Kathleen E. Woodiwiss(224)
Life on Los Camellos quieted and barely regained its ruts when the day arrived for the marriage of the schoolmaster. Since weddings were rare, this was an occasion seized upon for much revelry and celebrating. There would be dancing and feasting in the streets and with the prospect of various spirits being consumed without heed, Trahern declared the next day a holiday for the safety of all. The townsfolk had raised a small cottage across from the school and furnished it with donations from one and all. Pitney laid his huge hands to wood and built a tester bed the likes of which the island had never seen. Shanna and Hergus together took Dora in hand. The mistress of the manor gifted the young woman with a satin gown of gentle maize, and the Scotswoman washed and curled Dora’s hair then painstakingly created a comely coiffure for her. The girl bloomed like a radiant flower under the careful grooming, and when vows were spoken, Ruark watched much in awe, for in that moment Dora was truly beautiful.
The night dissolved into a continuous round of merrymaking, and as Shanna stood with Pitney and her father on the brightly lit thoroughfare, the tumult of sound, sight, and smell washed over her. Amid the press of village folk, she could feel her own spirits respond to the gaiety and excitement. Garlands and bouquets of flowers were everywhere, filling the eye with a riot of color. Bunches of pungent herbs scented the air, lanterns and torches gave an eerie, shifting, flickering light to the scene, and the roar of laughter and boisterous songs assailed the senses.
Shouting above the din, Ruark appeared beside Shanna and pressed a glass of champagne into her hand. As she sipped, the nose-tickling wine kindled a warmth in her stomach, and Shanna’s reserve slipped a notch or two.
The sweet smell of savory foods drifted on the gentle evening breezes and mingled with the tangy spice of newly tapped ale and rum. Bondsman, servant, freeman alike joined the celebration. Pitney strolled with Trahern to the refreshment tables to sample the feast. Shanna found her hand in Ruark’s when they were following the newly wedded couple in a rigadoon. Shanna’s considered self-control slipped again as a fresh glass of sparkling fluid was thrust upon her by one of the townsmen. Breathlessly she drained it and then gave herself in renewed abandon to the dance. Her happy laughter blended with Ruark’s, and her head reeled giddily from the effects of the champagne.
She saw Ruark’s dark face before her, white teeth flashing and eyes that burned golden whenever they touched her. Her heart hammered wildly, taking up the intoxicating excitement of the festivities, and the stricture of months of duplicity was stripped away to give her spirit flight and freedom, if only for the moment. Space and time ceased to matter. Gaylord had no chance to intervene, and Shanna gave no heed to the pompous knight angrily directing her father’s attention to them or of Hergus’s frowning disapproval. Here, in the midst of the crowd, she was alone with Ruark, seeing him, feeling his nearness, and she was ecstatic. Never had she known such carefree bliss. She laughed and danced to her heart’s content, and the champagne helped quench her thirst. Its conscience-cooling clarity seemed to lend a vivid buoyancy to her mind, and her head grew as light as her feet.
The squire was enjoying himself as much as his daughter, for his good Welsh blood had a taste for fun and regalement. By damned it did, and the fact had ceased to surprise him that he enjoyed seeing the daughter he had sired in the company of his favorite bondsman. The lad was as adept at the dances as she and the lean, powerful grace of his body complemented her trim womanliness.
Orlan Trahern had often watched his daughter at past affairs such as this, surrounded by posturing dandies and the eager-to-be-rich. He had seen her for her own amusement tease and torment each man, leading him on the chase and then crushing his vanity against her open disdain. These many months since her return from England, it had been obvious that she had held herself in check, as was a widow’s proper way, and he could not fault her revelry now. Orlan smiled to himself in retrospect. At least she had overcome her dislike for this Ruark and apparently could accept him as a man if not her peer.
With a worried frown, Gaylord watched the dancing couple from Trahern’s side. “What do you intend to do about this, squire?” he demanded. “In England ‘twould be a scandalous moment for a bondsman to so handle a lady. This fellow should be reminded of his place. I would not usurp your authority, but were I the governor here, I would see that the man gives proper respect to your daughter as well as to the other ladies present.”
Pitney cast a doubtful glance over his shoulder at the knight before exchanging a wondering look with Trahern. Orlan rocked on his heels as he sampled a morsel from a tray of warm breads.