Page 27 of Stolen Highland Dreams (The Highlanders #9)

EPILOGUE

D ashiell watched as James MacNeill, his wife, Eilis, and the rest of his entourage arrived at Cairn Castle. He introduced her to James’s brothers, Dougald and Malcolm, the two Ella hadn’t met already, their wives, Alana and Anice, Angus’s wife, Edana, and cousin Niall’s wife, Anna. Even Gunnolf, who had been raised like a brother, and his wife, Brina—were there.

The next morning, they would celebrate their wedding with their friends.

“I am so excited to meet you,” Anna said to Ella. “The last time Niall and the others met with Dashiell, he wasna pleased he would have to find a wife among the eligible maids in the area. When James said Dashiell had found the perfect woman for him, we were thrilled and just had to meet you.”

“I’m glad. I’m thrilled you’re here.”

“I am as well,” Alana told her. “When our husbands returned home and told us how you lived in the forest?—”

“No’ just the forest,” Eilis said, “but how you hid yourself as an owl…”

“No’ to mention that you ran with the wolves—” Edana glanced at Warrior. “Oh, my.”

“We raised him as a pup. He runs wild sometimes, and sometimes he wants to come home and stay with the hounds,” Ella said. “I’m so glad to meet all of you.”

Anice smiled. “You are welcome to visit us anytime.”

“Oh, aye, us too,” Anna said.

The other ladies agreed.

Dashiell was glad to see his friends and their wives come to visit but also enjoyed seeing their wives become Ella’s friends. She had made many friends among their staff members but after living in the forest for so long and not being able to have friends for all that time, he knew she needed this.

James slapped him on the back. “I hope our wives dinna wear Ella out. They were so excited to meet her, we couldna hold off any longer. Have you had any further trouble from Lennox or MacAfee’s people?”

“Nay. I believe that MacAfee was the instigator in wanting Ella. So now that MacAfee and Lennox are gone, whoever took charge of their clans are busy managing things and dinna care what we do.”

“Good. Did your cows have their calves yet?” James asked.

Dashiell was amused by how they had bred their bulls from the market with his cows unbeknownst to him. “Aye, they did. They’re beautiful. We can see them after the meal.”

Niall said, “We didna tell our wives that Ella was of the fey, but they believe she is truly special.”

“Aye, that she is,” Dashiell said, smiling as she joked and laughed with the MacNeill wives and Gunnolf’s.

Then Ella had the wives meet Finnegan and Amelda, and everyone hugged them. Finnegan’s face blossomed with color.

Ella was thrilled to meet James, his kin, and their wives. She would love to visit them at their castles. For now, she was just glad she and Dashiell had a fortnight of peace after all that had gone on.

Mina was teaching two other women healing skills, and even Amelda was an eager listener and applied poultices to wounds and the like. Finnegan was still working as a blacksmith and taking weapons training.

Ella continued to practice weapons training with Dashiell and with some of the women, who were eager to learn how to protect themselves if they encountered trouble like she had. Amelda had picked a kitten from the litter and often brought her into her bedchamber, which she shared with Mina at night.

That was fine with Ella and Mina, except the kitten had jumped on Mina in the middle of the night, and she shrieked in terror. Guards had to rush in to protect them—from a kitten.

After dinner, they had a dance to celebrate their friendship with the MacNeills. Dashiell said to Ella, “When my friends would visit, once they all had wives, I was a bit?—”

“Jealous?” she offered.

“Envious. Until I met you and would have no other woman in my life. I believe you have always been the one meant for me.”

“As I have always known you were the one for me. After, of course, I learned that you were not a friend of MacAfee.”

Dashiell smiled. “No’ in the least, love.”

Paden urgently brought a messenger into the great hall. “My laird,” Paden said to Dashiell, “the messenger is from the king’s court with a message.”

The messenger handed the missive to Dashiell, and everyone in the great hall stopped dancing, talking, and playing music.

Dashiell nodded. “MacAfee tried to take my wife hostage. He paid with his life. The king doesna need to have a trial concerning the matter.”

The messenger’s eyes widened.

“Stay with us for the night. Rest your horse. Feast with us and you can give the king the news on the morrow.”

“Aye, my laird.”

Then Bhictoria came over with a tankard of ale and handed it to the messenger. “Drink up. There’s plenty of food. And then you can dance with me.”

Ella smiled at her, and then she took Dashiell in her arms. “You dinna think the king will be mad about what happened to MacAfee, do you?”

“Nay. We did his work for him.”

Then he kissed her, and she kissed him back. He took her to dance with his friends, who were dancing with their wives, and they both felt everything was just how it should be.

Mina smiled broadly at them, and Ella swore she was silently saying, “I told you so.”