Courting an Angel

by Grasso, Patricia;

  “I’m so verra excited,” Rob said.

  “I would never have guessed,” Gordon said dryly. He cast her a puzzled, sidelong look and asked, “Have ye never attended the MacArthur’s shielin’?”

  “No,” Rob answered honestly. Before he could question her about that, she said, “Tell me what happens.”

  “Twin fires are lit from the nine kinds of wood collected and dried last March,” Gordon told her. “There are branches of birch for the ancient goddess, oak for the ancient god, fir for birth, willow for death, rowan for magic, apple for love” — he pulled her close and kissed her — “vine for joy, hazel for wisdom, and hawthorn for purity. Beltane honors the sexual union of man and woman. Lovers drink from a May bowl that contains wine, strawberry, and sweet woodruff. Afterwards, they leap over the fire together. Lastly, the cattle are led between the twin fires, which purifies them.”

  By the time they reached Glen Aray, a crowd of men, women, and children had already gathered near the pool. Farther away, the cattle grazed in one large herd. Still dark, the kindling for the twin fires awaited the moment when the Beltane celebration would begin.

  As the laird’s only son and heir, Gordon received the honor of lighting the Beltane fires. Rob watched him proudly as he torched one and then the other. A resounding cheer arose from the spectators.

  “Gordy and Lady Rob must drink from the Beltane bowl and leap over the fires first,” Gabby announced in a loud voice. “Inverary will prosper if our future lord and his lady be fruitful.”

  “Come, angel,” Gordon said to Rob. He took the bowl out of Gabby’s hands and lifted it to his wife’s lips so that she could take the ritual sip. Following his lead, Rob did the same for him.

  After passing the May bowl to Gabby, Gordon scooped Rob into his arms. He took a running leap over the first fire, and then the second. Releasing her, he slid her slowly down the long length of his body.

  Wild cheering and whistles of encouragement erupted from the watching Campbell men.

  Rob blushed, recalling the intimacies they’d shared the previous night. In spite of her embarrassment, she looped her arms around his neck, pressed her body against his, and kissed him. She wanted no Campbell clansmen doubting the fact that she was truly Gordon’s wife in every sense of the word.

  “Did I mention that leapin’ over the fire together will insure that ye get with my child?” Gordon asked, placing the palm of his hand against her burning cheek.

  “Lyin’ is a terrible sin,” Rob teased him. “Ye’d better ask the priest for absolution the next time ye attend church.”

  “Are ye worried for my soul, angel?” Gordon grinned. “I promise we’ll be together for all of eternity.”

  “Aye, but where?” she asked. “I dinna doubt ye’d force me through the gates of hell if it suited yer purpose.”

  “Och, angel. I was hopin’ ye’d put a good word in with the Lord for me,” he said, then brushed his lips against hers.

  Next, Dewey and Gabby leaped together over the twin fires. Another couple followed them. Soon the time arrived for purifying the Campbell cattle by marching them between the fires.

  Gabby took charge of the ceremony as the older children ran to the far end of the valley to herd the cattle toward them. “Inverary’s new lady will lead the first cow through in order to bring our clan good luck,” Gabby announced.

  “What am I to do?” Rob whispered to her husband, trying to hide her left hand within the folds of her skirt.

  “Dewey will rope the first one,” Gordon answered. “Use the rope to coax the cow between the fires.”

  Embarrassed at being the center of attention, Rob stepped forward and took the rope from Dewey. She recalled how worried the MacArthurs had been that she would kill the cattle with her touch and so hid her devil’s flower within the folds other skirt. Using only her right hand, Rob tried to pull the cow toward the fires. Unfortunately, the cow refused to budge.

  “Use both hands,” Gordon called from where he stood.

  Reluctantly, Rob grabbed the rope with two hands and started to lead the cow between the fires. She prayed that no one would notice the evil deformity that marked the back of her left hand.

  Everyone cheered when she finally managed to drag the cow to the other side of the twin fires. Glistening perspiration beaded her forehead and upper lip. Rob knew her fear of being labeled a witch, not her exertions, had made her clammy with sweat.

