana’s eyes. “I’ve tried so hard to make ye perfect for the ceremony!”
Leana could not help herself—she burst out laughing.
“Thank ye,” she said to Brenda, hugging her, feeling deeply grateful for all the affection she had shown her.
She admired herself in the mirror while Valerie put the finishing touches on her hair.
After placing a bouquet of white heather on her hair, to attract good luck, the women stepped back, admiring their handiwork.
Leana realized that, for the first time, she would be the most beautiful of them all.
Together, they walked out of the room, their laughter following them to the Great Hall, where the wedding ceremony would take place. The sound of bagpipes rang in the air as the big moment approached.
Leana’s heart was racing with anticipation.
Before she met Kenneth, her life had been marked by sudden and catastrophic events. She had been forced to grow up very quickly and deal with many things at the same time. But now, she felt it had all been worth it. All the incidents, the ins and outs, the doubts and challenges that had led to this moment had been worth it.
She saw Kenneth standing beside the priest, waiting for her.
Her sisters, who now lived in the castle, preceded her into the Great Hall with wide smiles on their faces. And then her father walked her down the aisle. She could feel his joy as he kissed her on the forehead and handed her to Kenneth. He was now the official healer of the castle, and he finally seemed to be smiling again, for he knew that the future of his daughters would be promising.
Butherjoy was complete thanks to the man with the eyepatch—the Pirate Laird, as he had been called so many times. The man who stood in front of her and held her hands while their wrists were bound together in a promise of love and devotion.
The man with the confident smile and braided, thick black hair. The man who had abducted her, with whom she had quarreled from the first moment she met him. The man whose temper she had tested over and over, and with whom she had ended up falling irrevocably in love.
The man to whom she had not hesitated to say, “Aye.”
“Will ye forgive me for bein’ late?” Leana whispered, smiling at him.
Kenneth looked at her with eyes full of love. “Late? But ye came just in time into me life,” he joked, just before kissing her.
Her lips, warm and fervent, moved against his own amidst the cheers of the people he loved.
Those he had always protected with all his might. Those who were now part of his new family, and who had finally taught them both what the wordshomeandlovereally meant.
The End?