“I know.” He kissed her. “Come closer my darling. There is a whole quarter of an inch of space between us!”
17
On the day of her wedding,Leana woke to a mixture of anticipation, happiness, and fear. She had had to swallow two cups of valerian tea to help her sleep, and even then it was a fitful, restless kind of slumber, but she had just managed to doze off when Abi bounced in and dived onto the bed beside her, making the mattress bounce and shudder.
Leana felt the way she had on her one voyage on a boat: off balance, helpless, and slightly sick. This was no doubt due to the three glasses of wine she had drunk the previous night, which was three more than she was accustomed to.
She looked blearily up at Abi, who was beaming from ear to ear, shaking Leana’s shoulder to wake her up.
“Come on!” Abi called excitedly. “It is only three hours until the wedding!” She clapped her hands as hard as she could and Leana sighed, rubbing her knuckles into her eyes to try to get the sleep out of them.
“It looks like bein’ a grim day,” she sighed, looking at the sky as Abi handed her a tankard of ale and watched while she sipped it.
“It is your wedding day!” Abi cried, then kissed Leana lightly on the lips. “Do not be so glum.”
“I am certainly no’ glum!” Leana protested as the realization hit her that she was finally going to commit herself forever to she man she loved. The weather might be gray and sullen outside, but inside her the sun was shining, and all was well.
Laird Fraser Andrew Dubhgnall, who had thought he would never again be saying wedding vows, was just as nervous as he had been the first time he said them. Fraser had rehearsed them until his words were perfect, but the night before the ceremony he had a nightmare that he had been struck dumb at the altar and Leana had walked away from him in disgust.
He woke up in a cold sweat and realized that it was a dream, then flopped back on his pillow, gasping with relief. After that there was no more sleep, and he lay looking into the darkness, seeing pictures of the night to come. For him, the wedding ceremony was of less importance than the wedding night, when at last he would possess Leana. Even the thought aroused him.
Leana’s bath arrived, with two maid servants carrying jugs of hot water behind it. They poured it into the bath and Leana’s maid Loraine came into the room to wash and perfume her. She and Abi smiled at each other before Loraine knelt down beside Leana and began to wash her.
Leana felt her nervous tension return in full force. Fraser had awakened passions and sensations within her she had not known before, but tonight he was going to possess her absolutely, and she simply could not imagine how it would feel. Would it be painful? Would he be gentle or perhaps assume that she was less frightened and not keep his promise to be tender? She did not know, and that was the worst of it.
She had broached the subject with him a few weeks before, and he had said softly, “My darling, I will take care of you. I promise you that you have nothing to worry about.” He had looked at her with so much love in his eyes, and kissed her so tenderly, that she forgot her fear for a while. Now it had come back in full force, worse than ever in fact, and she was once more in the grip of a terror so intense that she did not know how she would get through the ceremony.
She turned her attention back to Abi. “I am lookin’ forward tae it, Abi,” she replied, smiling. “I cannae wait tae wear my dress!”
Abi clapped her hands as she looked at the beautiful creation hanging in the wardrobe. “Nobody will see anyone else but you, Leana!” she cried with spontaneous enthusiasm, and hugged her tightly. “I love you, big sister! We will be so happy!”
“I love ye too, my dear,” Leana replied, smiling at her fondly.
They lay, talked, and daydreamed for the rest of the day until it was time for Abi to go and get dressed.
Fraser had requested that Leana should keep her hair as loose as she could, so Loraine tied it in a slack plait at the back, threading silk ribbons through the strands. She stuck wild buttercups in it and smiled at the result.
“Ye look sae bonny, mistress,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
Leana’s dress was as beautiful as she was, and the buttercream color of the velvet suited her vivid coloring and enhanced the apple green of her eyes, which shone like emeralds, even in the dull light of a winter’s morning. It fitted her like a second skin, but was otherwise very modest, with a round neck and long fitted sleeves that ended in a loop around her middle finger. A wide golden belt spanned her tiny waist and a long train followed wherever she walked. She carried a bouquet of rare white heather, for which Fraser’s men had scoured the surrounding hillsides.
On his daughter’s wedding day, Joe McBeth looked spruce, clean, and as polished as it was possible for a father of the bride to be. He felt himself swell with pride at the thought of his lovely daughter marrying the most handsome man for miles around, and hoped that he would live long enough to see his grandchild.
When she went downstairs to the chapel Joe met her at the foot of the stairs, shaking his head in wonder. “This cannae be my wee lassie,” he said huskily. “Look at ye, ye’re like a queen!” He stepped forward to hug her, then looked her up and down once more, beaming with pride. He took her arm, and although he still had to walk with a stick, his back was straight and his head was held high.
Fraser could not believe that the stunning woman walking down the aisle towards him was going to be his wife. His lips parted as if to kiss her as she drew level with him, then her father put Leana’s hand into his and he lifted their joined fingers to his lips.
“You look so lovely,” he whispered, his eyes shining with love.
“An’ you, darlin’.”
Father Podraig was a young, newly ordained priest from Ireland, and was conducting his first marriage ceremony. He had deep brown eyes like Fraser, but there the resemblance ended, since he was small and thin with light-brown hair and small delicate features. He was almost as nervous as the bride as he blessed them and read from the Gospels before moving on to the vows.
“Fraser, will you go first?” he asked, somewhat timidly. The Laird of Dubhgnall Brae was a formidable man, and most other men quailed when first meeting him.
Fraser turned to Leana. “My darling Leana, it is such a privilege to be standing with you here, waiting to become your husband. You are everything a woman should be: strong, caring, and generous. I know that I can trust you with my body and my heart and they will come to no harm. My love, will you marry me?”
“Fraser, my only ane,” Leana replied, smiling. “I cannae believe that a nobleman like you wid stoop tae marry the likes o’ me, but it is a tribute tae yer character that ye will. I will own that I didnae like ye at first, but noo I cannae imagine marryin’ ony ither man. I love ye, Fraser, an’ I will be yer wife. Will you be my husband?”
