A Hellion for the Highlander

All at once, the whole crowd had taken up the cheer, and they were chanting his name, applauding him, loving him as their Laird. The bard patted his back, but Alexander only sought one pair of eyes.

There was Cicilia, looking up at him with eyes shining with love and pride.

And Alexander finally knew he’d done well. For the first time since he lost them both, he knew beyond a doubt that his parents would be looking down on him, proud.

Epilogue

Audax at Fidelis

Bold but Faithful

Around a year had passed since the wedding, and Clan Gallagher was thriving. The Laird of the Clan was more popular than anyone could have possibly anticipated, and his wife was a beloved favorite of the people. They split their time; two-thirds in the Castle, a third on trips to the O’Donnel farm—though on many of these trips, Alexander stayed behind.

Not this time, though. This time it was Annys and Jamie’s birthday, and so the whole family traveled to Wauton. Cicilia would check how the farm was running and greet her friends, while Jamie would spend some time familiarizing himself with what would soon be his.

Sooner than I’d have thought. How can me wee siblings be nine already?!

Of course, Alexander had chosen to accompany them. Nathair stayed behind at the Castle to handle any emergencies for the next few weeks, and although Jeanie wanted to see her parents, she had opted to stay back, too. It was perhaps for the best, for two reasons. One, Jeanie had been carrying a baby for seven months now.

The second had been much more of a surprise. Jeanie, it turned out, had a remarkable aptitude with numbers, honed from the days of working at her stall and keeping house for herself and her grandfather. She had unofficially stepped into the gap left by the traitor Thomaes. She had been invaluable in helping Alexander with the clan’s wealth.

Is it nae just so strange how everythin’ worked out?

Cicilia smiled to herself, running her brush through Ailill’s mane. Alexander had insisted that he and Aibreann be the horses hitched to the small carriage that had brought the family to the farm. Cicilia found it rather adorable. Her husband was remarkably sentimental for a supposedly fierce Laird.

She glanced around the stable, her eyes falling on the place on the floor where Alexander had first kissed her, and a pleasant shiver of nostalgia ran through her body. How different everything had been then! How different they were now!

The stable doors were open, and it had just gone midday, so there was no real surprise when a shadow fell over the ground. She looked up, smiling, to see Alexander leaning against the doorway.

“Ye in here reminiscin’, Madame Gallagher?” Alexander teased.

She jokingly shook the brush at him, and he laughed, approaching deeper into the stable and petting Ailill’s nose when he reached their side. Cicilia grinned at him. “Finished tendin’ the bairns, have ye?”

“Och, they’re barely bairns anymore. Jamie’s gettin' so tall he’ll be lookin’ over me heid soon enough,” Alexander replied. He casually wrapped an arm around her, kissing her cheek.

Cicilia laughed. “Ye’re tellin’ me! I’m the short one. I dinnae ken how I’m supposed to control him when in a few years he’ll be literally lookin’ down at me!”

Alexander laughed, and the two of them returned their attention to the horses, chatting about small things in the way that couples do. Life was smooth, these days, in a way that Cicilia had never dreamed it could be after the death of her father.

Eventually, Cicilia said, “I cannae believe how long ago it a’ seems. How is it that just two years before now, I dinnae even ken what ye looked like? I feel I’ve kent ye me whole life.”

Alexander nodded. “I ken what ye mean,” he agreed. “Hard to believe ye were naught but a thorn in me side for so long.”

She smiled. “Aye, well. I’m naught if nae consistent. I’m still a thorn in yer side.”

He chuckled as she put down the brush. “Are ye ready to go?”

Cicilia nodded, opening each stall to let the horses out. Alexander took Aibreann by the reins, Cicilia took Ailill, and they led them out of the stable.

Neither of them spoke as they mounted the horses and began to ride the two-hour journey into Wauton. Cicilia had brought the twins on the way here, but now she wanted to take just Alexander. Her excuse to him had been that she wanted to talk with him alone.

Which is true. I do want to talk to him without the twins…though nae entirely alone.

It was a quiet ride, though not an uncomfortable one. In their time together, Cicilia and Alexander had learned how to be happy together in silence. They spoke little, occasionally commenting on the scenery or stopping for water. Still, Cicilia’s mind, at least, was firmly on their destination.

It was mid-afternoon when they reached Wauton Kirkyard. They tied the horses to the provided posts, made sure they had hay and water and then walked together through the iron gates.

Cicilia knew the path to the headstone that marked her parents’ grave so well she could walk it with her eyes closed. They arrived reasonably quickly, and she reached into her bags and drew out the wreath of flowers, which was surprisingly still neat for such a long journey. She knelt, placing it on the grave.