Medieval Ever After (79 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

Maddie tossed and
turned through most of the night, kept awake by the thoughts of all that needed to be done in preparation for her wedding. She found herself torn between fear and elation. Would she be able to be a true wife to Alex? Would he have enough patience for her?

Yet she also rejoiced at the thought of being a true part of his family, of this loving, happy clan who all cherished one another. She hoped her new family would help fill the gap left behind by the loss of her mother and father. Often times, she sensed her mother’s loving spirit lingering near her. Intuition told her that both her ma and da approved of her newfound love.

She rushed through her ablutions so she could find Brenna and discuss the big event. It was late, so she guessed Alex was probably already in the lists with his men even though he belonged in bed. What would happen to Kenneth? She cringed at the thought of Alex killing him in cold blood. Even though she hated her brother, she didn’t want Alex killing him over her. Now that Niles was dead, would Kenneth be willing to agree to her marriage to Alex? She had never understood the agreement between the Comming and her stepbrother, so she was not sure what Kenneth had hoped to gain from her betrothal.

As she reached for the door of her chamber, a loud bellow from below shook the walls. Was that Alex? She opened her door and rushed to the balcony, cringing as soon as she peeked over the railing. Alex stood toe-to-toe with Robbie, both of them clearly angry, and Brodie was directly behind Robbie.

“What do you mean Kenneth escaped, brother? Why was I not told this when it happened?” Alex raged in his brother’s face.

Maddie’s knees quaked as she held the railing to keep steady. Had she heard correctly? Kenneth had
escaped
?

“You were a bit incapacitated, Laird!” Robbie retorted.

“I was not incapacitated. You could have told me when it was discovered!” Alex’s fury radiated from every pore of his body.

“Since you were flat on your arse with your arms around a lass, I did not think you would answer!”

Robbie and Alex stood nose to nose with their fists clenched. Neither man gave an inch.

A quiet fury emanated from her betrothed. “What exactly are you implying?”

Madeline crept down the stairs silently.

Robbie sighed and lowered his voice. “He escaped around the time Niles was killed. There was a throng of people out of control after the sword fight. By the time Angus got everyone settled down, Kenneth was nowhere to be seen.”

“Why did you no’ go after him then? You are next in charge if I cannot speak.”

“I was busy bringing my bull-headed brother up to his chamber. Next time, I will leave you on the ground,” Robbie spat.

Both brothers continued to stare at each other. Neither moved.

“I will have both you and Brodie flogged for losing my prisoner. You were in charge. You should have prevented it from happening.”

“My hands were full. My laird didn’t give me any warning that he was about to kill a man in front of the entire clan.” Robbie gave Alex a scathing look before whispering, “If those are your wishes, Laird, let me locate the whip for you. I would prefer for you to do the task.”

Alex nodded. “I would be glad to do the honors.”

A high-pitched scream wrenched through the air as wee Jennie tore across the room and latched onto both brothers, wrapping one arm around each brother’s knee. “No whipping, no whipping, no whipping!” She screamed and pummeled Alex’s legs in a frantic fury that sank right to Maddie’s gut.

Alex stepped back and picked up his sister. Maddie’s breath caught at the sight of the tiny fist striking her brother’s broad shoulders. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. “Jennie, I will not whip your brothers.” He sighed as he glanced at Robbie. “I am sorry, little squirrel, to have upset you so.”

Jennie was crying, so her words were choked out around sobs. “Say you are sorry to Robbie. Say you are sorry to Brodie. You promised Papa to love and take care of us all. You cannot whip us.” Hitching sobs continued to pour out of her. “Alex, you have to love Robbie and Brodie. You have to! You almost died, too, like Mama and Da. No one can leave. Promise me. If you whip them, they will leave. I want them to stay. Promise me!”

