Chapter 24
Violins and pipes played, men and women danced, ate, laughed, and played as they arrived at the Druid Stones. Tables were laden with wine and ale. Giant pits had been dug for meat to be roasted.
David overtook Shawna, riding a half-length ahead of her.
A massive cheer went up as he appeared and as he greeted those who rushed forward to welcome him and wish him well.
He dismounted from his horse and turned to help Shawna down from hers.
Old friends embraced him. Village lasses blushed and curtsied, too, some brushing happy kisses upon his cheeks before hurrying away.
Shawna realized that she had forgotten just how charming he could be, how gracious, and how the people of Craig Rock had loved him.
When they came to the flat stone where Anne-Marie had stumbled upon the corpse that morning, there was nothing but a lovely purple cloth and lanterns upon it. Excitement nearly crackled in the air. The arrival of the laird meant that the feast had truly begun.
David strode for the flat stone, keeping Shawna’s hand locked in his own.
The Reverend Massey waited there, ready to offer David a crown of flowers amid a great deal of cheering.
He accepted his crown and turned and crowned Shawna with a second such tiara that had been made for the laird’s chosen lady.
Shawna found her pleasure in the evening suddenly real. This was her home. She was a Highlander of Craig Rock through and through, and she loved the tradition of the night, the laughter, the dancing, the contests. She smiled at friends and saw Edwina, dressed beautifully as a sprite.
“To the people of Craig Rock!” David shouted, and the music stilled along with the dancing and shouting.
The merrymakers, clad in all manner of costume from the beautiful to the bizarre—ladies, pirates, knights, animals, and mythical creatures—stopped to pay him heed.
The night suddenly became so silent it was uncanny.
“My thanks that you are so gracious to welcome me back after such an awkward absence. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be back with you, how grateful I am to be greeted warmly by so many dear old friends. And now, as laird of the festivities, I say—eat, drink, be merry!”
A cheer rose high on the air. Shawna, still close by David’s side, noted that Hawk, Sloan, James, and her cousin Alistair seemed to be posted at the four corners of the Stones. As usual, she thought, the men had made plans.
About which they had neglected to inform the women.
“But there’s more!” David continued. “As laird of Castle Rock, I am naturally free to choose my lady for the Night of the Moon Maiden. I’ve taken my lady, but I would do more.
I invite you to join with me in a special feast this night.
My wedding feast. I would like to take this occasion to invite you one and all to witness the joining of the Douglases and MacGinnises. ”
Stunned, Shawna stared at him. What was he doing? She felt a sudden, terrible pain in her heart. Marriage could not be part of a plan to catch criminals.
“I will not marry you!” she whispered. She did not need to speak so low. The cheers all around them were deafening. She tried to smile for the people who looked upon her with such affection, while desperately wondering what to do in the situation.
Mark Menzies was cheering delightedly. Edwina had clapped her hands to her cheeks with pleasure.
Anne-Marie was happily sobbing.
Even her own kin. She saw Gawain watching her, and she realized that Gawain had known what David intended. Oddly enough, it seemed, David had properly asked Gawain, as the oldest male MacGinnis, for her hand.
She tried to tug free from him.
She had loved him all her life. She had wanted to be Lady Douglas, his wife.
But not now, not this way. Not when he was so cold and distant, and it seemed that he didn’t love her. She didn’t want him to marry her just to protect her, or even for Danny’s sake.
“I can’t marry you—like this!”
“You must marry me. It’s the promise I want from you,” he told her.
It was blackmail!
He offered the crowd his most charming smile.
“Gossip abounds in small villages, eh, my friends, and I’m quite certain that you’ve heard tales of a lad belonging to the laird of Castle Rock and the lady of Castle MacGinnis.
Well, gossip stands true. The boy is ours.
Heir to all that is mine. In honor of our son, we are delighted to make our relationship legal and proper. ”
Gasps sounded. So many of them, it was almost as if the crowd had inhaled and exhaled simultaneously.
Then there was silence.
The whispers began then along with the cheering and calls.
Whispers.
Speculation.
Some of the people had indeed surely heard that Danny was the lady’s child. Some had doubted it. Some had believed.
Surely, all had gossiped.
And now David had made certain that everyone knew.
“Reverend Massey?” David said.
The reverend, looking completely pleased, smiled benignly at the two of them.
“Laird Douglas, m’lady, if you will?”
