Under The Kissing Bough: 15 Romantic Holiday Novellas

by Kathryn Le Veque

  “Nay, I can’t do this right now,” she said. But the crowd was noisy and her father either didn’t hear her or didn’t care.

  “Ross Douglas, you’ll marry my daughter in a mock ceremony,” said her father, putting her hand in the Scot’s.

  “My lord?” asked Ross with a raised brow.

  “It’s a tradition,” said her father. “It’ll be a mock marriage and only last a day. I’d have you marry Gabrielle, but she is bathing and will miss everything. So just use my other daughter for practice.”

  “Practice?” Ross looked over at her. Annalyse knew she wasn’t going to get away from here until her father got what he wanted.

  “Well, I did dream of him,” she said to herself, figuring she may as well go along with it since this would be the closest she ever got to ever being married.

  The boy said the vows. Once he pronounced them married, the crowd cheered, encouraging them to kiss.

  “Nay, I can’t,” she said, but Ross played along. He got down on one knee and sat her atop it and looked her in the eye.

  “Bonnie lassie, now that ye’re my wife for the day, will ye kiss me and make this crowd stop shoutin’?”

  “Fine!” she said, needing this to be over so she could go about helping her sister. She kissed him with a small peck on the mouth. When she tried to get up, he pulled her back down, covering her mouth with his and leaning her backward as he kissed her so deeply and passionately that she almost forgot what she was doing in front of a crowded courtyard.

  “All right, enough,” grumbled her father. “You’d think you were marrying her instead of my other daughter.”

  Annalyse stood up. Noticing the midwife across the courtyard, she ran toward her.

  “Midwife,” she said, taking her by the arm. The woman turned to face her.

  “Is it time?” she asked.

  Annalyse nodded. “Yes, but keep it to yourself. Tell no one.”

  “Where is your sister?”

  “She’s in my chamber. Now, hurry as she is in much pain.”

  “Aye, my lady.”

  Annalyse turned around to look for her mother and bumped into Ross.

  “Ooof,” she said, putting out her hands, feeling his hard chest and corded muscles beneath his leine.

  “Wife, where are ye goin’ so fast?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “I have matters to attend to, so please move out of my way.” She took a step to go around him, but he blocked her path. Letting out an exasperated breath, she tried to rid herself of him once more. “I have no time for this, now please move.”

  “I saw the midwife rush away and I heard ye tell her to keep somethin’ a secret. Is Gabrielle havin’ her baby?”

  “She is,” Annalyse told him since she knew he wouldn’t move until she gave him an answer. “But please don’t tell anyone yet.”

  “Why no’? Is somethin’ the matter?”

  “I can’t tell you. Now do me a favor and don’t mention this to my father. I need to get back to Gabrielle. Can you please find my mother and bring her to my chamber?”

  “Of course, lassie, but tell me more.”

  “We will talk later,” she said and hurried away, eager to get back to Gabrielle. Her sister was in pain, lots of pain, and Annalyse felt it, too. Sharing the feelings of her twin sister was exhausting at a time like this.

  Finally making it back to the room, she found the old midwife leaning over the bed.

  “How is she?” Annalyse asked, closing the door and walking forward.

  “She is losing a lot of blood and something is very wrong,” said the midwife. “She shouldn’t be birthing a baby on the Feast Day of the Holy Innocents. It will bring bad luck to us all.”

  “Hush,” she told the midwife, going to the head of the bed to comfort her sister. “Breathe,” she told Gabrielle, taking her hand. Gabrielle breathed heavily and sweat dripped from her brow. The midwife prepared her for the birth and positioned herself between the girl’s legs to catch the baby.

  “She should be using a birthing chair but can’t sit up since she is so big,” said the midwife. “I’ve seen this before.” The midwife’s face went ashen and she looked over to the girls. “You know what this is, don’t you?” she asked in a shaky voice.

  Gabrielle was in too much pain to speak, but Annalyse nodded. “Yes, we know it is twins,” she told the old woman. “And we know it’ll be considered a curse if anyone finds out. You have to stay quiet about this. Gabrielle said we could trust you with the secret.”

