“Ah, here he comes,” the old man said. “He is waking now.” Elizabeth touched his face and nodded.
“This is Father Ceallach,” she said. “We found him, Jamie.”
His vision faded in and out for several minutes. The priest held a small skin to his mouth and James took a drink, coughing when the strongest whisky he’d ever tasted hit his throat. But then, the warmth of it reached his stomach and it felt good. Another swig and the skin disappeared.
“Ready, lad?” Father asked. But before he could answer aye or nay, the man gripped his arm and pulled him to his feet in one smooth motion. Stunned by the strength of the man, James pushed his hair out of his eyes and met a merry grin. “Come then, into the chapel.”
With the priest on one side holding him up and Elizabeth on his other, James found himself in a small church. Smaller than he’d ever seen before. Only a stone altar and a crucifix decorated the empty space. And a small lamp sat burning on the altar.
“Elizabeth said you wish to marry,” the priest said. “Is that your intention then?”
James nodded and received a frown in response from Father.
“You must speak the words, James Murray,” he advised.
“Aye, Father, I wish to marry Elizabeth MacLerie,” he said, meeting her gaze and seeing the love there.
“Elizabeth, is it your intention to take James Murray as your husband?”
“Aye,” she said softly, taking his uninjured hand in hers. “I wish to marry James Murray.”
“From the looks of you, lad, there are objections to this marriage? Who objects?” the priest asked. Although he did not want to reveal much, how could he lie to this priest? So, after Elizabeth nodded at him, he explained it simply.
“Connor MacLerie probably objects, but I have not asked him in the last five days. Elizabeth’s brother has objections, as well.” Would he refuse them the sacrament? Was this all for naught?
“And even in the face of those objections, you would take marriage vows?” Father looked at each of them. When they answered, they spoke as one.
“Aye.”
He placed his gnarled hand on theirs and asked them some questions, waiting for each to answer before asking the next.
“Will you have each other from now until death?
“Will you be faithful onto each other and to no other?
“Do you promise to honor and obey your husband, Elizabeth?”
There was a longer pause then as his Elizabeth seemed to hesitate to promise that, but she smiled and accepted the duty.
“Do you promise to cherish and honor your wife, James?” He did not hesitate.
“Aye, Father. I will do that.” The priest smiled then and placed his hand over their heads in a blessing.
“You have spoken your intention to marry and have said your vows to each other. In God’s name then, you are now husband and wife in His Sight. God be with you both.”
James stood in silence for more than a moment. After months of believing he would marry another woman, he was finally joined to the woman he loved. After choosing to defy his family and a powerful lord, they were married now and nothing could separate them. After living a life of following the rules and doing the right thing, passion and love had led him to her.
“Wife,” he said, lifting her hand to his mouth and pressing his lips against it.
“Husband,” she replied, turning his hand over and kissing his palm.
He would have reacted to such a kiss had the church not begun to spin and swirl around him. The only thing he saw was her face as he landed at her feet.
But, they were married and nothing else mattered.
It was their wedding night.
Elizabeth sat by the bed and watched him sleep. Considering that he could be dead several times over, she was content to be at his side. They’d been through more in this last week than she could have dreamt possible.
