Spellbound (13 page)

Maighdlin
needed no urging. She jumped from the bed, nearly tumbling from it, and raced down the corridor as if the hounds of hell were at her heels. In Kade’s chamber, she slipped into his bed and wrapped the blanket tightly about herself. She tried not to think of how she’d had to be the one to shatter Kade’s reality…to tear to shreds the dream of the woman he’d loved and held close. To tell him Fenalla was not who he thought her to be.

When
he was alone, fighting in a strange land, his life flashing before his eyes on many a battlefield, did he dream of coming home to Fenalla, of making children by the fire’s light? Did he see her face every night before he fell asleep in some glen or on some hillside?

Och,
Kade, I am no witch and I am no liar. And ye are hurting so much. I wish I could take away yer pain despite what ye’ve done to me. I wish I could show ye that we are the light and magic in this world…. There is no such thing as a witch. The magic is what we say and feel. And sometimes what we do. Ye came home full of so much hope…only to find yer dearest slaughtered and burned. And then ye came and sought me out, yer heart full of revenge and rage. I didna expect…

Maighdlin
sat up abruptly.
The fire in the hearth crackled. The jagged lightning had gone but a merciless rain still pounded the countryside and the moss-covered mountains. She realized with alarm that she couldna hate Kade MacAlister.

When
he kissed her, she shared his warm breath. There was need, lust, and something else in that vulnerable moment, something other than rage, hurt, and revenge. She’d dreamt of being kissed like that a thousand times. But the moment was gone now, and surely Kade hated her once again with all of his being.

She
tried to close her eyes but could not. She listened to the thunder and kept a watch on the door, waiting for Kade. Trying not to think about how she would be wed tomorrow to a man who could not ever truly love her.

26

It was not servants who arrived first the next morning, but Addie.

Slowly
Maighdlin rose from the bed. Her head ached dully from a fitful sleep. Addie hugged her. “Me husband! He’s mending. He’s goin’ to live! Oh, thank ye, lass, thank ye!” There were tears of joy brimming in the plump woman’s eyes. She wiped at them clumsily.

“
I am glad to hear it,” Maighdlin said. “Truly I am.”

Addie
frowned. “Ye look pale. Are ye scared? Today being yer wedding day….”

Maighdlin
nodded.

“
There, there lass. Kade can be a hard man, but he isna without a heart.”

“
He hates me,” Maighdlin said.

“
Kade reserves his hate only for those who ha’e truly earned it, lass.”

“
’Twould seem I ha’e truly earned it. And ‘tis not the wedding I fear, Addie, but what comes after.” She didn’t tell Addie about the necklace.

“
Kade may be a hardened man, but I know in my heart, lass, he would never hurt ye the way Tomas did.”

Maighdlin
sighed. “I am no’ so sure.”

“
Kade would ne’er take a woman by force, no’ e’en one he considers an enemy. I tell ye, he is a good man. But let us talk no more of what distresses ye so. Come. Sit by the fire. Let me brush yer hair.” Addie took her hand. “Lord, yer cold. Warm yerself by the fire.”

Maighdlin
sat down while Addie brushed her hair. It was then she found herself telling Addie about Niall and Fenalla, about the necklace and where she’d found it. Addie listened, amazed.

“
He hates me, Addie. He believes me to be the daughter of Brodie MacKinnon, a man I have ne’er e’en met! A man responsible for all the sorrow that has recently befallen this clan.” Maighdlin’s soul felt as heavy as her mud-hung skirts after being caught in a meadow in a punishing rain. It was a moment or two before she realized that Addie had stopped brushing her hair.

“
How do ye feel about
him
, lass?”

27

Maighdlin was bathed and then dressed in another woman’s wedding gown.
Fenalla is the one who’s supposed to be wedding Kade today
, she thought
.

On
her feet, she wore fine leather slippers worked with gold. Slippers meant for someone else. It wasn’t Maighdlin’s fault that Fenalla and Niall had fallen in love. It wasn’t her fault that Brodie had caused such treachery and sorrow. And yet, here she stood, her slim body’s curves accentuated by the silky, soft wedding gown with its tapered waist and voluminous, flowing folds. Her dark, shiny hair had been pinned up and wound in a becoming manner. Not that it mattered.

