His eyes gleamed at her. “And what do you have in mind?”
“We could send for a piper and a fiddler. I wouldn’t mind dancing a strathspey or two.” She grinned. “They could play ‘Tullochgorum.’ ”
“I brought some of my finest whisky for the colonel. It’s in our room at the inn. I could send for that, too.”
“We could turn this ball into a regular ceilidh.”
“Aye.” He sighed. “But yer aunt would never forgive us, and you know it.”
She sighed, too. “I suppose if we’re to keep peace in the family, we shouldn’t do it.”
“I don’t think so.” They danced a moment. “But I tell you what, princess.”
“Yes, my love?”
“When we return to Rosscraig, we’ll throw the ceilidh to end all ceilidhs. And you and I”—he paused to look down at her belly—“and the bairn will dance as many strathspeys as you please.”
“Or…” She trailed off with a coy smile.
“Or?”
“We could have our own private ceilidh in the colonel’s study.”
He got that look on his face that never failed to send delicious shivers dancing over her skin. “Now?”
“That depends.” She dropped her gaze to his kilt. “Are you practicing the ‘old traditions’ tonight?”
“Why?” he asked, his face reddening.
“Because, my dear husband,” she leaned up to whisper, “that would make it much easier to do it in a chair.”
And with his laughter ringing in her ears, he waltzed her right out the side door.
Author’s Note
The Scottish Clearances of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have had a lasting effect on the Highlands . To this day, the area is underpopulated because of the “Improvers” who filled their land with sheep, forcing their crofters to emigrate. It’s the reason the east coast of the United States and Canada is filled with people of Scottish heritage, the reason Scottish Highland Games abound in those areas. While we’ve reaped the benefits of assimilating that rich culture into ours, it devastated the Highlands, which hasn’t been the same since.
Whisky, however, played a large part in salvaging the economy. After 1823, when the Duke of Gordon’s Excise Act made it profitable to license a still, legal operations sprang up all over the Highlands . The Glenlivet distillery began as an illegal still on the duke’s land (which is why he championed the act in the first place). I like to think that Lachlan went on to found a great scotch whisky.
Entire books have been written about the king’s visit to Edinburgh, but one thing most scholars agree on—Sir Walter Scott’s novels and his orchestration of the pageantry of the king’s visit changed how the outside world viewed Scotland forever. The kilt became the universal symbol of Scottish attire instead of just a Highland custom, and the culture was romanticized.
And yes, the laws for Scottish irregular marriages (recognized by civil authorities, though not by religious ones) were exactly as I described them. They remained in place until 1940, when the laws were reformed.
Last, there are still wildcats in Scotland, although some people dispute whether they’re true descendants of the breed or mixes of the original Scottish wildcat with domestic cats. Certainly, they existed during the period of my book. And they do indeed look just like large tabbies. Except when they snarl.
Beware a Scot's Revenge Page 31