The Border Hostage (44 page)

When Gavin with the Douglas moss-troopers came thundering into Eskdale's bailey, Heath went to the stables to talk with him and to help tend the horses. Raven followed him with trepidation. She dreaded the moment when Gavin and the rest of the Douglas men learned that she had helped Queen Margaret to escape to England. They were Scots, she English, and she feared they would resent her now and forever.

“I have a message for ye from Ram,” Gavin told Heath. “As soon as he finishes his business in Edinburgh, he is headin' directly tae Castle Douglas. He vows Valentina will flay him alive if he doesn't get back so the twins can be christened.” Gavin grinned as he glanced at Raven, then
back to Heath. “Never thought I'd see the day when a Borderer would let a woman put him in leading strings.” He winked. “Have a care, it could be contagious.”

Heath grinned back. “No fear of that happening to a Kennedy.” As he removed the saddle from Gavin's mount, the expression on his face became serious. “After being in Newark and witnessing Archibald Douglas's cowardly performance, I decided to let Margaret conveniently escape to England. It effectively separates her from young King Jamie and puts an end to the influence that Henry Tudor would have over the King of Scotland.”

“A wise decision,” Gavin said with a straight face, before he glanced pointedly at Raven and began to grin. “Nothin' on earth gives as much trouble as a female in captivity … especially an English female!”

When Raven heard Heath take the blame and full responsibility for what she had done, a lump came into her throat and her eyes shone with unshed tears. Here was a real man, with his own unshakable code of honor. There was no sacrifice he would not make for those he cared about. She loved him with all her heart and soul, but what made her happier than any woman alive was the knowledge that he loved her. She felt amazingly blessed.

Raven slipped from the stables and returned to the castle. She climbed the stairs to Heath's tower rooms and bathed the tears from her eyes. She knew that Heath's towering pride was a result of all the hurt and rejection that had been heaped upon him since childhood. Yet she too had rejected him, not once but twice. She was certain that he would not ask her again to marry him, because he couldn't survive the pain if she rejected him. She knew he would not take the risk. She opened the wardrobe and chose his favorite dress. It was the pale green gown she had been wearing on the night that changed her life … the night when he had first made love to her. Raven then lit every candle she could find and placed them on the hearth and the mantel of the fireplace.

When Heath entered the tower, he wondered where Raven had disappeared to. He stopped on the threshold of the inner chamber and stared in wonder. Surrounded by lit candles, Raven had never looked more beautiful. Her face was luminous, and her bright lavender aura was a startling contrast against her black silken curls. He saw her eyes light up at the sight of him, and could not quite believe his own good fortune.

He watched entranced as Raven gracefully knelt before him.

“Heath Kennedy, on bended knee I am asking you to marry me.”

He snatched her into his arms. “Raven, my own love, never kneel to me again! Blood of God, I am such a prideful swine that I have forced you to do this thing.” He looked down at her lovely face in awe and brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek with reverence. “Do you mean it, Raven? Will you really marry me?”

“I mean it with all my heart. I love you, Heath!”

He took possession of her hands, and his face became hard with the intensity of his emotions. “Consider carefully, Raven. All I own in this world are a dozen breeding mares. I have nothing to give you.”

“Heath, you have everything to give me; your love is more precious than rubies!”

“Be absolutely certain, Raven. … I have Gypsy blood.”

Her head fell back as she began to laugh and sing:

“Will you marry me now, today?” he demanded.

“I will. Fetch the priest!”

“Nay, when I come back you might be gone. We'll ride up to the little church at Kirkstile. Come on.” He clung
possessively to her hand as if he feared she would vanish if he let go of her.

In the stables, he stopped before the white mare. “I want to give her to you for a wedding present; I want her foal to be yours too. Would you like to ride her? Exercise won't hurt her.”

Raven stroked the mare's nose. “She's the loveliest gift I've ever received.” She reached up and kissed him. “I thank you with all my heart, but I have no gift for you.”

Heath covered her mouth with his in a kiss that was deliberately seductive. “I'll think of something,” he murmured against her lips.