  “Nay,” she said shaking her head and getting off the bed. “I have lived for the last twenty years regretting the last secret I kept. I can’t do it again so don’t ask me to do such a thing.”

  “Last secret?” Annalyse didn’t understand. There seemed to be something that only she didn’t know. “What secret are you talking about?”

  Gabrielle shouted out in pain and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Annalyse, I’m going to die. I won’t go to my grave before I tell you that I am sorry for not telling you sooner. But I didn’t know until we were ten and, by then, I felt it was too late.” She moaned and gritted her teeth. “I couldn’t go to an abbey and live like a nun; I just couldn’t.”

  “What are you talking about?” Annalyse let go of her sister’s hand.

  “You are the first-born twin, not me!” Gabrielle screamed out in pain and cried harder. “I am the cursed one. And now God is punishing me for keeping the secret from you. I am birthing cursed bastards and I will die doing it. I am so sorry, Sister. I never knew how hard or how horrible it would be for you.”

  “I – I’m not the second-born twin?” Annalyse’s heart almost stopped at this announcement. Had she heard correctly? How could someone keep a secret like this from her for her entire life? She’d gone to hell and back by being the second-born twin and now found out that it was Gabrielle who should have suffered all along. Annalyse looked over to the midwife wanting to rip off her head. “You knew, old woman, and yet you let me live in misery my entire life? Why would you do such a horrible thing?”

  “Don’t blame her, it was my mistake,” came a woman’s voice from behind her and she turned to see her mother standing in the doorway with Ross at her side. “I mixed up the babies after they were born and I thought Gabrielle was the first-born twin. You both looked identical and it was an honest mistake.”

  “Why didn’t you tell my mother she was wrong?” Annalyse shouted at the midwife as tears flowed from her eyes. “You delivered us, so you knew the truth. Why didn’t you tell her I wasn’t the cursed one, but my sister was, instead?”

  “I tried to, but by the time she understood what I was saying, it was too late,” wailed the midwife. “Your father had already branded you as the cursed twin. When we told him, he said he would not make a fool of himself by telling everyone he’d made a mistake.”

  “Nay!” She shook her head not wanting to believe this was true. “We are twins, so someone could have switched us and no one would have known better. My entire family knew this shameful secret and yet you all let me live the life of a nun. I have been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong. My entire life, others have shunned me and acted as if I had the plague. How could you do this to me, Mother? How could you condemn me to a life of hell when I didn’t deserve it?”

  Her mother reached for her, but she pushed the woman’s hand away. Then Gabrielle called out for her, but Annalyse wanted naught to do with her sister anymore.

  “You deserve to birth these twin bastards, Gabrielle,” Annalyse spat in vengeance. “I will be sure that everyone knows about it now. You will feel the painful life of one of your own children, so you will know what it feels like to be the second-born twin after all.” She’d been trying to help her sister, but now she wanted the girl to suffer for the secret she’d kept for the last ten years.

  “You’re having twins?” asked her mother sounding apprehensive. “Oh, please tell me this isn’t so.”

  “It is,” said Annalyse. “A
nd Gabrielle deserves it. Although I feel sorry for the cursed child, my sister will finally know what it feels like to have one of her children rejected by everyone, especially her own family.” She shot across the room meaning to leave, but Ross caught her in his arms and held her there, closing the door.

  “Let me go,” she cried, pounding her fists against his chest.

  “Ye’re my wife for the day and ye’ll stay here with yer sister because I command it.”

  “I’m not your wife,” she said. “You’re betrothed to Gabrielle, a cursed woman now. So how does that feel?”

  “Settle down, lassie, and dinna say words ye’ll later regret.”

  Her mother gasped and before she had a chance to respond, her sister shouted out her pain and the midwife delivered the first baby. Her mother hurried over to comfort Gabrielle while Ross pushed Annalyse forward to watch the birth.

  “Those are yer nephews or nieces and ye’ll no’ leave before they’re born,” he told her.

  “I need help,” said the midwife. “Someone take this little boy, as there’s another one coming.”

