Page 61 of Tangled in a Highland Conspiracy
A special bridge had been built over the Braeburn on which Ramsay’s and Ailsa’s wedding would take place. Ramsay had suggested the idea, and Ailsa had agreed to it with great enthusiasm. The bridge was not only the path from one estate to the other, but the symbolic joining of the two families, since any of them could now cross over to the other’s estate without let or hindrance.
Ailsa alighted from the carriage with her father’s help and saw Ramsay waiting for her. He looked like a god, she thought, as she took in his new kilt in the tartan of the Ormond clan, his tweed jacket and snow-white linen shirt, and his shiny leather black boots. He was completely clean-shaven for once, and his black wavy hair shone in the fitful sunlight. Ailsa felt a frisson of desire going through her.
It was going to be a bright but hazy day, though it did not look as if it would rain. Ailsa breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to her father.
He shook his head slowly and gave her a gentle but incredulous smile. “I cannot believe this day has come,” he murmured. “My wee girl is being married; it seems like such a short time ago that you were a babe in my arms.”
Ailsa smiled at him, cupped his face with one of her hands, and whispered, “You are the best father in the world, Da, and I love you.”
Just then, Katrina came up to her, curtsied, and placed a bouquet of assorted wildflowers, tied with a red silk ribbon, in Ailsa’s hands. “I picked them myself,” she said proudly. “You look so lovely, Ailsa.”
Ailsa took the flowers and smiled at her little sister lovingly. Katrina was dressed in a pale lavender satin dress trimmed with lace, and she looked as though she was about to burst with joy. This was the most exciting day of her young life.
“Thank you, Katie,” Ailsa whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Ailsa.” Katie smiled and hugged her sister, then it was time for the service to start, and the Laird took Ailsa’s hand and placed it in Ramsay’s. “Look after her,” he whispered, his eyes flashing a warning at his future son-in-law.
“With my life,” Ramsay replied solemnly. He took Ailsa’s hand and raised it to his lips, then smiled at her tenderly. “Ready?” he asked.
“I have been ready all my life,” she whispered.
Looking down at her, Ramsay was incredulous. He experienced stirrings of desire as he always did when he looked at Ailsa and was impatient for the ceremony to be over so that he could take her to his bed and make her his at last. Yet what he mostly felt was a great tenderness and a need to protect and shelter her; he would spend the rest of his life doing just that.
They heard the minister, Reverend MacDade, clearing his throat to get their attention, and then the service began with an opening blessing.
Neither of them looked at anything or anyone except each other throughout the service, and when it came to the vows Ramsay pulled Ailsa closer to him so that he could look into her eyes more deeply.
“Ailsa McBain,” he said, his voice husky with emotion, “do you have any idea how much I love you? You are everything to me, and I vow to you with my whole heart and everything that I am that I will cherish you forever. If we are blessed with little ones, I will be the best father they could ever hope for. But we have another family to take care of, you and I. I swear that from now on I will take to myself the responsibility of keeping the peace between the Ormonds and the McBains so that we will be one family and war will never break out between us again.”
The minister looked at Ailsa, and she smiled shyly at him before turning her attention to Ramsay again. “Ramsay Ormond, I love you more than I can put into words,” she began. “We have been through troubled times, yet I believe they have made my love for you even stronger, and as long as we are together I believe we can take on anything. You are my haven and my home. I will be your partner in keeping the peace between our families, and I will be proud to be your wife and the mother of your children.”
When she had finished speaking, Ramsay gently slid a gold ring onto her wedding finger, then kissed it. When he looked up again their eyes met, and something sparked between them; something strong and passionate that could not be denied for very much longer.
Ramsay mouthed the word,soon,with a wicked glint in his eyes and Ailsa giggled softly. It was hardly the right thing for a bride to do during her wedding service, but neither she nor Ramsay cared what anyone thought. Accordingly, when the minister pronounced them husband and wife, Ramsay almost hauled Ailsa into his arms for a very passionate kiss.
When they drew apart, they laughed with sheer joy, and both the Ormonds and the McBains applauded, then came together across the bridge to mingle with each other for the first time in months.
Laird Ormond came up to them and took Ailsa’s hand, then smiled at her warmly. “Welcome to our family, Ailsa,” he said, “and the start of a new peace between us.”
“Thank you, M’Laird,” she replied with a polite curtsey.
“No need for all that formality now, my girl,” he told her as he took her hand. “If you wish, you can call me ‘Father.’”
“I would be very pleased to do that,” Ailsa replied with a wide smile, “Father.”
“Come with me.” Ramsay took her hand and they began to stroll along the Braeburn on the McBain side. Ailsa’s family was hosting the reception there as a gesture of goodwill, although the newlyweds would be spending their first night in Balmuir.
Presently, Ramsay stopped and turned to look down at her. “Ailsa, I have never been so happy,” he said quietly. “I hope you don’t think I am feeling sorry for myself, but I wish John had been here. He would have loved this, and he could have stood beside me as my best man. I miss him so much.”
He looked so sad that Ailsa put her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. “I wish he could have been here too,” she said sadly. “And Molly. She was not my sister, but I used to feel as if she was.” Then she brightened up. “Wherever he is, John is happy for us, and wishes us the best, and I think it’s quite appropriate that we think of him today of all days. We should drink a toast to him.”
“Indeed we should,” Ramsay agreed. “He was the best man I ever knew.”
* * *
And so it was that an hour later, at the end of their speeches, the two Lairds stood up and shook hands, and then Ailsa’s father held up his glass. “We have toasted the bride and groom, and our respective families,” he began, looking around the assembled relatives. “However, I think John Ormond, the late and beloved son of Laird Ormond and equally beloved brother of Ramsay, should be praised for his courage, his love for his family, and everything else that made him special. To John Ormond; to a good man and a life well-lived. Sláinte Mhath!”
“Sláinte Mhath!” came the chorus from the guests as Ramsay and his father hugged each other, both blinking back tears.
