It was almost a year since her necklace had first gone missing. Myra thought about it often, although the sting of learning about the truth of her mother had lessened as the months wore on. There were other things for her to worry about as soon as she moved to the MacKay castle, such as being introduced to the unfamiliar faces within the castle and the clan. 

At first, the entire premise of such a thing had been too daunting for Myra. She had clung to her husband’s arm like a lifeline, not enjoying the way that some of the women would look at her. However, the people from the towns around warmed to her quickly whenever she would appear at public events. Myra hadn’t ever been received so well before, but she welcomed the warm smiles that the people of the nearby towns wore when they saw her. 

  She was standing within the chambers that she shared with her husband. Thomas was somewhere else in the castle, but Myra hadn’t paid too much attention to where he said he would be. Instead, she was busy staring at the way that her stomach darted out from her dress as though she was attempting to smuggle a large bowl of sorts beneath the material. Her hands rested around it, framing it as though she was posing for a painting. 

  The child within her was moving and kicking against her, as though prematurely trying to meet her before the physician said that she would be ready to give birth. She still found it incredible that she was going to be having a child, that her body had been capable of creating another life. 

  Myra had spent the last week rather anxious, which many of the women in the court had told her would be no good for the baby. She was anxious because her brother was riding to meet her at the castle before the birth; he wanted to be there to make sure that she would be all right. Myra had welcomed the idea that she would have someone of her own blood around the castle while she was between the liminal stage of pregnancy and motherhood. 

  Philip had returned to France for another year. Myra had heard from Thomas that his brother was incredibly excited to visit the serving girl that he had fallen in love with during his previous travels to the country. 

  Myra could tell that Thomas was missing his younger brother, however, it was also clear that he was happy for him. She remembered how excited Philip had been in the days leading up to the beginning of his trip; he had appeared as though he were but a child, unable to do or eat anything until the event that he looked forward to had arrived. 

  Thomas had been pained to watch his brother ride off without him, but Myra had already suggested the possibility of going to visit him soon. She wasn’t sure how possible that would be now that they were going to be starting a family of their own, but she still wanted to entertain the idea for him to give him some hope. 

  “I hope that he does nae think of the clan and our father when he meets with that girl again,” Thomas said with a sigh one evening. “He always looked so in love when he spoke about her.” 

  “Do ye think he will marry her?” Myra had asked while holding onto his hand. 

  “Aye,” Thomas said while perking up a bit. “I do, and I think that he will be incredibly happy if he does so. People over there will talk, and I’m sure that people back here in the castle will talk too, but Philip will nae be the laird after our father. I have that responsibility, and that means he is free to marry who he wants.” 

  “Are ye ready to be their new laird?” Myra asked while casting him a slightly hesitant glance. 

  “I’m nae sure if I will ever be ready for such a challenge, but I will always promise to do the best that I can for our people.” 

  Our people. Myra always held onto that comment with a small smile, and she felt incredibly grateful in the knowledge that he held her with such a high regard. 

  Myra tried to imagine Thomas as the laird of his clan. It was a rather intimidating thought that she would lead by his side. He was going to be making many decisions that would affect people greatly, and people would look to him for guidance. 

  She jumped slightly at the clicking sound of the door. Myra held a hand to her chest as she saw the dark shape of her husband enter the room. His face lit up as soon as his eyes landed on her, and Myra couldn’t help but smile back at him as she nodded to him. 

  “I see that ye are nae listening to the physician’s advice?” he asked with a slight chuckle. Myra could only shrug her shoulders as he walked over to her. 

  “I dinnae ken if ye have ever had to take to bed for an entire week, but I cannae spend so long off of my feet,” she admitted. 

  “I see,” Thomas laughed. “I’m sorry to say that this is nae the kind of burden that I can carry for ye…” 

  “I ken,” Myra shook him off. He was being like that to amuse her and keep her spirits high. Myra was appreciative of his efforts, even if she was still anxious about the process of giving birth. “Thank ye, but I’m doing all right.” 

  “I dinnae ken if I believe ye,” Thomas said while raising an eyebrow. 

  “I would nae be fine if I had to lie in bed all day,” she admitted while smiling at him. “I would be bored, and I’m already bored as it is.” 

