Desiring The Highlander

by Michele Sinclair

  Being a year older than Clyde, Kam had left last fall. Then Clyde followed at the first signs of spring, leaving Maegan all alone. She had acted like a boy for so long the other girls her age made fun of her and Maegan wasn’t interested in becoming domesticated. She just wanted things to be as they were.

  Ellenor had invited Maegan to help care for the twins that afternoon, and having nothing better to do, Maegan had accepted. Within a week, Maegan’s outspoken personality had wormed its way into the heart of not only Ellenor, but Laurel, Aileen, and Brighid. The girl never held her tongue for anyone or for any reason. And seeing Maegan’s current disgruntled stance and the exaggerated roll of her sky blue eyes, it seemed Ellenor’s wedding day was going to be no different.

  Ellenor waved her into the room. “If you expect any of us to react to your grand entrance, you are going to have to be a little more specific. ‘Ha’ is rather nondescriptive,” she chided and directed the young girl to one of the hearth chairs.

  Maegan ignored Ellenor’s suggestive gesture, instead heading straight for Aileen and the wedding gown she was holding. It was a deep cranberry bliaut with small seed pearl beads along the neck and down the openings of the sleeves, and Maegan had never seen anything more beautiful. She reached out to fondle the soft velvet material.

  Most Highland women wore linens or wools, but years ago, Conor’s mother had convinced his father to make an annual journey to Aberdeen to purchase the exotic cloths from faraway lands. After marrying Laurel, Conor had resurrected his father’s act of love. Each year, he would purchase material and compel Laurel to expand her wardrobe. She capitulated, with the stipulation that she could use some of the rich cloth as gifts for her closest friends. As a result, both Ellenor and Brighid would leave with an enviable wardrobe as well as many linens, curtains, and other items to help them set up their new home.

  “This…this is beautiful,” Maegan murmured softly. “Oh, milady, do you think when Clyde comes back, I could wear something like this?”

  Laurel nodded and chuckled at the irony of the request. Maegan professed to dislike all things delicate and feminine, but she was on the verge of becoming a woman. In a few years, she would shed her tomboy ways and begin to ask how to entice a man’s eye, but Laurel hoped it didn’t happen too soon. Maegan was special, and Laurel hoped to preserve some of the girl’s spirit into adulthood. Until then, she was going to be a handful, especially since she had only aging grandparents at home to guide her.

  Laurel laid a sleeping Bonny down on the middle of the bed and watched the little girl’s chest rise and then fall, followed by a sweet sigh of contentment. She was a fighter and only speckles of her strong-willed personality had begun to show. It was hard to think that the small infant had almost not made it into the world.

  Ellenor snapped her fingers, trying once again to get Maegan’s attention. “When you came in, you were upset about something…” she prompted.

  Maegan stopped stroking the soft, dark garment and turned around, the glint in her eyes returning. “The laird didn’t want you to know…yet,” she qualified before continuing, “but the soldiers who arrived this morning…”

  Ellenor’s brows drew together in confusion. “Cole’s men,” she clarified.

  “Aye, but he wasn’t among them.”

  Brighid stepped forward. “That’s not true. I saw Donald ride in myself.”

  Maegan rolled her eyes. “Aye, your husband is here. But what was supposed to be hers is not.” She then crossed her arms and added definitively, “When Clyde and I marry, he isn’t going to be a single second late for our wedding.”

  Ellenor licked her lips, strolled over to the window, and looked out. The McTiernays always married at sunset, and that was less than an hour away. She had been concerned she might be late with all of Brighid’s and Laurel’s nitpicking, but never had she considered it would be Cole who wouldn’t be there.

  For over six weeks, she had waited for him to return and tell her that today was the day. In the meantime, she and Brighid had toiled over her wedding gown, hoping with each hour, news would come. Weeks passed and hope wavered on misery. Thankfully, Donald had ordered Brighid to remain behind with Ellenor until their new home was prepared. Without her friend’s daily support, Ellenor suspected she might have tried to make the journey north on her own. Then three days ago, a rider from Cole’s army had finally come with a message. Cole would arrive with a dozen or so of his men on Saturday. Ellenor was to prepare an afternoon wedding, and before sunrise the next day, they would be married.

