A carriage
arrived outside the cottage. Alannah turned to Mary. “What’s this?”
“When I was at
your parents’ mansion earlier, getting your dress, I told them you’d been found
and you were preparing to be reunited with them. They told me they’d send a
carriage for you.”
A sudden longing
to be home washed over Alannah, and she rushed out to the carriage. Mary
quickly followed.
At her home,
Alannah and Mary were escorted immediately to the great hall where her parents
were waiting. They rushed over to hug her when she entered the room. She told
them the story about her disappearance that she and Mary had agreed on, and
they accepted it. Sir Jeremy Moore was the obvious hero of the story, and her
parents sent a messenger to his home with an invitation to dinner the next
evening.
He sent a message
back that evening accepting the dinner invitation and formally asking Alannah's
father for her hand in marriage. A very tired messenger returned to Jeremy's
house to inform Jeremy that he had Lord Barry's blessing on the marriage.
Alannah dropped
into a bed for the first time in six weeks and slept late the next day after
weeks of hunger, discomfort, and sleep-deprivation. When she woke up, Mary gave
her a light breakfast and started preparing her for the upcoming dinner, which
had turned into an engagement party.
Outside her
window, Alannah watched guests arriving, and realized her father had invited as
many people as he could fit in the dining hall. Mary told her she would not be
allowed to enter the dining hall until her father made a brief announcement to
his guests about her kidnapping, rescue, and safe return by Sir Jeremy Moore.
Jeremy was seated
at a small table with her parents in the front of the room when she entered.
All the guests stood up as she took her place next to Jeremy. Then everyone sat
down, except for her father. He announced that Sir Jeremy Moore had asked him
for Alannah's hand in marriage and that he had given Jeremy his permission and blessing.
To honor her,
Jeremy stood, walked around the table, and knelt in front of Alannah.
"Alannah Barry, with your father's permission and blessing, I ask you for
your hand in marriage. Will you be my wife?"
"Sir Jeremy
Moore, I give you my hand in marriage and would be honored to be your
wife."
The room erupted
in cheers and applause as he took his seat. Servants carried food in on large
platters. Her thoughts returned to the conversation she'd had with Mary when
she had wondered if Jeremy cared for her. "All
will turn out as it should, even if there are some rough patches along the
way."
She looked up to
see a white dove land on a window ledge outside the dining room. Jeremy noticed
it too, and they shared a moment of unspoken understanding as the world around
them seemed to slip away for a moment.
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