When Duncan raised his eyebrows at her, she nodded and he began to play. His pipes filled the bailey yard with a song of hope and joy. All eyes were on her as she joined Ian to stand before Father Brian.
“I, Ian Payton MacDonald, take ye, Sìleas MacDonald, to be my wife. In the presence of God and before these witnesses, I promise to be a loving and faithful husband to ye until God shall separate us by death.”
Sìleas said her vows in turn. When the priest had blessed them, Ian kissed her and the crowd erupted into cheers.
Connor was the first to congratulate them. “May ye be blessed with long life and peace.”
Sìleas squeezed Ian’s hand. Between the rebellion brewing and Hugh’s escape, peace seemed unlikely, but she would hope for a long life together.
“May ye grow old with goodness and with riches,” Duncan said, giving them another of the usual blessings.
When it was Alex’s turn, he said to Ian, “Ye saved yourself a lot of trouble by marrying a MacDonald. As they say, ‘Marry a lass and ye marry her whole clan.’ ”
“I’m glad ye mentioned that,” Connor said, resting his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “That is precisely the reason I need ye to marry a woman from another clan. I’ll be calling on ye soon to do your duty.”
“Not me,” Alex said, putting his hands up and taking a step back. “I live by the saying, ‘The smart fellow’s share is on every dish.’ ”
They all pretended not to hear Alex’s parents, who had gone off to the far end of the bailey yard to shout at each other.
They had the feast in the yard, too, since the guardhouse was too small for all the guests. Though it was chilly, it wasn’t raining, and the food the women brought was tasty and plentiful. They warmed up afterward with music and dancing. All the men kissed Sìleas, giving her pennies, until Ian put a stop to that particular tradition.
“Let’s get the priest,” he whispered in her ear.
They found Father Brian and sneaked away without anyone noticing—or at least they pretended not to notice. When they reached the makeshift bedchamber Ian had set up for them on the upper floor of the gatehouse, he carried her over the threshold.
He set her down, and they waited while Father Brian sprinkled the bed with holy water.
“Do your part,” he said to Ian with a wink, “and ye will have many fine children.”
As soon as Ian closed the door behind the priest, Sìleas burst out laughing. “I already put the fertility charm Teàrlag gave me under the bed.”
Ian pulled her into his arms. “We’ll have to do our best not to waste so much luck.”
EPILOGUE
NINE MONTHS LATER
Fear was an unnatural state for Ian.
His mother came downstairs periodically to report that his wife was well and all was proceeding as expected. Despite her reassurances, an unfamiliar sensation of panic flooded through his limbs every time he heard his mother’s step on the stairs.
“Sit down, Ian, before ye wear out your new floor,” Alex said.
Why had he got Sìleas with child? What was he thinking? It wasn’t of children, that was for certain. But God help him, her mother had died in childbirth.
“She is a strong lass,” his father said. The sympathy in his eyes showed that he understood in a way the others, who had no wives, could not.
Sìleas screamed again, and his heart stopped in his chest.
“ ’Tis only when they’re too weak to scream that ye have cause to fret,” his father said.
His father could be lying to him, but the strength of Sìleas’s voice was reassuring.
“I think I hear her cursing,” Duncan said, looking nearly as worried as Ian. “That’s a good sign, aye?”
“How long does this take, da?” Ian ran his hands through his hair as he paced. “I shouldn’t have brought her back here to Knock Castle. What if it’s bad luck?”
“First ye had Father Brian bless every nook and corner,” Alex said. “Then ye kept poor old Teàrlag here for three days making silly spells for protection.”