  Laurel and Fallon had worked tirelessly to prepare for the event, leaving Ellenor and Brighid to pack their belongings. By Saturday morning, only Cole’s tapestry remained to be bundled, but before Ellenor could take it down, Aileen had hustled her out of her room, barring her from the North Tower until after the ceremony.

  Ellenor hadn’t argued. She hadn’t contested anything. She couldn’t. Her mind had been on only one thing. Cole and becoming his wife.

  Now all was ready for the ceremony with one exception. There was no groom.

  Ellenor turned from the window and pasted on a determined smile. “So you’re not going to allow Clyde to be late, are you?” she asked Maegan.

  Maegan shook her head and flopped onto the hearth chair. “No, I won’t. Besides, Clyde wouldn’t be late. He’s already learned his lesson about making me unhappy. Told me himself that it was more painless to let me have my way than to fight me.”

  Ellenor wagged her finger at the young girl and said, “But what if you change your mind? What if another man snags your heart and he is not as compliant as your Clyde is?”

  Maegan produced a loud snort. “It may take you Englishwomen a long time to find the man you want, but us Highland women are much better at it.”

  “Us Highland women?” Brighid laughed at how the twelve-year-old considered herself among her peers.

  “Aye,” Maegan confirmed, not recognizing the humored looks being shared around her. “I have loved Clyde since the day he saved me and nothing is going to change my feelings.”

  “And does Clyde know of your love?”

  Maegan squirmed and drew her lips tight in thought. “I think so. I mean I told him the day he left that I would wait for him. That should have been clear enough.”

  Brighid made a face, but Ellenor cut her off, warning her not to laugh. “What is it about Clyde that makes you think you love him enough to wait—possibly years—to marry him?”

  Maegan cocked her head to the side. “Well, he is handsome and very strong. He can hunt for our food. And I am sure that he can be whatever makes a good husband. And if he doesn’t, his brothers can teach him. But mostly, because he is my one true friend. He knows everything about me and I him. I know things that even Kam doesn’t,” she finished matter-of-factly.

  Ellenor raised her brows and glanced around the room. Aileen shrugged and Laurel nodded. All silently agreed that, as answers go—even from a twelve-year-old—that was a good one.

  “And that is why I know my Clyde would never be late. It’s also why I know he would invite all the world to our wedding.”

  Ellenor bit her inner lip to keep from letting go a harsh remark. Maegan meant well, but her opinion was young and naïve. “Well, I hope there is enough room in the chapel for the whole world, and as for Cole and me, well, I am glad he requested to minimize the attendance and refrain from inviting neighbors.”

  “Aye, as am I,” Brighid interjected. “Large parties can be wonderful events, but they take time to plan, there is the journey here…”

  “Not to mention the cost of their stay,” Laurel added.

  Ellenor nodded. “Besides no one likes to travel only to leave the next day, and that is exactly what would happen. Cole needs to return as soon as possible, and if others came, he would be obligated to stay and participate in events and talks.” She paused and waited until she had Maegan’s full attention. “He was right to limit who comes and I fully support his request,” she fini
shed in her most I-will-argue-with-you-no-longer voice.

  Properly chastised, Maegan crossed her arms and huffed. Unwilling to totally concede, she said, “It’s not just Cole I don’t understand. You, too, Ellenor, are a mystery.”

  “How so?” Ellenor asked, adjusting one of the pins holding the tiara so that it wouldn’t poke her scalp when she bent over.

  “Well, there is your present, for one thing.”

  “What about it?”

  “It? It is not a present. It’s a…it’s an insult. Clyde would nev—”

  “Enough, Maegan!” Ellenor hissed. “Enough about Clyde and what he would or wouldn’t like. Clyde is still young, he is not a laird, he has no responsibilities, and most of all he is not Cole.”

  Ellenor’s sudden bristly manner did not faze Maegan in the least. “But a boy?” she scoffed. “Clyde would laugh at me for weeks if I tried to give him a boy.”

