Gray edged Crown closer to Scepter. “He’ll be back,” he said unexpectedly.
She nodded. “From the outset of our journey, I wondered if Murtagh would stay in the Highlands or return to Kilmer with us. It never entered my head he might find a woman.”
Mounted beside her, Garnet overheard. “I came home expecting to be sorely needed by my parents, only to find my father dead and buried, and a prosperous estate in good hands. My mother doesna have to worry about the future, but she needs a companion. I canna think of anyone better than yer blacksmith.”
A certainty he was right warmed Jewel’s heart.
Without a backward glance, Murtagh set the column in motion.
Garnet smiled at Gray. “Ye’ll soon see where yer mother buried Scotland’s Honors.”
Her brother grinned, but the exciting promise of what lay ahead in Kinneff’s little church bubbled in Jewel’s breast, and it had naught to do with crowns and scepters.
* * *
At dusk they set up camp within sight of Brechin’s ancient cathedral. To all intents and purposes, things were back to normal. The Highlanders worked with their usual efficiency. Murtagh soon had skinned rabbits roasting on a spit. Garnet sat on an outcropping of rock with Jewel and Gray.
Yet, life had changed dramatically in just a few days.
He was no longer a hunted fugitive. Indeed, a well-negotiated sale of the emeralds in Edinburgh would make him a rich man, perhaps even a worthy husband for Jewel.
He’d fallen in love with her before the kidnapping, but the resilience with which she’d weathered the ordeal increased his regard for her courage. The close call with death had seemingly made her more willing to confess her feelings. She leaned into him, staring at the dark outline of the cathedral against the night sky, apparently not caring if her behavior might be deemed unseemly. And he wasn’t going to object.
Her brother, however, had become quieter, more thoughtful. Garnet wondered what his reaction would be if he suggested the lad sleep with the Highlanders, and he and Jewel…
He dismissed the notion as unworthy of Jewel, though his shaft had a more difficult time letting go of the idea and prompted him to suggest, “We could hand-fast in the cathedral on the morrow.”
Surprisingly, it was Gray who objected. “Nay. It has to take place in Kinneff.”
Reason and history dictated the lad was right. Only one more day to wait, but he doubted the youth had ever been plagued with a burning desire to possess a woman.
Just wait a few years, laddie.
“The cathedral tower is curious,” Jewel remarked, accepting a trencher of meat from Jock.
“Aye,” the Highlander replied. “Round. Only ever saw one other the same. At Abernethy.”
“Our older brother, Munro, loves exploring such places,” Gray replied. “He’s very interested in history. We could investigate on the morrow and tell him about what we saw when we return home.”
Jewel snuggled closer to Garnet, but made no reply. Evidently, she hadn’t told her brother he’d be going back to Kilmer without her.
* * *
Later, they stood together outside her tent. Jewel melted into Garnet’s arms as he kissed her, allowing his tongue to mate with hers, pressing her mons to his hard maleness. Gray coughed loudly from inside.
“Our last night apart,” Garnet growled. “I must be patient.”
She too was impatient to surrender to the cravings running rampant through her body, but she was afraid her brother might overhear if she gave voice to her feelings. “I’ll tell him tonight, about Edinburgh,” she promised, aware Garnet had sensed she hadn’t confided their plans.
“Do ye want me to be there?”
“Ye just want to come into the tent,” she teased with a smile.
Grinning, he lifted the flap and ushered her inside. “Goodnight, precious Jewel.”
Gray lay with arms folded across his chest. She nestled into the bed of furs. “Is something bothering ye?” she asked.
He continued to stare into the canvas. “What secret are ye keeping?”
She sat up. “I havna fully explained our plans after the hand-fasting.”
He turned onto his side, head propped up on his hand. “I expect ye’ll find some cozy nook to rush off to. The mon canna keep his hands off ye.”
“Ye sound annoyed. Are ye nay pleased I found a man I love?”
