“A bairn? Mine?”
I smacked him lightly on the chest. “Is that a real question?”
He laughed, realizing the connotation of what he’d said. “Ach, no o’course it isna. ’Tis only I dinna think…”
He was cute when speechless. “It never crossed your mind? You know, that’s what happens when you make whoopee.”
“Ah, another one of yer strange words. Aye, I know what happens. ’Tis only I’m so happy I doona know what to say. Do ye think? Will it hurt the bairn if we make ‘whoopee’ again?”
I laughed at the ridiculousness of the word coming from his lips, reaching so that my lips could touch his. “No, the maybe-baby will be fine.”
We found solace in each other’s arms. As the sun beat down outside, we spent the next day wrapped in one another, our hearts brimming with the happiness that comes from safely holding the one you love most in all the world.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
“A man left this for ye in the village.”
The messenger extended a letter in my direction, bewilderment etched on his brow. The envelope was entirely modern. “Who left it?” Surely, Morna hadn’t traveled back herself.
“I doona know. No one seemed to remember actually, but the man who gave it to me said that it must reach ye at once.”
“I see. Thank you.” My hands fidgeted on the envelope until the man retreated. I ripped it open once he was gone from sight.
I took in the words quickly, running to find Baodan to give him the long awaited news of his brother. I moved so quickly, I passed him in the grand entryway, only stopping at the sound of his voice.
“Mitsy, slow down before ye fall and break yer neck. Ye are no graceful enough to run in a dress. Doona dizzy the wee bairn, please.”
We confirmed my suspicions about the pregnancy a few weeks after we sent E-o to Morna.
“Look! I told you E-o would be fine, although she says his scars will remain. In my book that’s a small price to pay for his life. She hopes that he will be well enough to return home by the time the baby is born and…”
Baodan’s eyes widened as he read the words I was about to tell him, “she doesn’t seem to think he’ll be returning home alone.”