Tempted by the Kilted Devil – Extended Epilogue
Two Years Later
The sun poured through the windows of the solar, casting soft golden light across the stone floor and warming the thick rugs laid out beneath the chairs. Summer had arrived in the Highlands, gentler that year than most, and the castle seemed to hum with the kind of quiet that only came after months of storm.
Ailis knelt in front of a small oak stool, smoothing the wrinkles out of a soft green dress.
“Sit still, me heart,” she said, brushing a strand of dark hair away from her daughter’s face.
The little girl grinned up at her, eyes the same pale green as hers, framed by the almond shape Ailis knew had come from her own mother. Her cheeks were flushed from sitting that morning in the orchard to watch the ducks, and her nose was dusted with freckles earned under the summer sun.
“Duh-duh!” said the young girl with all the enthusiasm that her age afforded and the ducks deserved.
Ailis laughed softly. “I thought ye wanted tae wear yer special ribbon.”
The child’s face brightened at that as Ailis held up the ribbon for her to grab with her little hands; a deep blue silk ribbon, the same shade as the one she had worn around her neck the day she became Lady Caithness. She tied it gently around her daughter’s hair, forming a loose bow just above her braid.
Malcolm leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, watching with a look that turned Ailis’ heart to honey.
“She’s nae goin’ tae sit still, ye ken,” he said, his voice warm with amusement. He had been laughing all afternoon as Ailis chased Eilidh around, trying to get her ready. “She’s got more spirit than both o’ us combined.”
“She’s one, Malcolm,” Ailis said with mock sternness. “Let me pretend fer five minutes that she’ll act like a noblewoman.”
“O’ course she will, me love,” Malcolm said, pushing off the doorframe and crouching beside Ailis and Eilidh, taking the child in his arms. “Ye’ve got royal mischief in yer blood, dinnae ye?”
Eilidh giggled and leaned into him as if she could understand what he was saying, clinging to the edge of his tunic. With a sigh, Ailis sat back and watched them both with her hands on her hips, wondering why either of them thought it was a good idea to get their very young daughter to sit for a portrait.
“We should have waited,” said Ailis. “At least until she can sit still.”
“Ach, but we want tae remember her just like this,” Malcolm said, stroking Eilidh’s cheek. “Forever. Even when she’s a lady in her own right.”
“That willnae be fer a while still,” Ailis reminded him, taking the child from him to hold her in her lap as if to protect her from that very fate. She wanted nothing more than to watch Eilidh grow up and thrive, but the mere thought was enough to choke her, to fill her with a kind of bittersweet feeling that repeatedly brought tears to her eyes.
Malcolm chuckled, wrapping an arm around Ailis’ waist and pulling her close. “Ye’d be surprised how fast daughters grow. I swear she was only a tiny thing just yesterday an’ look at her now.”
Ailis did look at her and found nothing but a tiny thing in her lap. But before she could point that out, a soft knock echoed on the chamber door.
“Enter,” she called.
Master Edric stepped inside, the same painter who had painted her two years earlier. His hair had greyed at the temples, but his eyes still held the thoughtful kindness Ailis remembered well. His satchel hung over his shoulder, and in his hand, he held a narrow wooden case.
“Me lady,” he said with a small bow. “Me laird. An’ this must be the wee lady I’ve heard so much about.”
The girl peered at him with curiosity for a moment, before she erupted into giggles again. She reached for the man with her small hands and Edric tapped the tip of her nose with a finger, causing Eilidh to laugh again, her entire body shaking with mirth.
“Is the wee lady ready fer her portrait?” asked Edric and Ailis nodded, standing with the child in her arms. She took her to the little chair set up by the window, fluffed the hem of her dress, and straightened the ribbon once more. Eilidh wiggled a bit, but sat like a queen in Ailis’ lap, her chin up, looking at Ailis with a grand smile.
“She looks like ye,” Edric said as he prepared his tools. “Such a bonnie wee lass deserves a bonnie portrait!”
“She’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” Ailis told Malcolm.
Malcolm looked over to her. “Aye. An’ we’ve done some fine things.”
They watched their daughter as Edric began his sketch—Eilidh blinking up at the sunlight, reaching for the dancing motes in the air. At one point, she yawned dramatically and leaned against her mother’s chest, content to simply watch the birds fluttering outside.
Malcolm’s hand moved, almost absentmindedly, to stroke Ailis’s back.
“Ye look so bonnie like this,” he said quietly, his voice for her alone. “Ye look very happy.”
She turned her face slightly to him, smiling. “That’s because I am.”
He kissed her temple, tender and reverent, and Ailis leaned into him, the quiet joy between them as steady and warm as the light on their daughter’s face.
“Dae ye remember the locket?” she whispered.
“How could I forget?”
“Well,” she said, eyes misting as she looked at their child, “I think we gave her one, too.”
Malcolm glanced at her, surprise and softness mingling in his gaze.
“Someday,” Ailis added. “When she’s older. So she can carry this moment with her. So she kens where she came from.”
Malcolm nodded quietly, a smile spreading over his lips. “Aye. An’ that she was born out o’ love.”
Edric’s brush moved steadily over the canvas, capturing Eilidh as she was in that moment—bathed in golden light, held in the love of her parents, knowing only gentleness. And Ailis knew, as she looked from the child to the man beside her, that this was the legacy they were building—not castles, not a bloody history, but love, plain and simple.
The End.
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This book was absolutely amazing I loved this story and the extra ending was absolutely incredible. Thank you Shona
Gari, thank you so much! I’m thrilled you loved the story — and I’m especially glad the extra ending resonated with you. Your enthusiasm truly makes all the effort worthwhile. 💕
I would like a follow-up. You are an amazing writer.
Thank you so much, Shirley! Your kind words mean the world to me. A follow-up is definitely on my mind — I’m so glad to know you’d be excited for more. 💫
What a wonderful story. It had lots of action to go with their blossoming love.
I am so happy to hear that Terry! Thank you so much for the support 🧡
Warms the heart
Oh, this means so much to me Andrea! Thank you 🙏
An enjoyable story with little angst.
Thank you very much for your support Margaret 🙏