He exhaled loudly and sat up beside her. “Of course I am. I suppose I’m jealous. We’ve always been friends.”
She realized he feared losing her, a problem she was about to compound. “We’ll visit Dunnottar after Kinneff.”
“Aye. The place our parents met.”
“Then Garnet and I will go to the inn in Stonehyve.”
“Where Papa was billeted?”
“Apparently, ’tis still there.”
“Very appropriate. Mam will be thrilled when ye tell her.”
She took a deep breath. “Ye’ll be the one telling her. Garnet and I intend to travel back to Edinburgh. He hopes to secure a position with the Privy Council.”
He lay down and crossed his arms. “Ye want to live in Edinburgh?”
“Nay, but there’s naught for us in Blairgowrie, and what would Garnet do in Kilmer?”
“He’s a banker. Good with money, and numbers. Munro talks about ambitious charitable works for orphans, but he already carries out many of father’s duties. When he inherits the title, he willna have time to oversee such endeavors.”
Hand-Fasting
Gray’s excitement grew as they neared the village of Kinneff the next day. Jewel seemed preoccupied, but Garnet put her unusual silence down to wedding nerves.
Brother and sister dismounted in front of the little church that had played an important role in their family’s history. They stood for long minutes, Gray’s arm around Jewel’s shoulders.
At length, Murtagh rapped on the door of the manse.
A tall, thin cleric garbed in a threadbare cassock eventually appeared. “Aye, ye’re correct,” he said gruffly before Murtagh had a chance to speak. “’Tis the church where they buried the Honors. But I dinna have time for every…”
He stopped abruptly, cautiously eyeing the scowling Highlander.
Gray stepped forward, hand extended. “I’m the son of Hannah Kincaid. My sister and I have traveled a goodly distance to see the place where our mother buried the Honors. My full name is Grainger, after…”
The minister’s eyes widened and a broad smile replaced the frown as he accepted the handshake. “Why did ye nay say so? What an unexpected privilege. The Reverend Grainger and his wife are deceased. I’m James Honeyman—Minister. Come in, come in, though I suppose ye want to see inside the kirk.”
Garnet took Jewel’s hand, stepped forward and introduced himself. “Garnet Barclay from Blairgowrie. Jewel is my betrothed, and we’d consider it a blessing to be hand-fasted in yer church.”
Honeyman tapped stunted fingernails against his chin. “Blairgowrie, ye say. Barclay. I ken it. Condolences on the death of yer father. Yer poor mother. What will she do now?”
Murtagh’s face reddened.
“Still, she has her sons-by-marriage, and ye, though I heard ye’d gone to Holland.”
“My thanks,” Garnet replied, perplexed the cleric seemed to have missed the important part of what he’d said. “Is it possible ye could hand-fast us this afternoon? We hope to visit Dunnottar Castle then make it to Stonehyve afore dark.”
“Now, ye mean?”
“We realize ’tis short notice,” Jewel explained. “But my mother will be thrilled.”
“Or I can officiate,” Murtagh declared gruffly. “Nay the first hand-fasting I’ve blessed.”
Garnet sensed the blacksmith was put out they hadn’t asked him before. “Aye. We can use my plaid and yers to bind our hands.”
* * *
Standing in the very spot where her courageous mother had helped bury Scotland’s Honors years before she’d been born, Jewel held Gar
net’s warm hand and knew for certain she was pledging herself to the right man.
Her mother had told her often enough she knew Morgan Pendray was her soul mate from the moment she met him.
But for the trauma of the kidnapping, Jewel might have coyly resisted Garnet’s advances until he gave up pursuing her. Their ordeal had brought them closer.
It turned out there was no Mrs. Honeyman, so Jewel had to change into Beatris’ gown and arrange her hair without help. It was a far cry from the elaborate and lengthy preparations for the reception, yet the appreciative gleam in Garnet’s eyes assured her she looked beautiful. She glanced up at her tall, broad-shouldered husband-to-be, clad in a great kilt and plaid woven by his mother. He truly was a braw Highlander. He had no family present, but Gray offered to stand as his second.
