Ruthless (42 page)

He didn't force her in any way. He spoke
softly. If she didn't answer, he didn't get angry. He patiently
treated her with respect. Though his former lovers at the keep eyed
and flirted with him, he ignored their efforts.

Magnus face was a dark mask of determination.
The marriage would happen on Sunday whether she consented or not.
'Twas the only way to keep her safe from Feradoch.

On the third day, she could no longer ignore
the preparations the castle workers were making for Sunday. The
keep's seamstresses worked around the clock preparing kirtles and
smocks to replace the ones left at Kinbrace.

The knight's wives all took delight in
Muriele's open personality. Though she missed Esa, they kept her
days from being lonely.

As the sun was directly overhead, the
gatekeeper's horn sounded three times. Someone who belonged to
Clibrick approached. Muriele ran to the window and saw Graemme.
Surrounded by swarthy warriors, Esa and Grunda rode hanging onto
their rider's waists.

She tore from the room, her heart beating
with happiness at seeing her well-loved friends.

"Esa! Grunda!" She called out as she ran down
the steps into the bailey.

She stood impatiently switching from one foot
to the other until they galloped through the barbican and pulled to
a halt in a cloud of dust.

"Grunda, I feared so for ye. If Chief Olaf
found out ye helped Esa, he would have hunted ye down." She
enveloped the old woman in a tight hug.

"After stitching the Devil's spawn, I left in
the darkness of night. The fools took Esa where I thought they
would. I quickly gave her the potion to bring her to."

"Esa! Ye are more beautiful than ever. Is yer
neck healed? Ye are able to talk and sing?"

Esa's throaty laughter answered for her. "If
you had not fought so hard, I wouldn't be doing either."

They hugged like two sisters long deprived of
each other.

Sweyn stood nearby. His eyes searched over
Esa for any lasting effects of Feradoch's mistreatment. When
Muriele moved aside to let him come close, he took Esa's fingers
and bowed, placing the top of her hand against his forehead,
pledging himself to her.

Esa flushed and smiled. Without Feradoch
looming in the background, mayhap Sweyn's love would bear
fruit.

Magnus strolled over and buffeted Graemme on
the left shoulder. "What news from Kinbrace?"

"We must talk immediately."

When the women headed to Muriele's room, she
motioned her new Clibrick friends to come with them so they could
become acquainted. When Fergus came to the room later and asked
Grunda's presence before Chief Angus, she thought it strange.

In the Chief's solar, the commanders of the
castle awaited Grunda.

Magnus introduced his father. Since she was
the eldest and wisest of them all, they sought her council.

"Pfft! Ye want something. Come out with
it."

"Graemme tells us Chief Olaf and Feradoch are
preparing to besiege Clibrick if we dinna return Muriele to
them."

"Graemme is a wise young man. Aye. They plan
to force a marriage between Feradoch and Muriele. If they get
possession of these, they will be able to."

Grunda reached in the pocked of her old
kirtle and brought out heavy purple velvet wrapped and tied with a
purple silk ribbon.

"They belong to Muriele and Blackbriar." She
shot a withering glance at Magnus before continuing. "When this
young fool left Kinbrace without vowing his love for Muriele, she
returned them to their hiding place for safety. She didn't have
time to retrieve them when she fled Olaf."

She put the purple satin on Angus' table and
untied it, letting the material open. Lying on the velvet were two
rings.

The men stared at Ragnhild's wedding ring
with the trinity knots and the blood red stone between them that
Muriele's father had given his bride.

The second ring was Lord Colban's given to
him by King David when he bestowed Blackbriar upon his friend.
'Twas heavy gold carved with Celtic designs and set with a large
bloodstone from Iona.

"King David willna allow any man to marry
Muriele without having these rings as evidence Blackbriar belongs
to them."

Magnus let out a long sigh. "Those rings were
what the king meant when he said the next Chief of the castle and
his wife would be wearing two sacred rings."

"Aye. Muriele's wedding ring will be her
mother's; her husband will wear Lord Colban's."

"Grunda, we need yer help," Magnus said. "Do
ye still believe we were fated to be mates?"

