OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Whispers of Regency Love", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Two years later
“And you will not tell me what this surprise is?” Alasdair asked, shifting the weight of the picnic basket to his other hand as he and Maggie walked along the narrow path between the scrubby bushes of heather.
Maggie’s arms were full as well, but with a much more enchanting bundle. Baby Margaret, now six months old with a head full of dark curls tinged with amber, babbled in her mother’s arms.
“You are impatient as always,” Maggie teased. “But no, I will not tell you until we are well and fully settled. You will be pleased, I assure you.”
The sun was shining, warm and welcoming overhead. It would be an unseasonably warm day, though the crisp flavor of fall was already in the morning air. They had a destination in mind but were walking by way of the settlement to see to the harvest festival arrangements for later that evening. As they crested the hill and looked down on the small cottages far below, Alasdair heard Maggie suck in her breath with delight.
“It looks so peaceful,” she sighed, shifting Baby Margaret to her other hip.
She was right. The settlement was quiet at that time of day. Many people had left for the day, either to their jobs around the estate or in town. There were a few women hanging washing out on the line or bustling to the well to draw water, but overall the scene was one of complete domesticity. Two children crouched in the dirt, rolling balls back and forth in a game.
“I see you coming to check on me,” Phoebe said as they approached. She emerged from beneath a pile of ribbons she was untangling on a wood plank table. “You do not need to do that, Maggie. I have things quite in hand.” She winked at Alasdair and added, “She thinks because it is my first time in charge of the harvest festival that I will be overrun by the responsibilities.”
“It would overwhelm anybody,” Maggie rushed to add, setting the baby down on a blanket Phoebe had spread beneath a tree. “It overwhelmed me when I tried last year.”
“Yes,” Phoebe pointed out, “but you were several months from Baby Margaret’s arrival, if I recall.” She tossed tendrils of hair out of her eyes. “This sweet celebration is nothing compared to the terror of planning a London ladies tea.”
Alasdair had not known Phoebe as long as Maggie had, and he had never known her during her days in London, but just comparing the slender and excitable girl he’d first met in the castle courtyard to the sun-tanned, sensible woman standing before him now amazed him. She had refused his and Maggie’s offer of staying in the castle after marrying Fergus, insisting that she needed her own home to manage and her own space to connect with her beloved.
It had been rough, according to Maggie, to learn the ways of the settlement and the village without the comforts to which she’d grown accustomed to over the years, but the women of Glencoe had surrounded her with tenderness and welcoming arms, teaching her how to do her washing, prepare simple meals, and keep her house.
Alasdair knew, from talking to Fergus, that this worried the sergeant excessively when he first saw all Phoebe’s hard work. He did not want his wife disappearing into the home and the housework, whatever society expected. But it became clear, as Phoebe thrived, that she was not disappearing—she was emerging as a leader for the first time in her life.
“I have an army of women from the village bringing the food,” she was explaining now, gesturing to hard oaken tables already set up in the middle of the cottages. “If it rains, I will organize the gentlemen to move the tables into the big house when they return.” She reached down and tickled the baby, smiling at the giggles her attention brought forth. “The musicians will be here before sundown, and I think the new earl and his wife are planning to attend.”
“Really?” Maggie grinned. “The ones who took over the lease on Lady Fairleigh’s place? They have not been to any local events yet.”
Alasdair nodded. “They seem to avoid the Assembly Rooms like a plague.”
“I still have a bit of lace and silk in my wardrobe,” Phoebe said with a coy wink. “And Fergus cuts a sharp figure in his uniform. We called upon them, unexpectedly last week, and my handsome soldier made a bit of an impression. I think the poor earl and his wife are rather lonely, but they thought there were only country bumpkins to associate with.”
“And tonight you plan to show them we are not country bumpkins?” Alasdair asked, laughing.
“Hardly!” Phoebe joined in the merriment. “No, I mean to show them that country folk are far preferable to London society.”
Alasdair hefted the picnic basket back to his shoulder and picked up the baby as Maggie bid Phoebe farewell. They set off again away from the settlement, climbing a trail that he and Maggie had once run up in a violent thunderstorm when they were first getting to know each other.
He could still remember the way it felt to sit across the fire from her and watch those brown eyes pick apart the pieces of his soul that he had thought were tucked away forever. She had drawn those broken places into the light and there, where he thought he would wither away, she had brought him healing.
They reached the top of the hill and the cave that was still there. The inside of the cave had been cleaned out in the last year and the pens mended, so that now the estate lands could shelter sheep in it once again. At present, all the sheep were out grazing the fields, and the wide mouth of the cave was empty as it looked out on the loch far below.
Maggie stopped outside the cave and stretched, dropping her hands to her hips to look out over the beautiful loch.
“What a glorious view,” she sighed. “It never ceases to amaze me.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Alasdair said, his eyes on his lovely wife.
He spread a blanket on the ground and Maggie unpacked the basket while he and the baby played contentedly at her side. There were meat pies, as well as cold sliced meat, and fresh apple tarts. The baby was still too small to enjoy most of the food, but she gnawed cheerfully on an apple chunk to ease her incoming teeth and slobbered happily over her treat.