  “The child will be here soon,” Thomas said to reassure her. Myra could feel her heart fluttering at the thought of it. She was still finding it difficult to comprehend that they would soon have a child of their own, a family of their own, and a hybrid of the two clans who had historically been engaged in conflict with one another. 

  “I got ye something,” Thomas said, bringing her attention back to him. 

  “What is it?” she asked with a frown. “Ye did nae have to give me anything; ye have already given me this,” she said with a slight laugh as she gestured to the swollen bump of her stomach.

“Aye, but I wanted ye to have something. If we have a daughter, then the necklace will be going to her. I wanted ye to have this to wear, a jewel to give yer own story to.” 

   Myra watched in the mirror with wide eyes as Thomas placed a jewel around her neck. The dainty chain reminded her so much of the one that she had worn for years. Tears started to rise in her eyes as she stared at the jewel. It was a slightly different green to her other one, and the silver chain had been replaced by a gold one. 

  “Thomas,” she breathed out as she stared at it, stepping slightly closer to the mirror to get a better view of it. “That’s incredible.” 

  “Do ye really like it?” he asked. 

  Myra could see from his reflection that he was bracing himself for the rejection. But she couldn’t fault the gesture, and she couldn’t remember anyone else doing such a thing for her before.
“I love it.” 

  “I’m glad,” Thomas said as he breathed out in relief. “The stone is slightly different. I didnae want to get the stone as the other because…well it just didn’t feel right, and the chain is-” 

  “I love it,” Myra said again as she turned around and beamed up at him. 

  Thomas’s expression finally broke out into a smile as he stared down at her. She could tell that this was something that had conflicted him for a while. It was a lovely gift, but she could see why he didn’t want to risk it. 

  “I thought that it would be good for ye to have yer story to tell about this necklace and yers alone, a new heirloom that has nae been tainted by anything bad,” Thomas said while shrugging slightly. 

  Myra liked that idea a lot. She would be able to tell her children and their children of how she had been given the gift by her loving husband to match their unborn daughter’s. 

  “I love ye so much; I dinnae think ye will ever comprehend that,” she admitted while laughing slightly. Thomas was always much better at articulating his love. Myra admired him for that, but she was never too good at doing the same. 

  “I ken,” he smiled. “I love ye more. I love both of ye,” he said as she felt his hand against her stomach. 

  As if to answer, she could sense the baby kicking from within her. The two of them smiled as Thomas felt the sensation too, his hand rubbing reassuring circles across her belly. Myra felt her own stomach flutter, without any prompting from the baby, as she thought about the family that they were going to have together. 

  “My brother will be here any day,” she said with a sigh. “I just hope that the baby can stay in long enough for him to make it.” 

  “All will be fine,” Thomas waved off her concerns. “I’ve already told ye that I have organized everything so that ye will nae have anything to worry about. If the baby starts to come early, I will have some of my men ride out to meet Leo on the road and urge him to delay no more.” 

  Myra could feel the baby kicking more frequently. She was big enough, and she knew that it really wouldn’t be too long before they were welcoming their first child into the world. 

  “We will have lots of children together, Myra, lots of siblings that will have one another long after we are gone.” 

  Myra smiled as she thought about a MacKay dynasty, their family extending out and becoming much larger than either of them could ever have imagined. Her child kicked as though in support of the idea, prompting Myra to hold one hand to her bump and the other to her necklace. 

  The jewel was already warm against her skin, and the initial cold of the metal chain was gone, heated from her own body. She turned around to stare at herself and Thomas behind her in the mirror. The jewel was slightly larger than her other necklace. It glinted in the light with a lot more intensity, but Myra liked it. She felt as though the better jewel had risen from the ashes of the old one, the one that she couldn’t help but feel ashamed of. However, she was going to shape her future away from her parent’s image. 

  Myra wanted them to be known as a gentle family, not the kind that were unfair and intimidating. They would rule over Thomas’s clan with the support of the people, and together they would live long lives with their children in the castle. 

  “To our next adventure,” Thomas said, while nodding to her in the mirror. He had placed both of his hands on either side of her stomach, feeling the aby turning around. 

   “Aye, to our next journey together.” 

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