She stared at him long and hard, then quietly said, “Your past, or lack thereof, makes you who you are. I would not change a thing about you. But that is me. You need to find peace with yourself. And this might help you.” She extended the folded sheet of paper in her hands.
His brows drew together as he extended his hands to her, offering her his gift. “Let us exchange our gifts, then.”
Jane nodded and accepted a small wooden box stuffed with straw.
At her quizzical look, Colin said, “What you seek is hidden in the straw.”
Jane plunged her hand into the soot-tinged contents until she felt something hard and cold. She drew it out to reveal a forged piece of metal no bigger than her hand, bearing the Lennox crest of two broadswords in saltire behind an imperial crown. “Where did you find this?” Her father had had the miniature crest created many years ago and had mounted it at the top of her mother’s headstone in the church graveyard. It had gone missing, and now she understood why. Amelia had no doubt taken the memento from the family she would never have. A pang of regret moved through Jane at the thought of her half sister’s death.
Jane stood there a moment, simply breathing in and out until she found her equilibrium again. Had she not been lecturing Colin about letting go of things beyond their control?
“Thank you, Colin. This means so much to me. It is a link to my family that I will treasure.” She motioned to her gift, feeling a sudden connection to this man. She realized how bruised and vulnerable he was; how those tiny chinks in his armor affected him. “I want you to find a link to your family, if possible.”
He stared down at the paper in his hands. “The papers the informant delivered to Bryce?”
Jane nodded. “I am so grateful I stored this information in the stables and that they survived the fire.”
Frowning, Colin carefully unfolded the document. “I asked the informant about them. He did not know what had happened to them after he gave them to Bryce, and he could only recall some of the contents. I have it all now.” He looked to Jane. “How did you come to have these?”
Jane turned toward her cousin. “Bryce willingly turned them over to me.”
“I would like to say I had gathered the information for your benefit, but that would be a lie,” Bryce said in a strained voice. “I only hope you can use the leads my informant found and discover the answers you seek.”
“Thank you,” Colin replied with a hopeful smile. “For the first time in my life, I have a beginning to that journey.”
Leaving Colin to study the papers, Jane gathered her last gift, then moved to stand between Bryce and Nicholas. She passed her gaze over both. “One of you will win my hand. One of you will win something else that I hope will become a new start for you.”
A hushed silence fell over the crowd. A mixture of regret and excitement coiled in Jane’s chest. Her heart fluttered and she stepped toward Bryce.
He remained silent.
She stood there, staring at him, waiting.
“I want to hate you for this, but I do not,” he finally said. “This was a hard decision for you, divided between family and love. Love won out, as it should.” She could hear the rawness in his voice, his need to understand.
“You are a good person, Bryce. You will find someone of your own,” she whispered. Jane wanted to turn toward Nicholas, to fall into his gaze. Instead, she kept her focus on Bryce. He deserved that much from her.
He shook his head, his face pale. “I have nothing without you or Bellhaven.”
The pain in his voice was like a knife. She reached out to him, touching his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat beneath her fingers. “Oh, Bryce, you have everything you ever needed right here. When you finally let go of your anger, you showed us all what a kind and gentle heart you have.”
She withdrew her hand from his chest to gather his fingers in hers. She pressed her gift into his palm. A piece of stone.
He stared at it. “What is this? It looks like one of the stones from the walls of Bellhaven Castle.”
“It is. I am giving you one-third of the estate.”
His pupils flared. “Why?”
“Because this is your home, too,” Jane said simply. “I am dividing the estate between you and me and saving a portion for my brother, as a token in the hopes that he still lives.”
Tears shimmered in Bryce’s eyes as he looked at her. “I was so horrible to you.…”
Jane shook her head. “You were angry because you thought the world had cheated you. I forgive you for your behavior. Please know that I understand.”
He stiffened, and she could tell he was grasping for self-control. “I do not deserve this gift.…”
“Yes, you do. You deserve a home of your own and a family to share it with.”
He swallowed roughly. “Where do I start?”
“With that one small stone.”
He nodded, straightened, then reached behind him for a long, wrapped object. “I found this for you,” he said offering her his gift.
She pulled the linen cloth from the long object to reveal her father’s sword. Jane smiled. Only a few days past, this memento from her father had meant everything to her. But she realized now that she needed nothing but her memories to keep him close. “I thank you for this, Bryce. It is all I have left of my father.” She held the weapon back toward her cousin. “But I want you to have it. As the next male in line for the estate, you should carry this sword.”
He accepted the weapon from her. “I will use it to protect our family.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Finally, she turned her gaze to Nicholas and her heart soared.
“Jane.” He said her name, the sound as smooth as honey. He gazed at her with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. Warmth spread through her as a happiness she had never experienced before settled in her heart.
“You chose me.”
She nodded, unable to keep a smile from her lips.
“ ’Tis everything I ever hoped for.” The weak winter sunshine bathed his face in a radiant glow that matched his smile. Reaching out, he pulled her close. She stared into his eyes. In that moment, the last vestiges of old hurt and bitterness, fear and loneliness, vanished. She and Nicholas were united by joy, bound together by love.
