Page 18 of A Lady by Chance

“How?”

“Because of Baldain’s green lady, lass. She is a family tradition since the days of Culloden and she only shows herself at monumental times. Such as births or deaths, when a Chalmers is to—”

“Marry?” Jessica spoke the word with wonder.

“Aye, sweet.” He drew her close. “Historically, our green lady only appears to family members. She is as attached to us as she is to this ground. For her to have shown herself to you not once, but twice…” He leaned back and waited for her to finish.

“She recognized me as your future wife.”

“I believe so.”

“Oh, my.” Jessica thought her heart would burst.

“She came to me the night before Stirling arrived with his marriage proposal. At the time, I thought she’d appeared for another reason.”

Fear stabbed and she blurted, “That you were dying?” before she realized her reaction was silly.

“Not me.” He looked into the distance. “I feared Baldain House was about to die.”

“Oh.” Jessica understood.

He turned back to her. “Dinnae let it trouble you, especially not tonight. I am hale and fit, able to give you lots of fine, strapping sons.” He framed her face with his palms and looked at her, the wonderful twinkle again in his eyes. “You would like that, wouldn’t you?”

“I would,” she surprised herself by saying. She did want his children, could see them running through Baldain’s restored gardens, perhaps feeding too-skinny barnacle geese along the riverbank. “But what about daughters?” She had to ask. “My family tends to have girls.”

“The more, the merrier.” He swept her up into his arms and strode from the room and into the hallway. “I have only one request.”

“Anything.”

“Our daughters must take after you.”