“I'll bet you will, you devil. Better saddle Sully, for I intend to race you!”

It was a dead heat to the church in Kirkstile. They tethered their mounts before the small stone building and went inside together. The priest, who was polishing the candlesticks from the altar, turned and immediately recognized the couple.

“Will you marry us, Father?” Heath asked respectfully.

“Is this another forced weddin'?” The square-built man of God bent his stern gaze upon them.

“It is,” Raven asserted. “This time I've done the wooing, and I've done the proposing! It is high time that Heath Kennedy made an honest woman of me.”

Heath looked at the priest and shrugged helplessly. “She refuses to take no for an answer!”

The priest fetched his housekeeper from his living quarters to act as witness, and beckoned the couple to the altar. He charged them both, “Matrimony is not tae be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly; but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, an' in the fear of God!” He stared hard at both of them, then proceeded with the solemnization of matrimony.

This time the bride did not hesitate to plight her troth. “I, Raven Carleton, take thee, Heath Kennedy, to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part.”

Heath saw Raven's surprised delight when he produced the wedding ring he'd had for a long time. “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee honor, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow.” He saw that her look was rapt; she saw no irony in his words.

The priest concluded, “Forasmuch as Heath an' Raven have consented taegether in holy wedlock, I pronounce that they be man and wife. May almighty God pour upon ye the riches of his grace, sanctify an' bless ye, that ye may please him both in body an' soul, an' live taegether in holy love unto yer lives' end. Amen.”

Outside the church, Heath gave a great whoop of joy and lifted Raven for his kiss before he sat her in the saddle. Without another word, both knew the race was on! They galloped together over the dales toward Eskdale. As they came to the River Esk, Heath suddenly shouted, “Raven, look!”

She lifted her face to the sky and saw a pair of hunting birds circling high amid the afternoon clouds. The newly-weds drew rein, the race forgotten. “Could it possibly be?”

The raptors circled lower and Raven's trained eye saw that they were peregrine falcons. “Oh, it is! It's Sultan and Sheba; I can't believe it!”

The hawks had seen the riders, and the female perched atop a tall fir tree while the male swooped down to investigate. Raven began to laugh with sheer happiness as Sultan dived and plunged about them, and Sheba spread her wings and bobbed her head in excited recognition. “Perhaps this is a wedding gift from the Goddess of the Hunt, a mystic sign that our union is blessed and right!” Raven said with wonder.

Heath saw the radiance on her face and knew that Raven was his gift from the gods. “I can fashion you a lure,” he offered.

“Oh no, I cannot take them back into captivity. I want them to be wild and free, and together in love unto their lives' end … like us,” she added.

Heath dismounted and lifted Raven down into his arms. “That's exactly how I feel. Sweetheart, I have a confession to make. It isn't exactly the truth that all I own are my breeding mares.”

She gazed up at him trustingly, ready to hear his secrets.

“Archibald Douglas, the late Earl of Angus, bequeathed me a hundred acres of land in his will.”

“Why would he do that?”

“ 'Tis rumored that my mother, Lily Rose, was his love child. I haven't seen the land yet, but it lies beyond the River Dee in Kirkcudbright and runs parallel with land that belongs to Castle Douglas.”

“How wonderful!” Raven saw the longing on his face as he spoke of the land. “Why don't we take your mares to graze on your own land? We can visit your sister Tina, and may even get there in time for the twins' christening!”

“That's what I planned to do before you came back to Eskdale; that's why I've been shoeing the mares. If you'd arrived a day later, I could so easily have been gone.”

“See? It was preordained; we were meant to be together. My grandmother wanted a Borderer for me.” Raven smiled her secret smile. “I shall tell you tonight what happened when she initiated me into the Craft.”

“I always suspected that you bewitched me. Tell me now.” Heath pulled her down into the long grass to lie beside him.

“Alas, I cannot. It must be on the stroke of midnight,” she teased. They shaded their eyes watching Sultan and Sheba until they disappeared. “Can we leave tomorrow?”

