It was a bright and sunny day, and Jane was more content than she had ever been. The laughter of the children was loud, and they ran around her skirts in the grass, but she was unbothered by their playfulness.

Three years had passed since her wedding, and life had taken a permanent turn for the better. Although she had been unsure at first about whether or not they should live in the castle with William, now it was her home. They had stayed since Suisan had left, and they did not want William to be alone since he seemed to have no plans for marriage just yet.

She and Alastair had stayed to keep him company, and they spent their summers in England just to make sure they were not always in his hair and to see her father. This summer, however, Alastair had brought them to his former home, where he had lived with his parents and sister.

The small village which had burnt down had become a beautiful field of grass. Alastair had built a little cottage where the old house stood and had left it there for years. This summer, however, he was ready to bring them there and to introduce them to his parents at their grave.

Upon their arrival, he left them standing in the field and went to check the cottage. Although he had hired people to clean it, he still wanted to check that everything was fine before he brought them in.

So Jane had remained outside with the children, sitting in the grass while they played around her. The moment was serene, and she turned her face up to soak in the warm rays, the sun was lovingly shining down on them.

“Ye look calm,” he said teasingly, returning to her side. She had to smile. Usually, she would have told the children to stop running by now. Seeing their father, the two smaller children, who could walk on their own, ran to him, Ramsey, who was three, Maria, his twin. Ivie, who was only a year old, crawled over at a much slower pace.

This was her family now. After their wedding, it was not long before they were blessed with Ramsey and Maria. Her son had her eyes, although he took everything else from his father. Alastair had shed tears the day he was born, and she could never forget the look on his face.

Ramsey was a very intelligent and strong boy with a solid moral code despite still being so young. He was just as reckless as Jane and searched for excitement everywhere. He loved books, and Alastair and William agreed to allow him access to the castle library once he was old enough. He would always run into Jane’s arms the moment she mentioned storytime. Once he was old enough to hold a wooden sword, he would start lessons in swordsmanship.

To their son, family came first, and this showed in how he doted on his sisters and listened to his mother when he saw that his inability to sit still brought her distress. He was very close to his father, copying his actions and wanting to be just like him. William was also like family, and he spent a lot of time reading with William. Jane kept hoping some of William’s calmness would rub off him.

This hope was too far-fetched, however, as he had the genes of two hotblooded parents and spent quality time with his grandfather, John Baxendale, who was the worst of them all during the summer. Ever since her father had retired after Ivie’s birth, he had ample time to sit back and do nothing. That meant that while Jane tried to temper Ramsey’s excitable nature, her father facilitated it. According to him, he was enjoying what he missed out on by not having a son.

Maria, Ramsey’s twin and their first daughter, had taken only Jane’s red locks. Once again, she looked like her father and was identical to Ramsey. Alastair had been overjoyed and prided himself on the fact that his daughter looked like him and was gorgeous. Maria was just as hot-blooded as Jane, and as much as she wished not to admit it, she began to understand how her governess, Mary, had felt, trying to make a lady out of her.

Maria would take swordsmanship up alongside her brother as soon as she could get a grip on a wooden sword. This was obvious as she watched her father spar and mirrored her brother’s excitement. While Mary had wailed in protest, she had grudgingly allowed it since Jane was adamant that she wanted Maria to be free to learn the way of the sword so that she would be able to protect herself even better than Jane had been able to.

The little Maria, unlike her brother, had no interest in books whatsoever, and only agreed to settle down and listen to a story when William was reading. Marie was completely taken by William, and Jane could not blame her when the first time she saw him, she had thought he was an angel.

William was the happiest she had ever seen him when surrounded by their family. He was so bright with joy that he rivaled the sun.

Ivie was their youngest and their last. Finally, in her, Jane found her spitting image, although her hair was dark brown. She was precious, and her siblings loved her unconditionally, and she received all sorts of gifts from their daily adventures. Jane was always alert to intercept those presents as one day Ramsey had run in saying that he had a gift for Ivie, and it turned out to be a frog.

Ivie seemed to be calmer than both her siblings and although she could crawl around quite well already, she stayed put most of the time, unlike the other two who, once they could move, wreaked havoc everywhere they could reach. Jane was beyond thankful as she was not sure what she would do with three handfuls.

Mary had high hopes for Ivie, and according to her, would be the perfect student. Despite being a calm child, Ivie was very happy, always ready to melt hearts with her adorable giggles. She had everyone wrapped around her tiny fingers.

“I am calm,” she responded to Alastair as he bent to raise Ivie into his arms, successfully carrying all three of his children on his shoulders. Jane raised a brow at her husband, one son hanging onto his back, one daughter sitting on his neck, and the baby in his arms reaching for his face.

He was still the most handsome man she had ever seen. Over the years, Alastair had begun to keep a beard, and she loved it. His full beard gave him a mature look and somehow made him look softer, more of a family man, especially surrounded by his children.

Jane swooned, once again noting how hopelessly in love she was with this man. Who would have thought that she would find so much happiness from the failure of an arranged marriage? She thanked the heavens that her father had sent her to the Highlands – otherwise she would have never met the love of her life.

She grinned as she remembered the rude yet gorgeous man she had stepped out of her carriage to insult.

“Magnanimous ye say? Och ye English really love to make yerselves feel righteous! As though yer Lord or whoever is in that carriage cared about me truly. Let him come out here and tell me if he didnae simply dae it in his self-righteousness with the expectancy of some thankful bootlickin’.”

She remembered his words exactly as he had spoken them. He must have felt so angry when he said them. She giggled to herself as her children laughed as he played with them. What would he have thought if she had told him then that she would have him married and giving tender love to her children in a few years? He would have called her crazy, and she would have thought she was too.

“Ye are givin’ me that look again,” Alastair said warily, after glancing her way and finding her watching.

“What look?” she asked, her face frowning in innocent confusion.

“The one that says ye want me to give ye another child, and I just must say, nay! It is way too early for that. Ivie is nae grown!” he declared righteously.

Her jaw dropped as she realized what he said and grabbed the closest thing to throw at him, which just happened to be grass. He guffawed even as the grass flailed in the air, falling just short of him.

“Come,” he said, reaching his one free hand out to her. “Let’s go meet me parents.”

She got to her feet, smiling softly and brushed the grass from her skirts before taking his hand contentedly.

They were approaching where the tombstones stood further down the field when Jane realized that there was a person already standing there. She glanced up at Alastair for clarification. This was supposed to be family time.

Her frown only deepened, however, when she saw the look of shock on her husband’s face as he froze, staring at the figure of a woman with flowing dark hair that fell past her waist.

“Devona?” he whispered hoarsely, the tremor in his voice alerting Jane to the fact that this person would affect their lives forever, although she was not certain how.

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