He stood before them and began to pray.
“I cannot do this!” Shawna whispered. “David!”
David ignored her.
Before Shawna managed to tell the reverend that though she loved David, she couldn’t marry a man who completely mistrusted her, she found David dragging her down. She was on her knees, head bowed in prayer.
And she was praying, she discovered.
God, help me! What is right here, what do I do here? I cannot do this, or can I? I would do anything for Danny, but is it right to marry…
She glanced at David. His head was bowed. Dark and handsome, he appeared the sincere bridegroom, seeking the blessing of his maker as he entered into the holy sacrament of marriage.
Except that his eyes were actually open. And he was listening not just to the reverend, but to every word and whisper going on around them.
Yet he responded. When the Reverend Massey spoke to him, he responded. She watched him, amazed that he could appear to be so rapt in the proceedings when his attention was in fact for all those around him.
“Shawna?”
Her head jerked around as she looked at the Reverend Massey, curious as to what he wanted. “Aye?”
The Reverend Massey smiled, reaching out to her. “M’laird, m’lady, I now pronounce you man and wife.”
Flowers flew, bagpipes screeched. She found herself drawn back to her feet and into David’s arms.
He kissed her dutifully.
“Laird Douglas! Ye’ve been gone too long for so chaste a touch!” came a cry.
“Come now!” laughed someone. “Ye know what ye’re about, ye’ve a child already, Laird Douglas.”
Delighted laughter arose.
David responded, lifting a hand to those who tormented him. He swept Shawna nearly off her feet. His kiss was deep, passionate, blazing. So intimate those who had teased him cried out with hearty approval.
He released her, his eyes just above hers. And with her whole heart, she wondered what lay within them.
“Why did you do this?” she demanded. She ached to hear him say what he had told her before—he loved her. He had loved her forever.
“So that my son’s mother need no longer be a MacGinnis,” he replied, eyes dark upon hers.
“So you will bring Danny back?”
His grip upon her tightened. “Aye, as I’m able.”
“You promised!” she reminded him, fighting his hold.
He arched a brow. “You’ve just promised to love, honor, and obey, my love.”
“Indeed, well, you remember this! MacGinnis was my father’s name. I will remain a MacGinnis until the day I die,” she informed him.
“And I’m trying terribly hard to see that the day you die remains far in the future.”
“This is a travesty.”
“Nay, lady, this ends the travesty,” he told her, and lifting her off her feet, he carried her to the throne chairs that had been prepared for them for the evening. “Friends, I give you Lady Douglas!” he announced.
The cheering began again.
And the windup of pipes screeched.
Well-wishers came forward.
“Ah, cousin!” she heard, and turned to see that Alistair was at her side. He was decked in his MacGinnis colors, not costumed. She was glad. She would easily recognize him.
“It’s come about proper at last, eh?” He smiled. “I’m happy for you, cousin. Truly, I am.”
“Thank you. Alistair?”
“Aye?”
“Why has he done this?”
Alistair’s smile faded. “He is very afraid for you, I think. He wants everyone to know, it seems, that he is alive and well and healthy as an ox. His brother is alive and well—and healthy as an ox. And if something were to befall them both, he has left a child. Legal issue.”
“This has to end!” she whispered. “Alistair, I can stand this no longer. Who would have done such a thing to me as to hire a midwife to switch my babe with a dead one? Who would have done such things to David? Who would try to kill him—”
She broke off.
Old Ioin Menzies had come up to her. He opened his arms, kissed both her cheeks.
“It’s the witches, mind ye!” he said, and walked away.
A rise of shouting announced the caber throw. She suddenly felt David’s fingers curl around her hand. She glanced at him sharply.
“My love, I am required to take part.”
She followed at his side as they joined the men taking part. “Stay here with Skylar and Sabrina,” David commanded, stepping onto the field.
The onlookers gathered around as the men took their turns throwing the massive log as far as they could.
“What is this?” Sabrina asked.
“The caber throw.”
“They can’t possibly throw that—log too far!”
“Aye, they do well enough!” Shawna assured her.
Despite the chill, many men stripped off their shirts and jackets, coming upon the field kilted only.
Shawna clapped as Gawain and Lowell took their places. Despite their ages, her great-uncles cut well-muscled and arresting figures—and their throws were among the best. A cry went up for the MacGinnises, and Shawna joined in with it.