  Ellenor closed her eyes and prayed for patience. She loved her little friend’s tenacity, sometimes even applauded it, but today, at this moment when her future was in doubt, Maegan’s persistence was not welcome. “The man,” Ellenor started, moving to face her challenger directly, “whom I have enlisted just so happens to be the one person who could help Cole the most. He is trying to rebuild Fàire Creachann with very little skilled help. Henri is a trained, experienced mason, and as a favor to me—”

  Maegan rolled her eyes and stood up, cutting Ellenor off. “Well, I just hope that Clyde doesn’t grow up wanting me to get him another boy. Because I won’t. I don’t care how much he needs him for whatever.”

  Brighid hustled over to Maegan and poked her into standing up. “Go check on the twins,” she ordered.

  “But they—”

  “No, go check,” Brighid hissed, shooing her out the door. The young girl was smart, but she was also incredibly dense when it came to realizing when she should just be quiet. Maegan hadn’t felt the growing tension in Ellenor but everyone else had. Wedding nerves had been bad, but with the news of Cole missing, the anxiety building in Ellenor was incredible and Maegan was not helping. “And if you come back in here with any more comments about Cole missing the wedding, I’ll personally sew your lips shut.”

  Ellenor watched as Brighid shut the door and then sank into a chair. “Is she right? About Cole and Henri?”

  Laurel shrugged and picked up the wedding gown, carrying it toward Ellenor. “You and Maegan are both right. Boys don’t like to share their most coveted toys with other boys, no matter what their age, and you, Ellenor, are definitely Cole’s most coveted treasure. But he is also a man and a laird and he needs Henri. Eventually, Cole will be glad, even if not immediately, for the mason’s help. Now turn around and let’s get this on you.”

  Ellenor did as instructed, glad for the nonemotional, honest answer. Somehow, it calmed her more than a simple “no” or “of course not” ever could have.

  Brighid’s brows furrowed as she watched Laurel slip the deep crimson vision over Ellenor’s head. “Shouldn’t she wait to dress until Cole arrives?”

  Ellenor shook her head and slithered into the garment. “No, Laurel is right. Sunset is almost here and I think it is time to finish dressing and head down towards the chapel. I want to be there waiting when Cole arrives.”

  Ellenor removed her gaze from the dark night sky and refocused it on the few remaining friends still in the chapel. “I’m fine, Brighid, really. Please convince your husband that you and he should go. I would feel much better knowing that Cole and I haven’t robbed you of your own reunion.”

  “But…what are you going to do?”

  “I’m staying,” Ellenor answered calmly.

  “Here? In the chapel? You can’t!”

  “I’ll stay with her,” Maegan growled.

  Ellenor took a deep breath and exhaled. It had been almost six hours since the last bits of sun disappeared behind the horizon. After which, it had taken three hours to convince everyone in the chapel to return to their homes. Finn had forced his exhausted wife, Aileen, to retire, and finally Conor made Laurel go to bed under the guise that someone should be awake in the morning. Brighid and Maegan, however, had doggedly refused to leave. And because Brighid would not leave, neither would Donald.

  “And if you would, please take Maegan home. I doubt her grandmother realized it would be so late when she agreed to let her stay.” Ellenor reached out and clutched her little friend’s hand. “I need you to go, please.”

  “I’m not going!” Maegan shouted.

  “Yes, you are,” Ellenor returned quietly. “Father Lanaghly will be with me. I won’t be alone.”

  “How can you even want to stay and wait for a man who didn’t even show up to his own wedding?”

  Ellenor tapped the padded bench beside her and waited for Maegan to sit down. Gathering the small thin fingers in her hands, Ellenor tried to think of an explanation the young girl might understand. “When Clyde left, you knew he might be gone for a long time. Years. Much could happen in that time. Things you cannot control. What if it causes him to be away even longer than you thought? Are you still going to wait?”

  Maegan stared at her fingers. A teardrop fell. “I would wait forever.”

  “Then you understand why I have to stay.”

  Maegan turned and embraced Ellenor. Letting go, she sniffled, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and shook her head as if the small gesture erased her lapse into tears. Then she mumbled something about the ingratitude of men and marched out the chapel doors.

  Brighid quickly hugged her friend and whispered, “I’ll leave and take care of Maegan, but the moment Cole arrives, I want to know.” Standing up, she issued Donald a cutting stare as if he had any control over the situation.

