It was the night before the wedding.

They had come back from dinner with MacKenzie-Brown and gone right to their suite. Will went into his own room to change out of his dinner jacket, but then he came into Selina's room, and when she came out of the bathroom he was sitting on her bed, going through her jewellery case...

He didn't seem to hear Selina come into the room. At least, he didn't look up.

"Willie! What are you doing in here?"

He practically jumped, but covered. Ignoring the question, he held up the diamond bracelet he was examining and smiled at her. "I don't suppose you'd let me borrow this for a couple of days?"

"Oh, Willie..." She shook her head and came to sit beside him.

His hair, which he had combed carefully before MacKenzie-Brown's car had come for them, was mussed again. "I could turn it into twins..."

"You maybe could. Or maybe I'd have to explain to Douglas why I'm not wearing it to the -- our wedding."

"Please don't make me do that, Willie."

"I would never make you do anything, Seelie."

She looked at him sidewise, her spirits rather quenched. Then she went to the wardrobe and opened it. Filmy folds of white tulle and silk spilled out.

"Kinda pretty, isn't it, Willie?" She stroked the pearl-encrusted bodice.

"You'll look like a goddess." He sighed slightly. "I wish..."

"Yeah? So do I. Lots of things. Like not having to go through with this."

"There's nothing to be afraid of. This is... this is an unbelievable opportunity. And if I didn't think you were up to it..." He shook his head.

She rounded on him. "Oh, don't lie to me, Willie -- you weren't thinking about what I could do when you busted in," she snapped.

"Yeah, well, what were you thinking with?"

"Why, you little... how dare you?"

"How dare I? How about you? No one forced you into MacKenzie-Brown's... arms."

"But -- I -- I didn't mean to go and marry him, Willie! It's not right! You know it's not!"

"It's the right move for us right now, Seelie. I'm just doing what I did that night. I'm just looking after you. After us."

She put the back of her hand to her mouth, her pretty shoulders slumping. I don't know, Willie... are you sure?"

He dropped the bracelet back into the plush box and drew her to him. "It's the start of a whole new life for us. A whole new chance. We'd be foolish not to make the most of it."

She snuggled close. "You're right. I'll be good. I promise."

"That's my girl..."

"I love you, Willie."

"I love you, too, Seelie." He kissed her forehead and got up. "You'd better get some sleep."

"Yeah. Big day tomorrow. G'night, Willie."

" 'Night.." He went through the connecting door, hesitating for a moment with his hand on the knob. He looked as if he was going to say something.

She didn't see him; she was going through her wardrobe for her nightdress.

Shaking his head with a wry little smile he went into his own room. He looked at the elegant suit hanging on the closet, ready for him to wear when he gave her away the next day.

He wouldn't sleep much, he never did anyway. Standing by the balcony, he took out his cigarette case and lit a cigarette, looking out at the moon as he lit it and took a long drag that was almost satisfying...

The service had ended, the photographer had done his thing and gone, and finally the bridal party was able to leave the kirk for the reception, and the dinner and dance to follow. Rather a relief - between arriving at the kirk in time to usher in the guests, the seemingly interminable length of the ceremony itself, and the innumerable arrangements of the rather large wedding party for photographs afterward, Adrian was famished. Having overslept and missed breakfast hadn't helped, either.

After leaving his overcoat at the designated place, he went quickly to the head table, hoping that Douglas and his new bride weren't too far behind. He was still rather surprised that Douglas has asked him to be part of the wedding party, even with as large as it was. On surveying the place cards at the table, he discovered that the seating arrangements placed him two people away from Douglas on the right. If his memory served correctly, the man on his right was the new Mrs. Mackenzie-Brown's brother.

On noticing that Douglas and his new wife were still being surrounded by well-wishers and not likely to reach the head table any time soon, he left the table briefly in order to greet Aunt Cassie, something he'd not had the opportunity to do the night before. The usual pleasantries exchanged with her, his return trip to the head table put him immediately behind the principals of the affair.

"No need to stop to say anything since we're headed for the same place, but you two look absolutely marvellous together - though you've probably been told than innumerable times today."

Selina cast her eye behind her and -- there was no other word for it -- simpered. "Aren't you just the sweetest thing ever? You're, um, Ryan -- no, that's not it. No, don't tell me, I have a deep and vital connection with the stars and they always help -- Adrian . That's right, isn't it? Adrian ?"

