by Bree Wolf
And so Nathan kept trying, kept proving himself, and little by little, Maggie saw her son’s demeanour change. First, that awful, little scowl vanished from Niall’s face. Then his old smiles returned more and more. He soon stopped avoiding Nathan and freely conversed with him. A delicate bond was forming between them, and Maggie knew that it had sprung from one simple gift.
Nathan cared. He cared in a way that Niall did not feel forced to choose between the father he’d lost and the man who might replace him.
“I admit I’ve never felled a tree,” Nathan had stated with a doubtful frown one morning as he’d looked up at the tall trunk of a mighty oak. “How did your father go about it?”
Another day when a horse had escaped the stables and run off across the meadow, Nathan and Niall had pursued it. Later, Niall had told her that Nathan had asked him how Ian would have retrieved it.
“Tell me how your father used to sharpen his sword.”
“Which stories did your father like best?”
“Tell me the story of how he saved Moira and Blair from the wolf.”
Nathan asked and Niall answered and, together, they found a way to talk to each other. To get to know one another.
“Mother!” Niall called as he came rushing into the hall, a wide grin on his face. “Nathan is back!”
Maggie jumped to her feet and hugged her son. “Did ye see him? Do ye think he’s brought ye something?”
Over the past few months, Nathan had travelled back to England again and again to see Collin. He would stay for a week or two and then return to Scotland. And always would he carry messages between the two boys; messages, which had soon grown beyond the written word and included small gifts passed back and forth.
“Aye, he’s brought me something,” Niall exclaimed, a bright spark lighting up his eyes that made Maggie frown. Something was up! She could feel it in the shiver that raced down her spine. Usually, she only felt such a sense of expectation when Blair was up to something.
“Do ye already know what it is?” she asked him. “Ye look pleased.”
“Aye,” Niall exclaimed. “A brother.” Then he turned and pointed to the entrance.
Stunned by her son’s words, Maggie looked in the direction he was indicating and found herself looking at Nathan.
He stood by the large door, a mile-wide smile on his face and a young boy standing by his side. A boy Maggie had seen before and instantly recognised as young Collin. “What?” she stammered and her gaze moved back and forth between Niall and Nathan before she finally took note of the other smiling faces by the entrance.
Maggie’s jaw dropped when her gaze fell on her brother and his wife as well as Sophie and little Robbie, who were standing rather slack-jawed in front of them as they surveyed the hustle bustle in the great hall. Meeting her eyes, Robert winked at her as he often had when they'd been young and kept a secret from their parents. Only this time, it seemed she'd been the one in the dark.
Returning his smile, Maggie then turned her gaze to the tall woman standing on Nathan’s other side and, although years had passed since they’d last met, Maggie recognised her immediately.
Nathan’s sister, Olivia.
As well as her sons and daughter, it would seem, for the large entrance of Seann Dachaigh Tower looked utterly crowded. “What?” Maggie stammered yet again as her gaze drifted back to Nathan.
“Are the English invading?” Garrett chuckled somewhere off to her right, but Maggie could not bring herself to look at him. All she could do was stare at the tall Englishman across the hall.
With Collin by his side, Nathan finally moved forward and came walking toward her, his blue eyes brighter than she’d ever seen them. One hand lay on Collin’s shoulder while the other reached out to pat Niall’s the moment they came to stand before them. The rest of their families shuffled along, their faces smiling and their eyes sparking with something Maggie couldn’t make sense of.
“Welcome back, Nathan,” Niall greeted him. “Hello Collin, ‘tis been a long time. I’m glad ye could come.”
Collin’s eyes were wide as he looked around the great hall. “I’ve been wanting to come for a long time.” He grinned at Niall. “Claire was mighty vexed that she wasn’t allowed to come along. She made me promise to tell her everything.”
Niall laughed. “Sisters can be tiresome sometimes.”
Collin nodded in agreement.
“Do ye remember my mother?” Niall asked Collin, gesturing toward her.
