“...happen tae ye and it came tae me when I was in prayer yesterday that ye are nae in the record here at the church. If somethin’ happened tae ye, ye would nae be listed as m’wife... Isla would nae be listed as m’daughter...”
“Oh.”
“Chef Zach said there is a way tae look up our ancestors and tae see a written record of their history, but ye arna in the record. If we are lost I would hae a birth date and a death date and ye would hae nae record at all. Isla and Archie would nae be recorded. I canna get it from m’head that there would be nae record.”
“Oh,” I said again because I was confused what else to add. “Nothing is going to...”
“But what if, mo reul-iuil, what if...? It seems tae me that without a record tis as if ye are nae important. As if ye are nae m’wife. As if the bairn hae nae been carryin’ m’bloodline. I spoke tae Sean, he has sent a man tae bring the minister here by the morn.” He clutched my hand in his. “In the morn we will be married, tae put our names in the register, tae record it. We will list the children below our names. I ken they hae been christened, I ken God has witnessed it, but I want the record tae shew that we are a family, whatever comes.”
Tears rose in my eyes. “That is beautiful. You want tae marry me again?”
“I do. I ken we were married in the year of our lord 2017, but in the historical recordin’ of 1705 we arna wed and if somethin’ dire happens...”
“I never thought of it before.”
“I wouldna hae thought of it, but now I ken that I can see our ancestors, that the history of us trails behind. Once we are gone, if we haena put the story down, ye might be forgotten. Isla might be forgotten. Or Archie, he is the son of a king, but here he is just a young boy without a record that he lives and breathes within these castle walls.”
“You are really feeling this, huh?”
“I am, as soon as it came tae me, I haena been able tae stop thinking on it. There is an urgency tae it. I must record your lives.”
“We don’t need to hide?”
“Nae, those that want tae harm us ken we are here, there is nae hidin’ now. As soon as we awake we will do it.”
I breathed deeply, and tried not to think that this was a lot like the urgency of needing to write a will. Instead I tried to think of it as the romantic moment it was. “In contemporary times we call this a renewal of vows, it’s really a beautiful thing... and I... yes, I will marry you again.”
Twelve - Kaitlyn
It was still dark when Magnus rose. I was awake to see it because Isla wanted to nurse, and it was hard to fall back to sleep. “You up?”
“Aye, did I wake ye?”
“No, Isla is nursing.”
“If ye will dress, I will check tae make sure the chapel is ready.”
“Is anyone else going to be there?”
“Nae, only us, tis too confusin’ tae explain that we are tae be wed.”
I wrapped Isla snugly in the tartan, her weight evenly dispersed across my back. I pulled on my skirt, latched the belt, and then woke up Archie who had managed to sleep through my activity. “Hey bunny, ready to get up? Da is coming to take us downstairs.” He climbed up into my arms, his sweaty sleepy brow on my shoulder as his father returned to the room.
“Is everyone awake?”
“Yes,” I said.
Archie nodded.
Magnus pulled Archie into his arms. “Dost ye want tae go with us tae the chapel? We are goin’ tae be married.”
I beamed at him. “I kind of wondered if it was a dream.”
“Tis nae, I am goin’ tae marry ye in the Earl of Breadalbane’s private chapel, in the year 1705.” He grinned. “I hae been thinkin’ on it, twill mean that we hae been married for over six hundred years when ye count m’kingdom.”
“So long?” And then I thought to add a slight retelling of the Burns poem, “And I will come again, my love, though it were ten thousand years.”
“Och, tis verra short amount of time.” He held the door open for me.
“Ten thousand years? You think?”
“Aye, ye promised me forever. I think that would be longer.”