Page 83 of Highlander's Wild Lass
“To be fair, she was the one that started it.”
“To be sure,” Anthony countered, “Ye started this years ago with Brannan McLean, and it will be donenow.Let the man rest and let his family have peace.”
Koll arched a brow. “Aye, but I am nae dead, so I will nae rest. I will get what I want...in the end.”
Anthony stalked forward and punched him. The crack, unsure if it was his hand or the man’s jaw, was satisfying enough. The devil was in Ryder Koll’s eyes when recovered from the hit and he grabbed Anthony by his collar and shook him.
“Go ahead,” Anthony said lightly, “ye ken ye want to.”
Koll stared at him, arm cocked back, ready. A long moment passed between them, and Koll pushed Anthony backward into Sebastian.
“Yer a smarter man that I thought,” Anthony said as he fixed his stock tie.
The older man pointed, baring his teeth. “This is nae over, nae in the slightest.”
Anthony stood with Sebastian, watching the two guards near the front gate escort Ryder Koll from the grounds.
“I daenae think this is over,” Sebastian said and turned back toward the castle.
Epilogue
“Do ye think the blaeberries are ripe yet, Celestia?” Auralia asked at breakfast, pushing around her eggs.
“They should be, it is almost August,” Anthony answered, leaning toward Celestia so that Auralia would be able to hear him. “Mrs. Duncan would ken.”
Auralia nodded with a smile and turned to her brothers. “Will ye pick them with me? Maybe we can bake somethin’ with them.”
“Aye, sister,” Chester replied while Hugo only nodded with a mouth full of food.
Celestia smiled, finally feeling that all was well. Two months had passed since their father died and with each day they were getting better. Celestia had thrown herself into the distillery with the twins helping when they could around their tutoring and training. Auralia had taken to writing after Master Moreau told her she had promise as an author.
And Celestia and Anthony were, well, she even couldn’t believe it—but they were in love. They had gotten into a fight, over something she couldn’t even remember, but it ended with Anthony telling her that he loved her. And she told him a few days later, though waiting that long tormented him.
After breakfast, Anthony bid them goodbye. A nearby farmer had several cows ready to give birth and needed Anthony’s help.
“Let’s go bother Mrs. Duncan, shall we?” Celestia said, standing from the table.
Mrs. Duncan was found in the castle gardens, hidden behind the tomato plants. “Aye, the blaeberries should be ripened by now,” she told them. “Take a few of the baskets in the corner of the garden and get to pickin’. We’ll bake somethin’ with them once yer done.”
“Do ye nae have any maids to help ye today?” Celestia asked.
“Nae, they’re cleanin’ up breakfast and preppin’ for the next meal,” she told her. “Will ye help me? There’s blight all over the tomatoes, it’ll kill them if I wait any longer. It shouldnae take long, then ye can join the blaeberry pickin’.”
“Of course,” Celestia said, taking a bucket from her. She then turned to her siblings who were walking quickly from the garden to the edge of the forest, just beyond the castle wall. The wall was shorter here, giving a beautiful view of the lush greenery of the trees. “Daenae stray too far into the forest!”
“We willnae!” Chester called back.
Celestia brought the bucket to her nose and nearly gagged. “This smells horrid, what is it?”
“Compost tea, lass,” Mrs. Duncan said with a laugh. “I had to steep it in the sun for days. All ye need to do is take the cloth and wipe the leaves with it.”
They worked in the garden silently until Mrs. Duncan broached the topic of children. “I think maybe a bairn in the new year, what do ye think?”
Celestia blushed. “Perhaps.”
“Do ye want to be a maither?”
Celestia shrugged. “Well, I am well-equipped for it.”
