Page 35 of The Mad Highlander

Four Years Later

Iris bounced Callum up and down on her lap and smiled each time he let out a laugh. The only way she could describe it was by comparing it to Cayden’s growl. It was like a kitten compared to a cat—the laugh was childish and light but had a slight growl that he had obviously inherited from his father.

Iris felt her leg becoming numb as she bounced her three-year-old son, but she could not stop. Not when his most recent laugh was as jovial and energetic as the very first. If moving her leg up and down was all it took to create joy in her child, she would do it forever.

Let’s see if it is this easy when he gets older.

Robyn was not pacing, but it felt like she was as she watched out of the window for the men to return.

“Do ye think this will be the day?” she asked without turning around.

“The time will come at the right time,” Margot replied. She held Mary in her arms, the sleeping child snuggled against Margot’s shoulder.

It had taken three months, almost a quarter of the child’s life, to figure out how to get the wee lass to sleep soundly. Changing the crib mattress had done nothing, nor had more or less milk before bedtime or nap time. Playing music did nothing, and Cayden was no better at getting her to sleep than Iris was. It was when Margot picked her up and held her after Mary had cried in her crib for a full thirty minutes that the child dozed off within seconds.

No one could work out what magic Margot had, but the child slept soundly in her arms and almost nowhere else.

Robyn turned from the window and rubbed her lips with her fingertips. “What is yer opinion, Iris? Do ye think they are talkin’ about it right now?”

“I dinnae ken,” Iris admitted as she continued to bounce her child. “They are out hunting, and I have nay idea what men talk about when they are out there. All I ken is that ye are a fine lass, and he would be lucky to have ye, and he is a fine man, and ye would be lucky to have him. It will happen in time. Ye only have to be patient.”

“Aye, that’s easy for ye to say.” Robyn turned back to face the window. “Ye only kenned Cayden for a short time before ye were handfasted. It has been over a year for me.”

Iris did not have the heart to tell Robyn that the men would not come from the direction she was looking.

“Both clans have been through a lot of change in the past few years. This union is as much about the clans as it is about ye and him. I feel for ye. I would have hated to wait so long, but war pushed us into it quicker. Ye dinnae have to worry about losin’ each other.”

Robyn chewed on the end of her thumb. “Aye, yer right. I’ll be patient. I’ll try to be patient. And if I cannae be patient, I will pretend to be.”

“Down! Down!” Callum shouted.

“Phew!” Iris called back. “I thought me leg was about to fall off from bouncin’ ye so much.”

Callum laughed while still balanced on his mother’s leg, and his head flopped back, followed by his entire body. Iris quickly leaned forward and chipped at his belly where it had been uncovered by his shirt riding up.

Callum burst into fits of giggles as Iris tickled him. He wriggled, writhed, and finally escaped her grasp, running for the door. Iris realized the men had returned. Callum had an innate sense of when his father was approaching, and as he ran out of the room, Iris knew that was where he had gone.

It took a short while until they all heard footsteps. Robyn turned from the window and moved to the door but quickly stopped herself and went to the chair instead. She folded one leg over the other and picked up the book from the table, pretending to read as she watched the doorway over the top of the novel.

Margot looked from Robyn to Iris and smiled. She brought her head down and kissed Mary gently on the head, a featherlight touch.

The footsteps grew louder, and Iris stood as Cayden entered the room with Callum in his arms. He wore his tall hunting boots, riding breeks, and a tight shirt. His face was red from the horse ride, and there was some dirt on his shirt.

Iris went to him and melted into his kiss. She pressed her body to his, and her lips lingered on his for a moment longer than usual.

“I missed ye,” she whispered.

“Aye?” He raised his eyebrows. “I was only gone for the mornin’. Ye really missed this old bag o’ bones?”

“Ye are pretty special to me.”

Cayden cocked his eyebrow and leaned to whisper. The whisper came out with some growling from the back of his throat. “I have a secret to admit to ye. I missed ye, too, me love. I had a braw time, but I was happy to return to ye.”

Iris kissed him on the cheek and then looked to the doorway as her brother entered. He wore a similar outfit as Cayden, an outfit befitting the Laird of McCabe.

Iris went to him and embraced her brother. “How are ye, Ashton? I dinnae get a chance to see ye when ye arrived last night.”

“Aye, me carriage left late, so we arrived late. I have a lot of time now.” He stole a glance toward Robyn, who was still pretending she was reading her book, even though her eyes looked above the pages at all times.

“Thanks to Laird McCabe, we will have a feast tonight!” Cayden announced.

“Aye, that’s true!” Hunter added as he joined them in the room.

