Sacrificing his Highland Heart by Kenna Kendrick
Epilogue
“Laird and Lady Prestone are here at last!” Rose watched as Euan opened his arms to his friends as their carriage approached the entrance to Rede Castle. They hadn’t heard him yet, but Rose and Euan left the gate and wandered down the path to meet them. It had been months since Rose and Euan had seen Walter and Siobhan, and now was to be the celebration of the year.
She slid her arm inside his and touched her growing belly with her hand in an instinctive gesture. Euan noticed it, and he grinned. “Only a few more months until the child can join us.”
“Yes.” Rose leaned her head against Euan’s strong shoulder as they watched Walter and Siobhan’s wagon get closer. “But do you not think that the Prestone clan will be upset that their laird and lady will not be there for the Hogmanay festival?” She pulled her warm tartan a little tighter around herself. The chill in the air was sharp, and there was frost on the grass. She was still getting used to Scotland’s cold. Even though it was not much farther north than her own home, it felt like miles and miles away when she first experienced the winter’s cold.
“They insisted, my dear.” He kept on grinning. “It feels good tae hear ye say our Scottish word and tradition with such ease. It is yer first Hogmanay, and yet ye speak of it as ye have experienced it for years on end.”
He kissed her temple, and Rose squeezed his arm. “It was a strange thing to be without Christmas in the way I am used to, but I hope and pray that Hogmanay will be just as wonderful.”
“Och, so it will, Rose. Ye will have yer belly full of wine and good food, and there will be such warmth and merriment, full of dancing, although perhaps ye shall want tae watch the dance and nae take part in it.”
“Euan Rede, I am perfectly capable of doing things like dancing, even though you wish to treat me like a fragile female. What if I do not wish to simply watch?”
Euan shook his head, his eyes wide. Rose smiled at the concerned look on his face. It had been there ever since she told him she was with child a few months ago. While she was glad he was so nervous as well as excited, she wanted him to stop tiptoeing around her as if she’d break any minute. “We could continue the sword-fighting lessons you started with me. I am well enough for that.”
He laughed. “Nae a chance, lass. Ye will wait until ye have given birth, and then we may start again. As for the dancing this evening, we shall see.”
She scoffed at his protectiveness, but they hadn’t time to say anything more, for Walter arrived, jumping out of his carriage and lifting Siobhan down with him. Rose rushed into her friend’s arms. “Oh, Siobhan, it is so wonderful to see you again! You will have to tell me everything!”
Siobhan beamed, looking healthier and happier than she ever had. “We will, Rose. But first, I must greet yer husband.” She embraced Euan, and Rose hurried to give Walter a hug as well.
“I hope that your journey was not too difficult and that you have not left such sad clansmen and women behind you. I know that it will be your first Hogmanay as Lady Prestone, Siobhan.” Rose said with solemnity, folding her hands in front of her.
Walter put an arm around his wife’s waist. “Och, think naething of it, Rose. What they would miss more is their most effective healer.” He winked at Siobhan. “But she has been training a young lass since we arrived there, and she should handle anything well enough.”
“Aye, I kenned that we would come tae visit ye one day soon, and I wanted tae have everything ready by the time that happened.”
“You are very wise, indeed, Siobhan. Come, the both of you. You must rest and eat after your journey and prepare yourselves for the Hogmanay festival this eve as we send the old year out and bring in the new.”
“Ye see how Scottish my Sassenach wife has become?” Euan said to Walter as the four of them walked inside. “She surprises me day by day.”
“Ye are looking well, Rose,” Siobhan added. “I hope that yer condition hasnae caused ye any trouble?”
“Not at all,” Rose replied. “But if it did, I know that I would be in excellent hands with you, old friend. Come, come! They have prepared everything for us in the hall!”