“Nicholas?”
“Aye.” The word was a raw whisper.
“I love you.” It was so easy to admit what she had fought for so long, to speak the words she had longed to speak to him since the last time they had parted.
“For always and forever, I love you,” he said thickly.
With him she would finally have the life she had always dreamed of. “There is only one last thing that we must do.”
He pulled her close and pressed a long, passionate kiss to her lips. “Is this anything close to what you had in mind?”
She pulled back to smile at him. “After the wedding.”
“Which reminds me.…” He studied her eyes intently, then leaned close again, gently cupping her face with one hand. He brushed her lips with his. “Would you like your gift?”
Happiness swelled in her chest, filled her heart to overflowing. She raised her hand to place it over his, feeling his gentle strength, his love. “Nothing would make me happier.”
He smiled at her as he captured her hand in his. “If you want your surprise, you will have to come with me.” He drew her toward the inner bailey before he stopped and turned back to the crowd. “Perhaps you should all come with us.”
“What are you up to?” Jane asked.
His lips twitched. “All will be revealed.”
To Jane’s surprise, Nicholas led her to what remained of the chapel. The east wall lay in a crumpled heap, but the other three walls remained standing. He did not lead her to the door of the chapel, instead he took her to the open side, down a path that had been cleared of rubble and lined with sprigs of green holly with red berries.
Nicholas stopped the procession at the entrance he h
ad created and turned to face her. “This is the first part of your gift,” he said, pointing to a row of large stones laid in a line atop a blanket of snow.
“What is it?” she asked, puzzled.
“The beginning of our new home. Bellhaven Manor.” His expression turned serious. He dropped to his knee in the snow. The green and black and red of his kilt mixed with the nearby holly to create a splash of color in a sea of endless white.
He took one hand in hers, pressed a kiss to the back of her fingers before raising his gaze to her face. “We have missed so much during the last two years. I do not want to miss a moment more. I want you in my life forever. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up next to you each morning. I want to raise our sons and daughters in a house filled with love. I never want them to suffer or know a day of loneliness in their lives.”
A smile broke across his face. “I love you, Lady Jane Josephina Catherine Lennox. Will you marry me?”
His words sank deep inside her, twining around her heart. It was all there in his words, everything she had ever wanted—commitment, family, and most of all love. “Yes, Nicholas, I will marry you.”
The words barely left her throat before he was up beside her, holding her, kissing her so passionately her world began to spin.
The crowd around them cheered.
Despite their audience, Jane clung to Nicholas, loving him so much that her emotion spilled over, brought tears of joy to her eyes. At the sight of her tears, he only kissed her more. He kissed her until they were both breathless and wanting before he pulled back.
“Now that you have said yes,” he said with a soft burr in his voice. “I will show you your next surprise.” He took her hands. “Close your eyes.”
“Nicholas,” she protested.
“Please?” he asked with a heart-melting grin.
On a soft sigh, she complied.
Silence surrounded them as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and led her forward until they came to a stop once more. “All right. Open your eyes.”
She looked from Nicholas to the ethereal fairyland he had created. Her breath caught in her throat.
Inside the three-walled building, he had laid fresh evergreens, holly, and mistletoe around the entire circumference. The altar was covered in greens as well, with candles interspersed among the boughs. The flames from the candles were soft and gentle, nothing like the inferno from the night before. In contrast, the yellow-gold flames threw sparkling beads of light across the entire chamber. The scent of pine mixed with the crisp freshness of the snow, cleansing away the horrors. The snow, the greens, the candles—he had created an enchanted playland.
“It is beautiful,” she admitted in awe.
Her gaze left the whole to focus on one item in particular. A tapestry frame stood off to her right that he must have found amongst the ruins. It was not the frame that drew her attention, but the light green brocade gown that was displayed across it.
“Your wedding gown,” Nicholas said softly.
“But everything burned in the fire,” Jane whispered as tears anew came to her eyes.
Nicholas’s expression grew serious. “Not the chapel or the labyrinth beneath. It is as if something was protecting them. There is no soot below, and not even the scent of smoke. That is where I found this dress.”
Jane looked at him, stunned, as she fingered the sleeve. “This was my mother’s gown. The one she wore when she married my father.” She blinked back tears. “How is that possible?”
“ ’Tis your mother’s doing,” Lady Margaret said, coming to stand beside Jane.
“My mother is gone,” Jane said. Amelia had admitted to her own mother poisoning mama.
“Why do you say that?” Margaret touched Jane’s cheek in a motherly fashion. “Many of the castle’s residents have reported seeing Lady Lennox over the years. Perhaps, just perhaps, some part of her remained here, with you, until she could see you happy and safe.”
Jane gathered the dress in her arms. “I would like to believe that.”
Margaret’s expression became tender. “I remember my sister-in-law as a tenderhearted person who loved her daughter more than life itself.”