After eating, the baby drifted off in Maggie’s arms and at last Maggie told Alasdair the secret she had been holding onto all morning. She slipped a little white envelope out of her pocket and slipped it to Alasdair.
“Read it,” she urged.
He opened the letter and read it to himself.
My dear Lady Margaret,
Firstly, the news regarding your recent illustrations is encouraging. We printed them, as you well know, in the last London edition of our publication, in the botanical illustration section. I was frank with you, when I first wrote, that I was concerned about the choice to use your real identity in the printing of the illustrations. As you know, it is quite uncommon for a woman to publish artwork in the public sphere.
Alasdair paused and looked up. “He is just as patronizing as ever, is he not?”
“Oh hush,” she said, biting her lip and watching him with delight. “It takes time to change minds, my love. Read on, though.”
He looked back at the paper, finding his place again.
In fact, the response to your illustrations was largely positive. With the exception of a few detractors, London society has taken to your submissions with great interest. It seems in part that your true identity fuels their interest in your talent. We have already been contacted by several people who wish to purchase prints of your illustrations for their homes or personal collections. I hope we find a way to work together in the future.
It may also interest you to note that after your submission we had a number of society ladies reach out with their own illustrations. Not all have your knowledge of form and figure, nor your grasp of light and shadow, but a few are promising. It seems you have paved the way for their own talents to shine.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Elwin Giffords, London-house Publishing House
Alasdair folded the letter and raised his eyes to Maggie. “Lassie,” he said softly. “You must be so proud. I am so proud.”
“I could hardly believe it when I first read the letter,” she admitted. “I read and re-read it to be certain.”
“It is good to hear that the world is beginning to see your talent.”
Maggie laughed quietly, not wanting to wake the baby in her arms. “Yes, that is gratifying, but it is not the part of the letter that most appeals to me. I am touched most that other women are encouraged to submit their illustrations because of my work. Maybe another little girl somewhere will have options available to her that I never had.”
“Maybe your own little girl,” Alasdair said, his eyes sliding from Maggie’s gentle face to the sleeping face of their daughter.
Maggie leaned over and kissed the baby, raising her gaze to Alasdair when she was done. “Have you heard anything more from the duke about your travel to the east next week? I know he has a group of men there he wants you to work to settle.”
“Do you remember that sergeant I worked with on the northern settlements—Elliot?” Alasdair had been meaning to share his news with Maggie for some time but needed a special moment to do so.
“Yes, you were very impressed by him,” she acknowledged.
“Indeed. Impressed enough that I feel confident handing the travelling portion of our efforts to him, beginning with our trip to the east next week,” Alasdair said. “You have been long-suffering with my continual back and forth over the last two years—”
“Your horse has been the long-suffering one,” Maggie interjected with a twinkle in her eye.
“Yes,” Alasdair said, smiling, “but things have not been easy, especially after the baby was born. I need to be here at the estate more regularly, and the settlement operation is established enough to release into the capable hands of a less attached gentleman.”
Maggie frowned. “I fear that without your guidance the vision will be lost.”
“I will remain in charge of the settlements as a whole, but the day-to-day operations will be carried out by Elliot and those he trusts.” Alasdair drew Maggie close, slipping an arm around her and their child. “I promised you that I would prioritize you and our family, and the time has come to focus on Echo House again.”
Maggie’s face softened gratefully, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I was fully supportive of your travel, love, but I admit I am grateful to have you nearer.”
“You shall have be patient teaching me the ways of the estate again,” he said. “I know you have been shouldering much of the business in my absence.”
“And I shall continue shouldering much in your presence,” she retorted, a grin spreading over her face. “I could use your help, but I absolutely forbid you from taking the shepherd crews from me. They are my private project.”
“I will take nothing from you,” he assured her with an answering smile. “Partners, remember?”
“Indeed,” she agreed. She reached up a hand to rub his chest tenderly, and her fingers brushed something heavy and stiff in his lapel. “What is that?” she asked.
He caught her gaze and held it, letting the moment linger as understanding dawned on her.
“Still?” she asked softly. “After all this time?”
He slipped his hand into his lapel and drew out the packet. He had slimmed it down to only a handful of letters—the rest kept safely in the top drawer in his study—but those were so oft-read that the paper was dog-eared to his touch,
“Still?” he echoed her, smiling. “Always, Maggie. You know that. They are what brought me to you, and for that I will be forever grateful.”
He pulled her close and kissed her gently. “They shall never be far from my side.”
She looked up into his eyes. “And neither shall I, my love.”
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Whispers of Regency Love", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hello my dears! I hope you enjoyed the Extended Epilogue of my new book! I can’t wait to read your lovely comments here. Thank you for being so wonderful! 🥰
I loved this story . It was delightfully told with humor, respect, and consideration for the feelings of others. Welk done!
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoyed the story and that the humor and heart came through. 💛