“You are expected to remain close to us,” the queen whispered quietly.
Walking back past the nods of approval from the rest of the Scottish nobility, Celia thought with a smile of how wonderful it would be to watch the young king grow up healthy and strong.
“How do you feel?” Colin asked in a low voice.
“I'm fine, my love,” she responded, looking up into his loving eyes. Her hand gently patted her waistline. “Do you think our son will be as good a bairn as Kit is?”
“Son or daughter,” Colin smiled. “With you for a mother, ours will be the smartest, the most beautiful, and the best bairn in all the world.”
“You do not think he'll be a wild little terror?” Celia laughed.
“If she's lucky enough to be like her mother,” Colin quipped, “she'll conquer the world.”
Celia thought of how full the coming Christmas would be with the birth of their first child. The thought of having a bairn was downright scary, but Agnes's and Lord Hugh's excitement at hearing the news assured her that she'd have more help than she could possibly imagine.
Indeed, everyone was delighted at their happiness. Father William, settling in comfortably with his flock to tend and his pupils to teach, said cantankerously that he had learned from his mistakes. He was going to go to extra lengths to see that the bairn would turn out better than his disrespectful parents. Although Edmund was returning home to begin a renovation of the ancient Bruce holdings, he was going with the promise of returning to the Western Isles before Christmas. Ellen and Runt had also found marital bliss, and before Colin and Celia had left for the coronation, Ellen had mentioned happily that Celia's bairn might just have a companion growing up.
Everyone was delighted. Celia cast a loving glance up at the rugged face looking at her with such warmth and affection.
“I'm ready to go home,” she whispered, hugging his arm close to her. “I do not want to miss a moment of this summer at Kildalton.”
“Aye,” he returned. “We can travel tomorrow; you've had enough excitement today.”
“The roses will be in full bloom by the time we get back,” she said cheerfully.
“And that garden will be the perfect place for you to spend the summer,” Colin responded.
“Of course! For part of the day,” she exclaimed. “And there's so much to do before the bairn comes...the people in the Argyll lands need so much...and those poor unfortunates who haven't a home to go back to. We need to help them rebuild. And the—”
“Celia, you're not going to exhaust yourself this summer,” Colin growled, his threatening look belied by the sparkle in his eyes. “You're going to rest, and stay strong while our bairn grows inside you.”
“Of course, Colin,” she said, pretending to ignore him. “And we need to build schools in the larger villages, so that all the children will have the chance to—”
“Well, that's just typical,” a familiar voice rang out from behind them. “The culmination of all you two have worked at, in your own ways, since last autumn, and you have to talk about the work you need to be doing.”
“Alec,” Celia scolded, smiling. “Life is not just one big festival, you know.”
“Aye,” Colin added with a wink at Celia. “A couple of decisive victories, a few more acres of land added to the family fortune, and Alec thinks he can rest on his laurels for the rest of his life.”
Actually, Alec's and Colin's military exploits had earned them both fame and rank. And at every gathering, Alec was enjoying his role as the object of attention of every unmarried Scottish woman in attendance.
“Now, if you two...or rather, you three...are going to gang up on me...” Alec grinned, his face becoming sober for a moment. “Truly, though, after you left last night, I had a serious moment thinking of you and all the wonderful things that marriage might hold.”
“Really,” Celia exclaimed. “I'm surprised. And was there a particular woman in any of these wonderful thoughts?”
“As a matter of fact, there wasn't,” Alec responded seriously, his face breaking into a broad smile again. “No wonder I was able to get over it so quickly!”
“You'd best not even try to match Alec up in marriage, Celia.” Colin laughed. “He just doesn't have the good sense of some of his friends...or the good luck.”
“You know,” Alec said, his tone becoming humorously contentious. “I've been meaning to talk to you about the fact that I saw Celia first.”
“Aye,” Colin retorted. “Over the blade of her knife.”
“Now, boys,” Celia interjected with a smile. “I believe there are laws about fighting on Coronation Day.”
“Aye,” Colin responded. “It's a required activity late in the afternoon.”
“Depending on how quickly and how much a person can consume this good Edinburgh ale,” Alec added as they all laughed.
“Well, I'll not be drinking any ale until Christmas,” Celia declared with a firm nod of her head.
“You do not think a little ale will hurt my godson, do you?” Alec asked.
