“Why, this too is a miracle, and a Christmas gift to rival any I have ever received,” Andrew said, turning to Nairne with a look of delight upon his face.
“Speak to them, Andrew, invite them in, call down from the window and soon we shall have a merry feast to warm us and return this castle to the happy place it once was,” Nairne said, pointing Andrew to the open window.
“Dear friends,” Andrew called down, “what a welcome sight ye are on this cold winter’s morning, but a morning of celebration too, a morning when we know that the Christ child is born again in our midst. Well, ye dear friends have shown that birth today by coming here and bringing what appears to be a great feast for us to enjoy together. For too long I have grieved and shut myself away from ye here in the castle, but now I say ye are welcome and that the sorrow of the past has turned to joy. Come now, let us celebrate and keep the feast, for today is a happy day indeed.
The people of the village cheered, and a great round of applause went up across the courtyard as the villagers took up their packs and made their way inside. Andrew and Nairne turned to greet them and it was not long before the great hall was full of people, all congratulating Nairne and Andrew upon their engagement and laying out all that they had brought for the feast upon the tables.
“Nairne, we were so worried about ye, and when ye did not come home I feared the worst,” her mother said, rushing to her daughter and embracing her.
“It would have been the worst, Mother, had it not been for Andrew. He rescued me from those horrible men, and he nursed me back to health,” Nairne replied as her mother held her close. “I have been so well cared for, though I missed ye terribly.”
“And we missed ye terribly too, Nairne. But am I to understand that ye and Andrew are engaged? What a sudden, but happy gift,” her mother continued, turning to the Laird who bowed his head.
“Mrs. McBryde, your daughter has captured my heart, and the suddenness of our engagement is due to her being the bonniest, kindest, and most loving lass I have met in these sad ten years. I chanced upon her in the forest as she argued with William Wilson and ever since then I have become ever more enchanted by her. I promise ye I shall take good care of her,” Andrew said.
“I trust ye will, but we cannae have ye living in such a place, Nairne. I remember what this castle used to be like when your dear father and mother lived here and they would invite us to their feasts, as ye yourself did once, Andrew,” Mary McBryde said, looking around her at the dusty great hall. “First, we shall prepare and then we shall feast,” and she smiled at them and clapped her hands together as though preparing for work.
They say that many hands make light work and the villagers set to cleaning and preparing the great hall for the feast. A fire was laid in the hearth and great logs were placed upon it, so its warmth soon banished the winter’s chill. There was much sweeping and scrubbing, dusting and polishing in abundance, so that very soon the castle began to appear as it once did. The tables were laid, soon groaning under the weight of food which was laid out along two sides, the barrels and kegs tapped in the middle so that every man could help himself.
Andrew watched in amazement as the preparations came together until at last all was made ready for the celebrations. He was about to speak and thank the people of Travercraig for their kindness when Nairne stepped forward and raised her hands.
“There is just one final thing we must do before we sit down to a feast,” she said, looking around at her fellow villagers and smiling, “and that is to place the picture of Lorna in its rightful place above the fire there, it would not be a Christmas in this castle without her and if we are to feast, then she must look down upon us.”
Several of the men took up the portrait, and it did not take long for it to once more hang above the great hall, Andrew looking up in grateful affection as his dear departed wife was returned to her proper place.
“Thank ye, Nairne, thank ye a thousand times, what a truly wonderful gift I have received. I am doubly blessed, by the memory of dear Lorna and the knowledge that I shall love ye for the rest of our lives together.
He turned and kissed her as a great cheer went up from the gathered assembly and all sat down to the feast. A happier Christmas Day had not been seen in the glen of Travercraig since that fateful night ten years ago, but today was the start of something new. And as Andrew and Nairne toasted their new found happiness with their family and friends, they looked forward to a bright future ahead, one in which the castle would always resound with joy and laughter, a testament to the love born with in it, the love which came at Christmas but would last forever.
*** The End ***
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Christmas in the Glen of Travercraig Page 8
