Highlander's Kiss

by Amy Isan

  Before she started to put it on, she didn’t even consider that it might not fit. After struggling a bit with the hips, it slipped over her waist and clung against her skin like a finely crafted glove. She was shocked she didn’t have to adjust the bodice. She moved in front of the dark mirror near the hearth and admired herself in the flickering and stubborn light.

  The dress flowed over her like a waterfall, effortless and sleek. She ran her hands over the fabric and gasped as how tightly woven it was. It was unlike anything she had ever touched. She dared to consider it better and more lovely than the dress she had prepared for herself back at Eilean Donan, which made her feel a twinge of bittersweet joy.

  In the morning she would finally be wed to Gavin MacKenzie, the man she should have been married to for years already. She couldn’t have wished for a better man, and under the extreme circumstances, a better way to exact revenge on Robert Maxwell by turning the tables on him. With all the witnesses in the land and his own authority, the marriage would be as good as gold. Especially if they were able to unmask Maxwell’s plot. The only problem was Katrine escaping and ruining everything.

  Elyn slipped the dress off and hung it back on the bed. She climbed under the covers and sighed contentedly. The dry and soft sheets were a welcome change from the wet and hard wood of the last couple of nights. She turned over and stared at the wall, thinking about Katrine. What if she escaped from Gregary’s watchful eye? If that happened, hopefully Gavin and Elyn would already be married, but that didn’t mean Robert wouldn’t kill them both.

  Elyn considered how satisfying it would be if Robert discovered what he had done, but she knew deep down he couldn’t find out before they found the will. It was a fantasy to think they could rub it in his face immediately and get away alive. Not without an army backing them up at the gates of the castle. Even then... it was too dangerous. Elyn bit her lip and fought away the anxiety building in her chest.

  At the very least... she got to see Gavin one last time. If she could keep up the charade long enough, maybe she could convince Robert to spare Gavin, seeing as he would be Robert’s new son-in-law. That wouldn’t be too difficult, would it; convincing a man to spare his daughter’s new husband? Maybe he could be convinced that the highlands would still be his, even without the MacKenzie clansmen fighting for him.

  No. They had to find the will. Elyn briefly imagined breaking into the King’s chambers that night, and pilfering the will. But if it was in there, surely Robert would have already found it? The chamber was completely torn apart, after all.

  She tossed and turned, the bed suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable.

  She couldn’t bear the thought. After some time of restlessness, sleep finally gripped her and took her away. In her dreams, Gavin was next to her, his arm wrapped over her shoulder, and his lips steaming on the back of her neck. She let out a small gasp as she imagined it, forcing herself to lay still and leave the illusion unbroken.

  Chapter 11: Elyn

  Elyn woke with a start. She threw herself upright and stared around the room, confused and upset that she didn’t recognize her surroundings. She shook her head furiously and tried to rub the fog from her eyes. It was only on her second yawn that she remembered where she was and what the sunlight that morning meant. It was her wedding day.

  She leapt from her bed and tossed the sheets on the floor in a crumpled heap. She snatched Katrine’s hair pins off the bedside table and started dressing her hair up to match the day before. After, she cleaned herself as best as possible before slipping the gleaming emerald gown back on.

  A knock on the door surprised her. She stared at the hard slats of wood. “Who is it?”

  “We’re here to help ye get ready for your wedding, Lady Maxwell.”

  Elyn sighed, not used to being helped with anything. She hadn’t expected to be waited on. She stomped to the door and pulled it open, revealing the wide eyes of a servant.

  “Lady! You’ve already dressed!” she gasped.

  Elyn resisted rolling her eyes and waved her in. She shut the door behind the servant, who seemed apologetic.

  “I’m so sorry to disturb ye! King Maxwell insisted I come down here and help ye.”

  Elyn froze up and shook her head. “It’s fine, I was too excited to wait. Just... let’s keep this between us. What’s yer name?”

  The woman nodded. “Moira.”

  “Moira,” Elyn repeated, smiling immediately. The name of her mother. She wished she could share that with the servant, but she couldn’t blow her cover. “That’s a nice name.”

  Moira blushed and looked away. “It’s good enough. Now let’s see,” she said. She tugged at Elyn’s dress and tried to loosen it, and she gasped. “This fits perfectly, I canae believe it. And without taking any of your measurements, too!

  Elyn turned crimson.

  She shook her head. “Looks like you’re already ready to go then. Ye look lovely.”

