Read The Highlander's Choice Online
Authors: Callie Hutton
Tags: #Romance, #Historical, #Scottish, #Series, #Scottish Highlands, #Historical Romance, #entangled, #highlander, #Regency, #Kilts, #Tartan, #Scandalous
The Highlander's Choice (20 page)
Epilogue
“Ach, lass, how many times do I need to tell ye to stop doin’ so much and rest yerself?” Lady MacBride bustled into the drawing room, catching Sybil attempting to put a book back on a shelf above her head.
“I am fine. Truly.” She moved her bulky body to the settee and eased down. “Though I feel as if I swallowed an entire watermelon.”
“Never ye mind. Ye have to take better care of that bairn yer carrying. Ach, what can I do with ye?” She fisted her hands on her hips. “I’m going to have yer laird tie ye to the bed.”
“I don’t believe that is necessary.” Sybil shifted, uncomfortable no matter how she adjusted herself.
“Mayhap it is.” Liam strode into the room and frowned at his wife. “Yer lookin’ mighty tired, darlin’.” He scooped Sybil up and settled her in his arms.
“Liam, put me down.” Sybil laughed. “You will hurt your back carrying me.” Despite her protests, she was grateful to have his strong arms around her. She was indeed very tired, and the ache in her back had only grown worse as the day went on.
“Ach, the day I cannot carry a wee thing like ye ’tis the day I’ll take to my bed for the last time.”
“Don’t be silly. I must weigh as much as an elephant.”
“Nay. Hardly more than my broadsword.”
They trudged up the stairs and down the corridor to their bedchamber, where he gently deposited her on the counterpane. “Now rest, lass.”
Sybil reached out and touched his arm, urging him to sit alongside her on the bed. “Has there been word from Sarah today?”
Liam sighed. “Nay. I canna understand what is taking the lass so long.”
“I’m frightened. She left London two weeks ago.” Sybil had written to her twin when she’d passed the sixth month of her pregnancy. At Liam’s suggestion, she had asked her to make the trip to the Highlands to be with her when the babe arrived. In a note delivered two weeks ago, Sarah stated she would be leaving the next day. Unless something dreadful had happened to her, she should have arrived days ago.
“Dinna fash yerself, lass. She has her maid with her, a driver, and a footman. If something happened along the road it might not have been possible for her to send a note. I’m sure all is well.” He drew the bed curtains, blocking out the sun. “Now rest yerself.”
“Don’t leave.” Sybil stopped his movement with her hand. “Can you rub my back? It’s been bothering me all day.”
“Sure, darlin’. Turn over and I’ll give ye a good rub.”
Sybil rolled her bulk to the side just as a sharp pain shot from her back to around her front. “Oh.” She doubled up, clasping her stomach and breaking into a sweat.
“What?” Liam jumped up. “Is it the bairn?”
“I think so.” She took a deep breath. “Oh, that hurt.”
“’Tis time for Mum.” He raced from the room, practically knocking Bessie over as she entered.
“What is it, my lady? Is the babe coming?”
“I think so, Bessie. Here, help me out of these clothes and into a nightgown.”
With fumbling fingers the young maid got her changed and settled back into bed just as a gush of water released, wetting her and the bed.
“Oh, Bessie, I’m so sorry.”
“Ach, lass, ’tis time.” Lady MacBride hustled into the room with linens and a pile of soft cloths. “Bessie, get her changed.”
“Where is Liam?” Sybil asked and then panted as another pain gripped her.
“I sent him for the midwife. He canna be here, anyway.” She wiped Sybil’s forehead with a cool cloth. “Just relax, lass. ’Twill be a while until the bairn arrives.”
…
Liam counted the steps once again. Thirty-four in one direction, twenty-seven in another. He’d done it so many times he could do it with his eyes closed. He stopped and cocked his ear. Sybil had been wailing for some time now, each cry a knife to his heart. ’Twas the last bairn he’d put in her. He couldn’t live through this again.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned on his heel, and counted again. The door to the library flew open, almost hitting him square in the head. Catriona stood there, her mouth agape.
“What?”
“The bairn,” she whispered.
Before she could speak further, his head snapped up at the wail of a different sort. A strange cry, somewhat like the shriek of a cat. He grabbed Catriona by her shoulders. “The bairn?”
“Aye.”
He rushed past her, almost knocking the girl over, and took the stairs two at a time. Racing down the corridor, he barely avoided crashing into Bessie as she left the room.
“My laird, a wonderful day. A wonderful day, indeed.”
Liam nodded and continued on. He entered the bedchamber. His mum held a tiny bundle, gazing down with amazement. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “A lass.”
A lass!
He broke into a grin and turned to the bed where Sybil lay, her eyes bright. She had been cleaned up and her hair was braided. In her arms lay a tiny bundle. He moved toward her, his eyebrows raised.
“A son,” she whispered.
He licked his dry lips. “Two?”
“Aye,” she said. “Two.”
Liam sat alongside her, running his knuckles down her soft cheek. He used his finger to edge back the small blanket and looked down at the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. A tiny head with ginger colored hair, his eyes closed in peaceful slumber.
Mum walked over and put his daughter in his arms. She kissed Sybil and Liam both on the head and left the room.
“
Tha gaol agam ort
,” Liam whispered to his darling English wife.
“
Tha gaol agam ort-fhèin
,” she answered her strong Scottish warrior.
They spent the next ten minutes counting fingers and toes on their English-Scottish bairns.
Author’s Note
There wasn’t a lot of information available on post-Culloden and the Clearances in Scotland, so I used my regency knowledge to fill in what I couldn’t get actual facts for. For those of you familiar with Scottish history, if there are mistakes, they are mine, alone.
If I left you wondering what happened to Sybil’s twin, Sarah, watch for the release of the sixth Marriage Mart Mayhem novel,
The Highlander’s Accidental Marriage
coming in late 2015.
Acknowledgments
The Highlander’s Choice
is the fifth book my fabulous editor, Erin McCormack Molta and I have worked on together. Her suggestions are always spot on, and make the story so much better. And she does a wonderful job of cleaning up my grammar and pointing out
pluperfect active verbs
.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author of
The Elusive Wife
,
Callie Hutton
writes both Western Historical and Regency romance, with “historic elements and sensory details” (
The Romance Reviews
). She also pens an occasional contemporary or two. Callie lives in Oklahoma with several rescue dogs, two adult children, and daughter-in-law (thankfully all not in the same house), and her top cheerleader husband of thirty-eight years. She also recently welcomed twin grandsons to her ever expanding family. Callie loves to hear from readers, and would welcome you as a “friend” on Facebook. You can contact her through her website:
www.calliehutton.com
, or write her directly at
[email protected]
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