Rowan's Lady (42 page)

He offered her a warm smile as he rubbed his hand
along it. “Ye like it, do ye?”

“’Tis
yer
face. Ye must do what ye like.
But if yer askin’ me opinion, then aye, I do like the beard.”

Rowan kissed her again, made another promise to
return as soon as he was able. Arline promised to rest and sleep.

Were she able, she would have danced around the
room after Rowan closed the door. It seemed her life was beginning to take a
marked turn for the better. Very soon, she would be Rowan’s wife. They would
start a life together, have children and build a legacy.

He hadn’t come out directly and professed his love
for her. She reasoned that mayhap he was not quite ready to make such a
declaration. She knew that it was difficult for some men to speak from the
heart, for fear of sounding weak or less than a man. Arline did not care if he
said the words, it was enough that he showed her how he felt. Their entire
lives lay stretched before them. There would be plenty of time for
I love
ye’s
later on. Twenty-Six

Aside from the sea opening and swallowing Scotland
whole, nothing could stop the news of Rowan Graham’s impending nuptials from
spreading across the country. In some instances, the news reached those invited
to attend the wedding before the invitation itself had arrived.

Word reached Lady Beatrice but four short days
after the formal announcement had been made. Rowan had declared to the world
that he would be marrying Lady Arline.

Beatrice would have heard it much sooner were it
not for the blasted snow. She’d never been fond of winter to begin with. Now,
having seen how it had delayed her spies, she hated it even more. Her hatred of
winter dimmed in comparison to the all consuming hatred she felt toward Lady
Arline.

She’d lost precious time to plot. And timing in
these cases was everything. Had she received the news sooner she would have had
more time to devise a better plan to stop Rowan from marrying Lady Arline.

Beatrice would simply have to make do. With Joan’s
help and the aid of a few men whose fealty she had purchased, Beatrice put into
place a plan that would, without a shadow of a doubt, keep Rowan from marrying
Arline. Arline’s life would unfortunately be spared, there was no way around
that, no matter how she wished she could watch the life drain from the insipid redhead’s
body.

With the wedding just days away, Beatrice left the
comfort of her home in Edinburgh, along with a small contingent of armed men
and her maid, Joan. With any luck, they would arrive on Graham lands with
plenty of time to spare.

Beatrice would accept nothing less than total
success. With controlled rage, she rode west, tweaking and improving her plan
along the way.

Nothing, but
nothing
would stand in her way.

Rowan would
not
be marrying Arline.

As promised, Rowan enlisted Selina’s advice and
help in preparing for his wedding to Arline. Selina was in charge of making a
very grand and enchanting dress for his bride and acted as a liaison of sorts
between Arline and Mrs. Fritz.

Rowan spent as much time as he could with Arline.
Diligently, he made certain she did not leave her bed. He made certain she ate
and rested and followed all of Ora’s instructions without question or
complaint. At least he attempted to get her to follow them without complaint.
After days of being abed, Arline began to grow irritable and plead with him to
at least allow her to stand.

He found pacifying her with kisses both enjoyable
and easy. He began to wonder if she complained merely to receive his kisses. He
decided it didn’t matter for he looked forward to those stolen moments, filled
with promise of what would soon be their wedding night.

Arline was growing more bold in showing her
affection. Rowan supposed Ora had helped in that regard, especially after he
discussed Arline’s reticence and misguided notions as they pertained to a
woman’s
wifely duty.
He would be forever in Ora’s debt.

Lily was beside herself with joy when Rowan and
Arline sat her down to share the news with her. She squealed with delight and
danced about the room. In singsong fashion, she joyfully exclaimed to anyone
who would listen that she was going to have a new mamma. She was also looking
forward to having a wee brother or sister and was disappointed to learn that
one would
not
be delivered to her on the wedding day. Nine months can seem
like an eternity to a four-year-old child.

It had snowed yet again, but thankfully, this time
it was not as fierce as the first snowstorm of the season. Large, fluffy white
flakes fell majestically to the ground. Per Arline’s request, and the offered bribe
of a kiss, Rowan took Lily and the other children out to play. The little ones
thoroughly enjoyed catching snowflakes on their tongues and throwing snowballs
at Rowan.