  While Gordon ran to the back of the herd to help the older children usher the cattle toward the fires, Rob stood beside Gabby on the sidelines and watched. Sensing a presence beside her, she glanced to the left.

  “Good mornin’,” Rob greeted the little boy who stood there.

  “I’m verra sorry I made ye cry,” Gavin apologized, placing his hand in hers. He cast her his charming smile, so much like his father’s, and asked, “Can I still be yer hero?”

  Rob grinned, and her heart filled with boundless joy.

  “Ye’ll always be my hero,” she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

  “Angel, are ye ready for yer bath?” Gordon called, drawing their attention as he advanced on them.

  Rob blushed as anticipation for her husband’s body heated her. For once, Gordon had spoken truthfully. Making love was all that he had promised, and more.

  “Can I come too?” Gavin asked.

  Rob bit her bottom lip to keep from giggling at her husband’s surprised expression. She wondered how he would handle this without hurting the boy’s feelings.

  Gordon knelt on one bended knee in front of the boy in order to be eye level with him. “Lady Rob and I are goin’ bathin’ without any clothin’,” he told his son.

  “Ye mean doup-dippin’?” Gavin asked.

  “Aye, and ladies dinna like bein’ naked in front of more than one man at a time,” Gordon explained. “So ye’ll stay behind this time.”

  “Oh.” The boy’s expression drooped.

  Gordon leaned close to his son and whispered into his ear, “Rob and I are goin’ to see aboot gettin’ ye that sister ye want.”

  Gavin perked up at that.

  Gordon stood then, and taking his wife’s hand in his, led her away from the gathering. As they walked toward the path, Rob glanced over her shoulder at the six-year-old. Gavin stood alone and watched them retreating. He appeared so utterly forlorn. Rob felt the insistent tugging at her heartstrings. She knew better than most how miserable being alone was.

  “Gordy, look at Gavin,” Rob said. “We canna leave him behind.”

  “Duncan will play with him,” Gordon told her.

  “Duncan is playin’ with the older boys and willna want him taggin’ along,” Rob replied.

  “We’re goin’ bathin’,” Gordon said. “I dinna want him taggin’ along either.”

  “I’ll wear my chemise.”

  “Gavin will get over it,” Gordon assured her, taking her hand firmly in his. “The lad must learn to stand up for himself.”

  “He’s a six-year-old bairn,” Rob said, yanking her hand out of his grasp. “I canna leave him standin’ there.”

  “The boy has a mother.”

  “And a heartless father, to boot.”

  At that, Rob retraced her steps across the clearing until she reached the boy, who gave her a puzzled smile. She held her hand out to him and asked, “Will ye come along with us?”

  Obviously torn between going and staying, Gavin stared at her offered hand in apparent indecision. Finally, with his mind made up, he shook his head and said, “Go on and make my baby sister.”

  Rob bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Yer father and I decided to wait until tonight to make her,” she explained.

  Gavin’s expression cleared. He reached for her hand and said, “In that case —”

  “Gavin!”

  Rob and Gavin turned toward the voice.

  “Come here at once,” Kendra called from where she stood with a group of women.

  Gavin looked at Rob and shrugge
d. “Perhaps we’ll bathe together another day.”

  “I’d like that verra much,” Rob said. “Will I see ye tomorrow?”

  “Damsel, I’ll be right here,” he told her.

  Rob curtsied. “Thank ye, my lord-hero.”

  Gavin grinned and bowed from the waist. Turning on his heels, he dashed toward his mother.

  Rob watched him a moment and then lifted her gaze to the voluptuous, dark-haired beauty. Kendra stared hard at her, and there was no mistaking the cold hatred leaping at her from the dark eyes.

  Rob lifted her chin a notch and turned to leave. By chance, she glanced down at her beggar bead necklace, and a ripple of fear danced down her spine.

  Her star ruby had darkened redder than pigeon’s blood.

  Chapter 13

  Rob saw no one but Gordon during the next two weeks.

  Under cover of darkness, a heavy blanket of gray clouds shrouded the mountains and the glens of Argyll. Before dawn, those sadly drooping clouds yawned. Sheets of rain slashed the land, and blasts of howling wind swirled around the mountains and slapped the woodland trees.