“In the Orient, they say the unborn child should get no alcoholic beverages,” she informed him. “And you, above all people, the man who can now enjoy sailing, should appreciate their medical knowledge.”
“Aye,” Alec agreed seriously. “In fact, I may just give it up myself until the bairn comes.”
Seeing the scoffing looks of his two friends, Alec beamed broadly. “Well, perhaps until dinner, anyway.” He laughed.
Outside the castle walls, Celia and Colin walked in the sun among the revelers in the carnival-like atmosphere that had taken hold of Edinburgh. As they wound their way from the castle along the Royal Mile to the Abbey of Holyrood, they admired the new buildings, so brightly painted and decorated for the grand occasion. The main street and the closes running off of it were alive with jugglers, minstrels, clowns, and dancers; and the air was filled with music and laughter, with shouts and cheers.
Life, indeed, was beginning again, and with her arm linked in Colin's, Celia walked among her people with joy in her heart.
Epilogue
In 1566 Mary, Queen of Scots, daughter of James V, gave birth to another James. And in 1603 this James VI of Scotland succeeded Henry VIII's daughter Elizabeth, last of the Tudor monarchs, and became King of England and Scotland, thereby uniting British rule under the banner of the Stewart kings.
The 'May McGoldrick Family Tree' Book Information
Our 16th Century books...
In The Thistle and the Rose, Colin Campbell and Celia Muir are introduced...
And we also introduce Alec Macpherson, who is the hero of our second book, Angel of Skye...
Alec has two brothers, Ambrose and John, who are the heroes of Heart of Gold and The Beauty of the Mist, respectively...
In Angel of Skye, we also introduce a little boy, Malcolm MacLeod, and in Heart of Gold we introduce a little girl, Jaime...
When Malcolm MacLeod and Jaime grow up, they are the hero and heroine of The Intended...
In Heart of Gold, we also introduce Gavin Kerr, who becomes the hero of Flame...
In Flame, we introduce a number of characters who show up in The Dreamer, The Enchantress, and The Firebrand (the Highland Treasure Trilogy), including John Stewart, the earl of Athol and a number of villains...
The Highland Treasure Trilogy is the story of three sisters...Catherine Percy of The Dreamer, Laura Percy of The Enchantress, and Adrianne Percy of The Firebrand...
In The Enchantress, we introduce Sir Wyntoun MacLean, who also appears in The Firebrand...
In The Firebrand, we also introduce Gillie the Fairie-Borne, who may just have a story of his own one day...
Colin Campbell and Celia (from The Thistle and the Rose) also make a 'cameo' appearance in The Firebrand...
Alec Macpherson and Fiona (from Angel of Skye) have three sons. The youngest, Colin Macpherson, is the hero of Tess and the Highlander (a young adult novel published by HarperCollins in November 2002)...
Our 18th Century Books
In The Promise, Samuel Wakefield, the earl of Stanmore, and Rebecca Neville/Ford are the hero and heroine...
In that book we also introduce Stanmore's friend, Sir Nicholas Spencer, who becomes the hero of The Rebel, which is set in Ireland...
Stanmore and Rebecca also appear in The Rebel...
In The Promise, we also introduce Rebecca's friend, Millicent Wentworth, who becomes the heroine of Borrowed Dreams...
Borrowed Dreams is the start of a new trilogy about three Scottish brothers, starting with Lyon Pennington, earl of Aytoun. We also meet a new cast of characters who show up in the trilogy. Violet, from The Promise, plays a big role in this book, too. She will show up again in the third book in the trilogy, Dreams of Destiny.
In Captured Dreams, we see Lyon and Millicent and the entire household of Baronsford in Scotland, along with wonderful heroes and villains that David Pennington meets in colonial Boston.
In Dreams of Destiny, the mystery of Emma's death is solved...
Ghost of the Thames…a Dickensian novel.
Visit us at www.JanCoffey.com and on May McGoldrick, facebook page for discount offers of our other ebooks.
About the Author
Nikoo & Jim McGoldrick have spent their lives gathering material for their novels. Nikoo, a mechanical engineer, and Jim, who has a Ph.D. in sixteenth-century British literature, wrote their first May McGoldrick novel in 1994. Since then, they have taken their readers from the Highlands of Scotland to the mountains of Kurdistan in bestselling, award-winning historical romance and contemporary suspense novels under the names May McGoldrick, Nicole Cody, and Jan Coffey.