In Rapture (Destined) (2 page)

Chapter 3

Malinda
had quite forgotten her tax dilemma as she prepared her grandmother’s body for
the afterlife. She was busy gathering enough material to make a peaceful shroud
and finding the manpower to help dig her resting place. She would be buried that
evening when the sun set across the sky, for it had been her grandmother’s
favorite time of day. Malcome and several of the males in the area had promised
to help dig the small grave next to her grandfather’s. They would be together,
side by side in death, much as they had been in life.

Malinda
put the finishing touches around her grandmother as she added tiger lilies and
lilacs near her lifeless body. She knelt on her knees and offered up a prayer
to any god that would listen to her. “Please watch over Grandmother in death as
in life. Grant her eternal peace from her mortal pains, and let her soul travel
across the universe to her beloved husband.”

A
loud knock made her jump from her reverie. A foggy haze had crossed over her
eyes as she sent every last bit of energy she had into sending her grandmother’s
soul to a higher plateau from its earthly realm. She blinked in confusion when
the heavy pounding started again. She rose, ever so slowly, and opened the door
to find that Halfscomb was standing outside the door, one hand on his hip and
the other holding a missive. “My lord has sent this for you.”

Malinda
opened the parchment and stared down at words that made absolutely no sense to
her. ‘Debt Paid in Full.’ ‘Marriage.’ ‘Contract.’ ‘Wedding.’ The words blurred
before her. “What is this, Sir Halfscomb?”

“Well,
you see, a matchmaker happened upon Tinley Faire just last eve. As the good lord
had heard that your grandmother was now dearly departed, he decided it was in
your best interest to provide a future for you.”

“How
is my debt paid in full?” It did not make any sense to her at all.

“Well,
the matchmaker paid a good sum for his finder fee.”

“Finder
fee?”

“Yes,
dear girl, a bride finder’s fee. He offered several gold coins for your hand in
marriage. You’ll be wed by proxy tomorrow morning. I would have had you wed
today, but the good Lord Tinley has decreed that this is your day of mourning,
that you should have time to bury your grandmother.”

“I’m
sorry, but what if I refuse?”

“Then
you will have to find a way to pay your taxes. Have you changed your mind?” He
rubbed a hand across his face, and a wicked gleam filled his eyes.

Malinda
knew good and well what plans Halfscomb would have had for her. She could read
the sarcastic sneer on his face. He would have been more than happy to torch
the hut with her grandmother’s corpse inside it. She sighed deeply, thinking of
any way out of this situation. She rubbed the parchment one last time and an
image flashed in her mind; the dream she had dreamt for over a year played hide
and seek in her mind, and the slight flush that crept up her body made her put
her hand to her throat defensively. A whisper echoed gently on the breeze.
He
needs you. He needs you.
She sighed deeply, pushing the fear that rose
within her aside, as she made the only choice that seemed reasonable. She would
have to leave this life behind and start a new journey into the unknown. “Very
well, Sir Halfscomb. I will accept my lot in life and take part in this
marriage.” At least she would never have to see this lopsided swine again.

“Best
wishes to you then, Ms. Grier.”

When
Halfscomb cleared his throat, Malinda looked at him. She knew he was waiting
for her to thank him for bringing her such happy news, so she curtsied
politely, murmured an appropriate phrase, and asked to be left alone to finish
her mourning. She closed the door when his short chubby legs hobbled from
sight.

Malinda
walked over to her grandmother’s body once more, and tears started to flow down
her face. How could she leave behind the only home she had ever known? She
would never be able to visit their graves, for her intuition told her that
wherever she was being sent to was far away from here. She put her hand on her
grandmother’s cold forehead, stroking the gentle face that had loved her so
completely throughout her life. Since her mother had passed when she was an
infant, her grandmother had been the only mother she had known. How could she
just leave her behind?

“Stand
up, Malinda.” Malinda’s breath caught in her throat.
Was that? No, it could
not be!
She stood slowly and turned to the sound of the voice.

