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EPILOGUE

ONE MONTH LATER…

“Now, this is a proper weddin’ gown!” Jane cheered, smiling proudly at her handiwork. “Och, ye’ve kept us waitin’ long enough. I always liked His Lairdship. Always kenned he’d be the man for ye.”

Anna chuckled, flashing her maid a pointed look. “Did ye now? Because I remember ye tryin’ to get me as far away from him as possible at least ten times.”

“Nonsense,” Jane protested. “Why would I do that, when the man clearly loves the bones of ye, and ye him?”

Deciding not to fight her on the matter, Anna took one last look at herself in the mirror, pleased by her reflection. The gown was a beautiful, elaborate creation that seamlessly interweaved the colors of Clan MacTorrach and Clan Lyall: lustrous blues and greens, with threads of red and embroidered patterns of rich purple.

Her mother would probably still faint at the sight of it, deeming it too vibrant for a wedding, but at least there would actually be a wedding this time, so no one could complain too much about the bride’s fashion choices.

“Ye look beautiful, Anna,” Jackson said, his eyes shining as he offered out his arm.

Anna raised an eyebrow at him. “Ye’re nae cryin’ are ye, Braither?”

“Me? Heavens, nay.” He grinned. “It’s the dusty auld castle. I must have gotten some of it in me eye. Ye’ll have to have the maids do somethin’ about it once ye’re finally Lady of this place.”

“Och, I’d sooner put ye in the dungeons for bein’ rude about me home,” Anna teased, taking her brother’s arm. “Now, come on, before everyone thinks I’ve fled.”

A low murmur babbled through the chapel doors, stirring up Anna’s excitement. There were more guests than the last time she did this, and there was a man waiting for her at the altar who fully intended to marry her, and never planned to let her go again.

Taking a deep breath, her unyielding smile already causing her cheeks to ache, she stepped through into the cool, cavernous chapel. But her gaze didn’t immediately dart toward her betrothed, drawn by a different, unexpected figure who sat on her side of the chapel, pale and thin, with dark crescents beneath her dull eyes.

Elinor?

Her sister raised her head, as if Anna had spoken out loud. In an instant, the weariness disappeared from Elinor’s face, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Anna, some color flushing into her pallid cheeks, her hand coming to rest on her heart as her mouth curved up in a delighted smile.

Anna looked along the pews for Elinor’s husband, but it appeared she was—blessedly—there alone, sitting with Moira. The eldest of the sisters was round with child, while her other two children clambered over Moira’s husband, who laughed as he attempted to get them to sit still.

Everyone is together again. The thought warmed Anna’s heart as she gave a nod to her parents and Ewan, and continued on down the aisle, chuckling at the sound of Sophia’s shriek of delight. Over the past month, Gordon’s cousin had become something of a third sister to Anna, the two women as thick as thieves.

Much to Gordon’s occasional chagrin.

Anna looked to her betrothed, giddy as she saw the smile on his face and the glimmer in his eye. He had returned to his wilder appearance, but she didn’t mind that; she would have him and love him, no matter what he looked like. Besides, she was of the opinion that he was even more handsome when he had a bit of wildness about him.

“I thought ye might keep me waitin’,” he whispered, as Jackson passed her hand into his.

Anna grinned. “I considered it, but I dinnae want me maither to faint, fearin’ I’d changed me mind.”

“Have ye?”

She shook her head effusively. “Never.” She chuckled, stepping closer to him. “I love ye, Gordon, so I’m afraid ye’re stuck with me.”

“Gladly,” he replied, bending to kiss her cheek. “I love ye too.”

“That was… very chaste of ye,” she said quietly, aware that everyone was watching and, no doubt, trying to eavesdrop.

He laughed darkly. “It willnae be for long.”

The priest cleared his throat and flashed a faintly disapproving look at the couple. “Are ye ready to begin?”

“Aye,” Gordon replied. “Begin at once.”

Anna nodded. “We’ve waited long enough to start the rest of our lives.”

Anna lay on the bed with a damp cloth over her eyes, worried that Jane might bustle in and discover that her mistress was merely pretending to have a headache.

As it turned out, wedding festivities were exhausting, and as her parents seemed to have invited every friend and vague acquaintance they knew, she was tired of making inane conversation and trying to remember names, while not getting a single moment alone with her beloved husband. He, equally, seemed to be lost in a sea of niceties, speaking with all of the clan folk who had endless questions for him.

Her heart jolted as she heard the bedchamber door open. “I’m just restin’ a while longer, Jane. This headache really willnae go away. It must be all the?—”

“Playin’ games again, love?” Gordon’s rich, deep voice interrupted, a note of laughter in his voice. “I should be angry that me Lady has abandoned her flock, but then I’d have to be furious with meself for havin’ the same idea.”

Anna sat up sharply, whipping the cloth from her eyes. “Thank goodness! I feel like I havenae seen ye all day!”

“Because ye havenae, though I’ve glimpsed ye and that fine gown a few times,” he replied, walking toward her. “I’d rip it off ye if we dinnae have to return to our duties tonight.”

She pouted a little. “Can we nae say we’ve got the same affliction and retire?”

“What affliction would that be?” He kneeled in front of her, one hand resting on her thigh while the other reached out to cradle her face.

She smiled slyly. “A very particular fever. Makes me burn hotter than a furnace.” Her breath hitched as he gripped her thigh. “See, there it is. Och, I’ll be delirious in nay time at all.”

“Sorry, love. We have to return,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her: a slow, sensual brush, like art in motion.

She kissed him back in kind, shuffling further forward, locking her legs around him as if that might be enough to keep him there, instead of them having to go back to the festivities. He laughed against her mouth, his hand sliding up the back of her neck as his kiss deepened, his tongue dancing with hers, giving every sign that he wouldn’t make her leave that room.

If it hadn’t been for the sharp knock on the door, and Jane’s call of, “M’Lady? M’Lady, are ye feelin’ better?” then maybe they would have stayed right there, enjoying their official wedding night.

“I think that’s our order to leave,” Gordon said, kissing her one last time.

Anna sighed. “Remind me never to get married again.”

“Och, for that, I’ll make ye wait until every guest has gone to bed,” he teased, getting to his feet and pulling her up with him. “Then, I’ll pretend to fall asleep.”

“Ye wouldnae dare,” she replied, grinning.

“Nay,” he murmured, dipping his head to kiss her neck, “but I can bring ye to the edge a hundred times, holdin’ back until ye cannae bear it. Would that be suitable punishment for yer sly remark?”

She bit her lip. “Aye, I reckon so. Very suitable.”

With his arm around her, he steered her out of the room, and as she looked back, lamenting that their first proper night together as Lady and Laird would have to wait, she smiled. There on the wall, in a gilt frame, was her drawing: a laughing, joyful bride in the arms of the Devil she loved, who loved her as much in return.

She hadn’t known, back then, that she was drawing the future. A future brighter than any she could have dreamed of.

The End?