They stepped out of the coach one by one and Marion couldn’t help but admire the tall church rising towards the night sky. The candle light was beaming from the windows and the church bells were inviting everyone in.
As they walked towards the open doors of the church, Marion found herself trying to search for the Laird’s eyes. To her disappointment, the Laird wasn’t looking in her direction at all.
They stepped in the church and people greeted the Laird and Deirdre, while Marion dragged a few steps behind them. They climbed the stairs up a level, so they could be watching the ceremony from the balcony.
The balcony was small and it only held a handful of people. No one else was there in addition to Deirdre, the Laird, and Marion. Marion sat next to Deirdre, who was sitting next to her brother.
They had an excellent view of the whole parish sitting down below them in their seats. A tall painting hung above the altar, with hundreds of candles bringing light to the dim church. White wildflowers framed the aisle.
Everyone sitting in their seats was dressed in their church clothes, though Marion could clearly see that their outfits were still very plain and simple. Not exactly poor, but not high-class, either.
The happy-looking groom stood next to the altar and the priest slowly turned the pages of the Bible. The whole room was full of expectation, joy, and excitement. It oozed out of everyone, especially Deirdre, who couldn’t resist weddings or anything related to love in general.
As the music started and they opened the church doors for the bride, Marion tried to steal a glance at the Laird, but he still wasn’t looking at her. She was a little bit frustrated about this sudden turn of events—her own feelings and the yearning that had suddenly taken over her.
It took all of her best efforts to focus on the ceremony at hand. She watched as the blushing bride glided up the aisle in her white and elegant but clearly second-hand gown. The white, light veil was covering her face and her blonde curls bounced behind her back. As she reached the altar and turned to look at her very soon-to-be husband, pure happiness was prominent on her face.
* * *
Fionnghall appeared to be watching the ceremony. His eyes were looking at the bride and groom who were standing in front of the priest, but he couldn’t really see them. Instead, he was deep in his thoughts.
Marion looked phenomenal in her gown and he was fighting the urge to talk and smile at her. He wanted to know what Marion was thinking and if she was really happy at Gille Chriost. Day after day, he had started liking her more. Her dazzling smile, her opinions that always surprised him, and her confidence kept him bewitched and yearning for more.
The problem was his engagement to Lady Beitris. He couldn’t do anything to get out of that, yet his heart wasn’t in it. If he got a chance, would do anything to break off the engagement and find out if Marion’s feelings matched his
From the corner of his eye Fionnghall could see Marion leaning over every now and then. More than anything, he wanted to lean over, too, and touch her hand again. But there were too many eyes and the place was too public. He would at least have to appear to be appropriate, even if his thoughts weren’t.
* * *
The ceremony was over very quickly. Marion had already prepared herself for a ceremony that would take hours, as all the important weddings did in England. But instead, she was somewhat pleasantly surprised that it had barely taken an hour. Though she was happy for the couple, all she really wanted at this point was to sit across the coach from the Laird and to see his dark eyes again.
They walked out of the church together, behind the newlyweds, and saw them off in their coach. The pure and innocent joy and happiness on the bride’s face was contagious and her smile was wide.
Marion was taken aback by this. All the weddings that she had witnessed before were more serious and the newlyweds always left the church with composed faces and waving silently. Never had she seen such happiness and eagerness.
“Deirdre, was this an arranged marriage?” she asked thoughtfully. She was very curious to know why the couple had been so excited and this was the only conclusion she had come to.
“Why, aye, it was. But daenae hold that against them, because they really truly are in love. I have known the bride fer quite a while and she couldnae have been happier when she found out who her parents had married her off to,” Deirdre whispered back, waving behind the happy couple.
Marion nodded and waved after them as well. This was surprising, as she had never seen a wedding where love was present. Even her friends who had gotten married, some to young and wealthy gentlemen, never looked as happy.
Perhaps there was something to marrying for love instead of titles, land, and money.
After the couple had disappeared out of sight, the Laird’s coach pulled up and Marion and Deirdre stepped in. To Marion’s surprise, he closed the door behind them instead of climbing up into the coach himself.
Marion’s heart sank. She had so wished that the Laird would have ridden back to the castle with them. Just so she could be close to him.
“Is the Laird not coming with us?” Marion asked Deirdre, trying to sound carefree.
Deirdre seemed to believe this explanation and replied, a little amused.
“Oh, nah, he is takin’ the coach with the priest. To be honest, me brother isnae one to go to church very often. An occasion as such reminds him of his confessions, or rather the lack of them. He often rides back with the priest so he can dae his confessions and he guilt-free until the next weddin’ or a funeral.”
