Page 138 of Ruined By the Ruthless Highlander
“There they are.”
Marian turned around.
The entire courtyard fell into silence as the bride and groom appeared.
Lilly looked more radiant than she ever had. The silver of her dress caught the light as she moved, soft and luminous against the courtyard’s darker tones. Her cheeks were flushed, and her smile was wide and unguarded in a way Marian had rarely seen before.
Finn walked beside her. His hand rested lightly on her back, steadying her as though he had already decided he would always do so.
They moved through the arch of heather and pine that Marian had helped arrange, stepping into the courtyard’s center as though it were theirs.
Today, it does.
Marian felt tears well up in her eyes as she watched Lilly walk down the aisle. They were happy tears.
“What kept you waiting?” she asked as they reached the front.
Lilly laughed breathlessly, crying too. “It was me,” she admitted, her cheeks pink. “I told Finn I could not walk down the aisle alone, and he said he would walk with me instead.”
Marian could not help but smile.
Lachlan shook his head slightly beside her, and soon, the ceremony began.
Lilly and Finn stood still, their faces flushing with nerves and happiness as their hands were joined with a cord of MacLeod tartan. Marian stepped forward, gently adjusting it around their wrists, ensuring it lay properly between them.
“A bond freely chosen binds stronger than iron,” Lachlan said, his voice steady as he glanced at Finn with quiet approval.
Lilly turned to Marian, her eyes shimmering with tears. “Thank you, my Lady,” she murmured. “I owe this day to you.”
Marian shook her head, pulling her into a long embrace. Her heart was heavy and full at the same time. “No, Lilly,” she said softly. “You owe it to yourself.”
Lilly laughed through her tears, squeezing her hands tightly before stepping back toward Finn.
They exchanged their vows with their hands bound, looking into each other’s eyes with an expression that nearly brought tears to Marian’s eyes. Love.
Finn leaned in to kiss Lilly, and the courtyard erupted in applause and cheers.
Marian stepped back beside Lachlan, just as Mossie trotted proudly into the circle, the rings tied carefully to its collar. The crowd laughed, and even Lachlan shook his head in amused defeat.
“I should have ken ye would find a way to involve that creature,” he muttered.
Marian smiled as she slipped her hand into his. “I never told you,” she whispered to him. “His name is Mossie.”
“Only aSassenachwould pick a name for a cat,” he teased.
Marian leaned into him again. “You are wrong, my Laird. Mrs. MacBride named him.”
His eyebrows rose in surprise.
Marian laughed openly now, unable to help herself at the expression on his face.
“I wish I could paint your face like this,” she said, letting go of his hand with deliberate mischief. “It is priceless.”
She left the courtyard then, only to reappear a moment later in a gown embroidered with MacLeod colors.
Lachlan noticed at once.
He took her hands slowly, his gaze never leaving hers. Then he lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles gently.
“Welcome home, Mairi,” he said.
And for the first time since she had arrived at the Highlands, Marian knew that she truly was home.
The End?