Again, Collin nodded. “Of course, I do. It is a pleasure to see you again.” He gave her the most adorable bow Maggie had ever seen.
Nonetheless, Maggie was still at a loss as she smiled at the boy. “I’m truly happy to see ye again, Collin.” Her gaze moved to Nathan, a question there she knew he understood.
A delighted and somewhat secretive smile clung to his features. “I’m happy to be back,” he whispered as he moved to her side and gently took her hand in his. “I missed you.”
His breath felt warm against her cheek, and his thumb gently brushed over the skin on the back of her hand. Maggie felt her breath catch and her thoughts slip from her mind. As much as she delighted in this proper courtship as he and Niall had come to call it, she could not deny that a part of her longed for more. It had been wonderful to feel like a young girl again, to receive flowers and secret notes, to share meaningful glances here and there and dream of stolen kisses. Still, she was a grown woman now and she no longer wanted a suitor.
What she wanted was a husband.
What she wanted was Nathan.
A bit of a mischievous twinkle lingered in his eyes as they held hers. “I have a very important question to ask you,” he whispered before he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss upon it.
“Ye do?” Maggie asked, slowly becoming aware that the hall had all but fallen silent. Countless pairs of eyes were turned in her direction−among them those of her family−and she thought to see looks of eager expectation on most of the faces around her. What was going on? Everyone seemed to be in on a secret that eluded only her.
Glancing at her son, Maggie found Niall and Collin standing shoulder to shoulder, both with the same expectant grin on their faces. “What is going on here? Why are ye all acting so strangely?” Hushed laughter echoed through the room, and Maggie turned back to look at Nathan. “What question?”
Inhaling a deep breath, Nathan smiled at her. “I know this has been a long time coming, but,” he chuckled with a sideways glance at Niall and Collin, “better late than never.” He moved closer, his eyes looking into hers in a way that made Maggie’s hands tremble. In answer, his own held hers more tightly. “Will you marry me?” he said then without preamble. “I love you, and I always have. I cannot imagine another day without you as my wife.”
For a long moment, Maggie could do little else but stare at him, certain her ears had to have deceived her. He couldn’t possibly have just…could he? “But…but,” she stammered before her gaze dropped to her son.
Niall smiled at her, that warm, endearing smile she’d always loved. “I give ye my blessing,” he told her proudly. “I told Nathan before he left so he could bring Collin and our families back here for yer wedding.”
Overwhelmed, Maggie could barely catch a clear thought. “My wedding?”
“Aye,” Emma exclaimed joyfully as she pushed forward, little Kenna on her arm. “Ye’ll marry the man whether ye like or not. After all, we worked day and night to finish yer dress and I willna have it go to waste.” She looked at Claudia and Moira, who smiled at her with the same devotion she saw on Emma’s face.
“My dress? Ye…?” And then it all made sense. The errands that seemed to pop up out of nowhere. The stammered excuses and hushed whispers whenever she drew near. “How long have ye been planning this?”
“A bit more than a fortnight,” Nathan answered her, drawing her gaze back to him. “A fortnight that felt like an eternity.” His left arm snaked around her waist, tentatively drawi
ng her closer, as his right hand brushed over her cheek ever so gently. His blue eyes lingered on hers, soft and kind, and yet, full of impatience and longing. “But it’ll end tonight,” he whispered, “if you’ll have me.”
Maggie stilled. “Tonight?”
“Tonight,” he confirmed with a wicked grin. Then he leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “I will not wait another day for a proper kiss.” From the tone of his voice, Maggie deduced that by proper he wasn’t referring to the proper courtship they’d had thus far, and a shiver of delight chased itself down her back.
“Well then?” Nathan asked as his eyes settled back on hers. “What is your answer? Will you marry me?”
Tears shot to Maggie’s eyes in that moment and her throat seemed to close up with the intensity of all the emotions that suddenly seemed to rush at her from all sides. And so she simply bobbed her head up and down before throwing herself into Nathan’s arms.