Marion herself hadn’t made confessions in a while. But she did wonder if her conscience would be clearer of all the things she had done since her birthday if she got to speak of them to someone. Someone who wouldn’t judge and who would rather forgive her.
The horses in front of the coach started pulling them towards the castle. The journey back to the castle really wasn’t long at all, in fact, they could have easily walked the distance if it weren’t for their long gowns.
They stepped out of the coach and made their way through the familiar castle into the big ballroom. It hadn’t been used once since Marion’s arrival, so she hadn’t seen this room before.
It was big, almost as big as the one in Marion’s manor. The wooden floor showed signs of wear and tear, which told her that the room had been used often. The tall windows would bring light into the room if it weren’t already dark outside. Tonight, there were candles around the room and the big chandelier above the dance floor was in use, as well.
There was a long table with a white table cloth against the back wall. The table was filled with food and drinks and at the end of the table, Marion saw a huge layered wedding cake.
The band was standing on the other side of room, all ready with their instruments. The room was filling with people and the happy couple took time to greet and thank everyone for coming.
“Congratulations, me dear friends!” Deirdre exclaimed and hugged the bride with a sincere smile.
“Congratulations on behalf of myself as well, the ceremony was very beautiful,” Marion said to the bride and groom, who were holding hands and still smiling.
“Thank ye so much, Lady Marion, it was so very nice of ye to join us. How is yer search goin’? Have ye found yer parents yet?” the bride asked and touched Marion’s shoulder.
Marion was a little bit surprised by the question. She didn’t even remember talking to her before today. Although, she had talked to hundreds of people over the past weeks and it was easy to forget a new face.
“Never mind my worries tonight. It is most certainly time to celebrate and push everything else aside, is it not?” Marion said and left the couple to greet others, who were already pushing closer to them to get their congratulations heard as well.
As Deirdre and Marion mingled among the guests, Marion was looking at the crowd trying to get a glimpse of the Laird. She hadn’t seen him yet and was growing a bit impatient. As she had discovered her feelings today, or rather
just acknowledged them, she wanted to see the confirmation in his eyes that her feelings were not in vain. Or just one-sided.
This was, though, a very thin layer of hope in Marion’s mind. After all, the Laird was betrothed and it was probably stupid to hope for her feelings to be reciprocated. But if that was the case, she still hoped to see it in his eyes. To see something. Anything.
The band started to play and the couple entered the dance floor for their first dance together. Marion was glad to notice that she knew the song very well. Slowly, other people joined the reel as well and Deirdre started to fidget. She really wanted to dance more than anything.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait for long, because soon a gentleman approached them and bowed for Deirdre.
“May I have this dance, Miss MacIosag?” he asked her.
“Will ye excuse me, dear Marion?” she smiled and handed her hand to the gentleman.
Marion looked after her while she was left standing on her own. The atmosphere in the room was full of joy and people were dancing, laughing, chattering, and eating food. Marion exhaled deeply and smiled a little bit.
“Lady Marion, would ye care to dance?”
Marion turned around in surprise and her knees trembled as she realized who was speaking. The Laird stretched out his hand to Marion and now looked deep into her eyes. There was nothing but warmth in them that seemed to completely wrap around Marion.
“Uh… I… Yes, that would be lovely,” Marion stuttered and took the Laird’s hand.
He led Marion to the dance floor and they started the familiar reel.
“Did ye like the ceremony?” the Laird asked Marion as he led her into the dance.
“Yes, very much,” Marion replied shortly. She had trouble making her feet take the correct steps. “I didn’t see you after the ceremony,” she continued.
The Laird grinned.
“Why, did ye miss me?”
Marion blushed and looked up. She met his eyes that now had a teasing fire in them. Before, this comment would have awoken a sarcastic and stinging reply from Marion, but today, it made the corners of her lips twist up.
“Hardly,” she responded, not being able to contain her smile.
The Laird’s hands were holding hers as they danced on. The closeness sent thrilling tingles around Marion’s body and she had to force her lungs to take deep breaths. The corset around her chest didn’t agree to this and she started feeling dizzy.
As they allowed the rhythm of music move them across the room, Marion noticed a few people looking in their direction. She didn’t pay any mind to them, as she focused all her attention on keeping her feet going instead of giving out from underneath her.
“Lady Marion, may I ask ye somethin’?” the Laird whispered so that only Marion could hear him.
“Certainly.”
The Laird was quiet for a brief moment, as if he was contemplating how to say what he was about to say.
“Are ye happy here?” he suddenly asked.
“Uh, yes, you and your sister have been the most kind to me. My search hasn’t brought much results, but I had to start somewhere and it has been very helpful to stay here. Your library is wonderful—”
“That’s nae what I meant,” the Laird interrupted.