Will smirked slightly as Selina rattled on, then extended his hand and said, "Will St. Pierre. I'm Selina's only family... well, before today. Now it seems to be getting bigger. Pleased to meet you."

With strides longer than might be expected for his frame, Adrian answered the two of them in turn. "I'm afraid that I don't know who Ryan is, although your second guess was correct. Adrian Quinn. Your mother-in-law is my Aunt Cassandra."

This proved difficult. Selina wore a pout of charming puzzlement for a full minute, while Adrian answered Will. Then, as her brother seated her at table, she smiled dazzlingly at Adrian and exclaimed, "Oh! You mean Douglas 's mama! She's your aunt? Then you must be..." and off she went into another vortex of thought.

" Douglas is my cousin. The relationship to Colin is on his father's side of the family, I think. I didn't get to see Aunt Cassandra, or Douglas, as often as I'd have liked growing up."

The response to her brother came after the head table allowed something resembling a vantage on the room. "I'm certain that you met Aunt Cassandra last night. On her side of the family, Douglas doesn't have many relations either. There's my sister Laura and her family, but that's all." He used his left hand to indicate four of the people remaining at the table with the mother of the bride, identifying each as they were named. "Laura's ten years younger than I am. Her husband is Iain Sinclair. The twins are Emma and Evelyn." His tone indicated that there was probably more to be said on the subject, but that this was neither the time nor the place.

"Oh! How sad!" The sweet blue eyes turned wistful. "You must have felt like a single daffodil in a field full of clover. Well, we just can't have that. You'll have to come see us. Maybe at Christmas? We'll have a lovely party at Christmas, I'm sure. Willie, don't you think he should come for Christmas?"

"Absolutely," Will said, with a razor-sharp smile. "The more the merrier. That's what Christmas is all about, isn't it?" He found he was sitting next to Ryan... no, Adrian . "We'll make it a special holiday for everyone." He noted that there were no fewer than four glasses at each place setting, which spoke well for the variety of wines and so forth they were likely to be served. Not that he'd be drinking a lot. No, he'd seen too many otherwise sharp men - and more than a couple of women - felled by too much indulgence in that arena. But he'd sample a little of this, a little of that, all the better to test the quality of his new brother-in-law's hospitality...

"I'd be delighted to attend. I haven't made it to the island in years, partly because of Douglas having been gone. The last time I saw him was at my mother's funeral, in October of '29."

To himself, the architect began wondering just whose idea the marriage had been, and whether there were any prenuptial shenanigans that he ought to be alert to. Time would tell, and the six months between now and Christmas would be plenty of time.

"St. Pierre, my Aunt was telling me last week that cousin Colin has started excavating a ruin of some sort over on one corner of the island. Or maybe that he's planning to start - something along those lines. Know anything about his long-range plans for that project?"

"I haven't the faintest," Will said with another smile. "I haven't even met your cousin Colin yet. I'm assuming he's got permission. Do you know what kind of ruin we're talking about?" He could see Selina's eyes light up; no doubt she was envisioning a treasure chest of some sort, and who was to say that was completely impossible?

"Colin stepped aside to give the title to Douglas , so I don't think that he really needs permission. I'm surprised you haven't met him, yet though - or perhaps you just weren't putting names and faces together." Left hand pointing, he continued, "Colin's at the far end of the table. I'll have to admit that the seating arrangement of the head table doesn't make much sense to me, since I"d expect that Douglas would have put Colin closer to him - but perhaps he doesn't want to remind people that some of the very old islanders still think of Colin as the Laird."

"Do they really?" Will asked in a musing, yet casual tone. "Why did Colin step aside?" He couldn't imagine anyone walking away from a title and all the possibilities that entailed. Then again, the English were notoriously eccentric.

"Willie!" Selina chided, slapping playfully at his hand on the table. "Don't be nosy! Isn't he just awful, Cousin Adrian? Mama used to say -- well, never mind; Willie will get angry with me if I tell." She wrinkled her nose cutely and giggled. "But I'm sure Colin must have had a good reason!"

"I'm afraid I can't say - as I said, the last time I saw either of the Mackenzies before this was at my mother's funeral. That was almost three years ago, and though I correspond with Aunt Cassandra fairly regularly, Colin's not actually one of -my- relatives."

With all the guests now seated, the meal began to arrive, first at the head table and shortly thereafter spreading throughout the room. The soup was a sherried cream of wild mushroom. The mushrooms were local, and each bowl came with a pair of mushroom caps floating in the centre.