  Donald glanced at Ellenor, giving her one last look of apology, saying once again with his eyes that he had no idea where Cole was. He should have arrived hours ago.

  Ellenor watched the couple leave. As soon as the doors closed, she pivoted in the pew and stared at the altar. Father Lanaghly moved to sit beside her. She gave a sideways smile at the older priest. His deep brown eyes, usually merry, were full of concern, and Ellenor reached over and tapped him reassuringly on his knee. He stroked his white beard as if contemplating a difficult speech. Ellenor knew what he was going to say. A second later, the kind man confirmed it. “You, too, should retire, milady. A chill is rising in the night air and the fires are turning to embers. Soon it will be cold.”

  Ellenor shook her head and remained seated. “No, Father, I am going to remain here. When Cole arrives, I will be waiting for him, ready. For I will be Cole’s wife before sunrise. He promised.”

  Father Lanaghly inhaled deeply and sighed. He stood up and shrugged his shoulders. The possible reasons for Cole’s delayed appearance were limitless and varied, but the majority of them said if Cole were going to arrive, he would have by now. Still, if his future bride needed to believe Cole would come, Father Lanaghly would not tell her otherwise.

  Turning around, he grabbed a stick and thrust it into the embers. After a minute, it began to burn and he moved to relight some of the candles. He then tossed several more logs into the hearth, and after a few crackle-filled minutes, the blaze grew and the small chapel began to warm once again.

  Once done, he went to stand beside Ellenor, who had moved to look out one of the large arched windows overlooking the dark ravine below. In the distance, the sinking moon highlighted majestic mountains that jutted out into the sea. Ellenor pointed to them. “See those? Every night I look at them and wonder if those are the mountains of my new home. I hope so. They are truly magnificent, don’t you think? So beautiful.”

  Father Lanaghly nodded thoughtfully. “I cannot fathom your reaction, milady. I was watching you this evening to see if you were suppressing any anger while amidst your friends, but that is not the case. You are calm when most women I have met would be more than a little angry by now. But not you and I cannot help but wonder why? You have every right to be mad and no one w
ould blame you. And yet, you are not.”

  Ellenor stretched her shoulders and looked up. The chapel was a simple one with few decorations. The one exception was the large round, arched ceiling. A traveling artist had created the masterpiece, and though it had been many years, the bright colors and vibrancy of the heavenly mural was still very beautiful.

  Walking over to the hearth, she stood in front of the fire with her backside to the flames and thought how to answer. “When Cole came to get me from my sister’s home, I had no choice but to go. Cole had made a promise to Laurel to bring me back, and my feelings about the matter were of little consequence—especially when we first embarked. I felt like I had no control over anything, and it…it scared me. What took me a while to realize was that I did have control, not over all things, but I was not powerless over myself. I had a choice about how I behaved, and for at least the beginning of the trip, I chose poorly.”

  Father Lanaghly nodded silently in understanding.

  Ellenor moved her gaze once again to the dark horizon and spoke softly, almost as if it were more to herself. “Cole and I have strong personalities, and if we are to work, we must be friends. The best kind of friends. We need to know that when things happen, there is at least one person whom we can count on—each other. It’s the greatest gift we can give to each other. So,” she said with a half smile, looking back at the dark brown eyes studying her, “when Cole arrives, he will know that I have faith in him—in us.”

  Father Lanaghly stared quietly at the young Englishwoman. When news had traveled that Cole was to wed, he had ended his visit with a friend and immediately journeyed to McTiernay castle. He had married Cole’s parents as well as their first two sons, and he had been surprisingly eager to marry their third.

  He had been curious to meet the young woman, wondering what prompted such a radical change of heart in the most unemotional of the McTiernay brothers. Upon meeting Ellenor, he had thought well of Cole’s choice. She had been kind, helpful, and very pretty. He had assumed she brought out the need to protect in Cole, and she, being a foreigner, had wanted his protection. But it wasn’t until just now did he ever consider that only something much more meaningful could have convinced Cole to marry. This woman understood him. “I wonder if Cole knows just how lucky he is to have found you?”