She saw Violet moving through the crowd, directing and instructing as she stepped.
Everyone wants this to go perfectly, her most of all.
She paused for a beat.
Nay. Nay one wants this to go more perfectly than I do.
But in her heart of hearts, she knew that the only way for this ceremony to go wrong was if Leo walked away from it all. If there was a storm, a disaster in the kitchens, or if an unruly guest caused a scene, none of that would take this moment from her. She only wanted to end the day as Lady MacSween. The trappings of it mattered little to her.
“Ye have the face of a lass in love,” Morag told her as she drifted past, clutching a censer overflowing with aromatic smoke. She lifted the censer so the fragrant fog broke like waves across Beatrice's chest and shoulders. “Aye, for good luck and for fertility.”
“What’s in there?” Beatrice asked.
Morag answered with an exhalation, blowing more of the smoke across Beatrice's body, whispering words too low and quick for her to decipher.
“I have blessed ye, lass,” she said. “Ye have been blessed many times before, I can tell ye that, but this is a blessin' for the ages.” She rested a hand on Beatrice's stomach. “A blessin' for the Laird to have his heir brought forth, healthy and strong.”
Violet approached to hear the last bit, winking at Beatrice as she gently pushed Morag out of the way. “Aye, let them get to the weddin' night first, will ye?”
Morag bowed her head and resumed her route through the congregation, perfumed smoke trailing in her wake. There were several pauses as she waved it over a smiling couple or a cheerful, curious child.
“Are ye ready?” Violet asked.
Beatrice stared out at the sea of faces, her gaze landing on her parents. There was no remorse, no anger, nothing but happiness on both their faces, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of it.
“Me parents have come,” she murmured. “After all their talk and all of me father’s nonsense, they are here.”
“Aye, they came to their senses. Just in time, too.”
Violet took Beatrice by the arm and led her to the dais, where Leo and the clan elder were waiting, two long cords clutched in his long-fingered hand. Leo’s face was solemn but not sad. He wasn’t looking anywhere else; he only had eyes for Bea.
He is takin' this very seriously. I’m giddy and bursting at the seams.
Next to the dais, Eloise and James stood arm in arm, whispering to each other as Beatrice approached. When she drew closer, Eloise pressed her hands together as if in prayer, then touched the tips of her fingers to her lips and extended them towards Bea.
“Me beautiful cousin,” she breathed, barely loud enough for Beatrice to hear.
Not that she needed to; she knew exactly what Eloise was thinking.
She told me that this could happen. She told me that love could be real, and that marriage could mean somethin' more than survival.
Her mother’s eyes glistened with tears in the golden light.
Beatrice was struck by a slight pang of sadness and sympathy for the woman. Her endless warnings about what life was like, whatmen were like, were just a reflection of the sacrifices she had made to stay safe. She had had no other choice, and Beatrice felt an immense gratitude for her at that moment.
I am here and joinin' hands with Leo because she did what she had to do for me, for all of us.
“Aye, doesnae she look bonnie, wee one?” Beatrice heard Shona ask Effie, who responded with an enthusiasticaye!
All the eyes on her made her shy at first. The idea of everyone staring and waiting, studying her dress and her walk as she made her way through the crowd, felt daunting. But now that she was there and Violet was leading her to her love, none of that seemed to matter. The eyes on her were kinder than she could have ever imagined, excited for their new Lady to take her place alongside their Laird.
As she was brought to the dais, Leo reached his hand out to her. There was a pulse of energy when their fingers connected, and Beatrice did her best to hide the shiver it sent through her. It had only been a couple of days since they had been together, but it felt so much longer than that. Even in the sacred warmth of the ceremony, her thoughts of him were wanton.
Tyler stood a few steps behind Leo, the light of glory and dignity illuminating his face. He bowed his head as Beatrice took her place on the dais.
“Ye have honored all of us, Beatrice,” he told her. “We are privileged to have ye among our ranks.”
“I am the honored one,” Beatrice responded.