“Do you truly think some aspect of her is here with me?”
Margaret nodded. “She loved you so much. I would even go so far as to say that your mother is why Amelia was never able to harm you, no matter what she tried. Your mother knew, and she made sure you were one step behind a falling object or a thrown dagger. It was her love that kept you safe.”
Jane could only nod as emotion thickened her throat. She desperately wanted to believe that her mother was the reason she had not fallen victim to Amelia’s attempts to harm her and Margaret and Bryce.
“The minister has arrived. Would you like me to help you with your dress?” Lady Margaret asked with a soft smile.
Jane nodded. The two of them moved down the stairway off to the right to go below into the labyrinth. Once there, Jane slipped off her soot-stained gown. She used a ewer of water to wash the grime from her body before stepping into her mother’s wedding gown. Once the gown was buttoned, she fastened her mother’s gold-and-ruby girdle at her waist. A bittersweet memory of her mother tightened Jane’s chest as she smoothed the fabric of the gown into place. “Will I do?” Jane asked Margaret, returning her thoughts to the here and now.
Her aunt tilted her head, studying Jane carefully. “You look lovelier than I have ever seen you. I am so proud of you for seeing this competition through, Jane. I know your father and brother would be, too, if they were here.”
Jane sobered. “I miss them.”
“Yes, I imagine you do. They are here with you in spirit, and what you do now will protect their memories and guarantee your future. Marry to keep what is yours, but also marry for the love I know you have always had for Nicholas.” Margaret’s no-nonsense approach steadied her.
“You are pleased with my choice?” Jane could not help but smile at the thought of her betrothed.
“You and Nicholas were meant to be together. I am only sorry it did not happen before this, and that you had to undergo such doubts of your love during the last two years.”
“We needed to go through that, I fear, to appreciate what we have now.” At the thought Jane laughed, the sound filling the chamber. “We have nothing at all except each other.”
“You have everything,” Margaret corrected. “A fresh start and enough love to last you a lifetime.”
Jane took her aunt’s hands in her own. “And Lord Galloway? Are you happy, truly happy, with him?”
A blush crept up Margaret’s throat. “I never imagined a future with another husband, and yet that is what I received from this mad scheme to find you a husband.”
“Marry Lord Galloway tonight, alongside Nicholas and me,” Jane insisted. Seeing her aunt settled on the same day she would start her own new life would make everything complete.
Margaret shook her head. “This is your moment, dearest.”
“No,” Jane said. “This is when both you and I get to embrace our new future with the men we love.”
Margaret hesitated, then finally released a sigh and nodded. “Let there be laughter and passion and lots of growing old together in the days ahead.”
“And miracles,” Jane added. It was a miracle this moment was upon them after all they had been through. She prayed their lives would be filled with many more. Jane took Margaret’s hand and they ascended into the chapel. As they approached, every head turned to stare. Nicholas waited at the back of the chapel, cleaned up and dressed in his plaid, looking even more handsome than he had a short time ago.
“You are breathtaking,” Nicholas greeted her, and gathered her to him. “Are you ready?”
“In a moment.” She turned toward her aunt.
Margaret moved to Lord Galloway’s side. “Are you ready to marry me tonight?” she asked. “The minister is here, the chapel is decorated. It would be a shame to wait.”
“Dear woman, I would have married you three days ago if we’d had the chance.” Lord Galloway took Margaret’s hand and the four of them proceeded up the altar to kneel before the minister where they would repeat the vows that would bind them together for an eternity.
Jane knelt beside Nicholas, her heart so achingly full. They had won this new life together. They had made it through to their togetherness, despite all those who had stood in their way. And tonight, before the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, she would be a married woman.
At the thought, Jane smiled. Suddenly, a laird for Christmas did not seem like such a terrible thing at all.
Epilogue
Standing atop the newly renovated north tower of Bellhaven Manor, Jane looked out across the view she had missed so desperately. A soft summer breeze ruffled the ends of her hair. A deep sense of contentment moved through her.
“Welcome home, my lady,” Nicholas said, coming up behind her and slipping his arms about her waist.
Jane leaned back into his embrace. “I cannot believe you did all this in such a short time.” He had managed to complete the main wing of their new modern manor house along with two of the four planned towers in the past six months.
“You are pleased?” he asked.
“Yes.” Jane twisted around. “You are smiling like a man who is quite content with himself.”
“I am smiling like a man who is in love with his wife.” He kissed her gently.
The taste of him, the scent of him, and the feel of him, combined to send her senses reeling. “Do you think Margaret and Hollister are as happy as we are?”
Nicholas tucked his chin against the top of her head. “I have never seen a couple so happy.”
“Truly,” Jane agreed. “Once Hollister made it through their wedding night, Margaret finally allowed herself to have the dreams she had kept hidden in the depths of her heart for so long.”
“You mean the baby?” he asked, pulling Jane closer.
“Yes. Hollister is convinced it is a son,” she laughed.
“A son would be nice,” he said somewhat wistfully.
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