Arline watched from the bedchamber window after
Ora helped her to a chair. With blankets and furs draped around her, the fire
blazing to ward off the cold, Arline smiled as she watched Rowan chasing the
children, helping them to build a snowman, and feigning grievous injury when
they pelted him with snowballs.

Arline could not remember ever feeling so much at
peace. All was right in her world and it was only going to get better. She rose
each morn, to find Rowan and Lily sleeping on the pallet next to the bed. An
overwhelming sense of joy would come over her when she thought on the fact that
all of her dreams were coming true.

Rowan brought the children inside, handing all but
his own off to their waiting mothers. He helped Lily into dry clothes and warm
woolens before taking her back to the gathering room where she could enjoy the
hot cider and sweet cakes Mrs. Fitz had waiting for them.

An undercurrent of excitement was beginning to
build around the keep. Rowan was doing his best to keep the promises he had
made to God by practicing patience and kindness.

Most of his people were excited about the upcoming
wedding, especially the women folk. They were all a buzz and a twitter over the
first wedding to be held inside these walls since Rowan’s last.

Life, he thought as he watched his daughter
sipping cider and chattering happily to her friends about the fact that she,
too, would soon have a mother, was perfect. His heart swelled with pride, with
love and adoration, not just for his daughter, his future bride, or his clan,
but for everything in his life.

Christmastide was just four days away and Arline’s
birthday fell on the morrow. The gift he had arranged for her had not yet
arrived and he began to worry over it as it should have arrived days ago.
Hopefully all was well and he would be able to present Arline with a token of
his love very soon.

They’d be married two days after Hogmanay and that
day could not arrive soon enough for either of their liking. Soon, he’d be
counting down the hours instead of the days.

Rowan, Lily, and the other children were all
huddled around the fire, the excitement of Christmastide taking up the majority
of their young conversations. The children were looking forward to the feast
and the Yule log, but most of all, they could hardly wait for the games they
would play.

Selina entered the room with Arline’s wedding
dress in her arms. Arline had chosen the color, a soft, pale yellow, as well as
the design. Rowan had asked for a lower neckline than Arline felt comfortable
wearing. He hoped that Selina had responded to his request and not his future
bride’s.

“Good day to ye, Rowan!” Selina said as she
approached. “I was just headin’ up to show Arline the finished dress. I added
the silver and gold thread like ye asked,” she told him. “But if she doesna
like it,
ye
will have to answer to her!”

Rowan laughed in agreement. “Do no’ fash yerself.
I am certain she’ll love what ye’ve done.” And if she didn’t he could easily
placate her with more kisses.

He left Lily with the children and was heading up
the stairs with Selina when Thomas entered from out of doors. “Rowan!” he
shouted over the din of the chattering children and rushed excitedly to the
stairs.

Rowan directed Selina to go ahead and to tell
Arline he’d be along shortly. “What be the problem, Thomas?” Rowan asked as he
climbed back down the stairs.

Thomas waited patiently at the bottom before he
answered. He leaned in and whispered to Rowan, “The
gift
ye ordered fer
Lady Arline?” he began. “’Tis arrived!”

Rowan let out a happy cry and slapped Thomas on
the back. If Arline was at all upset with the added embellishments to her
dress, the gift he was about to give her would give him at least ten years
worth of getting out of any troubles.

“I do no’ understand why I must wear the
blindfold, Rowan,” Arline with clear frustration. She sat blindfolded, in a
large comfortable chair next to the fire. Rowan had wrapped not one, but two
furs around her, professing his worry over her catching a chill.

“Wheesht, now,” Rowan said. “I told ye, ’tis a
surprise.”

“Well I hope its more yellow silk to add to me
dress, ye devil! The neckline is beyond scandalous!”

As she sat and waited, she pondered the beautiful
yellow gown. Afraid to try it on just yet, for fear her healing wound might
ooze even the tiniest amount of blood on it, the gown hung on a hook in Rowan’s
dressing room. It was beautiful, even if the neckline was far too revealing.
The gold and silver threads that Selina had added to the neck, sleeves and hem
were perfect. Arline loved the way they sparkled in the candlelight and hoped
that Rowan would find her to his liking when she wore it.