Alex turned to his brother. “Robbie knows I love you all. I just lost my temper. I am sorry, Robbie, for my threats. Can we sit down at the table, Jennie? We will sit with Robbie.” Alex motioned his brothers over to the table and waved the servants out. He lowered himself carefully, as Jennie’s arms were still wrapped tight around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder.

Madeline tiptoed over from the bottom of the stairway to stand beside Alex.

She whispered with her head down, barely audible. “He has escaped?”

“Aye, but we will find him,” he answered. Alex ran his hand over his face and sighed. “Robbie, tell me everything.”

Madeline attempted to take Jennie from Alex, but she would not budge. She popped her thumb in her mouth for a few seconds, then quickly withdrew it and buried her face in her brother’s chest. After her sobbing subsided, Alex motioned to Robbie.

Robbie began his story. “Angus had the grounds searched right away, but nothing turned up. When I found out last night, I took several men with me and searched the area. We found two of Kenneth’s guards—” he glanced quickly at Jennie, “—sleeping, but there was no sign of Kenneth. Some of his men must have been waiting for him. So many traveled here on horseback to see the fight that tracking was difficult. Most of Comming’s men were released. They chose not to return to his castle, so they all went off to different place. A few requested to swear fealty to you. I have them under guard until you decide what you want to do with them.”

“What about the guards who came with Kenneth?” Alex asked.

“I still have some of the MacDonald men under guard awaiting your decision.”

Brenna entered the great hall from outside and Jennie immediately hopped down and threw herself at her sister. Gathering the wee one in her arms, Brenna made her way to the table and sat.

“As long as we are all here—” Alex reached for Madeline’s hand, “—Maddie and I have an announcement to make, and I hope it will dry your tears, Jennie. Maddie has agreed to be my wife and we plan to marry in a fortnight.”

Jennie bounded out of Brenna’s lap. “Oh, Maddie, you will be my new sister. I am so happy!” She hugged her tight and then ran over to Alex and hugged him, too. “It does make me very happy, Alex. And can we have new bairns, too?”

“Slow down there, little squirrel, first we must marry. I hope someday we have bairns, but not quite yet.” He glanced over at Maddie, who could not help but blush a deep red for everyone.

Brenna stopped short and said, “Did you say a fortnight?”

Alex nodded. “Is that not acceptable, sister?”

“Oh, I think it is possible, but we will be very busy. We need to sew a dress for Maddie and plan a feast. We will also need to notify our neighbors. And what about the priest? We have to get in touch with Father MacGregor to see if he can be here by then.”

“Brenna, you and Maddie let me know what you need. I will plan to free up a portion of my men for extra hunting the week before the feast. If you need more lasses from the village to help out, then hire them. I will not have this put off. I have waited long enough for my bride.” He glanced at Maddie with yearning, and she blushed again. “I have the blushing bride, now let’s get whatever else is necessary.” He leaned over and kissed Maddie’s cheek before heading out the door.

Halfway to the door, Maddie called out, “Alex, what about Kenneth?”

“Maddie, you take care of the wedding, I will take care of your stepbrother. I will not allow him to interfere with our marriage.”

***

Once outside, Alex said to Robbie, “We need to send a messenger with an escort to the king. Plan on leaving in two days. ‘Tis important for him to hear our version of what happened with the Comming and Kenneth, and I must notify him of my plan to wed Madeline. I think he will approve, but I want to do things properly.

“I will have a list from Maddie or Brenna of anything else that is needed for the occasion. Check with me before the messengers leave. They may have invitations to deliver as well. Oh, and we will need to reach Father MacGregor. While you make the arrangements, Brodie and I will ride off in search for Kenneth.”

Several hours later, Alex returned to the keep in his chain mail to search for Maddie, but he did not have far to go. She was perched in her chair, diligently working on a project.

“Maddie, I am leaving shortly to search for Kenneth. I don’t know when I will return, but we should be gone no more than two days.”

