Every pair of eyes in the camp turned to watch them as they entered it, but neither cared as Hamish set Amanda down on the floor and kissed her.
“I have never loved anyone as I love you, Amanda,” he said, his eyes shining.
“Then prove it, Hamish,” she said tenderly, smiling.
Hamish laughed softly.
“Gladly,” he said, and there was a world of joy in his words.
EPILOGUE
There was no maid attending Amanda on her wedding day. Instead, her two sisters fussed over her, Rose with her hair, and Claire with her dress.
Since Amanda had been so closely involved with the clan, and was about to become one of them, she insisted on wearing a dress made of McNeill tartan. It was predominantly green with stripes of deep blue and yellow, and brought out the hazel of her eyes perfectly.
Claire was enchanted with it. “Oh, Amanda!” she cried, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Hamish is so lucky to be marrying such a beautiful bride!”
“I am sure you were both beautiful too,” Amanda remarked, smiling at her sister. Then, looking down at Claire’s rounded tummy, she said, “You are even more beautiful now, Claire. There is something about pregnancy that gives a woman a certain glow, I was told. I used to think that was fanciful, but now that I look at you, I see that it is true.”
“Pfft!” Claire flapped a hand at her, laughing. “You are just as bad as Iain. I told him he will not be saying that when I look like a huge ball.”
Rose came forward to hug Claire. “You will always be beautiful,” she told her sister, kissing her cheek.
Then she gazed at Amanda for a few moments before giving her a beaming smile. “But no one can ever outshine a bride on her wedding day. You look radiant, Amanda. Does she not, Claire?”
Claire’s eyes filled with happy tears. “Indeed you do, my lovely sister,” she said. “Who would have thought that in less than two years we would all have found love despite our father selling us off like stock? It seems so hard to believe, yet it’s true.”
“We used to think the Scots were savages,” Rose said, shaking her head incredulously. “Now we know better. Much better. Who knows what Sassenach,” she said the word playfully, “is next in line to marry a savage Highlander.”
She smiled mischievously.
The three sisters embraced, forming a circle of love that would never be broken, and when they drew apart they smiled at each other, then linked arms and walked into the chapel. There was a long queue of villagers outside it, many of whom bowed when they saw the three sisters. Hamish was standing there, facing the altar, as he waited for Amanda.
She hesitated, heart hammering, then Rose and Claire stepped forward, taking Amanda with them, and the congregation turned to watch them, alerting Hamish to their presence.
When he saw Amanda his face broke into a wide smile, and as she moved to stand by his side he took her hand and raised it to his lips. He said nothing, but his eyes said everything for him; they were shining with love and happiness.
They turned to the minister, Reverend Kelly, a young, newly ordained member of the clergy, who looked as though he was about to burst into song.
He opened the ceremony by announcing, “We are here today to celebrate the marriage of Lady Amanda and Laird Hamish. I must preface this by telling you that weddings are my favourite duty as a member of the church, and I hope that you all feel as much joy as I do today.”
He turned to the bride and groom, his whole face beaming. When he had said a blessing and read a passage from the bible, he looked at each of them in turn, then joined their hands.
“Now it is time to pledge your lives to each other. My Laird?”
Hamish nodded and looked deep into Amanda’s rich brown eyes. He had been nervous before he walked into the church. However, all he felt now was an overwhelming joy as his beautiful Amanda stood beside him. She was dressed in his clan finery, and his heart swelled with pride.
“Amanda, mo chridhe,” he began. “Thank you for healing me, for mending a heart I did not know was hurt. Thank you for giving me the help I did not know I needed. I was shouldering a huge burden all by myself, but you helped me carry it, and for that, I will be eternally grateful, my love. Now, I give you my heart, my hand, and all my tomorrows.”
“Oh, my Hamish,” Amanda breathed, smiling with sheer joy. “I was happy to heal you, but you have healed me too with the balm of your love. When we first met I was frightened of you, but now I know that you are my home and my shelter, and everything I have is yours.”
Then the minister asked, “Hamish, do you take Amanda to be your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, till death do you part?”
“I do,” Hamish replied, smiling.
“Amanda, do you take Hamish to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, till death do you part?”
“I do,” Amanda answered.
