Rodrick’s movement slowed, and he looked down at her with a slightly more stoic expression. “Ye have been such a force here, me lady. I’ll admit that I dinnae think it would come to this when I first escorted ye to yer room.”
Her heartbeat flickered in her chest, and Willow was taken aback by his words. Rodrick cast a glance over at Keegan before starting up their dance again.
“I will say that even today I had me doubts, but…” The man-at-arm’s stare turned soft as he grinned at his Laird and friend. “I’ve never seen Keegan smile like that before, nae as he was when he was dancin' with ye.”
Eyes stinging, Willow’s chest swelled, and she was at a loss for words for several moments. Instead, the two of them simply enjoyed their dance as new clan members, and she took in what it meant to have Rodrick tell her something like that.
She’d made Keegan smile, and something about that made Willow so incredibly happy that she wondered if her body could contain it all.
Sure enough, though, their dance came to an end, and Rodrick bowed to Willow before leaving her to entertain the next in line for a traditional dance, which appeared to be the Shaim Spring. Willow was given free rein to choose the song, and she requested a lively tune that would keep the excited energy of the evening going.
Boisterous cheering followed, and Willow held out her hands for her bridegroom, Lilith and Melissa as bridesmaids, and Rodrick as best man to join her on the floor. They spun about like leaves blowing in the wind, and at the end of it, Willow was sucking in great lungfuls of air as her feet began to ache in a steady throb.
The mood of the music slowed, and Lilith remained by her side as Willow worked to catch her breath, still smiling like a fool.
“That was quite the dance, Sister. I…” Lilith was just as needy for breath as Willow. “I shall need time to recover after all that.”
With a broad grin, Willow pulled Lilith in for an embrace, a joyous chuckle tumbling from her lips. “Och! I should say so! It is so wonderful to have ye here, Lilith. I’m as light as a feather.”
Her sister looked at her with a curious expression, her brow furrowed down over her brows before the steady rose and surprise played out over Lilith’s features. Willow held her stare, confused by the sudden shock on her sister’s face.
“What is it?”
Shaking her head, Lilith’s eyes shone with the glimmer of unshed tears, and she swallowed hard.
“Ye are truly happy. Aye?” Willow nodded gently, squeezing one of Lilith’s hands. “I…I am just so surprised. After everything that has occurred with the laird and the exchange…”
Her words trailed off, and Lilith looked to the side, her stare pinned to the floor for a time. When she looked back up at Willow, there was a pain behind her eyes that Willow couldn’t understand. But a slow smile crept over Lilith’s face, and it was the first genuine one she’d seen since her sister arrived.
“It appears that I have been…mistaken.” She nodded. “Aye, a grand mistake. I am so verra happy for ye, Sister. I am only sorry that I dinnae see it before.”
Willow pulled Lilith close once more, but very quickly, her sister pulled back and looked into her eyes with a renewed, serious energy.
“Sister, I must tell ye that?—”
“There is our bride!” Melissa shouted. “Yer guests demand a dance, Lady Willow!”
All she could do was chuckle, and Willow smiled as she allowed herself to be pulled into the fray with Lilith yanked along behind her. A bride’s duty on her wedding day was nearly endless, and there would be so much more to come before she could at last retire after the beddan.
With a grin, Willow called out to those assembled, “Another reel, me jolly friends!”
24
Exhaustion, at least for her feet, finally began to claim Willow, and she smiled with a chuckle at Keegan as she eyed the door.
“I think it is time to begin the beddan. I willnae make it another moment without truly dropping to the floor. I shall make the first attempt to retire.”
Keegan laughed along with her. “Aye, lass. I couldnae agree with ye more. I’ve certainly had me fill of dancing for the evening. Och, for me life, if I’m honest.”
Willow giggled, slipping past him and straight toward the door. She could hear Keegan’s soft steps a few paces behind her. Perhaps they would make it all the way to the bed chamber without being noticed. If luck was indeed on her side, Willow would make it to the chambers, and no one would arrive to pull her back out again.
She was not that lucky, however.
“We’ve made it,” Willow sighed, flopping back onto the bed as Keegan sat near the head. “Do ye think?—”
“We’ll have none of that!” Rodrick called out, and their room was flooded with a gang of guests as the door burst open. “The Beddin’ with ye!”
As tired as she was, Willow couldn’t deny the motley crew their traditions, and it was rather hilarious. She was pulled from the bed and tossed about the room between the guests, each of whom demanded a quick one-two of dancing before passing her to the next person in line.