“You
are a woman of Lena, my child. Start showing it.” A bright glowing light
reflected everywhere around her. It was hard to see anything, but she did not
need to see the owner of the voice. She had heard it every day of her life.

“Grandmother!”

“Grieve
for today, Malinda. Let your heart release every ounce of sadness, if you must.
But never stop living, my child.”

“Why
now? Did you know?”

“Not
everything in life is this carefully planned, my love. When an opportunity like
this knocks at the door, Malinda, you open your arms to it. Be willing to let
go, to find your happiness away from this place. You were always destined to
leave us.” Sparkling rings of light echoed around her and danced on the walls
of the hut. It was the most beautiful thing Malinda had ever seen.

“I’ll
never see you again, never be able to visit your grave. What will I do? This is
all I’ve ever known.”

“That
shell is nothing but that, a shell. When you pass from this world, nothing but
a cold carcass remains, Malinda. I am with you always, no matter where you are.
No grave could ever hold me back.”

Tears
tickled the rim of her eyelashes and forced their way down her face. The tears
chilled her warm cheeks, but she did not bother to wipe them away. She was not
ashamed of her feelings. Emotions ran deep in the women of Lena. “I love you,
Grandmother. If this is where my road begins, then I will travel it with all
the courage of Lena.”

“That’s
my girl.” The lights started to fade slowly from the room, like the sun slowly
hiding behind a lazy cloud. She felt the warm air move slowly around her, and a
hug of love and light warmed her to the core. Malinda looked to her grandmother’s
body one last time before she went to summon the men that were to help with the
burial.

The
sun was completing its slow trek across the sky when Malinda walked to the hillside.
Fingers of pink, red, and orange painted a web of color across the sky. Her
grandmother would have loved the display of light teasing the beginnings of a
gentle night. The people that surrounded her may have thought it bizarre that
no tears gathered in her eyes as her grandmother was laid to rest, but she had
already said goodbye, and whatever energy she had left would be needed to get
her through the next part of her journey. She placed more tiger lilies across
the dirt mound and turned away, Mule following silently behind her. Malcome
offered to accompany her home, but she shrugged him off as politely as
possible.

She
took her time walking back to the house, taking in every inch of the world
around her. This would be the last time she would feel the serenity that had
wrapped itself around her and carried her through her formative years. She saw
the rope hanging from the large oak tree. It had a large knot tied at the end,
serving as a seat for a make shift swing. She had spent many hours on that rope,
swinging away until the light no longer filled the sky.

She
saw the small herb garden that her grandmother had tended so patiently every
day. Malinda walked over to the garden and salvaged enough cuttings to start a
garden in her new home. She prayed that they made the journey safely. She
wrapped them tenderly in cloth strips and sat them inside a large basket. She
watched Mule run around aimlessly in the open night sky, and wondered if the
dog knew that very soon this would no longer be home. There was no way she
would leave her cherished friend behind.

When
she finally entered the house she started to gather whatever things she felt
were necessary for her journey. She had no idea how much she would be allowed
to travel with, but she would pack as much as she could into the cloth bags
they had used for their monthly supplies. She packed the few dresses that she
had and any of her sewing supplies that would help her in creating more
garments when she saw fit. She also packed the small round painting of her
mother and her grandmother’s favorite shawl, which was a green moss color that
matched Malinda’s eyes. When she was finished packing she had four bags of odds
and ends to take with her. She had no idea where she was going, who she was
marrying, or what he would expect of her. All she knew was that there was
nothing left for her here.

Chapter 4

Malinda
had half assumed that she would be yanked from her small house in the wee
morning hours, but was pleasantly surprised to find that she had been left in peace
for the morning. She waited for the knock on the door, but it never came. She
went outside to listen to the wind, hoping to get fair warning that the
matchmaker would be on his way. She was not disappointed, for the warm breeze
informed her when he started to make his way from the small keep of Tinley
Faire. He was traveling with the priest and Halfscomb as a witness. The
matchmaker was driving a small cart with two horses, and the other two were
riding their own horses.