  “Give him to me,” said her mother, taking the baby that the midwife had cut free, cleaning him with a wet rag. Annalyse stretched her neck and peeked up to see a boy with a full head of blond hair. He started crying. Suddenly, she felt horrible for the way she acted. As angry as she was, her sister needed her and so did the babies. Even if they’d deserted her in her time of need, she didn’t have it in her heart to do the same in return and felt thankful that Ross had kept her from leaving.

  “He’s got blond hair. Like us,” Annalyse told her sister, her heart softening as she drank in the miracle of birth and the helpless little child.

  Her sister shouted and gritted her teeth, not able to even look at her newborn since she was in so much pain. Annalyse felt a stabbing sensation in her heart and wasn’t sure if she was feeling Gabrielle’s pain or pain of her own this time. Since her mother held the baby, Annalyse ran to Gabrielle’s side and took her hand. Even if she despised her sister at the moment, she couldn’t leave her at a time like this. Annalyse felt stabs to her abdomen next and doubled over, feeling as if she were birthing the babes herself. “Push, Gabrielle, push,” she urged her sister, willing this all to be over. “Once more and then you will be done.”

  “They’re big babies. Much too big to be twins,” said the midwife. “They’re tearing her apart.”

  Gabrielle screamed again and gripped tightly to Annalyse’s hand. “I’m going to die,” she cried out. Annalyse tried to stay strong, even though she saw the amount of blood covering the bed and almost screamed out.

  “No, you’re not going to die, Gabrielle. You’re birthing the king’s babies. Now just think about Edward and you’ll get through this pain.”

  One more push and one more scream and another baby popped out.

  “It’s another boy,” said Annalyse, looking at the baby with a smile as the midwife wiped him off. “I’m not sure how this happened, but this one has a full head of black hair.”

  “It’s over now, Gabrielle, you can rest,” said her mother, as the midwife cut the cord on the second baby.

  “Nay, it’s not,” said Gabrielle shaking her head furiously as tears streamed from her eyes. Her face looked pale and lifeless, and it frightened Annalyse. “I am cursed and God is making me pay for what I did to you, Annalyse. I am so sorry; please forgive me.”

  Annalyse couldn’t forgive her sister just yet and shook her head, remaining silent.

  “Someone take this baby, there’s another one coming,” said the midwife and Annalyse froze.

  “A – a third baby?” she asked in disbelief. When a woman birthed more than one baby at a time, it was believed that they had made love to more than one man. What would the king think? What would her father think? This was awful. And how were they going to hide two babies instead of just one?

  “Take it,” said the midwife. Annalyse stepped forward and took the squalling baby into her hands. His eyes were wide open and it felt eerie since babies usually had their eyes closed at birth as far as she knew. Bright blue eyes like a bird stared up at her and she felt her sister’s pain down to her core now. It was so intense she would have fallen over if Ross hadn’t come up behind her and guided her to a chair.

  “Sit down, my lady,” he told her. She was too frightened to respond.

  “The third one is stuck,” said the midwife. “Push, my lady. Push hard.”

  Gabrielle pushed with all her might and even more blood stained the sheets, although Annalyse didn’t think it was possible. It looked like a battlefield after a war and she felt as if she were about to retch.

  “She’s losing too much blood,” cried her mother. “Someone, do something!”

  “We can’t do anything until this baby is born,” shouted the midwife. “I can’t get it out because it is too big.”

  “Allow me to help,” said Ross, taking off his weapon belt and rolling up his sleeves. He went to the midwife’s aid and was able to help her remove the third and final baby.

  “Och, this one looks Scottish,” said Ross, cradling the baby in his arms. “He has a full head of red hair, just like me.”

  “They all have blue eyes, just like my daughters,” said her mother.

  “Let . . . me hold . . . them,” said Gabrielle, too weak to lift her hands up to take them to her bosom.

  They brought the three babies over to her. Though her face was pale and she looked close to death, she managed to smile.

  “Will you name one of them after King Edward?” asked her mother, running her hand through Gabrielle’s hair.

