Chapter 4
“Leod, bring the priest,” said Shaw, not wanting to wait to marry the girl. He also didn’t want to have to invite Cromwell and his men inside his walls a second time for the marriage. He’d get it done right now and then kick them out of his courtyard as fast as possible.
“What’s the rush?” asked Cromwell. “Why dinna ye just keep the girl for a fortnight and we’ll be back for the weddin’ then?”
“Nay.” He wasn’t going to take the chance.
He wanted the alliance sealed before the Gunns could change their minds.
This way, at least he’d be getting his father’s bow and arrows returned and an alliance, whether it was real or not.
As for the girl – he didn’t know what he was going to do with her.
His boys didn’t like her. Colina seemed to like her and that worried him even more.
He didn’t want his daughter being influenced by a woman warrior who dressed like an ancient Viking.
“We’ll have the weddin’ now and then ye’ll be on yer way,” Shaw told him.
“Is that any way to treat yer ally?” asked Cromwell. “I’m sure there’ll be a weddin’ celebration afterward. I plan for my men and me to stay to help celebrate our new friendship.”
“Let’s get one thing straight.” Shaw walked up close to Cromwell, looking directly into his eyes. “We might have an alliance after this, but no one ever said I’d be a friend.” Quickly, he turned and made his way across the courtyard to meet Father Ignatius.
Everything happened so fast that Spring felt her head swim. One minute, she was prepared to leave the castle, feeling relieved not to have to marry the man. Then the next thing she knew, she was being pushed forward by her father toward the priest.
“Faither, I’ve changed my mind. I dinna want to marry him,” protested Spring, not wanting to go through with the plan after all.
“Hush,” Cromwell told her, holding her elbow tightly as he escorted her toward the outdoor dais. “Our plan is workin’. Now, make sure ye convince him to let us stay for the feast afterward. I want to try to have a look around and find their weak spots.”
“This doesna feel right,” she complained.
“It might no’ feel right at the moment, but it’ll feel more than right when our clan rules Edinvale Castle instead of the Gordons. Now keep yer mouth shut and yer eyes open.”
“The priest is ready,” said Shaw as they approached the dais in the courtyard that was used for ceremonies. Stairs led up to a landing that was sheltered by a small, wooden canopy.
“Here she is,” said Cromwell. Then he took the bow from her shoulder and the quiver of arrows off her back and handed them to Shaw. “And here is yer coveted bow and arrows.”
Shaw grunted as he took them and handed them to the man next to him. Without the bow and arrows, Spring didn’t feel safe. It was no different a feeling than having her clothes stripped away and leaving her standing there naked. She felt very vulnerable.
“May I?” Shaw held out his arm to accompany her up the stairs.
She looked down and stared at his forearm.
Never had a man escorted her anywhere like this.
She wasn’t used to it. Her brother, Bodil, nudged her in the back, making her reach out and rest her hand on Shaw’s arm.
Heat from his body emanated right through his leine, warming her body in the process.
The sheer strength of his muscles beneath the cloth did not escape her notice.
He was tall and muscular and very handsome.
Her heart beat rapidly against her ribs as she climbed the stairs with the stranger.
In another minute, this man was going to be her husband.
She hadn’t been able to think clearly about any of this since her father had brought her to the castle so quickly.
She felt like she needed to talk to someone about it first. Someone other than her father who only wanted her married because he thought he’d benefit by it.
“Are ye ready?” asked the priest.
She swallowed, almost choking since her mouth felt so dry. She tried to drop her hand from Shaw’s arm, but his free hand reached over and held her tight, keeping her next to him.
“We’re ready, Faither. Please continue,” said Shaw in his deep, smooth voice.
Spring didn’t hear a word the priest said as he conducted the marriage ceremony.
Since her heart was beating so loudly in her ears, she could hear naught else.
She peeked out from the corner of her eye, surveying her new husband-to-be.
His shoulder-length, oaken hair was pulled back in a queue behind his head.
His nose was straight and his lips firm.
A smattering of dark whiskers painted his jaw.
He was taller than she was and his presence seemed to dominate the area with an air of respect mixed with .
. . elegance? She suddenly felt important to be standing at his side.
When she turned her head slightly to get a better look at him so close up, he noticed her watching him.
His eyes darted over and interlocked with hers, causing her to gasp slightly.
His eyes were hazel and much lighter than his hair.
They were also very mesmerizing. He looked to be about a decade older than she was.
He had to be that much older to have all those children.
Still, his face was not weathered or wrinkled like her father’s face.
Shaw’s skin was tanned from the sun. A golden glow lit up his face, complementing the dark green and golden plaid he wore.
She would have liked to survey him longer but, instead, she turned her head and looked the other way.
Was this really happening? She knew girls were betrothed to their enemies all the time to make alliances between the clans. However, she never thought she would be the one in this position.
Would she be expected to answer to a man she didn’t know?
She’d never answered to any man besides her father.
She glanced back at her father standing at the foot of the dais.
His smile was more of a smirk and it only made her feel worse.
Even though she didn’t know Shaw, she’d met his daughter in the forest. Both Shaw and Colina held the spirit of Shaw’s dead father within their eyes.
A shiver coursed through her body as the dead man’s face flashed through her mind.