Malinda
sat on the stump outside of her hut, wearing the brightest dress she had, but
the once bright lavender color of the linen skirts had faded to a pale gray.
She waited there, her fingers clasped, her knees almost knocking together. She
hoped to keep her nerves from overtaking her, but she was struggling to remain
calm. Mule lay at her feet, his head bobbing ever so slightly in the breeze,
and his tongue dangling from his large mouth.

When
the small party made its way to where Malinda sat she stood and curtsied with
as much courage as she could muster. She looked from the priest back to the
bald man with twinkling blue eyes. The smile that spread across his face and
the gentle way he reached for her hand, managed to strengthen her resolve.
Suddenly, she felt at ease in his presence and smiled back at him. “Good
morning, kind sirs.”

“Good
morning to you, Ms. Grier. I’m Bradford Marcus, matchmaker extraordinaire.”

“Sir
Marcus is to be the proxy for the groom. According to these papers, Sir Grant
Timberlin is the Lord of Wickford Manor. Have I understood this correctly?” The
priest read the papers, as was required in these situations.

“Aye.
That is so.” Bradford continued to smile at the small slip of a girl in front
of him.

“Let’s
begin, shall we?” The priest opened his small tribunal and started to read
through the regular routine.

The
priest acted as if he had other more pressing matters to attend to, for he sped
through the small service. Within moments, he had joined her to a man she still
had not seen, and then turned swiftly away from them without even offering a
blessing. Malinda was not surprised to see the chunky steward following in his
wake. She found herself standing next to Sir Marcus, with Mule’s loud yawn the
only sound to be heard for miles. “Well, I guess that’s that.” Malinda looked
at the matchmaker shyly, kicking at the dirt with her feet.

“I
suppose it is. Do you have bags?”

“I
have four bags and a basket. And then there’s this beast here. That’s all I
have in this world now.” Malinda managed a timid smile as she gestured to the
hut where the bags were sitting inside the door. Mule nuzzled her hand with his
nose, and she scratched behind his black ears much to his delight.

“It’s
good that you travel light. You won’t have need for most of this stuff where
you’re going.” He loaded up the cart and helped her into the seat. She whistled
for Mule to follow alongside the cart, and they were off.

When
she looked over at the balding man next to her, he was looking serenely at the
world around him. His soft smile did little to ease her nerves, for they would
not settle until she found out exactly what kind of man she had married. Would
he accept her for who she was? Not many men were accepting of Adrianic magic,
or any magic for that matter. Her grandfather tolerated these traits in her
grandmother because he had fallen in love with her long before he had figured
out that she was a woman of Lena. They had raised her mother, Andraya, to
ignore the magic running through her, in hopes that this would help her to lead
a more normal life in a world that feared magic. In many ways, that was what
actually led to her death.

Her
mother, Andraya, had fallen madly in love with a man who was betrothed to
another. Together, the couple had planned to elope secretly, but his father had
caught on to them before they managed to make their rendezvous with the priest.
Even though they had already consummated the marriage prior to the hidden
ceremony the laws were clear. They had not been married in the eyes of the Lord
under the approval of his father and their love was not sanctioned in his
father’s court. The couple was torn asunder in moments.

Malinda
had never learned her father’s name, for her mother never spoke it aloud. In
fact, she had spoken very little when she had returned home to Tinley Faire.
Andraya had fallen in love away from home while she serving as a lady in
waiting to the Princess Lelana at Kingford Court, an accomplishment no one
would have expected from a simple country girl with very little wealth to
sustain her. When she returned home with little explanation they had not
immediately questioned her, but Malinda’s grandmother, Nivea, had sensed the
emptiness within her daughter. She had known her heart was broken and she felt
helpless to cure it, for when a woman of Lena carried love within her, the
Adrianic magic took over in one of two ways: it enhanced her magical abilities,
or broke her soul, leaving just a shell of a person left to walk upon this
world.