She glanced up from her work and gave him a worried look. “I look forward to your safe return, Laird. Please be careful. I fear I will not sleep until you are home safe.” She rose and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Lord, but the lass could take his breath away at times. After she returned to her seat, he peeked over her shoulder and asked, “What are you working on?”

“Oh, you know I enjoy the children. I thought I would make some drawings to go along with my stories for the wee ones. I quite enjoy sketching, especially since it relaxes me. Can you guess what I am drawing?” She turned the image toward him.

Alex stared at his betrothed with wonder. How could one person have this much talent? What else would he learn about his new wife-to-be?

“Maddie, the forest you have drawn looks real enough to touch. I cannot believe you did that with just ink and parchment. Unbelievable!”

“Thank you, Alex. I hope the wee ones will enjoy it.”

She peered off into the distance and spoke softly. “Kenneth hated my drawings. He tore them to shreds. Even the ones I had done years ago with my father. I have not had the chance to sketch since my parents died.” She smiled at her betrothed and said, “Now, I shall try again.”

Alex was without words. He bowed to his betrothed and reached for her hand. He placed a soft kiss on her skin and pulled her close. “I will miss you, my lady.” He kissed her lips deeply and then turned to leave.

***

Maddie spent the next two days on wedding plans. Keeping busy while Alex was away was not as challenging a task as she had expected. The first day, Brenna, Alice, Jennie, and Maddie gathered together in the great hall to decide the directions of their plans.

“First is your dress, Maddie. That will take the longest. I will have the maids bring up the bolts of material we have to see what you like,” Brenna said.

Alice reached over and held Maddie’s hand. “I hope you will do me the honor of allowing me to sew your wedding dress. I owe this to your mother.”

Madeline beamed and said, “Thank you, Alice. You do such beautiful work. I would love to have you sew my dress.”

“Wonderful!” exclaimed Brenna. “What color do you think you would prefer? I hope we have something you like.”

“Oh, I am sure you have many lovely fabrics to choose from. I was hoping for a soft blue. What do you think, Alice?”

“Blue will show off your eyes. Your mother was married in blue as well. But it has to be just the right shade.”

“We will check later,” Brenna said.

“Can I have a special dress, Brenna? I want to be beautiful, too,” Jennie chimed in with a hopeful expression on her face.

“Of course, Jennie. We shall find something special for you to do. Mayhap we could give you a basket of flower petals to toss at the chapel. How does that sound?” Brenna asked.

“Aye, I want to throw petals at Maddie and Alex!” she cried out.

“What else must we do, Brenna?” Maddie asked. “I am afraid I do not have much experience with arranging wedding feasts.”

“We must notify some of the smaller clans under Alex’s domain. They would like to see their laird and his new bride. We can send notice with the messengers who go to the king.

“‘Twill take massive amounts of food, as the warriors and the clan members in the cottages will be feasting as well as the neighboring clans,” Brenna said. “We shall hopefully have pheasant, lamb, pigs, and small game, along with some fish. I want to have many meat pies to offer in case we run out of meat. Mayhap if we are lucky, the men will catch a deer or two—perhaps even a wild boar. Alex said he would send them out to hunt. We must obtain extra help from the clan women to prepare the meal. They will love participating in the event. The laird’s wedding must show our strength and pride in our clan for all to witness.”

“We need a lot of fruit tarts, Brenna. You know I love fruit tarts. Can we have apple and pear tarts? Please?” Jennie begged.

“Do not worry your pretty wee head, there shall be many sweets to choose from,” said Brenna. “I think you can help Cook in the kitchen with the pastries, too. We will all have to work together.”

“Aye, I would love to help Cook. Mayhap she will let me try one when it is still warm.” Jennie’s eyes turned blissful at the thought.

“We also need to have the men put up tents in the outer bailey, but that can wait a while. Alex may decide to hold some jousting tournaments for entertainment. I will let him decide what entertainment he wants at the wedding feast. Och, there is much to do! But we will make merry doing it,” Brenna declared with a smile on her face.