“Och, we all caught some game and deer.” Ashton blushed a little and glanced at Robyn again.

“We will all eat well tonight. All of the clan,” Cayden said. He bowed his head a little.

It was four years to the day since the battle that had claimed so many, and they would have a feast in honor of the fallen. Peace had spread over the land since that time, and the alliances with the neighboring clans, including Clan McCabe, had gone from strength to strength. The Murdochs had no alliances, and they had caused no trouble since they were beaten four years ago.

“There was one other thing,” Cayden said.

Robyn suddenly perked up but still tried to hide it by staying as still as she could. When Iris looked at her, Iris was sure the young woman was holding her breath.

“Young Laird McCabe formally asked me for Robyn’s hand in marriage,” Cayden said.

Robyn put the book down quickly and almost leaped from her chair, but she steadied herself and looked nervously at her older brother.

“As we all ken, alliances are hard to form and quick to break. There are times to strengthen an alliance and times to let it be as it is. When marriage is spoken about, it is not only me sister or me family that is me concern but the entire clan. And in this case, it concerns two clans. This will be hard, but…” Cayden sighed and rubbed his forehead. “It will be hard to have me sister leave the castle and start a new life with Laird McCabe.”

Robyn’s mouth dropped open, and she finally leaped from her chair, running to Cayden and almost knocking him over. She turned and ran toward Ashton but stopped herself again. She would wait before showing so much affection in front of her family.

Ashton went to her and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a gentle kiss. “We shall start preparations soon.”

“Aye, maybe I’ll be married tomorrow like me brother was,” Robyn suggested.

“How about we put in a little more plannin’ this time,” Cayden replied.

Iris crossed the room to her husband and put her arm around his waist. He still carried Callum in his arms, Cayden’s thick forearms making easy work of the task.

“So, ye regret how quickly we got handfasted, aye?” Iris turned her head to the side and smiled cheekily.

“Och, ye ken I am sayin’ nay such thing. I wouldnae have it any other way.”

“Why did ye have to go and tease yer sister like that? Drawing out the news she has been waitin’ for all mornin’?” Iris gripped onto his side, holding him fast.

“It might be the last time I get to do it.” The Laird let out a growled chuckle. “She did her fair share of teasin’ before ye came along. Dinnae let her fool ye.”

Iris watched the couple as they awkwardly stood close to each other and talked. She could remember the feeling of falling in love with the Laird, and she hoped her brother and Robyn deepened their feelings as she and Cayden had.

Iris kissed Cayden on the cheek, her lips lingering. “It is braw, though, isnae it? We are married, and soon, our siblin’s will be, too. I ken it is guid for the clans, but it will be guid for our families, too.”

“Aye, it is certainly cause for celebration,” Cayden agreed. “Yer brother has turned out to be a fine young man and a keen laird.”

“And yer sister will bring him wisdom and beauty. If only we could have Astrid do the same. Do ye think it will ever happen between her and Hunter?”

“I wish for it. She has grieved for a long time, and I can see her finally gettin’ over it, but she is still adamant that she will never love another. Still, Hunter is as persistent as they come, and he is quite taken with her. Only time will tell.”

“Aye, that is true.” Iris placed her head on Cayden’s shoulder. “Time has told very well with us. Two children already and another on the way. We were goin’ to tell them at the feast today, but perhaps it can wait.”

Cayden turned his head and kissed Iris on the top of hers. “Aye, we can wait with the news until tomorrow. Yer brother was so excited to ask me for Robyn’s hand, that there was no way I could refuse. I ken he will be a guid husband from kennin’ him, but I ken from his eagerness that he will love her. Tonight, we will dine with the rest of the clan on the animals we hunted this mornin’, and we will inform them of the union and the continued strengthenin’ of our two clans.”

“It is truly a braw day,” Iris admitted. “It’s taken some time, but there’s been a lot of healin’. Me heart has been full for a long time, and I only wish for others to experience the same joy.”

“Aye, I bring a lot of joy to ye,” Cayden said.

Iris shook her head and linked her arm with his. “Aye, ye do, and I love how modest ye are.”

“Aye, I’m the very best at bein’ modest.”

Iris laughed again as she watched the new couple fawning over each other. Margot beamed at them, too, as Mary slept soundly in her arms.

“Our family got a little bigger today,” Iris said. “Not in size but in the amount of love. Look at the way Ashton looks at her.”

“It’s the same way I look at ye,” Cayden admitted.

“Och, ye do say some very nice things sometimes,” Iris admitted. She placed her head on the Laird’s shoulder again and took a deep breath. Her heart was fuller than ever.

The End.