Moments passed when she heard a rustling of
skirts, slippers and boots alike padding across the floor. She also heard a
rush of whispers and Lily’s giggle. For the life of her, she could not
understand what surprise Rowan had for her that would require so many people to
attend.

Rowan came and knelt beside her. She only knew it
was him for he had whispered in her ear that he hoped she liked her early
birthday gift and mayhap it would earn him a kiss. She burned crimson, placed
her fingers over her mouth to hide her smile and hoped no one in the room had
heard him.

“I ken how much ye like to draw,” Rowan said
excitedly. “So I had some supplies brought to ye fer yer birthday. I sent fer
them weeks ago and they’ve just arrived by special delivery.”

A blindfold and a room full of people to witness
him giving her drawing supplies? Would he arrange a three-day feast, bards,
jugglers and acrobats if he gave her a broach? As he untied the blindfold, she
was convinced he was tetched and was just about to tell him so when she opened
her eyes.

She gasped, covered her mouth with her hands, in
utter shock and disbelief. The tears flowed as instantly as they formed and for
a moment, she could not move or speak.

“Morralyn! Geraldine!” she cried out her sisters’
names. They rushed to her, fell to their knees and hugged her.

They were
here!
With her! She cried,
bewildered, elated, and confused. They cried right along with her.

They all began talking at once, professing how
glad they were to see each other after all this time. “Och! Ye are a sight fer
sore eyes!” Morralyn cried as she held Arline’s face in her hands. Geraldine
was too overcome with tears to speak but nodded her head in agreement.

Selina stepped forward offering the women
handkerchiefs. “I’m so verra happy fer ye, Lady Arline! Yer sisters as well!”

Arline thanked her, handed a handkerchief to each
sister. Her joy was overwhelming and she could not stop the tears from flowing.
She looked around the room for the man responsible. He was standing in the
corner, next to Thomas. Thomas was smiling, enjoying the spectacle as it played
out before him.

Rowan was smiling too, that beautiful, gleaming
smile. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his green
tunic. She could not find the words to express how happy she was at this
moment. Were she at all able to jump up, she would run to him and fling her
arms around his neck and smother him with kisses. As it was, her two equally
happy sisters had her pinned to the chair.

Arline mouthed a “thank you” to Rowan, along with
a warm smile. He simply nodded his head.

“How did ye do this? Why did ye no’ tell me?” she
asked him.

“I knew how much ye missed yer sisters. So I sent
fer them weeks ago.” He left out the part of how he had thought to use them as
an inducement to getting her to stay here. He rationalized that it no longer
mattered. Morralyn and Geraldine were here and his future wife was overcome
with joy. That was all that mattered.

“Aye,” Morralyn said happily. “He sent fer us
weeks ago. Two verra braw young men!” she laughed aloud. “They told us ye were
here, and finally away from that awful fool yer da forced ye to marry. Rowan
offered us the same safe haven as he offered ye. And now it appears as if he’s
offered
ye
even more!”

Arline and Geraldine giggled along with Morralyn.
“I am so verra happy that ye agreed!”

“Did ye
see
the two handsome men he sent?”
Morralyn asked with a smile. “’Twas impossible to tell them no to anythin’!”

Arline’s face burned red. “Morralyn!” She knew all
too well what Morralyn meant by that statement. Her sister hadn’t been raised
by a very prim and proper maid, like Arline had. Therefore she hadn’t had the
guidance on being a lady, even though Arline had tried countless times over the
years.

“What?” Morralyn asked, pretending not to have any
good idea why Arline would be embarrassed or feel the need to chastise her.
“I’ve been tellin’ ye fer years that life be too short, Arline. And all that
nonsense that Minnie put in yer head was goin’ to lead ye to a verra dull and
unhappy life.” She glanced over her shoulder to look at Rowan, smiled and
wiggled her eyebrows at him before turning back to Arline. “And I swear if ye
heed Minnie’s advice and no’ me own, I’ll be forced to use the good sense and
feminine wiles God gave me and make
that
man of yers verra,
verra
happy.”