Rhoenne finished and stood, genuflected, then turned back to his men. They didn’t speak until they were in the hall outside the chapel.
“It is in the Lord’s hands now, lads,” he told them.
“The Lord has certainly been heavy-handed with your blessings thus far, I would say,” Grant remarked.
“True,” Rhoenne agreed.
“Sometimes I envy you. Still.”
“’Twill be your turn soon enough, cousin. The English king granted your entreaty a sennight ago. You heard the decree. Your royal wife is on her way to you.”
“Aye. Finally. And that, under threat of rebellion.”
“Well, Grant.” Rhoenne clapped a hand to his cousin’s shoulder. “The twists of love are ever harsh. But, oh! The rewards are mighty.”
Someone groaned.
“What? You do na’ like my prose? I’m told ’tis a family trait. I’ve a troubadour in my past.” Rhoenne clapped his hands. “But come. Enough chatter. We should retreat to the Chieftain’s chamber. It has a grand span of floor. We will have need of it.”
Several men groaned.
“You ken I’ve got to keep moving. This waiting and worrying grows burdensome. Takes years off a man. And here I thought ’twould would get easier.”
“You do na’ appear worried, my laird.”
“Trust me. I am.”
“Na’ so much as the first time though,” Euan remarked. “You did na’ slacken or allow any rest for hours!”
“You even had us race you around the loch!” another man added.
“And that after taking on all challengers on the list!” another man added.
“All right. All right.” Rhoenne held up a hand. “You are right. I was a trifle overwrought. And to what end?”
“Soreness to every muscle I claim,” Euan quipped.
Rhoenne considered. “In that event, we’d best order a keg delivered to us in the Chieftain’s Room.”
Cheers followed that statement before they started back to the Great Hall. The area had altered considerably since they’d just been there. Servants were at work, spreading rushes, pulling tables and benches into place, removing the partition around the dais, working without chatter or noise, as if the entire castle was also hovering in wait. Tense. Dogged with worry.
Rhoenne threaded his way around benches and tables, guardsmen in single file behind him. They were halfway across the room when a shout from above stopped everything.
“My laird! Rhoenne!”
“’Tis the bairns?” he shouted back.
The woman gestured for him and ducked back into the darkness. Rhoenne ran for the steps, took them two at a time, arrived at the landing before she’d reached his chamber door again. He didn’t know if anyone followed. His pulse had overtaken his hearing.
“Well? Is it the bairns?”
She nodded, then shook her head.
“What the blazes does that mean?” Rhoenne croaked.
“I am na’ allowed to say,” she confided and just then the door opened.
Rhoenne shoved past her and raced across the floor to the bed. He leapt atop the platform to kneel beside where Cassandra reclined, propped up with pillows behind her shoulders. She was still. Her eyes shut. His heart stopped. But then she sensed him, opened her eyes, and gave him a smile.
And nothing had ever looked so sweet.
“Oh, Cassandra! Thank God! I thought—! Feared for a moment that—!”
His voice choked too much to continue. He plucked her hand from the cover and lifted it to his lips where she couldn’t fail to feel his trembling.
Her smile warmed yet her eyes filled with tears, making the golden depths luminous.
“Oh, Rhoenne.”
She looked up and blinked rapidly. His hand tightened on hers.
“My love?”
“Have you seen...the babe?”
“My world revolves around you, my lady wife. All else can wait.”
She swiped at her lashes with her free hand, before speaking to someone behind him. “Would you bring the babe, Meggie?” she asked.
“The bairn?” Rhoenne repeated.
Cassandra nodded.
“We do na’ have twins?”
“No.”
“But...it is healthy?”
“Yes. And large.”
“Then I do na’ see the reason for tears.”
She moved to adjust herself. Rhoenne was instantly on his feet and assisting. As soon as she’d settled, he sat on the mattress edge beside her. They watched a trio of women approach, Margaret in the center, carrying the babe. Cassandra opened her arms, and the swaddled infant was settled into her arms.
He’d rarely beheld anything as beautiful as her expression.
His wife hadn’t been entirely accurate. To his eye, the newborn didn’t look much bigger than the others. There wasn’t much difference at all. It had the same amount of black hair. Small chin. Puckered lips.
Rhoenne touched a tiny hand with his finger. “Having just one will take some getting used to,” he remarked.
“That’s not the only difference, love.”
One of the women giggled.
“Truly?”
“May I present...our daughter!” she announced.
“A lass? We have a lass?”
She nodded.
The rush of emotion slammed into his nose and rocketed off his head. Rhoenne gave a whoop that startled everyone except his baby girl.
“I take it you are pleased?” Cassandra actually asked.
“Verra much so. I am beyond blessed. And thankful. And praise be to God she was na’ our firstborn.”
There was a collective gasp from just about everyone. Only Cassandra looked at him without expression.
“Cassandra. Love. Do na’ you see? She will take after her mother. Thank God she has four elder brothers. I’m going to need all the help I can get protecting her.”
THE END
Highlander series
LADY OF THE KNIGHT
TENDER IS THE KNIGHT
THE KNIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
HEAT OF THE KNIGHT
A KNIGHT WELL SPENT
ONCE UPON A KNIGHT
KNIGHT EVERLASTING
THE KNIGHT AND WHITE SATIN
A PERFECT KNIGHT FOR LOVE
LAIRD OF BALLANCLAIRE
KNIGHT BEYOND BLACK (Highland Hunger)
FOREVER KNIGHT
* * *
Vampire Assassin League Series
KNIGHT AFTER KNIGHT
BE STILL MY HEART
DEARLY BELOVED
WE ARE GATHERED
TOGETHER TO JOIN
THIS MAN AND WOMAN
FOREVER AS ONE
SHOULD THERE BE
ANYONE HERE
WITH JUST CAUSE
WHY THESE TWO
CANNOT UNITE
LET THEM SPEAK
NOW OR FOREVER
HOLD THEIR PEACE
DO YOU TAKE
THIS VAMPIRE AS
A FOREVER MATE
TO HAVE
AND TO HOLD
TO LOVE
TO HONOR
AND TO CHERISH
FOR RICHER
AND RICHER
FORSAKING
ALL OTHERS
AS LONG AS
YOU BOTH
EXIST
WHEN IT COMES
TIME TO DIE
BE NOT LIKE
THOSE WHOSE HEARTS
About the Author
Jackie Ivie lives in the beautiful state of Alaska with her husband and pets. She started her writing career in 2004 with a Highlander adventure romance series through Kensington Publishing. She’s now working on at least one of the following:
ARE FILLED - #35 in the VAMPIRE ASSASSIN LEAGUE series,
ANNIHILATE - #3 in the PORTALS OF TIME series,
TRAPPED - #3 in the CHRONICLES OF THE HUNTED series,
or Book #2 in the new VALOR AND
STEEL series
She can be reached at PO Box 90226, Anchorage AK 99509-0026