"Indeed?" Kristina said doubtfully. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm well. My wound is healing nicely, thanks to Tavia. 'Tis you I'm concerned about."
"Have no worries. I will be out of this bed soon. Will you escort me down the aisle, brother?"
Ralston beamed. "Och. 'Twould be my great honor. I thank you for asking me."
Kristina grinned. "I'm happy you found us."
Colin was glad, too, that the three siblings were together. Ralston seemed to fit in just fine with his two half-sisters, and Colin appreciated that he was a protective brother.
"I think you should tell them," Neacal murmured to Anna, his arm around her shoulders. Given his joyful expression, it had to be excellent news.
Her face reddened, and her gaze darted to each of them. "I don't think this is the right time," she whispered. "They've just announced—"
"Aye, go ahead and tell us," Colin urged, hoping his hunch was correct.
"What is it, sister?" Kristina appeared concerned.
"Well, since you're all here." Anna smiled, her face bright with excitement. "Neacal and I are going to be parents."
Amid the many embraces and good wishes, Colin hoped the elders would approve of his marriage to Kristina so they might one day soon also announce the impending arrival of their own bairn.
***
The next evening, Colin, Bryce and their mother filed into the library, along with the council of six elders.
Colin had privately told his mother and brother that Kristina had agreed to marry him. They were happy to help him convince the elders of her great suitability as a wife for him. He was indeed thrilled that Kristina was improving quickly and had been sitting up in bed all day.
Once they were seated around the table in the candlelight, Ewan, his father's second cousin—and the youngest of the elders at three score and ten—said, "I hope you're ready for the inauguration, lad. 'Tis highly unusual to wait this long after the former chief's passing, may God rest his soul."
"I ken it, but 'twas a special circumstance. I had to bring my father's murderer to justice. And now, I want to let all of you know I've found a bride."
Above his short gray beard, Ewan's eyes widened. "What?"
"Who?" his great uncle, Alan Cameron, asked.
"One that his father approved of and that I also approve of," his mother said.
Alan's bushy white brows quirked. "Are you going to tell us who she is?"
"Lady Kristina MacQueen," Colin said, his gaze darting from one frowning elder to the next. Did they remember who she was? Mayhap they had not met her. Or were they frowning because they objected?
"The lass who was kidnapped by that Holme knave?" Ewan asked.
"Aye," Colin said.
"But… the blackguard may have forced her," Alan said.
Colin shook his head, but before he could utter a word, his mother spoke up.
"Nay, he did not. The healers examined her."
Alan frowned. "Forgive me, m'lady, for being so frank, but to ensure that any child she bears is indeed Colin's heir, we should wait a few months."
"She is not with child." His mother smiled confidently.
Ewan scowled. "How can you be sure?"