“We can if you are willing, love. It's a long trek, and herding horses can be slow work. Will you mind sleeping outdoors?”

The corners of her mouth went up. “I love nature. It will be most romantic to lie beneath the stars.”

“Are you sure you won't find the ground too hard?”

“I'm not sure … perhaps we'd better try it and find out.” They turned to each other and made love in nature's perfect setting.

The next day, Heath and Raven joined Gavin and the moss-troopers in the hall for breakfast and broke the news that they had been married yesterday.

“Why the devil didn't ye say somethin' last night? We couldha' celebrated till dawn!”

“That's exactly why we kept it secret. We're leaving today; taking the mares to my land on the River Dee. It was our last opportunity to sleep in a real bed for a while.”

“And did ye sleep?” Gavin asked with a straight face.

“On and off,” Heath replied solemnly.

Raven hid her blushes and bade them all goodbye. She had grown to love Eskdale; she had been happier here than anywhere else. She had a moment's misgiving about what lay ahead, but it melted away as she acknowledged that it wasn't Eskdale that had made her happy, it was Heath Kennedy.

The journey west was a leisurely one. Heath and Raven rode side by side, allowing the mares to set their own pace. It took them two days before they crossed the River Annan and another day to reach Dumfries. Heath was more than satisfied that they were able to cover eight miles a day, and the relaxed pace gave the newlyweds time to talk and learn things about each other. Whenever they found a stream where the horses could be watered, they bathed and swam together, laughing and playing like children. Heath suspected that they would never be able to be this carefree again, and knew for a certainty that in the future they would never be alone together this long.

Raven reveled in her newfound freedom. She marveled at Heath's ability to feed and shelter them. He was expert at snaring small game, catching fish, keeping them dry in
rainstorms, and gathering bracken and fir boughs to make them a cozy bed. He taught her some of his secrets about horse handling, and she was delighted that sometimes the mares followed her and nudged her affectionately as they did Heath.

At night, as they lay enfolded in each other's arms, Heath told her about Donal and Meggie and how deeply in love they were. “You and Meggie will like each other; she has a sweetness that is special, and their little girl will steal your heart.”

“Valentina will be overjoyed when she sees you.”

“And when Tina sees that you are with me, she will be like the cat who has swallowed the cream. She was as determined as I that you were the perfect wife for me; soul mates I think she called us.”

“Are Castle Douglas and Donal's tower castle far apart?”

“Nay, the land runs together. The Kennedy tower castle stands at the mouth of the River Dee where it empties into the Solway; Castle Douglas lies a few miles upriver.”

“So we will reach Castle Douglas first, and your own acres? We need not take the mares further?”

Heath read Raven's thoughts and realized she was nervous about visiting the Kennedys. “We must go and see them.” He took her into his arms. “My darling, you have already met my father. I know he can be fierce and overbearing at times, but you must never be afraid of him. He admires those who have courage. Valentina is his favorite because she has the guts to stand up to him. When he learns of your bravery in rescuing me from Carlisle Castle, he will be like butter in your hands.”

It took them two more days of traveling to get to Castle Douglas. When they entered the massive hall, it was beginning to fill up for the evening meal. Tina scattered the rushes as she flew to her favorite brother's side. “Thank you for riding to Ram's aid in Newark. He told me you had escaped from Carlisle Castle, but I wasn't worried for
a moment. I knew if you could escape the Tower of London, Carlisle would be like child's play to you. What the devil took you so long?”

“It was Raven who rescued me from Carlisle,” Heath explained.

Valentina turned to Raven and stared horrified. “What the devil have you done to her, you madman? She looks like a damned Gypsy!”

Heath laughed. “We brought my mares from Eskdale.”

“You've been living rough and sleeping outdoors? My God, only look at her delicate skin … the sun has turned it brown!” Tina was outraged. “She's wearing rags! Ada, come quickly, we must do something about Raven.” She turned to Heath. “Any woman who would do this for you must love you enough to marry you. Have you asked her yet?”