They entered the castle, and Susan was rushing about when she spotted Walter and Siobhan. “Ye are most welcome, Laird and Lady.” Siobhan kissed young Susan on the cheek, and she blushed with the compliment. “Come and eat. Everything has been prepared perfectly. The Hogmanay feast and festival will be even better!”
“I am certain it will,” Rose replied, and Susan skipped away happily.
As they settled into their seats and began to eat, Siobhan leaned over to Rose. “So, ye are happy then, after all. All has turned out well?”
“It has.” Rose clutched her stomach again and smiled. “It was a strange beginning that we had, which you will understand, but it was all worth it. I cannot imagine living anywhere else now. Even England would feel like a foreign land to me.”
“Aye, of course. But surely ye will go and visit yer family at some stage. Or perhaps they would prefer tae visit ye here?” Siobhan began to eat, cutting into her meat.
Rose pondered that thought. She had been so busy in the past months. Finding out about her pregnancy, working with the villagers, and learning to be Lady Rede that she hadn’t thought about visits from her family, even though she missed them terribly.
“You are right, Siobhan. Perhaps I should convince Euan to go with me down to England. It would not be a long journey, and it would do us both well.”
She looked off into the distance, seeing it now. Her father and brother would be nervous and surprised, but she would send them a letter beforehand to warn them of their arrival.
“Think on it. Although I donnae ken how well our Euan would take tae being dragged tae England of all places,” Siobhan chuckled.
After their meal, the men went off for a restorative ride, and Siobhan and Rose took themselves to Rose’s calming study. They sat by the fire with cups of wine in their hands. “And what of you, dear friend? Are you happy?”
Siobhan’s face broke into a wide smile. “I ken that I caused quite a bit of trouble with all that nonsense of pretending nae tae care for Walter, but I think that I have found myself in rather a good situation. I have married the man that I love, and he allows me tae do what I love. Nae that I would ask his permission, but he enjoys feeling good about himself when he says he ‘allows’ such things.” Siobhan started laughing heartily, and Rose joined in.
“Men are such strange creatures, are they not? Soft when it is just the two of you, but then hard when others are watching? Shameful.” Rose shook her head and took a sip from her glass.
“Aye, ye have spoken the truth.” She sighed. “But Walter has been so kind and so loving. We are so very happy taegether even though we fight like the devil when it comes tae it.”
Rose chuckled. “I know exactly what you mean.”
They heard the sounds of horses and men’s voices outside Rose’s study window. She blushed. “Oh, here they are now. They should have told us they were going to visit the sea.”
“What do ye mean?” Siobhan asked, frowning.
“Come and see for yourself.”
Rose led Siobhan to her window, and they both leaned out. Euan and Walter were standing on the shoreline, their horses grazing behind them in the grassy area. In a matter of seconds, they each tore off their clothes and rushed into the sea. Rose grinned and turned to look at a surprised Siobhan. “I suppose I should nae be surprised, Rose,” Siobhan said. “They are forever doing nonsense.”
“Well, it was before Euan and I made love that I saw him here in just this way, unclothed, and if you can believe it, he caught me staring at him. I had to pull myself away and lean against the wall here.” She touched the spot, warmed by the memory, even though it was only a few months before. “Such a silly thing, but I think it made all the difference. It broke one of the barriers between us. There were many.”
Siobhan laughed. “Aye, I ken. Well, I wonder what Walter will think when he kens that his wife and friend have seen him as naked as the day he was born?”
“I know just what he will say,” Rose said in a sarcastic tone. “He was always a flirtatious man, and I think he will enjoy that you saw him in such a secretive way.”
Siobhan rolled her eyes. “Ye are probably right, the fool.”
Rose laughed.
* * *
“I ken that we have written, but ye must tell me in person, how goes everything between the two of ye?” Euan asked as he and Walter, wet-haired, walked their horses back to the stables.
Walter was shaking his head and grinning like a dobber. “It has turned out so unbelievably well, lad. I mean, I kenned that I loved her, but it seems tae only grow with time. We are very happy. Although our new comfort and our happiness and love has led tae even greater and more passionate arguments.”
