Page 27 of Trapped with the Vicious Highlander (Falling for Highland Villains #5)

EPILOGUE

ONE MONTH LATER

Flora raised the embroidery, staring at it with all the love and care in the world. She then moved it closer to Ava, a look of anticipation on her face.

“So, what do ye think?”

Ava took the embroidery, a flower made with several fabrics, her eyes scrutinizing the petals as if she had something terrible to say. But she didn’t. Not today, not ever.

“And Margaret made this?” she asked, still staring at the flower in disbelief.

Sometimes it was hard for her to understand that the little girl she had once rescued would grow into the kind of woman who harnessed her creativity.

“She did. Stayed up all night workin’ on the thing. Had to visit her in her room twice to see if she slept. She didnae.”

Ava looked around, studying her room. Over the night, it had become an utter disaster, and every misplaced piece of clothing, every unstrung pearl and every broken mirror strewn across her floor only added to her joy. This was one of the happiest days of her life.

The day she would get married to the man of her dreams. The man she loved with all her being.

“It’s quite beautiful,” she murmured as she handed the embroidery to Flora, who began to affix it to the top of her dress.

She was wearing a bright blue dress, one that greatly complemented the color of her eyes and the shade of her hair. The dress was also hemmed with MacDunn tartan, and she had Flora to thank for that. She was the one who had made sure that the dressmaker added those details to her wedding dress.

She had been awake for quite a long time, unable to contain her joy and excitement, even as people arrived from all parts of town. Brodrick’s people. Her people.

The disbelief continued to taunt her, like an ache in the parts of her mind she couldn’t reach. It was still hard for her to believe that a day like this had come for someone like her.

The wedding celebrations had started the previous day when the guests began to arrive. Brodrick had paraded her around several lairds and members of his council. Some names she remembered, and some she did not.

“’Tis quite all right. I’ll refresh yer memory when we’re out in the courtyard,” Flora had reassured her when she expressed her worry that she may not fully recognize some of the people she had seen the previous day.

Ava wondered what could have happened if she didn’t have someone like Flora in her corner when she had first arrived at Castle MacDunn.

As her sister-in-law tightened her corset, she let her mind take her down memory lane.

“Do you remember the first time I came here?”

“And the clansfolk wouldnae stop lookin’ at ye? How could I forget?”

“I was so terrified of everyone back then. I didn’t know where to go or who to go to…” Ava trailed off.

She wondered if she would be able to relive those memories with joy if they hadn’t led to her wedding, or if it would’ve been the other way around.

“Oh, well, ye’re about to become the lady of the castle,” Flora said, tying the last lace on the corset. She gave Ava one last look and stepped back, clasping her hands. “Ye look like an angel fallen straight from heaven, Ava.”

Ava laughed. “Thank you.”

The door creaked open slowly, and Margaret poked her head inside.

“Ye look beautiful,” she complimented, after gaping at her for the better half of a minute.

Ava laughed and shooed them out of the room. She just needed a minute to herself. To take a deep breath before she had to face the crowd. To thank her mother, who was in heaven, watching her. Smiling down at her and wishing her the very best in her marriage.

Ava was not particularly worried about the handfasting, as that in itself should not take more than a few minutes. It was rather the events that would come next that made her jittery.

But for now, she needed to face the crowd. And face the crowd she was going to do.

She stepped out of her room, her skin glowing and her eyes as bright as ever as she headed towards the courtyard. From the distance, as she walked, she could see Brodrick, who stood near the priest, a look of pride resting on his handsome face.

Men and women from all parts of the country stood on either side of the aisle, all applauding her and giving her the brightest smiles she had ever seen.

Brodrick stood straight and proud, a beaming smile playing on his lips. He was wearing a white shirt beneath a dark jacket, and his kilt’s pattern looked bold and clear in the sunlight.

As Ava walked towards him, her hands itching to cup his face and trace his smile, she realized this was probably the first time she’d ever had to walk past a group of people without worrying about what they might say about her size and what she looked like. Brodrick made her feel beautiful. He made her realize that it didn’t matter what people thought. He loved her, and that was all that mattered.

As she drew closer to the altar, she saw Flora standing on the other side, holding a fan.

Among the rows of people, she could see Sarah and Elizabeth, who both cheered her on as she continued to walk. She could see Henrietta and other people from the orphanage, including some of the children she had not had the chance to see the previous day. She could see them all now, all happy as anything, all sharing in her joy and satisfaction.

She finally reached the altar, the sun shining on her radiant face as the priest launched into a speech.

“Let’s hope I get this right,” she whispered to Flora, who moved closer to her.

Her eyes were fixed on the crowd now, especially on four men who stood closely together, each one with a woman by his side.

“The one on the far right, I have met before. That’s Murdoch Blaine, Laird of Clan Moore. And that’s his wife. Cecilia.”

“Aye.”

“The one next to him,” Ava continued, her eyes landing on the dark-haired man next to Laird Moore. “That’s Jack Reed, Laird of Clan Dougal. And that’s his wife, Emilia?—”

“Amelia,” Flora corrected.

Ava could tell that the priest was about to finish his speech and that the ribbon for the handfasting would be brought out soon, so she hurried through the rest of the names.

“And that is Camden Lyall, Laird of Clan Cairn, and his wife… Paisley?”

“Ye dinnae need to ask it. Ye ken them already.”

Ava nodded, her eyes finally landing on the fourth man. “And that is Laird MacAllen and his wife, Keira.”

“See, ye ken these people already.”

Ava nodded.

The handfasting had begun, and she couldn’t help the smile on her face as the priest tied her hand and Brodrick’s together.

This was it. This was everything she had hoped for. Everything she had once used to pray for. She could see Margaret in the crowd as well, cheering and laughing like the rest and speaking to the other children who had come from the orphanage.

As her hand dropped to her side, she felt her stomach twist. Everything had changed, and yet it didn’t feel like it. From then on, she was no longer Ava Elliot.

She should feel something. Some kind of excitement. But for some reason, she felt the same way she had when she had first stepped into the courtyard.

Lady MacDunn.

The title reverberated in her head over and over.

Yet it didn’t feel true. She remained suspended in disbelief as the ceremony ended, even during the slow dance she had with Brodrick later that day.

They swayed to the music in the Great Hall, surrounded by the other lairds and their wives, who immediately had come to her after the ceremony to wish her a happy and prosperous marriage.

“It just all feels so surreal. Like I am in a dream and I am about to wake up soon,” she mentioned to Brodrick, who listened attentively, his grip tightening on her waist.

“Must be one hell of a dream then, wouldnae ye say?” he teased.

Ava laughed. “Maybe you’re also dreaming?”

“Well, if I am, I never want to wake up from this,” he responded.

Silence fell between them for a minute before Brodrick broke it, a sly smile on his face.

“There’s a way I could show ye that this isnae a dream. But nae here. I could show ye upstairs.”

Ava narrowed her eyes at him. “Laird MacDunn, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” she asked, a playful edge to her voice.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

Brodrick lifted her into his arms, and amidst loud laughter and sharp-witted banter, they made their way out of the Great Hall and up the stairs, towards his room.

Towards their room.

The End?