Rowan's Lady (44 page)

Arline was sitting in front of a dressing table
facing him, surrounded by Geraldine, Selina, Maggy and Bree. They were all
fussing over her hair and discussing how she should wear it.

“I say wear it up,” Maggy said as she stood with
her hands on her hips.

“Nay,” Rowan said softly. “I’d prefer to see it
down.”

Maggy and Bree giggled at the sight of him. He
looked like a wolf about to pounce on an unsuspecting rabbit. “Och! All ye
Highlanders are the same,” Bree said cheerfully. “Ye
love
to see yer
women with their hair down and spread across the sheets!”

The women all laughed in unison, save for Arline.
Her beautiful face turned nearly as red as her hair. Rowan had grown to enjoy
her innocence and the way she blushed so easily. He also enjoyed the way she
rolled her eyes and stood her ground. He could not think of one thing that he
did not adore about this woman who had stolen his heart.

“I’d like a moment with Arline, please.” He
directed his statement to the women surrounding his bride, but his eyes never
left Arline’s.

“Och! Alone? In her bedchamber? What would people
say?” Selina said, pretending to be offended. “What of yer lady’s honor,
Rowan?”

“I don’t give a damn what people say. And I can
assure ye, her honor will be safe.”

Arline’s attendants all left the room, casting
words of advice to Arline. “Do no’ let him get ye in the bed until he’s said
I
do!”
Morralyn called out over her shoulder.

Geraldine giggled at her older sister. “Morralyn
be right!”

Moments later, they were finally alone. Rowan
closed the door before going to Arline. “Ye look lovely this day,” he told her.

She blushed at his compliment. “Thank ye, kindly,
good man.” Arline thought her future husband looked rather lovely himself. He
wore a white tunic over black trews. His ever-present broadsword strapped at
his waist and a knife tucked into each boot. His beard was growing in quite
nicely. Mayhap being alone with him was not the best idea, for she knew she’d
not be able to resist him,
I do’s
or no.

“I wanted to give ye something special,” Rowan
said as he reached into the pouch he wore on his belt. “’Twas me mother’s.”

He held out his hand to display a beautiful
necklace. Dangling from the gold chain was a large emerald surrounded by tiny
diamonds.

“Och!” Arline exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.
“Ye mean to give that to me?”

Rowan smiled warmly at her. “Aye, I do. I ken me
mum would want fer ye to have it. It belonged to her mum.”

Arline ran a gentle finger across the emerald.
She’d never before owned such a beautiful piece of jewelry. She thought of her
mother then and all the beautiful pieces she had owned before her death. Her
father had sold every last bit of it, not saving back even the smallest piece
for Arline.

For the first time in a very long time, her heart
felt heavy. She was just a child when her mother died. Arline could barely
remember what she looked like, only bits and pieces. She knew her mother had
auburn hair, darker even than her own. Her mother had been a warm, loving
woman. Arline was certain that her mother would have been very proud of how
well she had turned out.

“Ye look far away, lass,” Rowan whispered as he
touched her chin with a gentle finger. “Do ye no’ like it?”

“Nay! ’Tis beautiful!” she said as she took the
necklace from him and held it to her chest. “I was just thinkin’ of me mum.”

Rowan could well understand for he missed his own
mother. He’d die before he ever admitted it to a soul, but, he did. “Ye wish
she was here this day.”

“Aye, I do.” Arline smiled fondly. “She would have
liked ye.”

“Och!” he said with a smile. “Everyone likes me!”

Arline rolled her eyes at him. “The
women
like
ye well enough. But fer the life of me, I dunnae why!”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in
for a long, passionate kiss. Arline wore the same expression of surprise and
delight as she did each time he kissed her. “But ye are the only woman that has
me heart.”

Arline tilted her head slightly and looked up into
his dark brown eyes. It was the closest he had come to professing he loved her
since his proposal. “I do?” she asked.

His eyes narrowed to slits as his brows furrowed.
“Of course ye do! I wouldna have asked fer yer hand if ye hadn’t stolen me
heart.”

“Oh,” she said softly. When put that way, it made
perfectly good sense. Rowan was best at showing his affection and adoration.
The fact that Morralyn and Geraldine were here was evidence enough.

