Page 44 of The Icy Highlander's Bride
The sense of dread he had been pushing down all morning suddenly rose, threatening to overwhelm him. He had spent the night lying awake, worried that someone might want to hurt Lana, and it was even worse to imagine this in the light of day.
"Is that what ye are worried about?" Cameron asked. He shook his head, brushing aside his brother's concern. "Nay one is coming to hurt her. We just ran into some angry old men desperate to earn their Laird's approval."
Daniel glanced up, wanting to believe him, but his gut was telling him something was wrong.
"Come on, Dan," Cameron said, trying to reassure him. "Those men were a bunch of harmless drunkards. They couldnae hurt a fly. I had to hold ye back just to keep ye from killing every one of them."
"Ye were the one who said I've been lazy in me relations with the neighboring clans. What if ye are right and more of them are unhappy?"
Cameron rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I dinnae mean ye should rush out today to try to fix this. Our clan is strong, and ye have council members who have taken pains to maintain relationships with our neighbors. Please, daenae worry."
"Very well," Daniel said.
He tried to trust his brother's words. He wanted to believe that the incident in the tavern was nothing more than old men claiming their territory. But what if it was something more?
"Come on," Cameron urged. He slapped his brother on the shoulder before standing up and returning to refill his drink. "Ye have a wedding tomorrow. Let's talk about that."
But the subject of the impending marriage didn't lift Daniel's spirits. It only made him think of the conversation he had withLana before arriving home yesterday. When she had told him she would rather take a lover than lie with him.
He looked up at his brother, who was putting the cork back into the bottle of whiskey. "Pour me one of those, would ye?"
"This doesnae feel real," Lana said as she stood in her wedding dress, with Olivia, Ciara, and her mother surrounding her.
"But it is," Olivia assured her, grasping her hands. "I always kenned ye would have a lovely wedding."
"Thank God the weather cooperated," Ciara said, glancing out one of Lana's tall windows.
It was a non-traditional choice to hold the wedding outside rather than in the great hall of the castle, but Lana had insisted on it. If she couldn't marry for love, then she could at least have the wedding of her dreams. And the wedding she had always dreamed of took place out in the open, with the sun welcoming her and her husband into their new life.
Daniel hadn't fought her on it. In fact, he left every wedding decision up to her, only balking when she announced she wanted a meatless menu. In the end, he had convinced her that some meat and fish options were important for the guests who were expecting extravagance. Luckily, Lana had worked with Mary to avoid any recipes with rabbit.
"Are ye ready?" Moira asked, tucking a tendril of hair behind her daughter's ear.
Lana didn't know how to answer the question. She was a contradiction of feelings today, filled with a deep sadness that her wedding day was very different from what she had anticipated. But every time she started to feel gloomy, she saw Daniel's face in her mind's eye and heard Skye's laughter in her ears. She even thought of Cameron and the way he would pull faces at her at the dinner table to mock Daniel whenever he got too grumpy.
Lana wasn't just marrying Daniel today, she was joining his family, and that made everything feel more important. It may not be romantic love, but there was something there. A deep care that could, with the right watering, blossom into love.
"I'm ready," Lana declared, checking her dress in the mirror for the final time.
From the window, they had watched the guests arriving, and a quick glance outside showed her that nearly every seat was full.
"I'll take yer maither downstairs," Olivia said. She gave Lana a final hug before Moira did the same.
"I'm so proud of ye," Moira cooed.
Lana felt tears prick her eyes as she hugged her mother tight. "I wish Faither could be here," she whispered.
Moira's eyes grew glassy at the mention of her late husband.
Olivia offered her mother-in-law her arm, and then the two women left, leaving Ciara and Lana alone in her chambers.
"It's time," Ciara said, holding out her arm to her sister.
Lana took her arm with a sniff, forcing away the sadness that came from thinking of her father.
"What do ye think?" Ciara asked as she guided her down the stairs toward the courtyard. "Will Daniel be a good match for ye?"
Lana was reminded of her first conversations with Olivia and Ciara on the very night she first met Daniel Clark, Laird of Clan MacCrawford. Ciara had reminded Lana of her marriage to Magnus, a man she had never expected to fall in love with. It was her proof to her younger sister that love didn't have to mean love at first sight the way Lana had always imagined it.