  The women and the children remained hidden within their stone and turf beehive shelters during those long, lonely days. Mothers used this quiet time to knit warm stockings for winter. Only the older children ventured outside to tend the cattle that huddled together among the rocks.

  Gordon and Rob, alone in their lodge, passed the better part of those two weeks in bed. When they weren’t making love, she cooked and cleaned for him while he escorted her pup outside and tended their horses.

  “Wake up, angel. The sun is shinin’.”

  Rob opened her eyes and saw Gordon sitting beside her on the edge of the bed. Brilliant sunshine streamed into the chamber through the open door and bathed the lodge in a yellow glow. Her husband offered her a freshly picked bouquet of wildflowers and the gift of his smile.

  “Have I already slept for forty days?” Rob asked, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

  “Only fourteen,” Gordon answered her. “I’ve made ye breakfast this mornin’.” He set a bowl of oatmeal porridge on her lap.

  Rob looked at the porridge and felt her stomach lurch sickeningly. She covered her mouth with her hand and gulped the nausea back.

  “I’ll eat later,” she said in a muffled voice.

  “Are ye ill?” Gordon asked, worry creasing his brow.

  Rob managed a faint smile and shook her head. “I’ll be fine once I feel the warmth of the sunshine and breathe the fresh air,” she assured him.

  “Dewey’s waitin’ outside for me,” Gordon told her. “Would ye care to go fishin’ with us?”

  “No, Smooches and I will walk to Glen Aray and visit with Gabby,” Rob said, refusing.

  “I’ll meet ye there later,” Gordon said, and then leaned close to plant a chaste kiss on her lips. After setting the bowl of porridge on the table, he winked at her and left the lodge.

  Two hours later, Rob completed her housekeeping chores and her morning toilet. Leaving the lodge, she scooped Smooches into her arms and started down the path to Glen Aray.

  Everywhere she looked, Rob saw voluptuous nature in bloom. The trees seemed greener; a colorful variety of wildflowers adorned the woodland; lush blossoms promised a bountiful harvest. The morning air resounded with bird song as grackle, robin, finch, and wren went about the business of nesting and feeding their young.

  Birds signify new beginnings, Rob remembered her aunt telling her. Was she about to experience a new beginning in her own life? Did Gordon cherish her? Her husband certainly behaved as if he did. Could the Campbell clansmen accept her as their lady? They’d seemed to have accepted her at the Beltane celebration, but why had her beggar bead necklace darkened? Was it only because Kendra harbored such negative feelings for her?

  That must be the reason, Rob concluded. She wasn’t in any real physical danger from the other woman. Her star ruby had sensed the negative feelings emanating from the dark-haired woman.

  Keep a guarded eye on the ruby today, Rob told herself. She reached to touch the beggar bead necklace and stopped short. She’d forgotten to wear it. Should she return to the lodge to get it? Where was the sense in that? She was closer to the glen than the lodge, and in no real danger.

  Rob continued walking along the path and hummed a merry tune to herself. Gavin’s apology renewed her dream of acceptance, and she hoped she’d see him on her way to look for Gabby. Perhaps the three of them could play games together.

  Leaving the path behind, Rob started across the valley of Glen Aray. The sunshine on her shoulders warmed her, the grass beneath her bare feet tickled, and the mingling fragrances of myriad wildflowers wafted through the air and made her nose twitch pleasurably with their scents.

  Rob felt wonderfully alive. The day and the valley were simply perfection. She was home in the Highlands; and for the first time in her life, she felt that she truly belonged there. In spite of Old Clootie’s mark, her husband’s people accepted her. And their acceptance was all she’d ever wanted.

  Sublime happiness made Rob giddy, and she twirled in a circle like a young girl. Her gaze fell on one of those deadly glenside sundew blossoms. A butterfly struggled for freedom on the flower’s sticky tendrils, and a feeling of foreboding washed over her.

  Rob paused and watched the butterfly. Leaning close, she lifted it to freedom. Now the sundew flower would starve.

  Rob banished the disturbing thought from her mind. Letting the death of a flower trouble her was ridiculous. She’d done the butterfly a good turn that day. Perhaps the favor would be returned to her on another day.

