Epilogue

Three Weeks Later

Holly’s heart raced as she stood by the window, her eyes fixed on the road that led to the castle. Every passing moment felt like an eternity, and the sight of the carriages was all she yearned for. The wait was unbearable, and she had been standing there, holding her breath, for what seemed like an eternity.

Then, when she thought they might have gotten lost, she saw the first of the riders, followed soon after by three carriages. She gasped in delight and ran downstairs.

As the Lady of Clan MacPherson, Holly was expected to maintain a certain decorum. But at that moment, all those expectations melted away. She felt like a carefree child, running through the courtyard, almost colliding with a soldier, and racing out the archway to the front of the castle. The distance between her and the carriages didn’t matter. She was content to wait, her heart brimming with pure, unadulterated joy.

Her sisters were finally here.

Twenty minutes later, the coaches arrived, and Holly walked alongside them until they stopped near the stables. Ragnall was standing there, waiting for her, and she ran up and hugged him. He hugged her back tightly, his wounds long since forgotten.

Footmen went to the carriage doors and opened them. Lily and Daisy emerged from one, and Violet and Rose exited the other. All four girls ran to their sister and embraced her.

Holly wept. It had been far too long since she had seen her sisters, and she had so much to tell them. They did a group hug, and then Holly hugged each of them individually.

“Oh, I have missed ye all!” she cried.

“Is this really yer castle now?” Daisy asked.

“Not quite me castle, but I am the Lady,” Holly replied. “It doesnae really belong to me, but I am responsible for the clan. I’ll show ye all around later, but for now, I just want to look at ye.”

She took Daisy by the shoulders and held her. “Me goodness, Daisy. It’s nae been long, be ye seem to have grown so much since I last saw ye. Ye have become a bonnie young woman. Ye were always so bonnie, and now ye are even bonnier.” She turned to her other sisters. “Och, ye are all beautiful. I cannae believe ye are really all here. This is the best day ever!”

“Did ye really stab a man in the back?” Lily asked excitedly.

“It’s nae really somethin’ we should talk about,” Holly said solemnly.

“Dinnae listen to her,” Ragnall interjected, stepping forward. “She did stab a man in the back—the enemy of the castle—and she saved me and everyone else.”

The four sisters looked at Holly with wide eyes.

“I’ll tell ye all about it over supper,” she said. “Lily, Violet, Rose, Daisy, come and meet Laird MacPherson again.”

They might have met him at the weddin’, but it feels like they are truly meetin’ him for the first time today.

“It’s a pleasure to meet ye,” Lily said, stepping forward first to shake the Laird’s hand.

The other four followed suit and shook his hand, too, all of them curtseying before him.

“And the man by his side is Eric, his man-at-arms,” Holly continued. “He’s the one responsible for protecting the castle, and he is out here to make sure the four of ye arenae about to storm the place.”

“Aye, ye can never be too careful,” Eric replied.

Three of her sisters stood stoically, but Daisy, the youngest, laughed when she realized it was a joke.

“Aye, we are here to storm the castle and take it in the name of Clan Gallacher!” she announced.

Eric stepped toward her, looking menacing for a moment, before he smiled. “I’m goin’ to have to keep me eye on that one.”

“I tried that,” Holly admitted. “It didnae work.”

“The apple doesnae fall far from the tree,” Eric teased with a wink.

“Did yer faither travel with ye?” Ragnall asked.

“Nay, Me Laird,” Lily replied. “He sends his apologies, but he has business to attend to.”

Ragnall nodded.

Holly had hoped her father would make the journey, but he was still embarrassed about taking money from Ragnall in exchange for her. He was a man who rarely left his castle at the best of times.

“Come on,” she said. “Ye must all be hungry—Mirren has prepared a feast for ye.”

Holly led her sisters through the courtyard and into the keep. The great hall had recently been used by Ragnall to coordinate efforts to bring Fraser to justice, and it might be used in the future as a war room, but for now it had been converted into space to entertain guests.

The large table was clear of maps and had place settings instead. The large chair had been moved out and was now in a smaller room for the Laird to meet with his advisors when necessary.

The table was laden with the feast that Mirren had prepared.

“Tell me all about what ye have been up to,” Holly demanded as she sat down.

A maid went around with a flagon of wine, pouring some for each of the sisters and Ragnall. Holly only drank a very small amount.

“I might get married soon,” Lily revealed. “I was afraid of gettin’ married to someone I didnae ken, but after seein’ ye and Laird MacPherson together, I’m nae as worried. He seems like a good man from what I’ve heard, and I ken it is because Faither wants to strengthen the clan, but I hope I can find what ye have, Holly.”

“I hope so, too, Lily. I never thought I would feel like this, and it took some time, but it all worked out in the end. I ken ye will make it work out, too.”

“Thank ye, Sister,” Lily said, taking a sip of her wine. “Violet is writin’ our family history.”

“That sounds interestin’,” Ragnall commented. “I would like to hear more about that over supper. Yer entire family history?”

“As much as can be remembered,” Violet piped up. “I’ve spoken to some of our elders, and I thought that if I started writin’ down our history, someone else could continue it, and then someone else after that throughout the years.”

“A braw idea,” the Laird said.

“Aye, braw, indeed,” Holly agreed.

“There is a man from Clan Stewart that I like,” Rose informed them. “Faither might talk to him to see if he sees me the same way.”

“Oh, that is wonderful!” Holly gushed.

“And I’ve been plottin’ ways I can avoid ever bein’ married,” Daisy chimed in. “I’ve been thinkin’ about it a lot, and it seems like it is much more trouble than it is worth. I would much rather do anything else other than marry.”

“Tell her she will change her mind when he grows up,” Rose pleaded with Holly.

“She will change her mind when she wants to or nae change it at all,” Holly said.

“Aye, there ye go, Rose,” Daisy scoffed.

“It really is braw to have ye all here, even if ye do cause trouble,” Holly said with a smile. She took up her barely filled wineglass. “And it is fortuitous that ye have all come today.” She took a deep breath—she had told no one yet. “I only received confirmation this mornin’ from the healer, even though I have thought it for the past three days.”

“Oh, me goodness, ye are with child!” Lily screamed.

“Aye,” Holly confirmed.

Ragnall stood up beside his wife, his eyes wide. “Is it true?”

“Aye, it is true,” she replied.

Ragnall took her in his arms, holding her tight, but not too tight. When he let her go, her sisters were right beside her, and they embraced her, too.

Holly felt so much love in the room. That was her family. The family she had grown up with and the family she would build with her husband.

The scars of the past would finally heal.

The End?