“And ye?” Rowan asked, still frowning. “Have I won
yer
heart?”

Was he daft? “Of course ye have!” she exclaimed.
“All of me heart ye foolish man!”

It dawned on her then that she had not expressed
to him what was in her own heart. She suddenly felt quite foolish. She sat down
on the seat in front of the dressing table and took his hand. “Rowan, I need ye
to ken what is in me heart.”

Rowan nodded and knelt before her. “I think I ken,
but I’d take great delight in hearin’ ye say it.”

She smiled at him, clutched the necklace to her
chest again and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Well, I do no’ want yer head
to swell anymore than it already is,” she began playfully. “I think it goes
without sayin’ that ye are a most handsome man.”

He gave her chin a slight chuck with his fingers.
“Aye, that goes without sayin’.” He said it just to see her roll her eyes at
him. Why he found that so pleasing and enjoyable, he could not begin to explain
to anyone.

“And yer tetched!” she told him firmly.

“That goes without sayin’ as well.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “What I be tryin’
to tell ye is that aye, I do find ye quite handsome. But my feelin’s fer ye go
much deeper than that. Yer kind, honorable, sometimes funny, and ye are a most
generous man. Ye don’t just give
things,
” she held up the necklace as
evidence. “Ye give yer time, yer friendship, yer council. Ye are a good man,
Rowan Graham. A good, decent, honorable man. I love how ye are with Lily, with
yer people. But most of all, I love how ye are with me. I feel safe with ye. I
ken that I am safe with ye as is me heart. I can trust ye and ye are one of the
verra few men I can say that about.” She took a deep breath before continuing
on. “I love ye Rowan Graham, with all me heart. I wanted ye to ken that before
we went to the alter.”

A warm smile came to Rowan’s face. His brown eyes
twinkled with delight and mayhap a bit of amusement. “Arline, I find ye a most
beautiful woman. Ye too are kind, honorable and generous. I love how ye are
with Lily. She adores ye, as do I. Ye are a good mum to her and I ken that ye
will make me a good wife. But more than that, we shall be good together.
Partners in all things.”

He leaned in and gave her a tender kiss. “I canna
say when I fell in love with ye, but I did. ’Twas gradual to be certain. I knew
it, without a doubt, before ye were even injured and I be sorry that I didna
tell ye sooner. So I’ll tell ye now. I love ye, with all that I am. I love
everythin’ about ye. I’ll love ye ’til I draw me last breath.”

His honest and heartfelt declaration brought
instant tears to her eyes. She leaned into him and placed her palm gently
against his cheek. “Of course ye do! What’s no’ to love about me?”

They shared another kiss, longer, more passionate
than was respectable. Had they not been interrupted by the women returning to
help Arline ready for the wedding, they would not have stopped.

Rowan left the room in search of a snowdrift. He had
to douse the raging fire of desire and lust.

Extra men had been stationed around the keep, in
the off chance that whomever had attacked weeks ago would make another attempt.
Men from the MacDougall, McKee, and McKenna clans had volunteered to assist.
Rowan and Thomas felt confident that should anything happen this day, they
would have plenty of men to aid them.

Frederick, Daniel and the others still had not
returned. That was Rowan’s only worry this day. He had shared his concerns with
Nial, Duncan, Findley and Wee William that morning. They agreed that he should
have received some kind of word from them by now. After the ceremony, Rowan
would send a group of his men out to search for the others.

Rowan left Thomas in charge of the wall. No one
was to enter unless Thomas knew them. There would be no exceptions to this
rule.

The wedding was set to start at noon. Hundreds of
people milled about the courtyard taking in the sun while they waited for the
festivities to begin. Squeals of laughter rang through the yard as the children
chased each other or Red John’s puppies.

Wee William did his best to keep Findley McKenna’s
son, Liam, away from Elise. The boy had apparently taken a liking to the young
lass and Wee William did not like it. His wife, Nora, a beautiful woman with
long dark hair and gray blue eyes quietly informed her husband that he was
making an ass of himself. “Let the girl be!” she told him as she hooked her arm
through his. “Elise is a smart girl, William. Ye can trust her to do right.”

William glared at Liam who was walking next to
Elise. “Aye, I ken I can trust Elise. Its Findley’s boy I worry about! If Liam
is anythin’ like Findley, then
ye
should worry as well, wife!”

