Page 98 of A Rogue in Twilight
“I will.”
“She will bring much joy to your family. Riches and happiness will bless your family. We will see to that, in gratitude.” Niall sighed, set his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Eilidh, you were born to be with this man, not with us.”
“Did you know that?”
“I see it now. Riona knew from the moment you were born that your destiny was tied to Lord Struan and his lands. You will have a family, responsibilities, joy.”
“Grandda always said you would take me into your world one day.”
“If you never found love,” he replied. “But you two found each other.”
“But the night we saw you riding through during the storm—what of that?”
“We saw that night that you had found your destined love, even if you did not know it. We could not take you. We had to wait, and hope the treasure would be found instead. I always wanted you free of that spell. And your Lord Struan is too firmly bound to the earth and this life. He would never have let you go.”
James smiled. “I would have gone after her wherever she went.”
“You would, I know.” Niall smiled at Elspeth then. “Your grandfather loves you dearly and has done his best to protect you. He only knew we might take you. He wanted to send you away, but we changed our minds when we saw you had found this man.”
“Before we go,” James said, still feeling the strangeness of this interlude, and feeling dreamlike, as if it was real and not real. “Do you remember my grandmother? Your painting was precious to her.”
“She was kind and dear,” Niall replied. “We met before I went over to the Fey. She was so interested in the local legends, and I told her what I knew. We spoke of the future—what could happen if her grandson ever met a daughter of the Fey. Lady Struan would be very pleased that our plan turned out so well.”
“Plan?” Elspeth asked.
Niall glanced at Riona. “Lady Struan told me her grandson James was not happy, that he would not allow himself happiness. That he felt responsible for a cousin’s death.”
Straightening his shoulders, James realized that his grandmother had known more about him than he had realized. “She knew that?”
“She was concerned you might never wed, never let yourself love, never expand her family. Your siblings as well—she had a great desire to renew the fairy blood in the MacCarran line through her grandchildren. But she had to ensure that there would be great-grandchildren someday, and that meant making sure you and the others found the right matches.”
“So she put that in her will?”
“She did. She wanted you and your siblings to have lives that changed for the better, that brought magic back to your line. Even after I had gone over to the Fey to be with Riona, Isometimes saw Lady Struan in the hills. And she saw me. Fairy blood,” he said, “showed itself in her.”
“I am not surprised,” James said.
“She wanted to bring happiness to her family, and I wanted my daughter to find happiness too—either in her life, or in this realm if need be. Your mother and I have watched you grow from afar,” Niall added, looking at Elspeth. James saw the sheen of tears in her eyes again, and he pulled her close.
“So you put your heads together, you and my grandmother,” he said. “Have you made plans for sister and brothers too?”
“That is not for me to say. But I know Lady Struan wanted all of you to find something special in life and in love.”
“Love makes its own magic,” James murmured. “The motto of the MacCarrans.”
Elspeth drew back, looked at him. “You know about the motto?”
“I did,” he said with a little smile. “But I found it hard to believe in magic.”
“There is never a guarantee of the outcome with love or fairy magic,” Niall said. “Human free will can accept it and grow, or circumvent it and diminish. What happens to you is not up to us or our kind in the end. It is up to you.”
“That,” James said, “sounds very sensible to me.” Niall smiled. He understood.
“What of the treasure?” Elspeth asked.
“That was the one condition that could change everything for good or ill.”
“But love changes everything,” Elspeth said.
