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“Well, you have a brain, so go and use it!”
William gave Bernard another punch, this time a much harder one.
“Ow!” Bernard protested, rubbing his arm but laughing. Then he changed the subject as they arrived at the horses. “How is Mia? It must be nearly her time now.”
William’s face broke into a wide smile. “Aye, any day now,” he said happily. “She swears it is a girl, but I want a son to bear my name, of course. But we will be happy with either.”
“Have you told your father?” Bernard asked.
William shook his head. “I am waiting for the right moment,” he replied, “but somehow I think there will never be one.”
“You will have to suffer his wrath, then.” Bernard’s voice was grim. “If he gives you the same treatment he gave me…” He whistled. “I would not like to be in your shoes!”
“I will be careful.” William agreed, nodding. “My biggest fear is not that he will be angry with me but that he will reject the child.”
“What of Mia? Does she say?” Bernard asked.
William gave a half-laugh. “Mia does not care about my father’s opinion,” he answered. “She is her own woman. And she is my woman.” His voice rang with pride.
“But where will you live when the child is born if the laird does not let you live here?” Bernard frowned.
William shrugged. “Mia’s house is comfortable enough, and I don't think she wants to live here anyway. I have a feeling that she is a bit too much like Janice for him to tolerate for too long. Anyway, I want to go and see her now. I worry about her. Have you told your mother you are going away?”
“My mother has gone to see my aunt in Oban,” Bernard answered. “I would love to have spoken to her.”
“I am going to ask her to be our child’s godmother,” William informed him. “I think she will be a very good one. Then we will be godbrothers!”
Bernard patted him on the back. “You will be a very good father,” he observed. “I have no doubts about that.”
He was fixing the saddlebags onto his horse as he spoke, and his stomach was boiling in anticipation. He was soon going to see Janice again, and he could hardly wait.
“Get a message to me as soon as you can, old pal.” William looked at him keenly. “I want to know what happens with you and Janice. I don’t care what my father said. You are as good as my brother, and if you want to come back here, I will make sure there is a place for you.”
Bernard looked at his friend’s face, which was frowning with determination. He knew that when William got an idea into his head, he could be as stubborn as Janice.
“Thank you, Will. I know I will always have a friend in you.” Then he smiled. “Give Mia and the baby my best wishes.”
He gave his friend a brief hug and jumped into the saddle, then took a deep breath. Now that the moment of parting had come, he was loath to leave his friend and his home behind. He looked around him at the familiar towers and battlements of the castle and felt a lump rise in his throat. He would yearn for this place, he knew.
Damn!he thought angrily.I am not going to cry like a maid!
He reached down to grasp William’s hand and pinned a smile on his face. “I will miss you, my friend.”
“I will miss you too.” William’s voice had a slight tremor in it. “Ride safely, Bernard.”
With a wave, William walked away into the castle and was soon out of sight, and suddenly Bernard was unaccountably jealous. He never had before thought about fatherhood, but now he was in love. The realization hit him like a blow.
In love. Sothatwas what this all-consuming, overwhelming feeling was. He had thought his reaction to Janice was that of a lusty, healthy man, but now he realized it was more. She was in his thoughts and his dreams constantly, and he could never run away from her, even though he had tried. He had to return to her.
With that thought, he urged his horse into a canter and rode over the drawbridge. He had told himself he would not look back, and he kept his promise to himself. Whatever happened now, his old life was behind him.
* * *
The funeral had to be planned quickly and was scheduled to take place four days after the laird’s death. Janice and Alasdair had organized it between them and had worked in harmony for the most part. Janice was surprised at this turn of events. Even though she felt hollow inside, and her eyes were red with weeping, her brother had stepped up to make sure that she did not bear the burden alone.
After the coffin had been made, notes to their neighbors sent out, and the wake organized, Janice and Alasdair had a few hours of peace before the mourners arrived. They were sitting by the fire in the parlor talking fondly about their father, swapping memories and tales about his kindness and the way the people on the estate loved him.
“This has all been such a revelation to me, Janice,” Alasdair confessed as he drank his wine, looking into the fire. “When it was said that you did a lot of the estate work, I thought it was just keeping the accounts and perhaps ordering new livestock—things I regarded as easy.” He chuckled wryly. “How wrong I was!”
