“Our blood is joined, and we are one
Our blood is joined, and we are one
Our blood is joined, and we are one.”
As he spoke the words the final time, they seemed to echo inside his head and heart.We are one. One. ONE.
***
The room seemed to spin and blur behind Rory as he wound the linen around their hands and repeated the chant. Sybil kept her gaze locked on his and felt as if there was no one else in the hall at this moment but the two of them.We are one. One. ONE.
When someone cleared his throat, she remembered that Alex stood before them in his priestly robes. The church’s blessing was not required to make a marriage binding, but it did make a marriage more difficult to escape.
“I bless this union in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Alex dipped his thumb in the small bowl of holy water, touched it to Rory’s forehead, and made the sign of the cross. She felt the cool damp of his thumb on her forehead as he did the same to her.
“May your bond never be broken,” Alex said, “and may God bless you with many children.”
The words had barely left Alex’s mouth when Rory raised their joined hands. The hall erupted as everyone shouted, stamped their feet, and raised their fists or weapons in the air. Sybil did not think it could get any louder, but then Rory pulled her into a passionate kiss that made her knees weak and sent the MacKenzies into a frenzy.
When he released her, she felt dazed and happy. She had expected to feel weighed down by the pledge she had just made that bound her for life. Instead, she felt so light she could have floated over the crowd.
The MacKenzies did not let their unease with their laird’s choice of a bride interfere with their celebration. The hall was soon noisy with talk and laughter. The whisky flowed like water as one man after another made a toast.
“Gun cuireadh do chupa thairis le slainte agus sonas.”May your cup overflow with health and happiness.
“Slàinte, sonas agus beairtas!”Health, happiness and wealth!
“Móran làithean dhuit is sìth.”May you be blessed with long life and peace.
Sybil would have had the food served before so many toasts, but this appeared to be the Highland custom. Judging by the increasingly bawdy jokes, she was not the only one feeling a bit tipsy by the time the trestle tables were set up for the wedding feast. At last, Rory led her toward the head table, a signal to everyone to find their seats.
But he halted as something across the room caught his attention. Sybil followed his gaze to a guard who was pushing his way through the crowd of revelers, heading straight for Rory.
“Laird, I apologize for disrupting the festivities,” the guard said when he reached them, “but we have a score of Munro warriors approaching the gate, and they’re armed to the teeth.”
CHAPTER 28
“I’ll come out at once,” Rory told the guard. “Open the gates.”
“Is that safe?” Sybil asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
“A score of men is not enough to attack a castle,” Rory said, his expression hard. “They’ve come to negotiate my sister’s release.”
“Then I’ll come with ye,” Sybil said.
“You’ll wait here inside the keep,” Rory said. “I want ye out of the way should harsh words turn to drawn swords.”
Rory strode off without a backward glance, evidently assuming she would follow his orders. He should know her better by now.
Sybil followed him outside and stood a few feet behind him with Alex and Malcolm. The gates opened and the Munro warriors entered the castle riding two abreast. A striking young woman with strawberry-blonde hair rode beside the leader.
“Thank God, they’ve brought Catriona,” Alex said. “And it doesn’t look as though they’ve harmed her.”
“Rory must handle this delicately,” Malcolm said in a hushed voice. “We don’t need a war with the Munros.”
“I agree,” Alex whispered back. “But Rory looks as though he wants one.”