"Any but a fool would know it. Pfft! And ye
certainly behaved like one."

Grunda took his shoulders and stood him apart
from the others. She stared at every feature in his face, looked
him over from head to toe then walked around him several times,
studying him.

"Ye haven't changed."

"A wedding is set for tomorrow," Magnus said.
"'Tis the only way to keep Muriele safe, but she refuses to say the
vows. I will need yer help during the ceremony."

"She will wed with ye tomorrow, have no
doubts. She may be angry on Monday, but it will be too late for her
to change anything—if ye make haste with the, uh,
consummation."

Magnus knew better than to question the old
seer. He certainly didn't want her anger directed at him and
striking his cock off with a lightning bolt!

While the castle prepared for the coming
battle with Olaf, the keep prepared for the morrow's wedding.

Muriele was determined to stay mute at the
wedding ceremony. She was none the wiser that it was beyond her
control.

Sunday morn the sun rose without a cloud to
dim its glow over Loch Naver. Dew sparkled on the fields of wild
flowers, making them look magical as they danced in the breeze.

Grunda's face, when she came to wake Muriele,
appeared years younger, for her eyes twinkled and her smile shone
with happiness.

"Dinna look so pleased with yerself, Grunda.
The preparations have been a waste of time. I told them it is for
naught. They think I'll see the Magnificent Ruthless waiting with
the priest and swoon with desire."

"Yer calling him magnificent is right. He
rose early to greet the Morgan's who live close enough to attend."
She rolled her eyes and grinned. "I'm thinking Graemme will have to
guard his brother to keep all the lustful lasses from locking him
in a room and lifting his tunic to have their way with him."

"Ye are getting foolish in yer old age,"
Muriele said and grinned.

"I brought ye some mulled wine to stiffen yer
spine, since ye seem so afeared of wedding."

"It will be a very
loooong
ceremony.
Magnus will stand afore the priest 'till his beard grows white.
I'll not repeat the vows."

Muriele took the pewter drinking cup and
sipped. She wouldn't admit it, but her hands and feet were icy.
Whenever she thought of defying Magnus in front of everyone at
Clibrick, her stomach churned.

What if he became violent?

The door opened and Sweyn held it for Esa to
enter, then handed her a tray.

"I come bearing food for the bride. And for
the rest of us. Sweyn has been most helpful," she said happily
after the door closed behind her.

Muriele swung her legs over the side of the
bed and slipped on a robe as Esa placed a tray enticingly filled
with hot scones, butter, cheese and porridge with fruit and honey,
on the table.

Muriele relaxed and ate between sips of her
wine. She felt much better with her stomach filled. Butterflies
there had settled and she felt more confident. The women kept her
so busy time flew. She bathed and Grunda washed her hair for her.
Once they wrapped her in a drying towel, Esa soothed her by combing
and drying her hair with a silk cloth to make it shine.

"Dinna drink too much else ye will snore when
'tis time to repeat yer vows." Grunda teased as she filled her wine
cup.

"I will not be repeating any vows," Muriele
said and smiled. She felt relaxed and became interested when Esa
talked about the guests she had met.

"'Twas strange. When men came over to talk
with me, Sweyn always seemed to have a reason for them to meet
someone else."

"Strange? Are ye blind, Esa?" Muriele's laugh
was close to a giggle. "Ever since I arrived at Kinbrace, Sweyn has
been in love with ye."

"Sweyn?" Esa stopped combing Muriele's hair
and blushed. "Let us get you clothed afore they come banging on the
door with their sword hilts."

Muriele studied Esa as she and Grunda held up
a shimmering midnight blue, long-sleeved smock for Muriele to slip
over her head and arms. Next to come was a sleeveless sky blue
kirtle so sheer the dark smock gleamed through. Four silky ribbons
tied the front and back of the kirtle together. The shining blue
material flowed through the openings like wispy clouds.

Grunda wrapped a long gold girdle low around
her hips several times then linked it so the ends hung in the
middle. A blood red stone hung from a clasp at the end of each gold
chain.

"Where did this come from?"

