The Highlander’s Dark Obsession – Extended Epilogue
Five months later, Comyn Estate
Willelm sat back on his heels, wiping the sweat off his forehead. It was a chilly day, and yet he was sweating profusely as he nailed plank after plank down on the roof of the barracks. For the longest time, they had been in need of some serious repairs, but he had neglected it in favor of working on the villages and the buildings in the surrounding lands. Before anything else, he wanted his people, the common folk, to have their homes and farms back, to have their livelihoods restored.
The burned crops were long gone and in their place, new crops grew. The burned land was fertile now and Willelm had made the decision to plant mostly oats—a staple crop, and one that grew quickly. The ash would give the plants the nutrients they needed, and in turn, the villages would avoid the famine that was sure to come before they managed to rebuild.
Long gone were many of the homes, too, and those were harder to rebuild. Willelm could send his men now in times of peace to help the farmers sow the land, which took days, but building new houses took weeks of work. Even now, five months later, rebuilding the villages and the farms was a slow process, one that everyone in the Comyn lands had accepted would take a long time, even with the help of the MacDuffs.
It was strange, having the MacDuffs as allies—a group of people who were now working alongside his own to rebuild what had been lost. Willelm couldn’t be more thankful for the help. He took any help he could get, he was not a man who put his pride over his people.
But now that all the other restorations were well on their way, he could spend some time working on the estate, along with his men, even if that meant spending grueling hours under the sun or the rain. Everyone in the keep was happy to help, all of them working together to bring the estate back to its former glory.
Willelm remembered the estate from his childhood days—the colorful tapestries, the shining armors standing empty in the hallways, the grand portraits of those before him. It had once been a sight to behold, a place of beauty and luxury, and now Willelm was determined to restore it.
If his ancestors were watching, if his parents were watching, then he wanted them to be proud.
He caught his breath as he glimpsed Sorcha as she stepped out of the main part of the estate, carrying a tray in her hands. On it rested several cups and a pitcher of wine or ale, which she brought to where the men were working on the barracks.
Standing to his feet, Willelm walked over to her just as she began to pass the cups around to the men. They were all quick to thank her with a kind word and smile; most of his people had taken to her from the moment she had come to the estate, but the men were the ones who were the most reluctant, considering they had fought against her family for so long. Now that the truth had come out and his men had gotten to know Sorcha better, they had however mellowed.
With a smile of her own, Sorcha passed one cup to him and Willelm took it gratefully, gulping the contents down.
He hadn’t realized just how thirsty he had been. Only now that the sweet wine hit his tongue did he notice.
“Thank ye,” he told her, pulling her in for a quick kiss. Just as he pulled away to go back to work, though, Sorcha pulled him back in and kissed him again, a smile spreading over her lips as she stared at his eyes in a weighted silence.
“What is it?” he asked with a small, bemused smile.
“I have somethin’ tae tell ye,” Sorcha said cryptically, and Willelm didn’t know what to expect. By the looks of it, though, it seemed that it was a good thing, much to his relief.
“Alright,” he said, his smile widening as he tucked a stray strand of her golden hair behind her ear. “What is it?”
Taking his hand in hers, Sorcha led Willelm away from the other men, down a narrow path that led to what once had been the gardens. That part of the grounds needed plenty of work, but the women in the estate had already started planting. New plants and flowers would bloom soon, filling the grounds with their fragrance—lavender and thyme for the healer’s concoctions, Scottish primrose, bell heathers, peonies for their colors, and an oak sapling that in many decades would shade the entire place. The women tended to the gardens daily.
It’s because they need this, they need this place, their home, tae be special.
After everything they had endured, they needed it to feel like home—to feel theirs.
There was an old stone bench there and Sorcha sat on it, telling Willelm to join her with a nod of her head. Willelm did as he was asked, perching next to her, his fingers idly tracing a crack on the stone.
“Well?” he urged her, curious.
For a moment, Sorcha hesitated, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. Then, she took Willelm’s hand in her own again and pressed it gently over her stomach, smiling warmly at him.
It took Willelm a while to understand what it was that she was trying to tell him, but when he did, his eyes widened comically and his mouth fell open as he stared at her, his heart beating so fast in his chest that he feared it would simply stop.
“Are ye with bairn?” he asked, just to make sure. With a bright smile, Sorcha nodded fervently and Willelm wasted no time before he pulled her in his arms and into a tender kiss. Then, unable to control himself, he pressed kiss after kiss to her face, covering her cheeks, her forehead, her jaw. Sorcha giggled, playfully pushing him away.
“Ach, I think that’s quite enough,” said Sorcha, laughing softly.