  “Nay,” said Gabrielle in a soft voice. “These triplets are special. They will have names that will someday be legendary.”

  “What will you call them?” asked Annalyse.

  “The blond one is Rowen,” she said, running a hand over the boy’s head.

  “Like the pagan tree of the Druids?” asked Ross in surprise.

  “The rowan tree guards against evil,” said Gabrielle, seeming to get more life from holding her children. “This one will be guarded against all evil and watched over by God since he is my first-born son.”

  “What about the one with the black hair?” asked Annalyse, pointing to the baby she’d just held. “He looks dark and mysterious.”

  “Then he shall be called Rook,” said Gabrielle with a smile.

  “Rook?” asked her mother. “Like the bird?”

  “Yes, just like the bird,” said Gabrielle. “He is dark and dangerous; I see it in his eyes. But legends say the rook can carry the soul of the dead to the next world. I hope my son can do that for me since I am about to leave this world.”

  “You’re not dying,” said Annalyse, looking over to the midwife who was doing everything she could, but the bleeding would not stop. “What about the third born?” she asked, trying to focus on the babies instead of Gabrielle’s condition. She felt drained and tired and knew she was picking up the feelings of her sister. There was no doubt Gabrielle’s life was slipping away.

  “That third baby tore you apart,” said the midwife under her breath.

  “They all did,” answered Gabrielle, kissing the redheaded baby on the cheek. “He won’t be blamed for my death and I want you all to make sure he knows that.”

  “You’re not going to die,” said Annalyse with tears in her eyes, but she saw the midwife shaking her head. It didn’t look promising for Gabrielle.

  “This one is Red. What is the Scottish word for red?” Gabrielle’s face showed joy and happiness as she cuddled with her newborns, though she could barely speak above a whisper.

  “Reid,” answered Ross.

  “Then he’ll be called Reed - but like the reed you’d find in a lake. He will sway in the breeze and change with the times, and nothing will ever stop him.”

  There was commotion from out in the courtyard and Annalyse ran to look out the open window. Her stomach lurched when she saw King Edward, his queen, and h
is entourage entering the castle courtyard with her father rushing over to greet them. This was the last thing they needed right now.

  “Nay,” she said, running back to the others. “The king is here, Gabrielle. What are we going to do? Shall we hide two of the babies?”

  Gabrielle’s eyes started to close. Holding all three of her sons on her chest, the boys were content and did not cry at all.

  “Nay, we will not pretend that two of them don’t exist,” she whispered.

  “But the king and our father will not like this. We have to take them away,” Annalyse tried to convince her.

  “The king will consider this a bad omen,” said their mother with a look of fear in her eyes. “There is no telling what he might do.”

  “Then we need to protect my babies,” muttered Gabrielle, looking even paler than before. Her eyes interlocked with Annalyse’s and a pain shot through Annalyse’s heart because she felt her sister’s life slipping away quickly. “You take them – all of them and raise them for me.”

  “Me?” Annalyse’s heart skipped a beat. “I live in an abbey. I can’t take your babies, Gabrielle. Besides, you will want to raise your children yourself.”

  “Sister, I will only be able to die in peace if you promise me you’ll take my sons and keep them safe and treat them as your own.”

  “I can’t,” Annalyse protested, feeling more frightened than she ever had in her life. “Don’t ask me to do such a thing, because you’re not going to die.”

  “We . . . all know I am . . . dying,” whispered Gabrielle. “You can feel it, too. I know you can, since you’re my twin.”

  Annalyse could feel it. And it pained her more than any of the treatment she’d gotten for being the cursed twin through the years. Nothing mattered all of a sudden and when Gabrielle died, part of her would die with her sister.

  “I will take them and raise them as if they’re my own,” she promised her sister, squeezing Gabrielle’s hand as the tears fell from her eyes. “I love you, Gabrielle, and I forgive you for not telling me the truth about my birth sooner.” With that said, she felt as if she’d made peace with her sister. Now, they would be able to part. She had thought she’d be happy to see her sister leave but never thought she’d be leaving in death. This was not at all how she wanted things to end.