Alasdair interrupted before I could answer him. “O’course she will, lad. There will be plenty of time for the two of ye to be alone. For now, we must make haste before either of ye is discovered.”
“No one knows Jerry is here?”
Alasdair shook his head. “No. I knew if Mary saw him, ’twould raise too many questions. As soon as he arrived, I told him the truth of what happened. He wished to go after ye, but I knew if I kept him here, I’d get to see ye one last time.” Alasdair paused and leaned in to whisper, “Ye should have seen him, lass. The thought that ye were gone…he felt the loss as acutely as I felt Elspeth’s.”
“Yer brother wishes to marry us.”
I listened as the pair of them took turns explaining their plan, and for the first time in months, all was well.
* * *
In the middle of the night, with a full moon and a blanket full of stars as our only light, Jerry and I promised to spend the rest of our lives together.
I’m not certain you could say we were ever officially married. Alasdair performed the ceremony and a druid was our only witness, but our vows were no less sacred. Ours was an unusual courtship—it seemed fitting that our wedding be unusual as well.
Once we sealed our promises with a kiss, I bid my brother one last final farewell, and we left Conall Castle for good.
* * *
Allen Territory—Three Months Later
* * *
“Ach, lass, I willna ever get tired of bedding ye. Thank God, they moved us to a proper cottage. Otherwise, the whole village would be hearing the ruckus we make every night.”
I laughed as he collapsed on top of me, his lips trailing gentle, lazy kisses down my neck.
“Even when we are old and gray and our bones creak when we walk?”
“Even then.”
Rolling to face him as he slid off me, I smiled in excitement as I readied myself to share my news with him. “I have something to tell ye.”
“Oh?” He twisted his head and raised his brow to encourage me to get on with it.
“I’ve decided ye were right about something ye suggested to me long ago.”
“What’s that, lass? I’ve never known myself to be right about anything.”
“Do ye remember when I told ye what I saw in the spell I cast? The home from yer time, with the lass inside it?”
He nodded but said nothing.
“I think mayhap she was me. Are ye ready to go home?”
The one thing I’d once promised myself I would never do—leave this time, my home, and my family—was now my greatest wish. I couldn’t return home anyway. It was time for Jerry and me to start a life of our own—a fresh start in a fresh time.
“Are ye saying ye’ve learned to do it? To travel through time?”
“Aye, I have.”
Jerry reached to pull me against him, devouring me with a kiss that left my head free of all thought. When he pulled away, he looked down over his nose at me.
“When can we leave?”
“In the morning, if ye wish it.”
“Oh, I wish it, lass. Now, let me bed ye here one last time for memories sake.”
