Page 91 of Trapped with the Vicious Highlander
She was wearing a bright blue dress, one that greatly complemented the color of her eyes and the shade of her hair. The dress was also hemmed with MacDunn tartan, and she had Flora to thank for that. She was the one who had made sure that the dressmaker added those details to her wedding dress.
She had been awake for quite a long time, unable to contain her joy and excitement, even as people arrived from all parts of town. Brodrick’s people.Herpeople.
The disbelief continued to taunt her, like an ache in the parts of her mind she couldn’t reach. It was still hard for her to believe that a day like this had come for someone like her.
The wedding celebrations had started the previous day when the guests began to arrive. Brodrick had paraded her around several lairds and members of his council. Some names she remembered, and some she did not.
“’Tis quite all right. I’ll refresh yer memory when we’re out in the courtyard,” Flora had reassured her when she expressed her worry that she may not fully recognize some of the people she had seen the previous day.
Ava wondered what could have happened if she didn’t have someone like Flora in her corner when she had first arrived at Castle MacDunn.
As her sister-in-law tightened her corset, she let her mind take her down memory lane.
“Do you remember the first time I came here?”
“And the clansfolk wouldnae stop lookin’ at ye? How could I forget?”
“I was so terrified of everyone back then. I didn’t know where to go or who to go to…” Ava trailed off.
She wondered if she would be able to relive those memories with joy if they hadn’t led to her wedding, or if it would’ve been the other way around.
“Oh, well, ye’re about to become the lady of the castle,” Flora said, tying the last lace on the corset. She gave Ava one last look and stepped back, clasping her hands. “Ye look like an angel fallen straight from heaven, Ava.”
Ava laughed. “Thank you.”
The door creaked open slowly, and Margaret poked her head inside.
“Ye look beautiful,” she complimented, after gaping at her for the better half of a minute.
Ava laughed and shooed them out of the room. She just needed a minute to herself. To take a deep breath before she had to face the crowd. To thank her mother, who was in heaven, watching her. Smiling down at her and wishing her the very best in her marriage.
Ava was not particularly worried about the handfasting, as that in itself should not take more than a few minutes. It was rather the events that would come next that made her jittery.
But for now, she needed to face the crowd. And face the crowd she was going to do.
She stepped out of her room, her skin glowing and her eyes as bright as ever as she headed towards the courtyard. From the distance, as she walked, she could see Brodrick, who stood near the priest, a look of pride resting on his handsome face.
Men and women from all parts of the country stood on either side of the aisle, all applauding her and giving her the brightest smiles she had ever seen.
Brodrick stood straight and proud, a beaming smile playing on his lips. He was wearing a white shirt beneath a dark jacket, and his kilt’s pattern looked bold and clear in the sunlight.
As Ava walked towards him, her hands itching to cup his face and trace his smile, she realized this was probably the first time she’d ever had to walk past a group of people without worrying about what they might say about her size and what she looked like. Brodrick made her feel beautiful. He made her realize that it didn’t matter what people thought. He loved her, and that was all that mattered.
As she drew closer to the altar, she saw Flora standing on the other side, holding a fan.
Among the rows of people, she could see Sarah and Elizabeth, who both cheered her on as she continued to walk. She could see Henrietta and other people from the orphanage, including some of the children she had not had the chance to see the previous day. She could see them all now, all happy as anything, all sharing in her joy and satisfaction.
She finally reached the altar, the sun shining on her radiant face as the priest launched into a speech.
“Let’s hope I get this right,” she whispered to Flora, who moved closer to her.
Her eyes were fixed on the crowd now, especially on four men who stood closely together, each one with a woman by his side.
“The one on the far right, I have met before. That’s Murdoch Blaine, Laird of Clan Moore. And that’s his wife. Cecilia.”
“Aye.”
“The one next to him,” Ava continued, her eyes landing on the dark-haired man next to Laird Moore. “That’s Jack Reed, Laird of Clan Dougal. And that’s his wife, Emilia?—”
