“Sir Alpin?” called the priest. “Your vows? ’Tis time to speak your vows.”
Alpin looked at the priest, then looked back at Margaret. “Nay,” he said as he slowly stood up. “Not to this lass.”
“This was agreed to with your father,” yelled Sir Peter as he glared at Alpin. “Your sword arm for her dowry, the land, and the coin. Ye cannae simply say nay.”
“Aye, I can. I suspect we can come to some agreement if ye feel a need for my sword arm. But not this way.”
“But, the land, the wealth? Your father was eager for them.”
“I dinnae want the land or the coin. I want,” Alpin thought of Sophie, “smiles.” He looked at Margaret, who had prostrated herself at the feet of the priest, kissing the hem of his robe as she muttered prayers of thanksgiving. “I want courage. I want someone who will stand beside me, nay cower or faint each time I enter the room. I want to be loved,” he added softly, a hint of astonishment in his voice. “I intend to be a selfish bastard and go get what I want and hold fast to it.”
“Thank God,” said Eric. “She rode southeast. She and Nella refused to ride anything but those ponies, so they should be easy enough to catch if we ride hard.”
Although he was curious as to why Eric looked so elated, Alpin decided now was not the time to discuss that. “I thought to leave ye here to make sure the priest will still be here and ready when I return.”
“Nay, I ride with ye.” Eric ordered a man named Duncan to watch the priest, then turned back to Alpin. “Ye will have to ride hard to get her, bring her back here, wed her, and get back within the walls of Nochdaidh ere the sun rises. Thought I would ride with Nella and leave the lads to follow at a slower pace.”
“Nella, is it?” Alpin grinned when Eric blushed, then started out of the church, idly noting that his people looked uncommonly cheerful. “Nella who rattles because she wears so many amulets and charms? A bit timid.”
“Aye,” agreed Eric as he and Alpin mounted their horses, “but, if ye recall, ’twas timid, wee Nella who put herself between your sword point and her ladyship’s heart that first day.”
“Ah, so she did. Timid, but no coward.” Alpin nudged his horse into an easy pace for, despite his sense of urgency, he had to go through the village with care.
“And, nay matter what happens, she is now, weel, accustomed to Nochdaidh. She will stay.”
“Do ye think I am being too selfish?” Alpin asked quietly.
“Ah, m’laird, mayhap, but isnae every mon? But, ’tisnae some weak miss ye go after. She kens it all, e’en a lot of our dark history. Why dinnae ye just let her decide?”
Eric was right, Alpin thought, as they reached the edge of the village and kicked their mounts into a gallop. Sophie was a strong, clever woman who knew exactly what he was and what he could become. She even knew they would have to make some hard decisions concerning a child. It was time to place the decision in her small, capable hands.
“I am sorry, m’lady,” Nella said as she sat next to Sophie near the fire the men had built.
“Aye, so am I.” She glanced at the three young men from Nochdaidh who stood to the far side of the campsite deciding how they would divide up the watch. “At least this time we travel with some protection.”
“True. ’Tis a comfort of sort.” Nella sighed and idly poked a stick into the fire. “I had hoped the laird would see the truth.”
“Weel, what we understand to be the truth.”
“’Tis the truth. I ken it deep in my heart. The words at the end of that vile curse say it clear. And I believe the fact that ’twould be a Galt woman and a MacCordy mon would make the curative power of the match e’en stronger.”
Sophie nodded. “It was verra hard to say naught, but that also had to be.” She smiled slightly when she saw how carefully Nella watched her. “Dinnae fret o’er me. I may have hoped for something different, but I anticipated such an ending. And, aye, I suspect I shall trouble ye with some bad days, but, at the moment, I am numb. ’Tisnae just that I have lost the mon I love, but I fear I have lost all chance of ending Rona’s curse. And mayhap my pain is already eased by the knowledge that I will still have his child to love.”
“His what?!”
“Hush, Nella. His child,” she whispered.
“Nay. How can ye tell so soon?”
“Trust me, Nella. I am certain. I felt it the moment the seed was planted. ’Tis odd, though, for Alpin was certain no MacCordy laird had e’er bred a bastard. Who can say? Mayhap the end of the curse will come through this child. Mayhap ’tis fate at work here.”
“And mayhap your kinsmen willnae bring the roof down with their angry bellows?”
“Ah, there is that. Weel, we shall deal with that trouble when it presents itself. Best we get some sleep now,” Sophie said as she moved to the rough bed of blankets arranged for her and Nella. “We didnae cover much distance this day and I should like to get an early start in the morning.”
“Alpin?” Sophie heard herself say as she abruptly sat up.
“M’lady? Is something wrong?” asked her guard, Angus.
“A dream, I think.”
Since Angus had chosen the first watch, Sophie knew she had only slept an hour or two. She looked around but saw no sign of Alpin. Yet she could not shake the strong feeling that he was near at hand. Just as she was deciding that she was letting false hope lead her, Alpin and Eric rode into the camp. She sat stunned as Alpin dismounted and walked to her bed to stand over her.
“What are ye doing here?” she asked. “’Tis your wedding night.”
“Nay, not yet,” Alpin replied and held out his hand. “I have come to give ye a choice, Lady Sophie Hay.”
“A choice?” she asked as she put her hand in his and let him tug her to her feet.
“Me and all the darkness that surrounds me, or freedom and the sunlight.”
“What of Lady Margaret?”
“The last I saw of her, she was kissing the hem of the priest’s robes and thanking God for saving her from an unholy union.”
“Then I choose you,” she said, so choked with emotion that her voice was barely above a whisper.
Alpin’s only outward reaction was to nod and brush the back of his hand over her cheek. The look on his face, however, told Sophie he was deeply moved, as did the faint tremor in his hand. She knew she would get all the emotion she could handle later when they were alone.
There was little time for her to think about the big step she had just taken. She and Nella were told to collect their cloaks and mount the horses. The three young men from Nochdaidh were ordered to return at their own pace. Then they were racing over the countryside, Sophie clinging to Alpin and Nella to Eric. A little unsettled by how swiftly they moved through the night, she closed her eyes.
The promise of dawn was in the sky when they reined in before the tiny stone chapel in the village. Sophie was so unsteady when they dismounted, Alpin had to carry her into the church. She nearly laughed when he roused the people sleeping in the church with a lot of yelling and a few well-placed kicks. It became even harder to hide her growing amusement as a yawning priest married them, Alpin briefly kissed her, and she was hurried out of the church. The sight of the rapidly lightening sky sobered her quickly, however, and she said nothing as she was tossed into the saddle, Alpin mounted behind her, and they raced to the keep.
“Why