Page 48 of To Wed a Laird
Then she turned and left.
Cormac laughed. “She means I look very dirty and is very politely telling me to leave you alone,” he said, picking Rose’s hand up to kiss it again. “But Rose, I don’t want to leave you, even for a second.”
He gazed at her with a desperate intensity that made her want to beg him to stay, but she had to be sensible.
“But you must,” Rose told him. Her voice was husky from disuse, but her eyes were warm with love as she gazed at him. “And I promise I will still be here when you come back.”
Cormac nodded and kissed her forehead, then left, pausing at the door to look back and smile at her. He was so tired he could hardly stand up, but Elspeth had to know the good news.
He found her in Nell’s rooms, where she was reading aloud to the old lady, who was sitting doing a pile of her and Cormac’s mending. She looked up expectantly, and when she saw Cormac’s smiling face, she gave a squeal of delight.
“Rose is awake and well,” he said happily.
Elspeth’s face lit up. “Can I see her?” she asked eagerly.
“Not yet, sweetheart,” he replied. “The healer will let us know when, but I have one more piece of good news to tell you.”
“What?” Elspeth jumped out of her chair and ran to stand in front of him.
“Rose and I are going to be married,” Cormac said, smiling down at her.
Elspeth’s mouth dropped open in disbelief, then she began to clap her hands and laugh in delight.
“She is going to be my Mammy!” she cried, her face a picture of sheer joy.
Nell, rising from her chair, came over to Cormac and hugged him. “I knew this would happen the first time I saw her,” she said tenderly, smiling at him. “Ye needed each other, an’ Elspeth needs ye both, dae ye no’, hen?”
“Yes, and Nell—” Her voice was eager. “I will need a new dress!”
“Well, we will have tae get busy,” Nell replied, laughing. “I have got tae make the bride’s dress as well. What colour dae ye think is best?”
Elspeth thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up with mischief. “Rose-pink!” she replied, laughing gleefully.
Elspeth’s wish was granted when Cormac supplied the material for the bridal outfit, although he was not, of course, allowed to see it. The dress was made of rose-pink velvet with long, fitted satin sleeves of the same shade with a modest sweetheart neckline and a long skirt that flared out from the hips.
Rose wore a jewelled tiara that had belonged to Cormac’s mother in her hair, which had been left loose to drape gracefully over her shoulders. She had no other ornamentation apart from the small posy of roses that she carried.
“I think ye are ready now, Rose,” Nell said approvingly as she looked proudly at the dress she had crafted with her own hands. “Ye look like a queen.”
“Thank you, Nell,” Rose replied, smiling joyously. “I feel like one in this beautiful creation. Thank you, for the loveliest dress I have ever owned, Nell.”
Nell smiled tearfully, unable to speak. She hugged Rose, then took her hand and led her to the chapel, where Elspeth was waiting. She had been instructed by Cormac to be very, very good, but her eyes widened as she saw Rose in her gorgeous dress. She was just about to cry out in delight when Rose put a finger to her lips to keep her quiet.
Rose extended her hand to take Elspeth’s, and they walked down to the altar, where Cormac stood watching, grinning broadly as he took in the sight of the beautiful woman who was about to become his wife.
Elspeth put Rose’s hand in Cormac’s, and he kissed her forehead, then turned to Rose. He said nothing, but his eyes said everything he needed to express. He was dressed in his clan finery, and as Rose gazed at him, she wished she could run out of the church just so that she could be alone with him.
Cormac must have read her mind because he leaned down and kissed her cheek, whispering, “Soon.”
The minister said the blessing, then read a few relevant Bible verses before he invited them to make their vows.
Cormac knelt down on one knee and his voice was infinitely tender as he took Rose’s hand in his and looked up at her. “Rose, my love,” he said. “I fought against loving you, but I can no longer fight. I thought I was being disloyal to the memory of my late wife, but now I know that I must move on. When we met, I was hostile to you, and I am deeply sorry, but now I know I cannot live without you because you are my heart, my soul, myeverything. Let me be by your side to love and protect you as long as we live, Rose. Will you?”
“Yes, Cormac, I will,” she replied. “When I met you, I was unsure of you, even a little afraid, but as I came to know you I saw that you had a gentle heart, and I want that heart to be mine because I love you. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my whole life. I want to be your wife, and mother to Elspeth and any other children we may be blessed with. Will you have me?”
“I will,” he replied, and his smile was radiant as he stood to wrap his arms around Rose. “I love you, my sweetheart. Let us never be parted from this moment onwards.”
Then he kissed her, and they smiled at each other lovingly as they turned to leave the church.