“
There, there,” Addie said. “Yer beautiful.”

Maighdlin
was too numb to speak.

As
she descended the stairs, her feet leaden, servants before her and servants trailing after her, she could hear the noise of many gathered there. Her stomach felt queasy, and her heart beat quickly. When she finally reached the bottom of the stairs and was officially presented, it grew quiet. She was greeted by a sea of expectant faces. There were more people in that tapestry graced hall, with its roaring fires and candles and tankards of whisky, than she’d ever seen in her small village.

She
was drawn through the crowd, drawn past leering faces, brushed by their plaids and their skirts, treated to their whispers and stares. She could not help overhearing them.
Witch.

Boldly
she raised her chin. Her eyes met Kade’s. He stood before the great hearth, next to a small, elderly kirkman. Kade seemed to tower over the gray-haired man, and his expression was unreadable. He was dressed in brogues, trews, a white linen shirt, and his clan’s plaid. A flashing topaz brooch was pinned to the plaid, as it was the first day she’d laid eyes on him, in the woods. He was more handsome than ever, and his dark looks reached into her very womb. She was terrified. Still, she didna look away.

Desperately
then, she searched for a sign of Niall but there was none.

As
she stood by Kade’s side, the kirkman began to speak. Maighdlin heard not a word of it, for her heart beat hard in her chest and her vision swam. Kade’s grip on her arm tightened. “Are ye alright, my love? I wouldna want ye to faint and miss this blessed event,” he hissed. He stared hard at her lips. “Tell me love, what do ye see, a future of happiness and bliss with yer fine bridegroom?”

His
grip on her arm grew tighter. “I am no fool, Christel.” He placed something about her neck. Fenalla’s necklace.
So, he hadna forgiven her for finding it. He wouldna trust her.
He heard her quick intake of breath. “Ye might as well keep it.” Murmurs swept the crowd.

Maighdlin
felt tears brim in her eyes but stared straight ahead. The man seething with hurt, rage, and revenge was back.

Men
and women sat on chairs and benches, some at the great table, which brimmed with food and whisky cups. Many even sat on the floors, their platters in their laps. Maighdlin looked at the thin, sharp-featured kirkman and did not trust herself to speak.

“
Do ye both freely consent to this match?” There was a lengthy pause. But then she did speak. And then Kade spoke. He answered the kirkman’s questions in a voice that carried loud and strong. They exchanged rings. And then they were married. In a heartless ceremony. The kirkman mumbled something about the religious education of children, domestic peace, and mutual fidelity.

Kade
ripped his plaid and tore her sleeve, tying them together, symbolizing that their two families were now joined. Then he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, almost as if it disgusted him to touch her in any way.

They
were led to the great table, and Maighdlin sat numbly by Kade’s side as people laughed, drank, and cheered. Not all, though. Some just stared. Among them was Amaris, dressed in a deep blue gown that only enhanced her startling, dark beauty. She clutched Davina’s small hand in hers. Amaris gave Maighdlin a shy smile that contained no malice, and she and her small daughter approached the table. “Davina would like to give ye something,” Amaris said. Kade stared intently at the child. Davina placed a bouquet of white heather on the table, tied with a shiny red ribbon.

“
Thank you, Davina, it’s beautiful,” Maighdlin said. “Thank ye,” Kade said. Davina gave them a bright smile. “Yer welcome, my lady, and my laird,” the child said. “It’s for good luck.”

“
And?” Amaris prompted.

“
And I’m sorry, my lady, for spilling the wine.” Maighdlin nodded.

“
Amaris,” Kade said.

“
Yes, my laird?”

“
You and Davina will always be welcome here, and I will make sure my brother’s child is always looked after.”

Amaris
looked as surprised as Maighdlin at Kade’s kind words. She nodded and led her daughter back through the crowd, where children played impishly while a very old man played a pipe.