  Rob strolled across the valley in the direction of the natural pool formed from the mingling of Sorrow and Care. Even from this distance, she spied the older children swimming in the pool. A group of women, including Gabby and Kendra, sat together and talked animatedly. Apparently, they were as happy with the idyllic day as she was.

  And then she saw Gavin. The six-year-old sat alone on a rock and watched the other children, including his brother, romping in the water. Her heart ached at his dejected expression. The boy seemed so alone, a feeling she well understood.

  “Gavin!” Rob called.

  With a smile of greeting lighting his face, the six-year-old turned in her direction. When Smooches dashed forward to greet him, Gavin reached out and patted the pup.

  “Is aught wrong?” Rob asked, sitting beside him.

  “The others willna play with me,” Gavin answered, looking longingly at the boys frolicking in the pool. “Duncan said I’m too little.”

  Rob felt the insistent tugging at her heartstrings. She knew from experience what rejection was. “The others canna keep ye from swimmin’,” she told him. “They dinna own the water.”

  “I dinna know how to swim,” Gavin admitted. “Some day I’ll swim out away over my head. Perhaps I’ll float across the seas to the New World.”

  Rob smiled. “Yer father will be here by and by. He’ll give ye yer first swimmin’ lesson then.”

  “I’d like that.” The boy’s expression brightened with hope. Then he asked, “When will my baby sister be arrivin’?”

  Rob stifled a giggle, but wondered about her morning queasiness. Could that be a sign that she was carrying her husband’s child? No, that couldn’t be. They’d only been intimate for a few weeks, and surely getting with child took longer than that.

  “Gettin’ a sister isna as easy as ye may think,” Rob told the six-year-old, “but yer father and I are tryin’ really hard to accommodate ye . . . There’s a shallow stream in the woods near yer father’s lodge. If the weather holds tomorrow, would ye care to go ticklin’ a trout with me?”

  “What’s that?”

  His ignorance surprised Rob. “My brothers taught me how to tickle a trout when I was younger than ye. Has yer father never showed ye?”

  Gavin shook his head.

  “Well, ye wade into a stream and stand perfectly still,” she explained. “Ever so s
lowly, ye submerge yer hand into the water. Fish, as ye may know, are curious creatures. When one swims close to investigate, ye stroke its belly with one finger. Once it’s paralyzed with pleasure, ye flip him onto the shore.”

  Gavin grinned. “And then what?”

  “Why, ye cook him up and eat him,” Rob said. “’Tis a grand way to pass a summer’s afternoon.”

  The six-year-old lost his smile and remarked, “’Tisna grand if yer the fish.”

  “I do believe yer a lover, not a fighter,” Rob said, lifting his little hand in hers and planting a kiss on it.

  “Good day to ye, Lady Rob,” Gabby greeted her, and plopped down on the ground beside them. “I’m verra excited and canna wait ’til this summer’s gone.”

  “Why?” Rob asked, surprised. Winter lasted a long time in the Highlands. Most people relished the coming of summer and savored each day of its warmth.

  “Gordy told my Dewey that he planned on takin’ ye to Edinburgh to meet the king,” Gabby answered. “Since I’m yer tirin’ woman, I’m goin’ too. Dewey will come along and play the part of Gordy’s valet.”

  Rob giggled. “I canna imagine Dewey bein’ a verra good valet.”

  Gabby burst out laughing, and Gavin smiled, though it was obvious from his expression that he had no idea what a valet was. Suddenly, shouts of alarm sliced the air and drew their attention.

  “Help! The cattle are dyin’!” one of the older boys shouted, racing across the glen toward them. The others on duty with him ran close behind him, but the group stopped when they reached the women.

  Rob scooped Smooches into her arms and stood to watch what was happening. Gabby and Gavin stood when she did. Even the children playing in the pool swam to the water’s edge and listened.

  “Tell us what happened,” one of the women ordered. “And for God’s sake, speak slowly.”

  “I dinna know for sure,” the boy answered. “Everythin’ seemed peaceful; but then the cow keeled over, shuddered for a minute, and died.”

  “Just the one?” Kendra asked, her alarm apparent in her voice.