“Maither, please,” Elena said as she felt flush. “Whatever Anna has told ye, it is nae true. As for whether I’ve slept wit’ my husband,” Elena felt a spark of pride and rebellion prick her. She straightened her shoulders and stared her mother dead in the eye. “Aye, I have. Many times now.”
The worry that was etched into her mother’s wrinkles faded and was swiftly replaced with a smile.
“This is good news then,” she said. Elena couldn’t help but feel a bit proud for upholding her side of the contract. “Tell though, he was kind to ye, was he nae?”
“Maither, I daenae think that is somethin’ I wish to tell ye. Ye understand, right?”
“Just answer me that much,” Iona pleaded. “Tell me yer well cared for and that yer happy to be here and I’ll nae speak another bit about it.”
Elena bobbed her head as she played with the tips of her fingernails. “I am happy. Gabriel makes it so. If there is ever a time he catches me sad, he finds ways to make me smile. He’s nae as Anna or Isobel make him out to be, truly.”
“Is that love I see on ye?” Iona asked as she smirked. “It suits ye. But I am surprised by this change of events. Daenae get me wrong, it is a happy surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.”
“I ken,” Elena said. “It caught me off guard as well. I never thought life could be like this. Or that I’d marry someone so devoted to me.”
“It took me many years to get yer faither to look at me the way Gabriel looks at ye,” Iona said, patting Elena on the face. “I’m happy for ye and wish ye a blessed marriage. But, remember, a marriage that burns hot in the beginning will eventually fizzle out. Enjoy it while ye can.”
Chapter 22
The soundof laughter filled the dining hall. Gabriel couldn’t help but be overjoyed by watching Elena laugh. It was like angels singing in his ears and to hear it blew him away. But what really surprised him was the way Iona’s laughter was so similar. He had never really heard Iona laugh before and couldn’t help but wonder how many times she had actually done it. By the frown lines on Iona’s face, he could tell it had been a while.
“And ye should have seen him,” Iona said, slapping her knee as she nearly keeled over in her seat. “The poor wee lad had nay idea what was goin’ on. The pony took off, saddle and all down the lane. It took the lads several hours to find it. But when they brought it back, poor Andrew crossed his little arms over his chest and stuck out his lower lip. It looked swollen I tell ye.”
Iona’s face lit up as she told the story of Anna’s eldest and his first riding lesson. Clearly, it was something the lad wasn’t so good at. Although Gabriel did take pity on the wee lad. His eyes shifted to Elena. Her face was ruby red and tears swelled in her eyes from laughing so hard.
“It reminds me of ye, ye ken,” Iona said, reaching for her glass. Gabriel turned his attention back to Elena’s mother and shrugged.
“I’ve done many silly things as a lad. Suppose we each have a story to tell, do we nae?”
“Aye, we do,” Iona said. “But it reminded me of the time ye tried to show Elena how to ride. That pony must have been from the same stock seein’ as how ye both ended up in the mud that day.”
“I remember that,” Gabriel said with a smirk. “It had rained the day before and yer husband told us nae to go. But I’d been cooped up for far too long and was itchin’ to get out. Elena, of course, was on my heels waggin’ her plump wee finger at me tellin’ me she’d tattle if I left. But I had to, the moors were callin’.”
“Aye,” Iona said as her laughter died down. “And poor Elena, she went right along wit’ ye and was the first to fall from the pony.”
“Ruined my dress it did,” Elena said with a faux pout. Gabriel shook his head as he leaned toward her and kissed her on the cheek.
“Ye’ll get nay sympathy from me,” he said. “That was my favorite horse. Poor thin’ got stuck in the moors. Faither had to put it down. Although, I think he sold it to the neighbor so that I couldnae take off again. Because I swear I saw it the next spring at the MacQuincy’s place.”
Elena and Iona’s laughter rumbled through the room once again. Iona tried to take a sip from her glass but found the task too daunting.
“The two of ye were thick as thieves when ye were small,” Iona said. “It didnae surprise me one bit ye ended up together.”
“It startled me,” Elena said, pulling in a sip from her glass and carefully setting it down before another bout of giggles took over.
“That I remember too,” Iona said. “Ye were swearin’ up a storm on yer weddin’ day. The moment I put that brooch on yer shoulder, yer face turned white as if ye’d seen a ghost. I thought ye were goin’ to pass out.”
“Well what did ye expect?” Elena said as she glanced from Gabriel to Iona and back again. “I dinnae like ye.”
“Daenae I ken it,” Gabriel snickered. “But I wore ye down, did I nae?”
“That ye did,” Elena said, leaning closer to Gabriel to return the kiss.
“This is lovely,” Iona said. “To see ye as ye are. Ye truly are happy here. I have to confess I was wit’ Anna at first. I dinnae think the two of ye would find yer common ground, but ye did.”
Gabriel grabbed Elena’s hand and gave it a soft little squeeze. He couldn’t help but feel absolutely blessed to have Elena walk with him in his world.
“Now,” Iona said, placing her hands on her lap and dropping her smile. Her eyes darted from side to side conspiratorially. “When can I expect to have grand babies?”