  Elyn nodded. “Thank ye.” She bit her lip and turned away to look out the window over the unfamiliar highlands. She wished she was looking out from Eilean Donan, but she had to make due. It wasn’t important where she was, after all. Only who she was going to be with. She laughed a little. “It’s funny,” she said, a bit of a twinkle in her eye. She wasn’t talking to Moira so much as she was just reminding herself. “I didnae think I’d ever get married. Can ye believe that?”

  Moira shook her head and smiled. “It’s been a long time comin’, waiting for yer marriage to Gavin. I hope he’s a kind man... I’ve only heard bad things.”

  Elyn bristled and turned to Moira, her gaze narrowing. She furrowed her brow and shook her head. “I’ve only heard good things, and I donae know if it’s proper for ye to be commenting on my husband-to-be.” She channeled how she thought Katrine might speak to a servant, but the feelings were real.

  Moira frowned and shut her eyes. “I’m sorry, yer right.” She turned to leave. “I’ll be going, it seems like ye have it under control.”

  Elyn frowned and called after her. “I’m sorry, lass, I’m nervous, is all.”

  Moira smiled. “That’s normal, I felt the same way on me weddin’ day.” She paused, thinking. “Do ye want me to tidy up yer hair?”

  Elyn nodded, a smile spreading across her face. “Aye, that'd be lovely.”

  After Moira finished braiding and decorating Elyn's hair, she stepped back and beamed. “Very well. I'll let ye get finished up, I'll see ye outside.” She slipped out of the chamber and clicked the door shut.

  Elyn admired at herself in the mirror again. She traced her hands along her waist and smiled, tickled that her cheeks were so rosy. For being out in the highlands for the last couple of days, and in a dungeon before that, she cleaned up pretty well.

  ***

  Gavin’s dungeon door pounded. He had been awake since the sun rose that morning, preparing himself as best he could in the meager chamber. A guard walked into the room, carrying a bucket of water. He stared through the cell bars.

  “Yer awake already. Good. Now I donae have to waste any water waking ye.” He gestured for Gavin to move to the cell entrance. After Gavin approached, he peered into the cell.

  “Where are the others?”

  Gavin answered quickly, anticipating the question. “Colin took them away... he wouldn’t say where.”

  The guard chuckled. “Old fool.” He unlocked the door and let him Gavin out.

  “Come with me,” the guard said. “Canae have you stinking up the entire hall, we’ll get ye ready.”

  Gavin followed the guard out of the dungeon chamber and up into the living quarters. He was presented a clean room that one of the servants offered up for him to get ready in. The guard explained, “If he wed you to his daughter with how ye are now, it’d be making a mockery of all of Scotland.”

  Gavin nodded and didn’t say a word. The guard threw up his hands and sighed, before leaving. When Gavin was alone, he finally looked over the clothes that had been set out for him. Traditi
onal highland garb: a dirk, a kilt and argyle. He grinned as he slipped the clothes on, they weren’t new or especially clean, but they were more comfortable than the dirty furs and tattered cloth he had been wearing. He washed his face and made himself presentable, tying back his hair and admiring himself in the mirror.

  Today, he’d marry Elyn MacDonald. He had been destined for this day, and he laughed at the thought that despite all the efforts of Robert and his clan, it would still happen. Even after twenty years of planning and scheming, he was still destined to wed her. He beamed, his cheeks turning a dull ache of red as his heart raced at the idea. Even as convoluted and strange as the circumstances were, he knew right then, he wouldn’t have it any other way. At the end of the morning, his hands would be fasted with Elyn’s forever and ever.

  He brushed the wrinkles from his clothing and donned his dirk. It was a dull replica of the real thing, and Gavin smirked at the idea that Robert might have exchanged the real one on purpose. The man was clever, but not clever enough. He considered Elyn’s plan to discover the hidden will, and how far Barron must be from reaching Eilean Donan. He must already be on his way back with men, didn’t he? Gavin gulped. He knew that the plan wasn’t foolproof, especially if Katrine was in the castle somewhere, but it was their only shot. Despite his fear, he couldn’t help but smile.

  He could finally give Elyn the wedding he hadn’t been able to before.

  ***

  Elyn was escorted from her room by two maidens. They carried the small train of her gown and walked quietly behind her, while servants and guards throughout the halls smiled and waved her on. She couldn’t help but blush, even though she wondered if they would be as joyful if they knew who she really was.

  She was led outside the castle and to the church. She eyed the stables suspiciously as they passed by them, wondering if Katrine was awake and watching through a slat in the wood. If she was still planning on trying to stop the wedding. Why wouldn’t she be? Elyn pushed the thought from her mind, not wanting the maidens or bystanders to be confused by her knitted brow and frown. She waited outside the church and the maidens peered in for her.

