EPILOGUE
“Come, Joanna,” Amabel's voice filled the solar, where summer sunlight, gold and bright, poured onto the flagstones like yolk or the juice of lemons, warm and rich and soothing.
Chrissie, leaning back wearily on the settee, smiled to hear her voice.
“Come,” Amabel repeated. “See your cousin Leona.”
Chrissie smiled. Alina had chosen a French name for her baby, which would likely prove appropriate for her as she grew: she already resembled Alina, who looked like her French father, the count of Annecy.
Now, Chrissie felt her heart glow with tenderness as she watched Joanna, now six years old and growing fast, bend over the crib and stare down at Leona. It was three months since the birth, but Joanna had not yet become accustomed to the new life in the household. Brodgar, who was ten months old now and walking about uncertainly, seemed more than happy with the increase in activity in the nursery and cooed with contentment whenever the babes were mentioned.
Blaine had just come back from a ride around the holdings and he sat, flushed and tired, on a seat by the fireplace, smiling at Chrissie. Together they watched the children looking at each other.
“Will she be as tall as me?” Joanna lisped. They all laughed.
“Probably,” Alina grimaced, and Amabel smiled at her daughter.
“You and Leona will be good friends, I think.”
Joanna blinked at her mother, seeming unsure about this, and Chrissie smiled. If her own experience was anything to go by, the four children raised together would be like brothers and sisters by the time they were all a few years older. She was so glad her son would have a chance to be raised alongside so many potential good friends.
She felt Blaine's eyes on her and turned towards him. He was smiling at her, face flushed, and she felt her own heart start to thud in her chest.
“I was thinking,” he whispered as she stood to go to him, Alina and Amabel busy with their daughters, not watching them, “if we could maybe go out into the countryside, for a short walk, or...”
Chrissie smiled at him, feeling her own heart dance with rising longing. “We could manage that,” she said, feeling her cheeks start to glow. “I would like to be out in some sunshine.”
“Good,” he agreed, squeezing her hand. She grinned back at him.
Quietly they left, leaving Alina and Amabel with the children, their happy laughter filling the warm, sunlit room.
Up in their bedchamber, their clothing was quickly discarded. It seemed as if the idea of a walk was somewhat secondary to both of them, their need for each other superseding even the want for some fresh air.
As they lay together afterward, a gentle breeze wafting over their damp skin from the window, Blaine kissed Chrissie's hair. “Chrissie?”
“Mm?” Chrissie asked, snuggling closer to him. She loved the way she felt in his arms, so warm and cared-for.
“I was talking to Duncan, and...”
“Mm?” Chrissie asked.
“He was wondering if we should make some kind of arrangement between us and them. I mean...”
“You mean, about Conn?”
“Yes,” Blaine said carefully. “Conn and Leona...”
Chrissie paused. “It might be a good idea,” she said slowly. “They will grow up like brother and sister, though,” she warned. “So a betrothal might not suit them.”
“We wouldn't hold them to it,” Blaine said lightly. “I mean, if they grew up and found someone else, how could we stand in the way of that?”
Chrissie smiled into his eyes. “How could we, indeed?”
Blaine grinned, a slow smile spreading across his easygoing, handsome face. “Yes,” he nodded. “We have been lucky, have we not? How could we deny them what we have?”
“Yes,” Chrissie nodded, feeling her heart melt with tenderness. “How could we, of all people, deny our children a chance at finding love?”
Blaine smiled, his eyes warm. “Well, we have been very blessed.” He kissed her.
“Yes,” Chrissie murmured, snuggling up closer to him, her body pressed against his, arms holding him close. “Yes, we have.”
Very blessed indeed.
Outside, the sun shone on golden fields and, somewhere up the hallway, the sound of children laughing filled the solar as she and her husband drowsed in each other’s arms, warm and content. The future was bright, the past was passed, and the present was all they had ever wanted. They could not have been happier.