A Rough Wooing (9 page)

Her heart lifted and she gave him a radiant
smile. “What makes you think husbands and wives cannot be enemies,
my lord?”

King James overheard her and chortled. “The
lassie has the right o’ it, ye ken.”

Greystoke said gallantly, “Douglas, I’d
rather have you for enemy, than any other woman for friend.”

“Then my answer is
yes
, I will have
you.”

King James slapped Greystoke on the back.
“We’ll ha’ the weddin’ tonicht. The Bishop o’ Carlisle will
officiate. All here are invited tae the celebration. I predict
this’ll be the first o’ many unions betwixt English an’ Scots.”

~~~

“Who giveth this woman to this man?” the
bishop asked.

“I do.” Jock Elliot placed his sister’s hand
in that of her English groom.

Douglas, wearing pale green velvet with its
sleeves embroidered with English roses and Scottish thistles,
looked into Lance’s eyes as he gave his solemn vows.

“I, Lancelot Greystoke, take thee, Douglas
Elliot, to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day
forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness
and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part,
according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my
troth.”

Douglas repeated the same vow, Lancelot
placed a ring on her fourth finger, and the Bishop pronounced them,
“Man and wife together.”

The bride and groom dined at the king’s
table. So many toasts were offered to the newlywed couple, that
most of the celebrants were legless with drink by midnight.

Gavin murmured to Douglas, “Ye got the
thoroughbreds after all, lass.”

“Not without paying an exorbitant price,” she
teased.

Greystoke hid his amusement, as he took her
hand and pulled her to her feet. “The time has come to pay the
piper, Firebrand.”

The couple ran from the hall. “Firebrand be
damned. My name is Lady Greystoke.”

Lance grinned as he swept her into his arms
and carried her up the castle stairs “Aye, I swore I’d make a lady
of you.”

~~~

Hours later, as she lay in his powerful arms,
her heart overflowed with love. “I want to go home to Beaumont Hall
tomorrow.”

His lips brushed the fiery tendrils on her
temple. “You’d rather live in the Borders than follow the king to
London?”

“A thousand times over.”

He kissed her tenderly. “And that’s exactly
why I love you.” He picked up the exquisite mirrored pendant from
the bedside table and handed it to her. “Since you have a
fascination for priceless
objets d’art
, I want you to have
this.”

Douglas blushed. “I should never have stolen
it from you.” She gazed into its mirrored depths. “It belonged to
your grandmother.”

“No, it never did, sweetheart. Actually, you
have more right to it than I do. I found it on the Scottish side of
the Border, at the site of a ruined castle.”

“You lied to me you wicked devil!”

“Then that makes us even.”

She shrugged a shapely shoulder. “But I don’t
want us to be even. I want to be one up on you, Lance
Greystoke.”

He lifted her so that she straddled his hard
body. “Your wish is my command, Firebrand.”

THE END

I hope you enjoyed my novella. It was
originally published in the anthology Masters of Seduction with
five other stories by wonderful authors. The anthology followed the
history of the emerald mirror pendant from the medieval period to
modern times.

To read more about my books please visit my
website at

www.virginiahenley.com