Marion fell silent, waiting for him to continue.
“We are happy to help ye. Though I was very opposed to ye stayin’ here, Jack and Deirdre were better in their hearts than me and I am glad about it. But that is nae what I mean. Are ye happy to stay with us?” he asked again and Marion felt his body tense just a tad.
For a moment, Marion didn’t say anything. She didn’t really know if she would have described herself as happy, though she had started feeling more like home at Gille Chriost. She bit her lip and threw a careful glance into the Laird’s eyes. They were now guarded and wondering.
“Yes, I suppose I am,” Marion finally responded. Even to her own astonishment, as she said the words, she was sure that they were true. To be fair, she did feel at home and she loved Deirdre with all her heart. She had been feeling more free than ever before, which came to her as a surprise over and over again. After all, she had thought she was free and happy in England. She had had everything anyone could have hoped for. Except for true freedom of her decisions and feelings.
“Good,” he said shortly and twirled Marion around.
Now, Marion saw two girls whispering to each other and looking at the Laird and her.
That’s odd.
She paid more attention to the crowd now.
She saw more whispers. And more wary looks. Someone even pointed at them.
“Laird Gille Chriost… I think we should take a break,” she said carefully, not quite willing to let go of him just yet.
“Why? Are ye tired?” he asked and smiled at her warmly.
“Not at all, but we are getting some displeased looks,” she explained and nodded to the right side of her.
The Laird chuckled.
“Does it bother ye?”
“No, not me, but you are engaged, after all, and I wouldn’t want to cause any reason for gossip,” she said and bit her lip. She didn’t mean to let that slip. It hadn’t been the Laird who had told her about the engagement and now she felt embarrassed for bringing it up.
The Laird didn’t seem to care, though.
“Let them talk. What is the worst that could happen?” he said and kept on dancing. He even squeezed Marion’s hands a little tighter and while it sent her heart into a race again, she felt uncomfortable being watched so closely.
The question was meant to be rhetorical, so Marion didn’t respond.
Ah, let them talk, she finally decided. I am not the Lady here, but merely a visitor. I have no responsibility to these people.
She flashed the warmest and kindest smile she could possibly give to the Laird.
9
The Next Step
It was early morning and Fionnghall was in the courtyard of his stable with Jack. It was time to shoe some of their horses and the Laird preferred to shoe his own horse himself.
He brought his big gray horse out of his stall and tied him to a horizontal pole that was set up in the middle of the courtyard. Jack had brought his own horse, a sturdy cream-colored horse, to stand next to Fionnghall’s gray one.
“So, how was the ball yesterday?” Jack asked, while he carefully clipped the old nails off the horse’s hoof.
“Why? What did ye hear?” Fionnghall asked carefully. He patted the horse and lifted his left front leg up, examining the shoe.
“What did I hear… I reckon a better question would be what did I nae hear,” he said, pulling the shoe off. It dropped on the ground making a clicking noise. “Everyone is talkin’ about it.”
Fionnghall pursed his lips. He knew that his dance with Marion would cause some talking and gossip. Of course, in order to keep his reputation flawless, he shouldn’t have asked her to dance. It was already peculiar enough that Marion was staying with them, a complete stranger. And an English one, for that matter.
But for him to ask her to dance, that was something else.
Fionnghall clipped the nails off the hoof and pulled the first shoe. He moved onto the next hoof and didn’t speak at all until he had pulled all four shoes off.
Then he exhaled deeply.
“What do ye think?” he asked Jack.
Jack was clipping a hoof but stopped halfway through and straightened his back.
“It doesnae really matter, does it?” he asked and leaned over the gray horse’s back to look at Fionnghall.
“Nah, nae really but I would appreciate yer opinion. It is yer fault that she is here, isn’t it?” he replied.
Jack petted the horse absentmindedly for a minute before he responded.
“I reckon she’s good fer ye. She’s beautiful and there’s somethin’ in her that Beitris MacDheorsa doesnae have. She might have a quick temper but she’s kind. Somethin’ ye cannae say of Miss MacDheorsa. To be frank, no on
e here would grow to love that woman,” Jack said. “Besides, that agreement was made a long time ago by yer parents. Ye ought to think about how important that is fer ye.”
Fionnghall knew there was truth to his words. But this was only from his point of view and he had no idea what Marion would think of his feelings. She was an English high-class Lady who might very well not want to stay in Scotland. She had a title and a wealthy family. Granted, she had left and thrown it all away. It was all very confusing to Fionnghall.
Perhaps that was one of the reasons why Marion was so interesting to him.
Captivating A Highland Warrior (Steamy Scottish Historical Romance) Page 9