Would she be punished from the great beyond for stealing the bow and arrows of the man on the battlefield when she was only ten?
A knot formed in her stomach. It hadn’t occurred to her until now that Shaw might decide to punish her, even if she hadn’t been the one to kill his parents.
After all, she had stolen the man’s weapon that had been clutched in his cold, dead hand. What could be worse?
She knew how to protect herself and that’s what scared her.
The last time she’d tried to protect herself when a man wanted to lay with her, she ended up killing him, even if it hadn’t been intentional.
She knew how to kill and she knew how to fight.
But she had no idea how to be a wife. Her eyes traveled over to Colina and her brothers.
Colina seemed to idolize her, but the brothers didn’t want her here at all.
She couldn’t blame them since she didn’t want to be here either.
Was her new husband really going to expect her to take care of his children? When she was their age, she was already taking care of herself. She didn’t want to be a wife and she certainly didn’t want to be a mother to children who didn’t want her.
“My dear,” said the priest, dragging her from her thoughts.
“What?” she snapped.
“We’re in the process of sayin’ our vows,” Shaw told her in a low and controlled voice. Why did he sound so alluring? This was only making it harder for her. “Ye are supposed to repeat the vows.”
“I didna hear any vows.” Thunder rumbled overhead and a flash of lightning lit up the sky.
The priest looked upward and blessed himself. “We must hurry,” said Father Ignatius. “A storm is brewin’.”
A storm was, indeed, brewing, but it had nothing to do with the weather. While Spring had always done her father’s bidding, marrying Shaw Gordon just to get inside the castle walls so they could attack and claim it as their own didn’t sit right with her.
“Just say, I do,” the priest told her, looking upward again as the rain started to fall.
She looked blankly at Shaw and blinked.
“Go ahead,” said Shaw. “I’ve already said my vows. We’re just waitin’ for ye and then we’ll be married.”
“Married,” she repeated, testing the strange word on her tongue. Was it a blessing or a curse? Either way, it was going to be bittersweet.
“Please hurry,” begged Colina, holding her plaid above her head to keep off the rain. “We’re gettin’ wet.”
“Magna!” came the warning voice of her father.
“Are ye changin’ yer mind, lass?” Shaw’s soft voice all but whispered in her ear. She looked up to him and, in his gaze, she saw the eyes of the dead man looking out at her once more. A shiver ran through her. What would happen to her as well as everyone else as soon as she said her vow?
She had no time to ponder the situation. A loud clap of thunder that sounded as if it were right above her head made her jump. She squeezed her fingers into Shaw’s arm, closed her eyes, and said the words everyone was waiting to hear. “I do,” she announced.
“I pronounce ye man and wife,” said the priest, slapping his book closed.
The skies opened up in a downpour, causing everyone to run for the keep.
“Ye may kiss the bride.” With that, the priest headed down the dais, following the crowd to the castle. She was left standing there with her new husband. To her surprise, he was staring at her mouth.
“Ye are my wife, now, Magna,” he said, bending toward her, bringing his mouth closer.
She closed her eyes and lifted her chin, anticipating the kiss from her new husband.
He was tall and handsome and she wondered what his lips would feel like against hers.
Would she like it? Would he? And would it make them want to kiss again?
A wisp of a kiss happened as he skimmed his lips over hers so quickly that she wondered if she’d imagined the whole thing.
“I suggest we get inside before we’re drenched.” His footsteps sounded against the wooden platform as he walked away.
Her eyes shot open. Had she missed it? Had he even really kissed her at all? It was so fast that it left her wanting more. What kind of a man kisses his new wife so quickly that their lips barely even touch?
“Magna?” he said over his shoulder, causing her to blink twice. “Are ye comin’?”
He was already halfway down the dais stairs. “Aye,” she said and shot forward past him, getting to the bottom of the raised platform first. Rain pelted down but she didn’t care. She stood her ground and turned to face him.
“What’s the matter?” He held his plaid over his head, trying to get out of the rain.
“My name is Spring,” she reminded him. “That is what I wish to be called.”
“Fine, fine, let’s go.”
“And one more thing.”
“What now?” On his face, she saw the disturbance of her actions.
“If ye’re goin’ to kiss me, then do it like ye mean it.”
“I dinna understand. I kissed ye.”
“Is that what ye call it?”
“Well, what would ye call it?”
She gripped him by the front of his leine and pulled him closer. Reaching up, she pressed her lips hard against his. He dropped the plaid he was holding over his head and his arms lowered. She purposely let the kiss linger, going back for a second helping.
His hard lips softened and melded with hers. The scratch of his whiskers against her face made her feel alive and very aware that she was kissing a man. Then she felt his fingers close around her waist as he pulled her closer to his body, seeming to forget all about the rain.
“That’s enough,” she said, pushing out of his hold. “We’re gettin’ wet or havena ye noticed?” She turned and headed for the keep. As she got to the door, she looked over her shoulder. Shaw was still standing in the rain, just staring at her as if he couldn’t believe what just happened.
She smiled, wet her lips with her tongue, and stepped inside. Mayhap, her new husband was going to realize, after all, that she was a woman who knew what she wanted and wouldn’t accept anything less.