“But these arguments lead tae greater and more passionate…other things,” Euan interjected, and Walter laughed in agreement.
“Quite right. And ye? How are ye?” he asked, the look of a kind friend in his eyes.
Euan thought to himself for a few moments. He hadn’t had to put his experience in the last few months with Rose into words before. It was like trying to explain a beautiful natural scene. The words weren’t enough. He listened for a few seconds to the sound of the breeze, the waves crashing on the shore, and the metal of the buckles on his saddle.
“It has been…better than I ever could have hoped. We have our problems, as ye say. The arguments are fierce.” He chuckled. “But I can honestly say that I am the happiest I have ever been. Life with Rose has given me a fullness I never expected. We enjoy each other’s company. I understand now why people wish tae align themselves with another. If they are good and compatible, then it truly is a companion of the heart. When the child comes, that feeling will be even greater.”
William patted Euan on the shoulder. “I am happy for ye. That is a good thing. I donnae ken if we will have children or nae. None have occurred yet. But even so, we are happy. Like ye said, we enjoy each other’s company. There is a beauty tae this kind of ‘alliance’”.
Euan couldn’t agree more. They left the horses with James at the stables and made the short walk to the castle. It was soon time to prepare for the festival. It would be held in the hall, and all the village was invited. When he and Walter arrived, they ran into Siobhan and Rose on their way to the library.
“Och, my wife, just the person I needed tae speak tae,” Walter said, taking Siobhan’s arm.
“What on earth do ye mean, Walter? What do we need tae speak of?” Walter was grinning, and he was steering Siobhan towards the stairs.
“Och, naething much,” he replied, “But I would like ye tae hear me out.”
Rose watched them go with a smile, and she turned to Euan and put herself in his arms. “And where are they going, I wonder,” Euan said and winked at his wife.
“Newlyweds are expected to behave in such ways, dear husband.” Rose smiled as she looked up into his eyes. “You know,” she said after a few seconds, “I remember how much I feared you the first time I saw you. You looked so strong, so warrior-like, so handsome, and I was afraid of you. I had never seen a man who looked like you before.”
“Afraid of me? Donnae make me laugh, wife. Even on yer first day, ye gave out tae me as if I was naething.” He chuckled and pulled her closer, kissing her on the forehead.
“I suppose that is true, but it was only tae save my father and to make you think that I was feeling more confident than I was at the time.”
“I see. Now ye reveal all yer secrets tae me.” Rose was smiling, and Euan felt warm and content with her in his arms.
“There is another secret I wish to reveal to you.”
“Och?” He tensed. “The babe? Is it all right?”
“All is well, do not worry,” she soothed, rubbing his chest. “But I think that I should like my family to come and visit us here, or if you are willing, to come and visit my family in England.” He hesitated. It had been a promise that he would never go to the country which had tormented his people so. Why should he? He would not be accepted, and he could be taken prisoner at any moment. Besides, he would have to look upon the faces of many men who had taken part in the battle to bring the Scots to heel.
“I donnae ken, lass.”
“Well, think about it.” She touched her stomach, and his heart softened. “I should like them tae meet the next heir of Rede Castle.”
“Och, ye think it is a lad, then?”
Rose lifted a brow. “Can a woman not also be an heir in spirit if not officially in name?”
“Of course. A woman is a formidable creature when she wishes tae be.” His expression darkened, and Rose laughed.
“Whatever the child is, he or she will be strong…and formidable. So, what do you say, Euan? Will you come with me? It would mean everything to me if you would come to see my family.”
He waited a few moments, and then he brushed a lock of hair from her face and kissed her cheek. “Aye, I will come with ye, lass. For ye and only ye.”
Rose’s face brightened, and it was worth any remaining fear that Euan held in his heart. She kissed him deeply, and together they wandered upstairs, their thoughts distracted for a time.