She’d hoped for an opportunity to casually mention her brother’s remark about Munro’s possible need of a financial manager, but none had presented itself.
Honeyman began the ritual. “The promises made today and the ties that bind here are meant to strengthen yer union. Do ye still seek to embark on this ceremony?”
“Aye,” she and Garnet replied as one, his deep voice sending ripples of excitement swirling in her heart.
The minister nodded to Murtagh who bade everyone face the east as he raised his arms. “Blessed be this union with the gifts of the East and the element of Air, for openness and breath, and purity of the mind and body. From the East ye receive the gift of a new beginning.”
Everyone followed his lead as he turned to the south. “Blessed be this union with the gifts of the South and the element of Fire, for passion and the warmth of a loving home. Share the fire within ye in even the darkest of times.
“Blessed be this union with the gifts of the West, the element of Water, for yer ability to feel emotion. By hand-fasting, ye offer absolute trust to one another, and vow to keep yer hearts open in sorrow as well as joy.
“Blessed be this union with the gifts of the North, the element of Earth, which provides sustenance, fertility and security. The earth will feed and enrich ye, and help ye to build a loving home.”
Jewel marveled the blacksmith had uttered these sacred words from the heart, not from a book. “Perfect,” she whispered.
“Aye,” Garnet replied hoarsely.
Honeyman cleared his throat. “Garnet Barclay and Jewel Pendray, I bid ye look into each other’s eyes.”
“I love ye,” Garnet mouthed as they obeyed, his blue eyes full of the love he professed.
“Will ye honor and respect one another, and seek to never break that honor?”
“We will.”
Murtagh draped his plaid over their joined hands.
“And so, the first binding is made,” the minister declared. “Will ye share each other’s pain and seek to ease it?”
“We will.”
Gray took Garnet’s plaid off his shoulder and draped it alongside Murtagh’s.
“And so, the second binding is made. Will ye share the burdens so that yer spirits may grow in this union?”
“We will.”
Murtagh wound his plaid around their hands.
“And so, the third binding is made. Will ye share each other’s laughter, and look for the brightness in life and the good in each other?”
“We will.”
Gray wound Garnet’s plaid around their hands and knotted it loosely.
“And so, the fourth binding is made. Jewel and Garnet, as yer hands are bound together now, so yer lives and spirits are joined in a union of love and trust. Above ye are the stars and below ye is the earth. Like the stars, yer love should be a source of light and, like the earth, a firm foundation from which to grow.”
Garnet pulled her to his body and they shared their first kiss as man and wife. The raucous cheers of the Highlanders she’d known all her life echoed in her heart
* * *
Despite having no kin present, Garnet felt he was surrounded by family. He’d not only allied himself with the Pendray clan, he’d become part of their lore by hand-fasting in this historic kirk.
When he and Jewel reluctantly ended their kiss, Gray helped unwind the binding plaids, then offered his hand. “Welcome, brother,” he said with a broad smile. “Ye’ll have yer hands full with my sister.”
Garnet pulled him into an embrace and slapped the back of this youth who’d matured so much since their first meeting. “I never had a brother,” he rasped.
Murtagh stopped fussing over Jewel and elbowed Gray aside. “I ken ye’ll look after my precious lass, else I break every bone in yer body.”
Garnet feared his ribs might indeed crack when the blacksmith enfolded him in beefy arms.
“Dinna hurt him,” Jewel scolded with a smile.
“On to Dunnottar,” Murtagh declared, setting Garnet back on terra firma.
Garnet shook Honeyman’s hand. “My thanks,” he said. “Sorry we have to leave so soon.”
“Aye,” the minister replied sadly. “I’d hoped ye might stay a day or two, meet some of the parishioners who remember James Grainger and his wife.”
Garnet suspected the life of a bachelor minister in a tiny village was a lonely one. “Mayhap, we’ll come back this way on our return journey to Edinburgh.”
