Page 42 of A Plaid Case of Loving Ye
“Ye’re gone for over half a year—nae word, naught—and ye return with a handsome son and an even more beautiful wife?” Mother reached for Nicola’s hands with her free one and squeezed welcomingly. “Welcome to McIlvain Keep, dearest.”
Ramsay saw the confusion lurking in Nicola’s blue eyes and skirted the horse to lift her down. “Mother, this is Lady Nicola. She healed me and made certain I was able to return home.”
He didn’t correct the assumption that they were married, and he wasn’t certain why. All he knew was that helikedthe idea of welcoming her to his home as his wife. And he could tell she was confused by Mother’s open and accepting hospitality and he didn’t want to complicate things.
Mayhap he held her a moment longer than necessary, and mayhap he pressed his lips to the top of her head. She didn’t pull away. “Welcome home,” he whispered roughly.
Welcome to my home, he’d meant to say, but the words had come out wrong.
Or rather, right.
“Nicola!” Mother called, grabbing her hand once more. “What a beautiful name! Come, come inside, my dear—Lewis! I told ye to take yer sisters to the stream to wash!Thenye may return indoors! I swear, children are a blessing, and also the bane of my existence.” This last was said while beaming at Nicola. “Ye’ll discover that soon enough, my dear. Come inside and meet Ramsay’s father.Dewey! Get yer finger out of there!”
Ramsay couldn’t stop smiling as he followed her inside, accepting the excited hugs from his siblings as they tumbled over one another to welcome him home. He didn’t even mind the mud the triplets deposited on him, although he agreed with Mother that he wasn’t going to pick up Thelma and Louise until they washed.
“Ramsay! Ye’re no’ dead!” His next-oldest brother burst into the great hall and scooped Ramsay into hug.
Laughing, Ramsay pulled one arm free and swatted at the other man. “And ye’ve grown even larger, George! Think ye’ll be able to beat me at wrestling one of these days?”
“I’mready to try!” hooted the nineteen-year-old right behind George. “Give me a turn!” He threw his arms around both of them, and the trio went down onto the rushes.
“Paul! George! Stop hogging him for yerselves! We want a go at him too!”
Ramsay happily accepted help up from the next two brothers and made certain to end their hugs by pinning them both under his arms. No matter how they squirmed, at seventeen and fifteen, they still lacked the bulk to get away from him.
“Phew, Ram, let us out of here!”
“Did ye forget to wash? Yer armpits smell like a whore’s arse!”
He squeezed harder, laughing at their attempts to get free. “Ringo, did ye take John to his first whore? I’m so proud of my baby brothers!”
All four of them attacked him, laughing and calling insults, and he had to back away, his arms in front of his face to ward off their blows.
He backed into a solid wall and whirled about to see his father standing there with his arms spread. Ramsay let out a shout of joy and damn near lifted the older man off his feet. He’d received his height and build from his father, and they were well-matched.
“’Tis an answer to our prayers, lad, to have ye home!” Laird McIlvain pounded him on his back. “And bringing a wife and son with ye! There’s many stories for ye to tell, I’ll wager.”
“Ye’d win that wager, Da. I cannae tell ye all—”
“Och, King’s business? We understand, but nae more.” Da’s expression turned curiously sober as he held Ramsay at arm’s length. “Lad, the last months, without word from ye, have showed me what’s important in my life. We’ve prayed for yer safety, and I vowed if ye were returned to us, ‘twas time for ye to take yer rightful place.”
“As yer heir?” Ramsay’s brow rose and his lips curled wryly. “Da, ye have naught to worry about—”
“Naught? Bah!” He threw one arm around Ramsay’s shoulders, and the other around George’s. “Yer mother’s breeding again. God help us if it’s more sons.”
“Da, have ye heard of birth control?”
“Controlling births? Nay, laddie, after thirteen—nay, fourteen? How many of ye are there?”
“Fourteen!” called out Ringo.
“Ye learn these things happen when God wills it. Besides, yer mother willnae let me in the chamber. Says I’m distracting.”
Ramsay was shaking his head, chuckling as his father led them all toward the dais and the table where the ale was being poured. “I meant—och, never mind.” He didn’t want to think of his parents having sex, anyhow. “How are things at home?”
“I’m ready to retire and devote myself to my bairns.”
George elbowed him. “As long as ye stop with themakingof more bairns, eh?”
