Keenan chuckles. “Of course he is.”
“And you, Lachlan?” Fiona’s crossed the room to him. She sits in the chair, holding his hand.
“Ach, I’m fine,” he says, brushing me off. “Don’t even need to be in the damn hospital wing. Should be able to leave here tonight, eh, Keenan?”
Keenan nods. “I think you’re all well enough to go.”
Tiernan nods. “And tomorrow? Did you tell her, Fiona?”
“Oh, aye,” Fiona says. “She knows.”
Tiernan squeezes my hand. “It’ll be fine, love,” he says, running his thumb along the top of my hand.
I nod.
“Need to get you a new name,” he says. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and looks somehow shy and smug at the same time. “What do you think of the surname Hurston?”
I smile, lean in, and kiss his cheek. “I think it’s perfect.”
Chapter 22
Tiernan
I hold Aisling’s hand as we watch the funeral from the upstairs window. Keenan made a fair to-do, and I’m glad he did. He’s got bagpipes in from a friend he knows in Scotland, and the soulful music seems fitting on the day we bury Aisling’s old identity.
Fiona plays her part well, dressed in black, crying as she holds onto Lachlan’s hand. He walks with a limp, but is otherwise fine. Sheena covers the story with a friend from the press, and they take lots of pictures. It’s a bit like a celebrity funeral.
Father Finn reads from his prayer book. He believes he’s actually burying Aisling. Though he’s smart enough to know in time, we thought it most appropriate that he believe what we’re telling the world. Puts less of an onus on him to tell a lie. His voice carries across from garden, as the funeral procession begins here and will walk as one to the cemetery.
“I kind of want to go,” Aisling whispers.
I gather her up in my arms, her back to my front, and wrap my arms around her. “No, love. It’s too risky.”
She sighs. “I know it.”
I nuzzle my head in her long brown hair that hangs nearly to her waist. I’ve no idea how the staff did it, but it had something to do with extensions, and she fucking loves it. “Another identity,” she says with a grin. “I’d go red if the Hurston family didn’t already have the corner on that market.”
Our staff have done wonders. Besides masquerading as a full-length brunette, she’s got all new clothes. She’s even got the most adorable pair of glasses with plain lenses in them, to give her a completely different appearance. Last night when she got them, I made her wear them while I fucked her. My sexy librarian.
She looks herself but different, and it feels fitting.
“So have you decided what your new name will be, when I announce your claiming to the Clan tonight?”
“Faidha,” she says with a smile. “Fiona helped me. Says it rhymes with Freya, her imaginary playmate when she was a child. And supposedly it means wild.”
I smile. “Fitting, then.”
Her eyes suddenly go wide. “Wait a minute. Did you say tonight?”
“Aye,” I say with conviction. “I’ve no interest in waiting a second longer. This display out there’s for the press.” I wave my hand at the funeral procession. “I want them to know you’re mine, and I want us to make that happen. The staff will see a new woman here, and some will suspect, but they’re all bound to secrecy. And it’s not uncommon for a man of the Clan to take a woman in unconventional ways.”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “Not something you really should take for granted, you know, Tiernan.”
I smile. “Oh?”
She smiles back. “Will you ask me properly?”
I kiss her cheek, spin her around, and pull her to me. Wish I could drop to one knee.
“Aisling. Will you marry me?”
“Aye,” she says with a grin. “Of course I will.” She grins. “Get me a bloody ring in time, will you?”
“Naturally.”
My no-nonsense woman. I bloody love her. I’ll get a ring on her finger and take my vows, and claim her as a woman of the Clan.
I hold her to me, so grateful we can leave the past behind and move on to bigger and better things.
The rest come back from the funeral and make their way inside eventually. The staff’s prepared a reception. I find Lachlan and Fiona in the library, dressed in jeans and t-shirts not an hour later. Fiona opens her arms to Aisling.
“Come here and give me a big hug. I’m grateful for you! That funeral was actually quite hard today.”
Aisling gives her a big hug. “I bet,” she says. “I found it hard myself. But I’m glad to be here.”
Everyone assembles in the dining room for a large feast. The smell of freshly-baked bread, tomatoes, and garlic waft through the air as the staff brings plate after plate of delectable foods to the tables.
“What is all this?” Aisling asks.
I merely shrug. “Just a little spread.”
“Little? Jesus, Tiernan, there’s enough here for an army.”
Lachlan chuckles, standing behind us holding Fiona’s hand. “Don’t you know, lass? We are an army.”
Keenan arranged this with me, preparing for Aisling to shed her old life and embrace her new place in the McCarthy family home.
When everyone’s arrived, I clear my throat and stand. “Welcome, everyone.” The room goes quiet.
“Today, I’ve an announcement to make.”
Aisling’s cheek flush pink, but she doesn’t look away. All eyes are on me now.
“It’s tradition for a man of the Clan to publicly announce when he’s to claim a woman, as she becomes one of us.”
Murmurs of agreement go up all around us.
I reach for Aisling’s hand.
“Meet Faidha,” I say, pride in my voice. She will take my name, put a ring on her finger, and become McCarthy family. Just like I did.
“And it’s time to make this announcement. Faidha belongs to me. I’m claiming her as mine. I’ve given her a ring, and we’ll wed on the first of the month.”
The room erupts into cheers, and well-wishers approach to clap us on the back. I’m so damn proud I feel as if I might burst.
Cormac opens bottles of champagne, and Fiona gives both of us a hug.
“I’ve finally accepted that you two are going to be a thing,” she says, her eyes dancing. “But I’m happy for both of you. Never knew anyone who could take a man like you,” she says with a playful jab. “Nor a man who could handle a lass like you.”
“Oh aye, they’re well-suited for one another, aren’t they?” Lachlan says.
I nod. He would think so.
“How’s Tully?” I ask.
He grimaces. “Keenan says he’ll be in the hospital a little while, but he’s doing well.”
Aisling’s brow furrows. “I’d like to visit him. Can we?”
“Not until he’s home, but we will. Right now, I think we need to be sure everything’s settled first.”
“Oh, aye,” Keenan says. “It’s why I told Danny Cook you’re not ready to go back to the ring yet. But when you’re fully healed, we’ll book it.”