Page 50 of Marry the Highland Villain
He sighed. “If ye dinnae wish to stand beside me today, Oliver, I will understand,” he said quietly. “Ye’re my only remainin’ brother, and I want ye beside me, where ye belong, but I willnae force ye if ye feel it’s too much.”
“Nay.” Oliver shook his head firmly. “I’ll be at yer side. ’Tis my place, and I wouldnae want anyone else to stand with ye.”
His mouth turned up ever so slightly at one corner—the closest he came to a smile these days.
“I may nae agree with every decision ye make, and I willnae pretend I dinnae have concerns, but despite all that, ye are my brother. I will stand with ye when ye wed.” He paused for a moment. “Besides, Emily promised I’d nae see the outside of a privy for a fortnight if I were foolish enough to let my feelings about Auchter get in the way of supportin’ ye today. And ye ken as well as I do that ye should never get on the wrong side of a healer.”
Conall laughed and saw some of the tension leave Oliver’s shoulders. “Och, and she’d make good on that threat, I’m sure.” He clapped his brother on the shoulder. “I ken ye speak from concern for me, and I appreciate it. But just for today, I would appreciate it if ye could keep yer thoughts to yerself, aye?”
“Aye.” Oliver nodded. His gaze flicked over Conall’s clothing. “Yer sash isnae straight.”
Conall swore and turned back to the mirror. “I just…”
Oliver chuckled and came over to help him, and Conall felt something in his gut settle—some knot he hadn’t noticed before.
He might not always show it, but he did not doubt that Oliver was on his side. And with his brother at his back, he could handle anything… including marriage.
“Och, ye look so lovely, Brigid. An’ this dress… ’tis elegant work.” Valerie looked up from a critical examination of Brigid’s wedding dress, her eyes shining with approval. “Ye finally learned the sewin’ skills I tried to teach ye, I see.”
Brigid blushed with pleasure. “I still dinnae sew as well as ye do, Valerie, but I did my best. And Emily helped me with the stitching. She’s been a good friend to me.”
“And she’s a skilled hand, too.”
Valerie slid delicate, experienced fingers over the stitching of the intricate knots that decorated the hem and sleeves of the pale green dress.
“And with more than just needle and thread,” Lily agreed.
Brigid had introduced her sisters to Clan MacKane’s healer over the evening meal, and Lily and Emily had enjoyed a long discussion about medicinal herbs and preparations, just as Brigid had hoped they would.
“She has much skill in herb lore as well. I hope to have some time to learn from her.”
They hadn’t discussed Conall’s offer to welcome them into Clan MacKane yet. Brigid knew her sisters were considering their choices, and the merits and dangers of both returning home and choosing to remain in the clan. She knew what she hoped her sisters would choose, but she also knew better than to try topress them one way or another. They would make up their own minds, in their own time, and there was little she could do to hasten or influence their decision.
Valerie tugged at the hem of the dress to straighten it, then rose to brush imaginary specks of lint off Brigid’s shoulders.
Lily finished styling Brigid’s hair, which had ribbons of emerald green—to match Brigid’s eyes, she said—and Clan MacKane colors wound through it in intricate braids, topped with a woven flower crown that reminded Brigid of the ones she used to make as a child.
“There. Ye’re all ready,” Lily said, standing back to examine her youngest sister, a look of intense pride on her face.
A lump formed in Brigid’s throat, unexpected tears pricking her eyes. Tears of happiness, tears of nervousness, and tears she couldn’t quite find a name for. Nostalgia, perhaps.
I wish Mama and Father were here today to see this. To be with me. I dinnae ken if Father would have wanted to give me away, but even if he didnae, just havin’ him here would have meant everything to me. And his men would have made a merry rabble among the guests, I ken, but I’d still welcome them. And him. And Mama’s smile…
Brigid took a deep breath and set those thoughts aside. She knew if she spent any more time thinking about her absent parents, she would start crying in earnest, and today was not a day for tears—unless, of course, they were happy ones.
It was her wedding day, a day she had never even dared to dream of. And her father might not be here to give her away, but she would walk down the aisle with her sisters at her side, until Megan and Valerie took their places as her witnesses, and Lily would give her to Conall in their father’s place.
Her oldest sister leaned in to wrap her in a warm embrace. “Ye can still leave if ye want to,” she reminded her, her voice low and serious.
“I ken, Lily,” Brigid said, smiling. “But I dinnae… I just… I dinnae ken… I’m happy, but…” she trailed off, realizing she had no hope of articulating the myriad of emotions that flooded her at that moment.
“’Tis all right,” Lily assured her, giving her a quick hug, careful not to disturb her dress as she did so. “’Tis understandable. Ye’re beginnin’ a new life in less than a candlemark.”
She patted her sister’s shoulder reassuringly until the odd tremors and the heat in her eyes receded.
A gentle knock sounded at the door before a maid appeared.
“My Ladies, the ceremony is ready to begin,” she said, doing her best to sound solemn as the occasion demanded, although her eyes shone with excitement.
