Restoring the Castle by Joni M. Hill

Author:Joni M. Hill [Hill, Joni M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781490806082
Publisher: WestBow Press
Published: 2013-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

After a quick stop at the Blue Suite where they were assured by William Drew that Duncan was sleeping comfortably, Ian escorted Annie to the Master Suite. It was just after one o’clock in the afternoon, and the wedding breakfast was over. The guests had departed. There was time to rest before the evening reception festivities. A ceilidh was planned, a social gathering full of Scotland’s traditional folk music and dance, something Ian and Annie would both enjoy.

Annie had entered the Master Suite twice in the days before the wedding, overseeing the transfer of her possessions into the rooms. Until then Annie had never stepped foot in the suite. She remembered a time when she had sat on the corridor floor as a child, staring up at the elaborate carvings on the Master Suite’s double doors. But she had never been beyond the threshold until four days ago.

On the first day that she had entered the rooms, she had stood fascinated again by the scenes carved into the reproduction doors: a stag defended his herd from a pack of wolves on one panel, and another stag stood proud upon a high cliff, overlooking a castle, on the second panel.

Annie wished that she could examine the original doors. It would be easier architecturally to verify the construction date of the Master Suite if historical elements were intact. Annie lamented that the contractor, who had once labored to make the castle livable for Charlie, had obviously not been a preservationist. He had updated without any effort to preserve history.

With her work on the chapel, when original construction could not be saved, she had documented everything.

Still, the reproduction doors were beautiful. Until his bank accounts had run thin, Charlie had spared no expense.

“Have a seat, Annie. You look ready to drop, and we still have a long evening ahead,” Ian recommended.

Annie removed her wedding veil and gingerly sat upon the tufted upholstery of one cozy, big armchair in the Master Suite’s sitting room. She did not want to crush or tear the delicate lace on her wedding gown, so she settled herself with care. She held the veil safely on her lap.

“I should hang this dress up,” Annie said, “but I think I’m too tired to change clothes at the moment.”

A cheery fire crackled on the hearth beside her chair, and Annie thought, not for the first time, that McTavish was a gem. The comfortable chair and the warm fire helped to relax her, which said a great deal, considering how awkward it felt to be alone with Ian, her husband now. Annie’s eyelids grew heavy. She closed her eyes, but her mind would not rest. Instead, she prayed.

Lord, I thank you for Kilmegan Chapel. I thank you for allowing my dreams to come true. I thank you for the happy memories of my wedding day. I thank you for the husband to whom I have been joined. Lord, forgive me for asking more, but I need help to find a true and loving marriage with Ian.

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