"It seems yer Ruthless has acquired many
magnificent pieces in his years of battle."

"Take it off. It should be saved for his
wife." Muriele felt frantic. She couldn't take jewelry from a man
she had no intentions of marrying.

"Nay. It is where it belongs," Grunda
said.

The old woman's soothing voice calmed her.
Strange, but it did feel like it belonged to her now.

They had no sooner put the final touch of
winding flowers through Muriele's hair than they heard Sweyn's
impatient tapping on the door. Esa went to open it and blushed when
he smiled at her.

Chief Angus entered and held his bent arm up
for Muriele to place her hand there. "I have come to escort you to
the church, lass. I hope you dinna object if I take the place of
your father?"

His warm flesh through the cloth made her
feel calm and assured. She smiled at him as they left the room. She
hardly noted when they left the keep, for it was an unusually
beautiful day.

When they reached the steps of the small
chapel at Clibrick, the number of people lined up on either side of
the walkway amazed Muriele. The colorful tunics and kirtles caught
her eyes, but one person stood out amongst all the rest. He calmly
waited beside his brother at the door to the chapel. Magnificent
was an apt expression for his silver and gold embroidered tunic and
a sleeveless scarlet robe made of silk. His shoulder-length black
hair was different from how she'd seen it before, for a braid at
each temple accented his commanding face. His moustache and beard
framing his lips and chin were clipped close. Not a hair was out of
place.

The closer they came to him, the harder her
heart beat. 'Twas strange, too, for she heard a voice soothing her.
She looked around, but no one was close. Only Esa and Grunda walked
behind her.

How did they reach him so quickly? He hadn't
taken his black eyes from her the whole time she came toward him.
She felt his tension coiled so tight he looked as if he was ready
to spring on her at any moment.

When Chief Angus took her hand and placed it
in his son's, Magnus' fingers closed gently around it. It felt
comforting. Everything passed in a blur. She dreaded the time fast
approaching for the vows. She stiffened. He cupped her hand in both
of his, patting it. She heard a voice in her head soothing her.

Things are as they should be. Your
parents are watching from above and want you to be safe with
Magnus. Accept him. He was born to be your mate for life.

Graemme came to stand close to the priest. He
carried a yellow pillow. She startled when she saw the familiar
purple velvet cloth spread open on it. Candlelight on the jewels
sent rainbows flashing on the cloth. Was she imagining things?

Magnus watched her beautiful face as she put
her hand into his. It felt warm, not icy like he had feared. He
turned and nodded to the priest for him to get on with the
ceremony. He'd already warned him to be brief.

It was. The poor young priest recited all of
the preliminary words as quickly as he could. He looked confident
when he asked if there was any man who could show just cause why
they may not wed. Had there been an objection, he wouldn't have
heard it.

He skipped from there to ask Magnus if he
would have Muriele to be his wedded wife, to love, honor and
cherish her, forsaking all others.

"I will." His answer was strong enough for
every person to hear.

His grip tightened on Muriele's hand when the
young man turned to Muriele and repeated the same words to have
Magnus as her wedded husband.

She tilted her head to the side as if
listening. A slight smile wavered on her face and she nodded
without speaking. He felt waves of energy around her and glanced
behind Muriele to see Grunda. She fixed her gaze unwaveringly on
the back of Muriele's head then gave a slight nod.

"I will." Muriele's voice sounded
dreamlike.

The priest turned to Graemme and blessed the
rings. Afterward, he handed Magnus her mother's ring to put on her
hand.

He took her left hand, repeating the ring
vows on each finger until he slid it onto her ring finger.

Muriele looked at her hand, puzzled, then
shrugged and smiled at him. The priest handed her father's ring to
her and gave her much the same vows to repeat, except when she
placed it on his ring finger she hesitated and looked at the
priest. He repeated more strongly, "With this ring I promise to
obey."

Magnus thought she would finally balk. He
looked at Grunda as Muriele stared at Magnus hand. Grunda didn't
take her eyes from Muriele, but her lips moved wordlessly.

Muriele sighed and slowly said, "With this
ring I promise to obey," and seated it over his knuckle.