“I dinnae think it’s enough at all,” Willelm teased. “When did ye find out?”
“I wanted tae be certain so… I waited a while tae tell ye,” Sorcha admitted, a soft blush rising up her cheeks and coloring them a pretty red. “I’ve kent fer a few weeks.”
Willelm could hardly believe that in a few short months he would be a father. He and Sorcha would have a child of their own, a little boy or girl that would look just like them and run around the estate, growing up right before their eyes.
Ach, I must ensure everythin’ is safe fer the bairn.
There was still so much work to be done around the estate, but since they had decided to renovate it and use it as their home and base for the Comyn Clan for the time being instead of returning to the clan’s main castle, he had to make sure everything was perfect for the baby’s arrival. Panic gripped him for a single moment then, as he thought about everything that needed to be done. There was a long list of things, but one that he would have to tackle immediately.
“Ye’re overthinkin’,” said Sorcha, immediately noticing. “Dinnae think so much. Just enjoy it.”
Willelm supposed she was right. He wanted to make the most of that time. Once again, he pulled her close for a kiss, their lips meeting softly, tenderly. He combed his fingers through her hair and she smiled at him, gazing into his eyes.
“Have ye told yer family?” Willelm asked her. He wished his parents were there so he could tell them. He wished they could have seen their grandchild grow up, but at least his child would have his uncle. Willelm knew Rory would be there every step of the way, and once he would have children of his own, there was no doubt in his mind that the cousins would be inseparable, just like the two of them had always been.
“Nay,” said Sorcha, shaking her head. “Nae yet. I wished tae tell ye first, afore everyone else.”
“Nae one else kens?” Willelm asked with a small, pleased smile.
“Well… Caitriona kens,” Sorcha admitted, a little bashfully. “But only because I asked her so that I could be certain. I didnae wish tae tell ye I’m with bairn only fer it tae be false.”
Willelm could understand that. He could only imagine the disappointment both he and Sorcha would feel if it turned out the information was false. But she seemed entirely certain of it, and so Willelm allowed himself to feel his excitement at its full force, his joy radiating warmth in his chest. Never before had he felt that much love, that much tenderness towards someone, and that someone hardly even existed yet.
“I cannae wait tae meet him,” he said, only for Sorcha to slap his shoulder gently in protest. “Or her,” she pointed out.
“Or her,” Willelm relented with a smile. “What would ye rather it be?”
Sorcha shrugged a shoulder, her hand coming to rest over her stomach. “I dinnae care,” she said. “As long as it’s a healthy bairn, that’s all that matters tae me.”
“That’s all that matters tae me too,” Willelm assured her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “As long as it’s healthy an’ happy.”
“O’ course it will be happy,” Sorcha said. “It will be surrounded by love an’ that’s all that matters.”
The two of them sat side by side on the bench, content in the silence that followed. They didn’t need to say anything to each other; all they needed was a single look to know what the other was thinking, and Willelm marveled at the fact that he and Sorcha had this kind of connection already, of a sort that up until then, he had only had with his brother.
Still, he wanted to speak the words in his mind out loud.
“Sorcha… I love ye,” he said. “I love ye so much.”
It was the truth, plain and simple, and words didn’t seem enough to express just how he felt for her, but it was all he had.
“I love ye too,” she said with the brightest smile. “An’ I love our wee bairn.”
Placing his hand over her own on her stomach, Willelm smiled to himself. The peace that came with Sorcha’s words was unlike anything he had ever felt and he basked in it, wishing it would never end.
And as long as they were together, he knew it never would.
The End.
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Awesome read from the first words to the last! Thank you for taking me on such a wonderful journey. I felt like I was there!
More please more!!
Thank you so much Mel! I’m thrilled you felt so immersed—that means the world to me. More is definitely on the way, so stay tuned! 😊📖
I loved it when I finally figured out Sorcha was not the witch sorcha.. at first a little confusing but what great story
I totally understand this Charlene, thank you so much for the support ❤️
I too had the confusion with the unclear time lapse and same Sorcha name from the last book to this book. Also, after falling in love with Alistair MacDuff in the previous books in the series, I could not buy that he was potentially a bad Laird. Although I liked Willelm and Rory as well as Sorcha as MCs, I strongly felt the desperation of the Comyn clan throughout almost the whole book – a bit too heavy – so this book was not one of my favorites.
I totally get that & I apologize for the confusion! Thank you so much for sharing your honest opinion my dearest! ❤️🙏
I had to go back through my books because I thought I’d read this ( it was Sorcha). I’m glad I was mistaken.
Thank you so much for reading & supporting dearest Lisa! 💙