Page 61 of Much Ado About a Scot

The most profound sense of love, of peace, of wonder filled him. He stood, then took her in his arms and twirled her around. Laughter bubbled up inside. In that moment, he fell in love with her all over again. When he set her back on her feet his gaze clung to her face. “There is still the matter of your farm and my castle that we still need to speak of.”

“You said earlier you had a suggestion about that.”

He reached up and brushed the remnants of her tears from her cheeks. “The farm and Gladmuir Hall will one day be Jamie’s, but before he comes of age and takes control, he needs to learn more than land management. We can hire a tutor for him and our other children—be they boys or girls—to study languages, mathematics, and more. We can leave the day-to-day running of the farm to Freya and Brodie, and pay them handsomely for their efforts, enough so they can buy land of their own in the future. And, we can travel from Gamelshiel to Gladmuir Hall as often as you like. The distance between the two estates makes that entirely possible.” He paused to judge her reaction. “What do you say?”

She gave him a wobbly smile. “It will take far more money to see all that happen than the farm could possibly bring in even on a good year.”

“I haven’t shown you my treasury yet.” He grinned. “There is plenty of money, Isobel. More than either of us could spend in a lifetime.”

“Aye, then,” she said. “That sounds perfect.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Overhead, clouds sped across the sky, creating a shifting kaleidoscope of shadowy patterns across the brown and golden fields surrounding Gladmuir Hall. The morning air was perfumed with the scent of newly harvested grain and of freshly turned earth.

In the past four days since their return to her farm, they’d threshed the grain that was spared from the fire and had turned over the burnt fields to expose soil ready for planting. The earth renewed itself, just as this day—her wedding day—would for her. Isobel stood at the treeline separating her estate from David Graham’s. Xander had asked her to wait there for a signal from the bagpipes to come to him. They’d decided to hold the ceremony at the Graham estate where the fields had not burned.

An errant breeze tugged at the plait Freya had woven into Isobel’s hair, calming her sudden nervousness. She was not nervous to marry the man she loved. Nay, she knew that the rest of their days would be filled with joy. The darkness that had been so prevalent in both her and Xander’s lives for the past several years would be only a memory from this day forward.

Xander.

The sound of bagpipes rose above the din of voices, calling her forward to join her groom. She came through the trees to see Xander’s brothers-in-arms had formed an arch for her to pass beneath with their swords held overhead. Isobel’s breath caught in her throat as Xander came into view. He waited for her in the courtyard, surrounded by all the people they loved and who loved them. A slow, sensual smile came to his lips. Isobel forgot to breathe as she drank in the sight of him.

He wore his tartan of red, blue, and green over a crisp white shirt that did nothing to hide his bold masculinity. He was powerful, forceful, yet gentle. And he belonged to her from this day forth.

With the bagpipes soaring, she continued toward him until he took her hand, smiling into her eyes. “You are breathtaking, my wife.”

“As are you, my husband.” Isobel wore a frothy sea-foam-green gown she and Freya had embellished with seed pearls and embroidered flowers in the same shade of green.

Beside Xander stood Jamie in his finest short breeches and jacket. Before they proceeded together to stand before Reverend Brown, Xander knelt before Jamie. “Before your mother and I marry, there is something I must ask of you.”

“What is that?” Jamie’s brows drew together.

“Will you, James Seaton, accept me as your father? I cannot replace your real father, but I promise to love you as he would have loved you for the rest of my days upon this earth.”

Jamie’s face brightened and he threw his arms around Xander’s neck. “I always wanted you to be my daddy!”

Xander ruffled the little boy’s curls. “Then we will be a family, the three of us.”

“The four of us,” Isobel corrected, placing a hand on her still-flat abdomen.

“The five of us,” Jamie said as he turned to the minister. “Hurry and marry my mummy and daddy so I can show them my new puppy. Papa Graham said I could have it after the ceremony.” Impatiently, Jamie waved them forward.

Isobel placed her hand in Xander’s larger one as they stood before Reverend Brown and said their marriage vows for a final time. During the ceremony, he slipped the ring he had given her in her gaol cell from her finger, kissed it, and placed it back upon her finger. When they were pronounced man and wife, the sound of bagpipes rose and swelled over the thunder of cheers and applause from the crowd.

“Before you seal your vows with a kiss,” David Graham said, coming to stand before them, “I must offer you yet another apology. I tried to take your lands from you to cover my own misdeeds. It was my own guilt that motivated my actions, and for that I am truly sorry. To show my true sincerity, I have something I must give you.” He opened his hand to reveal a sheath of leather wrapped with a cord. “Inside is a document designating James Seaton as heir to my estate. I never had a child of my own, and I would love to be a part of your family in the days ahead.”

Isobel’s eyes misted with tears. “You already are a part of this family,” she whispered brokenly as she offered her neighbor a daughterly embrace. “Thank you, David.”

“Thank you, my dear.” His voice sounded thick as he hugged her then pressed the document into her hand before releasing her. “Now, Jamie,” he said in a stronger voice, “what do you say we go get your puppy?”

“Hold on,” Jamie said, frowning up at his new parents. “Aren’t you forgetting one thing?”

“What is that?” Xander asked.

“You’re supposed to kiss my mummy. Then it will be official.”

A tender smile lit Xander’s face. With a possessive hand at the small of her back, he pressed her closer. “I intend to kiss your mummy every day for the rest of her life.” Acting upon his words, he brought his lips to hers and sealed that promise.