A Laird for Christmas (34 page)

Margaret’s eyes widened. “You know which of the five you will chose?”

“I do,” she said, then smiled at the words that slipped so easily off her tongue. “I will say those words again before the sun sets this day.”

“You shall reveal him to me this moment,” Margaret demanded in an excited tone.

Jane simply smiled. “You will have to wait and see like everyone else.”

Margaret growled. “I have my suspicions. But I will wait to be surprised with the rest of your people.” She took Jane’s hand in hers. “Come, let us find those gifts so that we can make certain this marriage happens as it should.”

Jane stilled as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “What about the minister? The wedding needs to be official.”

Her aunt smiled mischievously. “I sent for the man two days ago. He should arrive before noon.”

Jane laughed as joy bubbled up from her toes to greet the crisp morning air. “My heavens, a fortnight ago you would have had to drag me to the altar. Now I can hardly wait to get there.”

Margaret returned her smile. “It is odd how life reveals itself to us sometimes, is it not?”

Odd was not the word Jane had in mind. Miraculous seemed more suited to this event.

Miracles and Christmas Eve. Did it get any better than that?

Over the next two hours the sun had worked its way through the clouds to cast a bright white glow over the land. The sunshine helped fuel Jane’s renewed sense of purpose. Her suitors had returned from their hunt. They gathered in the outer bailey outside the stables and the kitchen. Lord Galloway, Angus, and Ollie had led the others in creating a new, temporary home with several of the useful items found during the competitors’ hunt—scraps of uncharred wood that could be used to build, furnishings that had somehow survived, several mugs, plates, an iron cauldron, along with various weapons and shields.

One by one the voices in the bailey fell silent. The earnest faces of her suitors and servants turned toward Jane.

She drew a steadying breath. “This is our final competition, which means it is time for me to say farewell to four of you. Choosing a winner was difficult for so many reasons. And I want you to know that those of you who I will not select as my husband will forever hold a fondness in my heart.” Despite her best efforts, her voice cracked with emotion.

Jane turned not toward her suitors, but to Lord Galloway with a smile. “I am so grateful that you came to this competition, and even more grateful that you found your own prize.”

Lord Galloway slipped his arm around the woman beside him, pulling her close. “Lady Margaret,” he said. His smile widened. “Soon to be Lady Galloway, is a treasure, indeed.”

Margaret blushed. “Oh, Hollister, you are embarrassing me.”

Jane knew a moment’s contentment that her aunt had finally found someone worthy of her love. Beginning her own life with one of her five other suitors would be much easier knowing her aunt was happy and making a life of her own.

Forcing her gaze away from the happy couple, Jane turned back to the other men. The time had come to say farewell. She reached behind her for the largest of the gifts she had gathered, then took her first steps toward David.

“I am the first to go.” He laughed, but it was a hollow sound.

She looked up at him, knowing her eyes were full of the emotion she was afraid to release. “Thank you for your strength, your skill, and your willingness to compete with the others for my hand. Having you here meant the world to me.”

David bowed and held out his gift to her. It was wrapped in a piece of linen that was gray with ash. “Open it,” he said, a half smile on his lips. “It will make me happy to know you have this with you when I am gone.”

Jane set David’s oddly-shaped gift on the snow-covered ground. She accepted his gift, unwrapped the cloth then smiled at the contents.
Her dagger
. “I cannot believe you found this in the ruin.” Filled with joy, she rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his. “Thank you, David.” Jane picked up David’s gift by the sides and stretched her arms out to him. “My gift to you.”

A high-careening squawk came from beneath the cloth-covered gift. David’s brows drew together as he pulled back the cloth to reveal a cage containing a sleek gray falcon.

“You are giving me Falco?” he asked, his voice filled with wonder.

Jane nodded. “Our finest hunter. I want you to have him because I know you will care for him and use him well.”

He flashed a grin filled with happiness. “I will.”

Jane went back to select another gift and moved to stand before Jules.

He groaned. “And I am to be the second to leave you behind.”

Jane saw the uncertainty in his blue eyes, the need, and it touched her deeply. She reached for his hand. “You are my friend now and forever. And I
honestly believe there is someone out there for you who will love you as you deserve to be loved.”

“I have a gift for you this Christmas Eve,” Jules said.

He reached inside his sporran and withdrew a long metal chain, and suddenly Jane realized what it was he held.
Her mother’s girdle
. The rubies sparkled in the light of the sun. Tears filled her eyes when she looked up at him.

“Thank you.” The words were raw and the only ones she could force past the emotion clogging her throat. When she had sent them on their hunt, she had had no notion of what they would find. That they had found two of the things most precious to her was more than she had dared hope for.

She batted at the tears spilling on to her cheeks, then lifted her closed hand out to Jules. She drew a breath and forced her voice into steadiness. “I had a very difficult time trying to find the perfect gift for you, Jules. What I ended up with is more symbolic than helpful, but I hope you will keep it with you to help you remember what it is you have gained.”

She opened her palm to reveal a small skeleton key. “This is the key to your new life. The past is gone. The future is what you make of it.” She stared down at the key, unable to look him in the eyes.

He touched her chin, tilted her face, and brought her gaze to his. “My dear friend, thank you for your role in helping me start anew. You were part of whatever forces transpired to set me free. That is your gift to me, the ultimate gift—freedom.”

Jane gave him a heartfelt smile. “Sometimes the world has to turn us upside down to show us what we need. What is truly important to us.”

Jules laughed. “I would like to try being right side up for a while.”

Jane thrilled to see the shadows vanish from his eyes. “You will find your way, Jules. I have no doubt.”

Jane felt a shiver of peace move through her as she returned to the gifts she had gathered and selected her next offering. She made her way toward Colin.

Regret shadowed his face for a heartbeat before his expression cleared. He straightened and offered her a nod. “I am honored to have been included among your suitors. I am only sorry I did not have more to offer you.”

“Do not think for a moment that your lack of a past has affected my decision at all.” Jane reached for his hand with one of her own, disturbed that he thought that was why she had failed to choose him as her mate. She stared up into his face, deep into his silver-gray eyes. “None of that matters to anyone but you, Colin. You are independent, resourceful, courageous, and one of the most beautiful men I have ever met.” At the admission, she felt heat rise in her cheeks.

Colin’s mouth turned up into a grin. “Admirable traits—and still they were not enough.”

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?”