Highland Courage(68)
“I have no intention of hiding from the bitch, Guthrie.”
“If that lass causes a ruckus over the little incident from years ago, both Cathal MacKenzie and Tadhg Matheson are like to call us out. Your da will not be pleased if anything interferes with this wedding.”
“Then I just have to make sure she doesn’t cause a ruckus. She didn’t the last time.”
“She was probably afraid.”
“Or ashamed. I suspect she will be no more anxious to be labeled a wanton now than she was then. I just have to get her alone for a while and remind her of that little detail.”
~ * ~
Meriel had never attended a feast anywhere but at Cnocreidh. It was thrilling. She and her sister, Finola, wandered around the courtyard listening to the music and watching the dancing. Meriel laughed when a tall, handsome warrior with auburn hair pulled her sister into a conversation.
“I think I am in love,” he declared. “What is your name, fair lass?”
“Finola,” her sister said with a saucy grin.
“Finola. What a lovely name for a lovely lass. To what clan do ye belong, lass? Are ye a MacKenzie, or perhaps one of the MacIans?”
“Nay. I’m a Matheson. My da is one of Laird Matheson’s guardsmen.”
“Did ye hear that, Guthrie?” he called to his companion. “She is a Matheson. Are all the Matheson lasses as fine of form as ye?”
Finola giggled.
“Finola, ye will break my heart if ye don’t dance with me and perhaps let me steal a wee kiss from your sweet lips.”
Meriel stepped in, looping her arm through her sister’s. She pulled her away, saying, “Finola, I think Da is looking for us.”
“Nay, he isn’t. Meriel, let go of me, ye are spoiling my fun,” Finola hissed, yanking her arm.
Meriel held her firmly, “Finola, ye—”
“Leave me be, Meriel. Ye think ye are so high and mighty. Ye are just jealous because he wants to dance with me.” Finola finally twisted out of Meriel’s grasp and allowed the young warrior to pull her into the dance.
Meriel thought there was probably no harm in it, but in order to keep an eye on her sister, she climbed the steps of the keep to have a better view of the courtyard. The doors to the great hall were open so she leaned against one and settled in to watch the dancing. As she stood there, in the light spilling from within, a couple just inside the doors was having a heated conversation. Her ears perked at the sound of the name “Rafer.” She chuckled remembering, “Rafer, oh Rafer” from the fair. She ceased to be amused as she overheard more of the conversation.
“Rafer, ye know I only want ye.”
“That’s not what it looks like to me.”
“It’s only an act. I have no choice.”
“Then tell your da ye don’t want this before it is too late.”
“I’ve told him before. I can’t change his mind.”
“I can’t bear to lose ye. How can I live without ye, my own heart?”
“Maybe there is a way ye don’t have to.”
“I can’t see how, short of your betrothed dying suddenly, and that isn’t likely to happen.”
“Nay, it isn’t, and it wouldn’t fix the problem anyway. Da wants this alliance badly enough to foist me off on one of the other two.”
“Then what did ye have in mind?”
“’Tis common knowledge, Laird MacIan recently sent a number of his men-at-arms to serve his brother. Perhaps if he is shorthanded, he would consider taking ye on. If ye were here, we could continue to see each other.”
“Aye, we could at that. Then too, perhaps your new husband might meet with an unfortunate accident eventually. As a widow, not living in your father’s keep, ye would have much more freedom to choose your next husband.”
“Ye know, love, after I am married, ye can spill your seed in me. He’ll assume any bairn is his.”
“I’ve wanted nothing more from the start, but he’ll be first.”
“He doesn’t have to be.”
“What are ye saying?”
“The wedding is the day after tomorrow. It is close enough we don’t have to worry anymore. I will meet ye tonight, Rafer, and ye can make love to me without holding back.”
“Do ye mean it, love? Where shall we meet? There are so many people here, how can ye get away?”
“I will meet ye in the chapel. Ye can slip away and hide yourself there. I will come when I can.”
“How will ye get away?”
“If anyone asks where I am going, I will simply tell them I need time for prayer and solitude before taking my wedding vows. We will be left alone.”
“Do ye mean for us to—I mean, do ye really think we should—ye know, in the chapel?”