Cheers went up around them then, and she savoured the feeling of joy echoing to her ears as much as the feel of Nathan’s arms holding her tightly against his wildly beating heart.
Today was indeed a blessed day−not that she’d seen it coming−but perhaps that was just as well. Ten years ago, her life had taken an unexpected turn and, tonight, it had done so again. Perhaps that was simply life.
Perhaps it was good the way it was.
Whatever the reason, what truly mattered was that now, here, in this moment, Maggie was utterly, almost deliriously happy and she would be for all her days to come. After all, did she not have the most wonderful children in the world to call her own? Had the man she loved not waited ten years to finally claim her hand?
Smiling through a curtain of tears, Maggie looked at Nathan, pleased to see that his own eyes were far from dry. “Where shall we live?” she whispered, wondering where life would take them.
“Here,” Nathan replied without a moment’s hesitation. “In Scotland.” He looked around the room at all the people he’d come to know in the past three months, and his smile deepened when approving cheers went up. Then his gaze sought hers yet again. “What your mother did was wrong, but I finally understand her longing for this land, these people.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “This is home, and I know that we’ll be happy here.”
Overwhelmed, Maggie stared at him, completely at a loss. “But what about the earldom? Yer family? Yer…yer seat in the House of Lords?”
Nathan shrugged, a bit of a sheepish grin on his face. “I’ll do what is expected of me, what is my duty.” He leaned closer. “But my home will always be here…with you.” His hand squeezed hers. “Nothing will ever keep me from your side for long. I promise.”
Maggie’s heart felt as though it would burst with joy.
“Mamma,” little Blair called, gently tugging on her arm, “ye needa stop crying and change into yer dress.” Her eyes sparkled in the soft glow from the candles overhead. “No bride should be crying on her wedding day. What will yer groom think?”
Maggie laughed as did Nathan.
“She’s crying because she’s happy,” Niall informed his sister in that all-knowing, slightly overbearing manner big brothers sometimes possessed.
Blair huffed out a breath. “I know that, but sometimes other people get confused.” She glanced around herself, and Maggie knew that Blair still needed to learn that while other people’s perception was no match for hers, they still were not blind.
“I think they know, too,” Collin put in, exchanging a confirmative look with Niall. “Look, they’re smiling.”
Blair’s face instantly brightened. “Good.” Then she grasped Maggie’s hand and tugged her out of Nathan’s arms. “I’ll help ye with yer dress.” Her gaze swept over Emma, Moira and Claudia. “Are ye coming? There’s lots to do.”
Laughing, Maggie followed her daughter. But before they rounded the corner to the back stairwell, she looked over her shoulder and met Nathan’s gaze.
And what she saw there was a beautiful future, a promise of something she’d been dreaming of ever since she’d been a little girl. And all she had to do to claim it for herself was to change her dress, speak her vows and seal her promise with a kiss.
At the thought, a smile came to Maggie’s face and her feet quickened their steps…suddenly impatient.
Chapter Forty
A New Life
Standing with his new wife on the first-floor landing, Nathan looked down into the great hall of Seann Dachaigh Tower. Fiddlers were playing in the corner and half the room had been cleared of tables to make room for dancing. Faces were flushed from joy and whisky alike as well as the warmth emanating from the dancing flames in the hall’s enormous stone hearth. Children weaved their way through the crowd, their eyes far from tired as they chased one another or worked together to steal yet another sugary treat from a large table laden with food.
The Scots had even forgiven the English invasion as Garrett had jestingly dubbed it, and Nathan spotted his sister as well as Robert and Cecilia mingling as though they’d all known each other for years.
“I always thought,” Nathan whispered as he came to stand behind her and pulled her into his arms, his chin coming to rest upon her shoulder, “that such joy only lived in stories. I remember your mother telling us about these ancient fortresses somewhere out in the wilderness of the Highlands, and I remember how I felt when she spoke of the celebrations that brought the clan together as one.” Sighing, Nathan pulled her deeper into his embrace, savouring the moment. “But I never thought it could be real. I always thought such a sense of belonging only lived in her stories.”