The cleric brightened. “I’ll look forward to it.” He blushed to the roots of his hair when Jewel stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.
Ruin
They rode in the opposite direction to that taken by Hannah Kincaid, but Jewel had a new appreciation for her mother’s courage.
“’Tis barely more than a track,” she said as Scepter picked his careful way along the cliff path between Kinneff and Dunnottar. “How did my mother navigate it in the dark?”
“Carrying a heavy basket with the Crown Jewels,” Gray added. “A weighty burden in more ways than one.”
“And no doubt trembling with fear of pursuit at every shadow,” Murtagh remarked.
Conflicting emotions warred in Jewel’s heart when the ruined castle loomed. Hannah Kincaid had risked her life on the beach beneath the walls demolished by Captain Morgan Pendray’s Parliamentary gunnery crew. This was the place her parents had first met—as enemies.
Jaws clenched, the Highlanders simply stared at the ruin when they reined to a halt on the clifftop overlooking the beach.
“This must be where my mother paused after climbing up the path with the basket,” Jewel speculated.
Gray pointed to the embankment leading to where the castle gates had once stood. “Papa’s cannon was located there. He turned away from the destruction and caught a glimpse of her, silhouetted against the sky. He chuckles every time he tells us he surmised she’d been picking dulse.”
“’Tis a wonder their relationship succeeded at all, given the dire circumstances,” Jewel said.
“Where there is great love, there are always miracles,” Garnet replied.
“Aye,” she agreed. “Who would have thought I’d return to Dunnottar with a husband I love to distraction.”
“I’m honored to be here with ye and Gray.”
Only the raucous cries of seagulls and the sound of the sea broke the silence as they contemplated the ruin. Jewel inhaled the salty air, then turned to Gray. “Will ye come down to the beach with me?”
* * *
Garnet held Scepter’s reins after he’d helped his wife dismount and watched her and Gray embark on the steep path down to the beach. He ground his teeth, concerned for her safety on the notoriously treacherous beach, but also miffed he’d been excluded.
Murtagh came up beside him. “She has to do this with her brother,” he said. “Nay with ye.”
Garnet let some of the tension go from his jaw. “How did ye get to be so wise?”
The blacksmith chuckled. “I’m an auld man.”
Garnet looked him in the eyes and decided this was the right moment to ask, “What are yer intentions with regard to my mother?”
Murtagh stroked Scepter’s forehead
. “I canna deny there’s an alchemy between us.”
“Do ye plan to woo her?”
The Highlander frowned. “Ye sound like her father.”
Garnet bristled, aware he’d abandoned his family and had no right to play the role of his mother’s champion. “I’m just worried for her.”
“Why? Do ye think I’ll hurt her?”
Garnet shook his head. “Ye’re nay that kind of mon.”
“Ye’ve found yer happiness; ye would want the same for yer mother.”
“Of course.”
“Speaking for myself, I’d like a wee taste of contentment in the few years I have left.”
There was no mistaking the wistful loneliness in the blacksmith’s eyes. In the short time Garnet had known him, Murtagh had proven himself to be a stalwart comrade, loyal to the Pendray family no matter the cost. Like too many Scots, he’d endured war, deprivation and imprisonment for the sake of his beliefs. “Ye’ll have to deal with Beathan and Alastair,” he warned.
Murtagh looked out to sea. “Perhaps there’s room on Barclay land for a wee cottage where me and Agnes Barclay need never run into her sons-by-marriage.”
Garnet laughed out loud. “Sounds like a good plan to me. They’ll probably be only too glad to help ye build it.”
* * *
Waves lapped at the base of the castle wall. Jewel was relieved the tide was too high for her and Gray to make it all the way to where Hannah Kincaid had waited for the basket to be lowered with its priceless cargo. Like her mother, she’d slipped on the treacherously smooth rocks too many times to count. Even her brother had lost his balance more than once. “I’ll have bruises on my bruises,” she lamented.
“Me, too,” he replied.
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