“
Playing pipes is difficult,” Kade remarked.

“
Listening to them can also be difficult,” Maighdlin quipped.

Ian,
who sat to Kade’s left, laughed. “Aye, especially when the piper is a hundred and eighty and has had too much to drink.”

“
It sounds like he swallowed a cow,” Maighdlin said.

Ian
laughed again. “Aye, my lady, that it does. A large, ornery cow.”

Maighdlin
didn’t really see anything after that. She felt listless as her groom cut the cake. She didn’t eat much. She couldn’t, for her stomach was in knots. But she was thirsty, her mouth dry, so she drank ale. Kade did not speak to her, and only once did he look over the brim of his cup at her, his eyes a gold-brown steel. Maighdlin’s fingers absently caressed the bouquet of white heather. “They say ‘tis unlucky to marry in the month of May,” she said.

Kade
frowned. He stood and hauled her against him. “Come, wife, dance with yer new husband.” He gave her no choice.

As
the drunken piper played, he led her, holding her close, his cheek, rough with a day’s growth of whiskers, brushing her own. The piper played faster, and Kade continued to lead and command her body as if she were a rag doll. He jolted her about. She was bent this way and that, his hard body pressed always against her own, until she grew breathless and dizzy. He leaned close so his lips brushed her ear. “Yer mine now, Christel.”

He
finally led her back to the table, where he grabbed his tankard and raised it high. “There is no greater clan than ours! We will rise up from our tragedy and sorrows!” he shouted and drained his cup. There were drunken cheers all around. He was brought another tankard, and another. Pottery was thrown to the floor and broken. There was more dancing and laughing. Children grew sleepy and rested on their mothers’ laps. Kade did not speak to her. But his eyes fell on her many times after they danced, and they blazed with an intensity that frightened her. She hoped Addie was right, that he would not hurt her in his bed.

The
candles in their sconces had burnt low when Kade finally took Maighdlin’s hand, wordlessly, and led her from the great hall amidst ribald cheers and applause.

“
Give her a taste of the fierce MacAlister blade!”

“
Aye, wield that mighty sword ‘til she begs for mercy!”

28

He practically dragged her up the stone stairs and through the damp, darkened corridors, followed by the kirkman and a crowd made merry by drink. After the priest blessed the nuptial bed and left, Kade thrust the door shut.

They
heard the crowd begin to drift back downstairs. They were alone. He stared at her. “Are ye afraid of me, Christel? Do ye think me a monster?”

Maighdlin
stood in Fenalla’s wedding finery, facing her new husband, not sure what to say, clenching her fists at her sides. His ragged dancing had forced strands of her hair to fall loose from where they’d been pinned up, and they tumbled about her flushed face. “Nay,” she said.

“
Ye lie yet again, little witch. I see the fear in yer eyes. I see everything in your beautiful eyes.”

Unconsciously,
Maighdlin took a step back.

“
Aye, ye
should
be afraid of me, Christel. Mayhap I am the monster everyone now believes me to be.” He paced. Then stopped, his eyes traveling boldly and leisurely over her body. Her face flamed with shame, his penetrating gaze making her feel as if she stood naked before him.

She
didn’t want to think about Tomas, about before, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to think about Kade’s jutting blade between her legs, didn’t want to remember the pain and the blood when Tomas….

Kade
turned, presenting her with his broad back. “Dunna fash yerself princess, for I have lost all appetite to bed ye, the daughter of a
MacKinnon
. I canna forget who ye are, especially this night. All those times I dreamed of coming home from Ireland, of having Fenalla by my side, of bedding her this night. What did ye think would happen after ye told me yer lies? That I would believe ye, and then just forgive Niall and Fenalla?”

“
They were no’ lies, Kade. They are truths ye dunna want to behold. What more proof do ye need than the necklace? And how would I know where it was unless Niall’s spirit had told me where to find it?”

Kade
did not speak. He left her alone, and after he’d gone, Maighdlin removed the necklace and placed it in a chest. She went to bed, her heart as cold as the necklace.