Too Scot to Hold (The Hots for Scots #8) - Caroline Lee Page 0,52

even married Aunt Agatha to that old goat, MacKinnon. And he’d finally talked his housekeeper into becoming his wife.

As far as William was concerned, the last year had been a fooking success.

Things were just starting to get steamy between the two, when a voice called out, “A toast!” and the cry was quickly taken up. He pulled apart from Moira and was pleased to see her patting at her hair, flustered. After all this time, he still had the power to fluster the woman he loved, and if that didn’t make a man feel good, he didn’t know what did.

So he hauled her up beside him, lifted his flagon, and bellowed, “What are we toasting to?”

To his surprise, ‘twas Duncan who stood first, his flagon raised. He held hands with his wife, Skye, and although they were in no hurry to start a family, William had to admire the way they supported one another, always relying on each other for comfort and encouragement.

As it should be.

Duncan cleared his throat. “A toast,” he began calmly, “to all the new bairns who’ve arrived, and will be arriving in the coming months. They’re the future of the Oliphants, and we’re pleased to have so many little ones to dote upon.”

Safely tucked behind his seated wife on the opposite side of the hearth, Kiergan called out, “Aye, Uncle Duncle! Ye can spoil wee—”

His teasing was cut off with a yelp as he moved his booted foot from underneath the foot of his wife’s chair. “Whoops,” Katlyn called out sweetly, nestling her tiny bairn against her breast. “I accidentally smashed yer foot, husband.”

Duncan saluted her with his ale. “Thank ye. Now I dinnae have to come all the way over there to do it.”

“Such kindness,” drawled Skye, blandly.

“A toast!” shouted Dunc’s identical twin, Finn. He was seated beside his wife, Fiona, each cradling one of their twin lassies. The one he carried was wrapped in a blue blanket, and he lifted his ale in the opposite hand. “To Da! ‘Twas his idea to set us all down this path to marriage and bairns, and no’ all of us went willingly. But I think we can all now agree ‘twas worth it.”

“Hear, hear!” came the call from all corners of the great hall, and William realized he was beaming.

“A toast!” cried Father Ambrose, who was deep in his cups already. “To Divine Providence, which watches over us all. For does the Holy Scriptures no’ tell us, ‘Leeches are cute and all, but mayhap an ill person might want to keep most of their blood inside them?’ ”

Various family members called out in agreement or teasing as they drank, but Malcolm was nodding in agreement. He cradled his sleeping infant daughter against his chest, and young Liam stood tall beside him while Evelinde bounced wee Tomas on her knee.

“A toast!” called William’s scholarly son. “To learning new things, and never stopping. No’ just learning things out of a book”—he grinned down at his wife—“but learning the important things about life firsthand.”

Since this particular son of his had chosen a wife strictly to father a son of his own, only to fall in love with her and her sons, and now be completely and utterly smitten with his newborn daughter, William felt justified in heckling a bit before he joined the others in drinking.

Nessa was the next to bound to her feet, her flagon held high. Since the rest of her family could tell, from the way her eyes sparkled, she’d already finished at least one mug of ale, they all grinned in readiness to hear what she had to say.

“To the drummer! A toast to the Ghostly Drummer of Oliphant Castle, long may he reign! He brought us all together in some way, did he no’? May he be happy in his eternal afterlife, surrounded by lots of ghostly ladies of easy virtue and ghostly horses and ghosts of fermented mashed grains!”

William wasn’t the only one to burst into laughter and agree to that toast. Beside him, Moira was chuckling, and when he shot a glance her way, she winked naughtily. Aye, the drummer had brought the two of them together, although since they’d been the drummer more often than not, the legend had only helped.

Amid the laughter, Brohn tugged his wife down to sprawl on his lap, but since he was grinning just as broadly, everyone knew he didn’t mind her outspoken nature. It hadn’t been easy to accept that match, but William knew no one—not