After a short pause to allow the waiters room to do their jobs, he continued, "Actually, I'm as curious as you are on that point - and if I should get a chance to discuss the matter with him, I will. If the plans include restoration, I'll be happy to lend my professional services."

"Well, everybody's got to come talk to me at some point," said Selina with a blithe arrogance too innocently bridal to cause offence. "I'll send him right your way. What is it that you do, Cousin Adrian?"

"I'm one of the senior members of Fraser & Dunn, and architecture firm in Inverness . I've dabbled in most areas of the field, but since the Great War I've focused more on renovations and reconstructions than on new buildings.

"As for directing Colin to me - it likely won't be necessary; he's seated at the far end of the head table. Somehow, I doubt that Aunt Cassandra would have let Douglas get away with not including his first cousins as groomsmen, although they've both surprised me before. There are, however, certain proprieties to be observed - or at least, that's what I think she told him."

An idea was forming in Will's head as their new cousin spoke. "Restoration? A fine thing. I mean, I'm as guilty as anyone of being a modernist - sometimes I think it's the age - but maybe we shouldn't be in quite such a hurry to do away with the old in the rush towards the new..." He took a long sip of his wine. "Do you ever work on the other side of the Atlantic ? Because there's someone I'd like you to meet. Might be an interesting piece of work for you..."

"I haven't yet, though that doesn't mean that I wouldn't. It would depend, for example, on how long the supervisory stage might last after the plans were drawn up. Then there's the travel time, and how familiar I am with the style of the building already...." He paused for a moment, apparently contemplating a train of thought. "What do you have in mind?"

"A friend of mine, from the days I was managing Selina's career..." Said in a casual tone that indicated how distant those days were. "He's bought an old theatre, wants to have it completely renovated and put into working order. Says it's a mess, but the basics are there." He smiled at Adrian . "We could get into it more after the holidays if you like. I know it's hard doing business right now."

"Managing? That certainly implies that she's not in one of the traditional professions."

"We did some work on the opera houses in Inverness and Perth in the mid-20's, so theatrical renovations aren't entirely unheard of for us. But, yes, business would be rather rude right now. After all, the stars of the day are you sister and my cousin."

Will bit his lower lip before pasting on another smile and saying, "Selina was an actress, quite a good one, before she and Douglas fell in love. She counted Jack Barrymore among her admirers." It was true. The Great Profile had sent Selina flowers once. "I think she's planning an entirely domestic career now," he said with another smile.

"An actress." Although the tone was kept as neutral as possible, a few notes of - something - still leaked through. Perhaps this slightly older man was raised in the era in which "actress" was synonymous with "whore."

"Well that explains a number of things."

"What does?" Selina turned back from chattering to her bridegroom. "Oh, Willie, you aren't still talking about that dreadful old ruin Stateside, are you? Don't you listen to him, Cousin Adrian. You don't want to go Stateside; it's ever so much nicer here."

It took no effort to ignore the first question without appearing to, while responding to the second set of issues. "Dreadful old ruin? Some people might almost construe that as a challenge, particularly in conjunction with a 'Don't go there' order. You grew up in the Colonies; what makes you think that they're so horrible?"

Selina blinked. "Colonies?"

"Well, in your instance, America . Could refer to anything that was once part of the Empire, really."

"Empire? Like the Roman Empire ?" Absorbed in sorting out unfamiliar political terminology, Selina utterly forgot Adrian 's question.

Had his sister Laura been anywhere within earshot, she would have been able to tell Adrian 's patience was wearing paper-thin. In the meantime, his response was to deadpan. "Yes, only more recent. So, again, why do you think that America is so horrid?"

"Well, it's all Americans, isn't it?" exclaimed Selina, in a really rather well-done imitation of the Isles' contempt for all things American.

Mercifully, the main course arrived then to distract them both.

The time spent consuming the main course of the wedding dinner was sufficient to allow most of the old topics of conversation to die out with little to no animosity leftover. A particularly well-prepared rack of lamb, seasoned to the bride's preference. In a nod to the groom's heritage, fresh mint sauce sat in a white porcelain ramekin to the side of each plate, and the whole was accompanied by fresh asparagus and white beans seasoned with sage and bacon.

Adrian was quite careful to leave a tablespoon or two of wine at the bottom of each glass, and not to allow the serving staff to refill the wine glasses, instead opting for water to provide for the remainder of his thirst.

End of Prologue

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