Maggie inhaled a deep breath and he felt her chest rise and fall against his own. “Aye, I used to think so as well. When I first came here, it felt like spotting a fairy upon a green hill. It felt as though I’d strayed into a dream.” He could hear a smile come to her face before she turned in his arms and her deep blue eyes found his. “I still feel as though I’ve strayed into a dream.” She bit her lower lip, her head shaking from side to side in disbelief. “Are ye truly here?” she whispered then, and he could feel the soft brush of her breath against his lips.
“I’m here,” Nathan replied, knowing exactly how she felt.
“And ye’re truly mine now?”
Cupping a hand to her face, he kissed her. “Body and soul.”
“And ye’ll not leave again?”
“Wherever life will lead us, we’ll go together,” Nathan promised her as much as himself. “I’ll never let ye go again. What happened happened, but that is the past.” He inhaled a deep breath, feeling somehow light and unburdened and free in a way he’d never thought possible. “I’m determined to look to the future…Wife.”
His brows rose in meaningful suggestion, and Maggie laughed as her arms snaked around his neck. “I remember ye saying something about a…proper kiss…Husband.” Long ago, she’d often called him my lord, but Husband was much better.
Nathan was already beginning to feel light-headed with her in his arms, the warmth of her skin only separated from his own by a thin layer of fabric. Indeed, the dress Moira, Emma and Claudia had made for his lovely bride was beautiful, but he could not help but wish it lay crumpled at his feet.
Tracing his knuckles along the line of her jaw, Nathan felt her tremble in his arms. “Yes,” he whispered against her lips, “but for a truly proper kiss, we need to be away from prying eyes.” He glanced over her shoulder. “See?”
Once more turning in his arms, Maggie looked down, following his gaze to where not only Collin, Niall and Blair, but also a small group of friends and relations stood watching them rather intently. Looking at them, Nathan felt warmly reminded of his own childhood with Maggie and Robert. “Aye, ye’re right,” she whispered, waving to their children. “This won’t do. What do ye suggest?”
“I suggest we retreat,” Nathan murmured into her ear and then pulled her away from the balustrade the moment their children found a more diverting pastime than watching their parents and di
sappeared into the crowd.
The evening had been utterly enchanting, and Nathan had felt complete the moment he’d led Maggie onto the dance floor surrounded by cheering Scots. They’d laughed and blushed, aware of the watchful eyes around them. And then they’d danced and it had felt exactly as it had ten years ago when she’d taught him how on a lone meadow surrounded by wildflowers.
His feet had moved without thought, and all the dances without her disappeared from his memory. All he could remember was her. All he could see was her. All he would ever want was her.
Maggie.
His little daisy.
Finally, life was good.
Quick steps carried them down the corridor and into their chamber−now that they were husband and wife. The moment the door fell closed behind them, Nathan pulled his wife into his arms, finally at liberty to kiss her the way he’d first kissed her that day long ago at a London ball.
A lifetime had passed since then.
And yet, Nathan felt as though his life was only just beginning.
Epilogue
One Year Later
The moon was full when eight-year-old Blair MacDrummond slipped from her bed and tiptoed across the cold stone floor to the window seat. Beginning to shiver, she pulled up her legs and drew a blanket around herself, her cold feet seeking the warmth of her body. Then her gaze travelled to the silvery glow of the moon outside her window as it hung over Scotland’s rolling hills.
“I miss ye, Father,” she whispered as her thoughts drifted back to the dream that had found her that night. It had come rather unexpectedly−as they generally did−but it had warmed her heart. It had resembled others she’d had before, and they too had always made her feel torn.
In her dream, her eyes had travelled to distant shores, flying over the darkened sea until they’d come upon a tall ship with black sails. The moon had hung high in a sky filled with heavy clouds and a strong wind had blown, pushing the ship through churning waves.