Nora laughed at her husband. “Nay, I shan’t,
William. Now, if Liam was more like
ye?
Then I’d worry!”

“I warn ye, if he so much as lays a hand on
Elise,” Wee William began, “I’ll kill him.”

Nora laughed again at her husband’s worry over her
sister. “Elise can take care of herself. Between ye and John, she’s learned to
use her mind, her words, a sword and her fists. She can handle herself,
William. Stop fashin’ and let us find a place where ye can remind me why I
married ye to begin with.”

William could not pass by the opportunity to spend
a few quiet moments alone with his wife. In order that he could tend to his
wife without worry, he sent his children to watch over Elise. He’d learned over
the years that it was quite difficult for anything romantic to take place when
you had six sets of eyes staring at you.

Thomas was called to the gate an hour before the
wedding was to begin. “They say they be here to claim the rest of Lady
Beatrice’s belongin’s,” one of the younger guards informed Thomas as he stepped
up to the battlements.

Thomas leaned over and looked down. There were two
men in a wagon. They looked to be in their early thirties. The one holding the
reins, had dark hair and a slight build. The other one, the one he thought he
recognized, was very large with short cut blond hair. Taking no chances, he
called down to them. “Who be ye?”

The men looked up, shielded their eyes from the
blaring son. “I be Edward, from near Kirkaidy,” the large blond yelled up at
Thomas. “Lady Beatrice sent us to retrieve things she left behind.”

Thomas thought it odd that they would appear this
day of all days.

“I have a letter if ye need to see it,” Edward
called up. “We’d a been here sooner, but we were stopped by snow east of here.
Our wagon was buried.”

That made some amount of sense. Still, he did not
want to take any chances. The wagon was empty, save for a rolled up bit of
tarp. He supposed he could allow them entry, but under guard at all times.

Thomas turned to the young man beside him. “Allow
them entry. I’ll post a guard on them. Make sure ye check the wagon before they
leave.”

The young guard gave the order for the gate to be
opened. Thomas left the wall to find a man who could keep a watchful eye on the
two men.

“I’ve brought ye tea, me lady,” Bridgett bustled
into the room carrying a tray. “Rowan’s orders, ye ken. He says he doesna want
ye fallin’ over durin’ the ceremony, from lack of food or drink.”

Arline smiled at the young girl. She was glad
Bridgett no longer looked at her with contempt-filled eyes. “Thank ye, kindly
Bridgett.” Arline said as she stood up and walked through the sea of women.

“Och!” Bridgett declared. “I’ve only brought three
cups!”

“Do no’ worry it, Bridgett,” Arline said. “Three
is plenty.”

Bridgett had been fussing over the tea tray and
not paying attention to Arline. Her mouth fell open when she turned and saw
Arline.

“Ye are beautiful, me lady!”

Arline was stunning in her goldenrod gown. The
gold and silver threads scattered along the hemline, bodice, and sleeves
glistened in the sun that streamed in through the window. Her hair flowed down
her back in long waves. Bree had affixed little pearls throughout Arline’s
hair. Maggy had draped a beautiful gold belt around Arline’s slender waist.
Across her shoulder was a length of Graham plaid, fastened with a beautiful
broach.

Arline smiled happily. “Thank ye, kindly,
Bridgett.”

Bridgett gave a curtsy and left the room full of
women.

“She speaks the truth,” Maggy said. “Ye are quite
beautiful!”

Arline blushed slightly and gave her a murmured
thank you. She looked at her sisters. “I think ye look beautiful as well!”

Morralyn wore a light blue dress, simple in its
design, but it looked rather regal on Morralyn. Geraldine wore a burgundy silk
skirt with a matching over jacket, a loan from Maggy. Arline was so very proud
of both her sisters and extremely glad to have them here to share in her
special day.

“Let us go below stairs,” Bree suggested. “Give
Arline and her sisters a few minutes alone.”

Arline thanked Bree, Maggy and Selina, giving each
woman a hug as they left the room.

After the door closed behind them, Arline went to
her sisters. She took one of their hands in hers and gave a squeeze. “I be so
happy that yer here!” Her eyes began to fill with tears.