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She looked down at the snow beneath her feet. “We could always be wed again in London.”
Just then, Muriel and Angus emerged from one of the buildings on the right side of the quadrangle and hurried toward Ailie and Nash. “A ghost! We have seen a ghost!” shouted Muriel.
“Which one? Ailie asked.
“We was in the vault ’neath that one,” said her grandfather, gesturing. “Where the puir Covenanters were left tae die. It were a woman I ne’er heard tell about afore.”
“She wailed most pitifully,” added Muriel, hand over her chest.
“Are you all right?” Nash asked the countess, who looked terribly pale.
“Oh yes. Just winded. I never thought to encounter one, you see. It was as if I had stepped into the past. How horrible it must have been for them, trapped beneath the stones and left to die.”
“’Twas in winter tae,” said Ailie’s grandfather, “more ’an a hundred years ago.”
“She disappeared before my very eyes,” said Muriel, “her white Covenanters’ cap and dark cloak suddenly vanishing. It quite took my breath away. The shock was almost as frightening as when she appeared.”
Ailie shivered, both from the cold and from Muriel’s tale.
“Do you wish to view more of the ruins?” asked Nash, “or might we return?”
Ailie was grateful for his suggestion. “Let’s go back. All I want now is a fire and a warm drink.”
“Here,” said Muriel, thrusting a silver flask into Ailie’s hand. “Have a drink of Madeira to tide you over.”
“We want to get married!” Nash exclaimed when their fellow travelers returned to the inn. They had gathered in the common room with Muriel and her grandfather, warming themselves in front of the fire.
Only a few shocked faces greeted Nash’s announcement. William, Muriel and the Ormonds—who had witnessed his kissing Ailie at Dunnottar—appeared unsurprised. Robbie just smiled.
William said, “Finally!”
Muriel followed this with a doleful, “So soon? I had hoped for some time with Aileen in London.”
Nash couldn’t resist a smile. He raised Ailie’s hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You’ll have time with both of us in London, Countess.
Hugh’s face took on a puzzled expression. “I’m all for the marriage, but shouldn’t the banns be read first?”
“No banns, Hugh.” Again, Nash smiled. “Don’t need ’em here. Brilliant of the Scots to make it so easy to wed.”
Ailie explained, “We just announce our intention to marry before witnesses—as we have done—and then live as man and wife.”
Robbie let out a whistle. “Good show, Brother. My felicitations to you both.”
“You know,” said Nick, “having been cheated out of a wedding, Mother will want a large reception.”
Muriel’s face brightened. “I daresay one can be arranged. A soiree in the ballroom at my London house would be just the thing.”
Emily fixed her husband with a suspicious look. “You don’t seem at all surprised.”
William gave his wife a sheepish grin. “Nash asked to court Ailie some time ago and I gave my consent. He didn’t want anyone to know until the lass looked upon his suit with favor. Still, ’tis not out of the question to arrange a wedding and I’d prefer it be done properly. Grandfather Ramsay knows the minister at the Dunnottar Parish Kirk in Stonehaven. He might be willing to read the banns all at once.”
Angus pursed his lips. “Aye, I ’spect so.”
“There you have it,” said William. And to Nash, “Wedding tomorrow soon enough?”
Nash shifted his gaze to Ailie, who nodded.
“Tomorrow’s fine,” he told her brother.
“Hogmanay be the time tae hav’ a weddin’,” said Angus, his fingers rubbing across his jaw in what appeared to Nash to be a growing interest in the idea.
“Tomorrow it is!” enthused William. Facing Nash, he said, “I do believe your brothers, Ormond and I will require your attention for the afternoon. There are details to discuss, my sister’s dowry, for one.”
Content he would have the woman he loved in his arms tomorrow, Nash allowed himself to be pulled away.