  Moira turned to Elyn. “Looks like they’re nearly ready. Are ye ready?”

  Elyn nodded vigorously, with more excitement than she meant to expose. “Aye.”

  Moira chuckled and waved Elyn forward.

  Elyn passed through the doors to the church and found the pews filled with villagers and highlanders. They all turned to her as she stepped in, and she flushed immediately. Her eyes scanned the villagers, and she saw Gregary sitting among the highlanders. Her heart skipped a beat, but he caught her eye and nodded. So, Katrine was secured. Elyn stared ahead and saw Gavin standing at the front of the church, clearly doing his best to restrain his excitement. She felt bad that he had to pretend at all — where she could be as overjoyed as she wanted. It’s what Katrine surely would have done. Presiding over the service was the false King, Robert Maxwell. He lowered his eyes and grinned as he spotted Elyn, and she felt her stomach twist a bit.

  The pipes started playing a gaelic song, one that Elyn had never heard before. She felt her heart swell as she stepped forward, moving delicately toward Gavin. Her eyes were fixed on his, and she couldn’t control her breathing. He slipped a little smile, and she grinned even wider. Her cheeks flushed deep red, and he fumbled with his hands. Dressed in his kilt and argyle, he was more man than Elyn had dreamed, even after she had seen him on the battlefield. Her heart swelled as she stepped up to his level. The pipes quieted, and she kept her eyes locked with his.

  Robert breathed deeply, his sigh disrupting her reverie. He began to recite the wedding vows, and as he did, he pulled Gavin and Elyn’s hands together. They threaded their fingers and clasped their palms, and Robert began to tie a length of ribbon around their wrists.

  “As this ribbon is knotted, it symbolizes the mortal, yet everlasting, connection your two souls will make. Never ending, until death parts your soul from your bodies.”

  Elyn felt tears welling her eyes, only barely listening to Robert’s voice. It was as if the entire room and the world had faded away into the background, and the only thing she could hear was the rush of blood in her ears and the brush of the ribbon against her wrist. Gavin beamed and his eyes wetted, but he miraculously maintained his composure. She bit her lip as Robert trailed off, and then she heard Gavin say the words that promised him to her forever: “I do.”

  Robert seemed satisfied with his answer, and then he turned to Elyn and repeated the question. She nodded and felt a tear break free and stream down her cheek, dropping from her chin to her dress. “I do.”

  Robert tightened the knot on the ribbon and stretched out his arms. Gavin and Elyn kissed, their propriety fading as the kiss lengthened. Robert beamed and stated the newly decreed couple as, “Gavin and Katrine MacKenzie.”

  Elyn was lost though, still flushed with emotions and adrenaline. She wrapped her arm around Gavin’s neck as he slipped his behind her back, pulling her up and closer to him. As Robert lowered his arms, he chuckled a wicked laugh. He lowered his voice so only Gavin and Elyn could hear him. “Now that I have your Kingdom, Gavin, I donae have much use for ye...”

  Gavin stared at him. Elyn tugged on Gavin’s shoulder, trying to dissuade him from doing something foolish. The door to the church clanged open, and a disheveled woman dropped her hands to her knees, breathing heavily. Elyn felt her heart sink.

  “Stop! Stop the ceremony!”

  Elyn turned on Robert and saw his face contorting with anger. His lip curled up as a vein throbbed in his forehead.

  “Katrine?” Robert shouted, his voice holding an exasperated edge to it. Katrine looked haggard, and Elyn cursed under her breath. Gavin quickly slung his arm under her and picked her up, and ran down the aisle and past Katrine. The crowd seemed to be at a standstill, shock freezing them in place. The two had already slipped out the open door of the church by the time they heard Robert’s howl from inside the walls. His voice was too distant to make out, but the tone carried everything they needed to know: they were dead in the water.

  Gavin started toward the castle gates, and headed directly for the stables. Elyn shook his shoulder and dragged his attention to the castle entrance. “Go back inside there! We have to find the will!”

  Gavin turned abruptly, shifting his grip on Elyn to keep her from falling. She stared past his shoulder and watched for men to start pouring out of the church. Two guards sprang out and looked around, before pointing and yelling at Elyn and her highlander. She pleaded for Gavin to move faster.

  After Gavin reached the entrance, he pushed past the confused guards and ran up the hallway toward the stairs. Elyn was bewildered, she couldn’t believe that Katrine had barged in just in time.

  Elyn laughed, nearly knocking Gavin off balance as he ascended the stairs two steps at a time, still holding Elyn in his arms.

  “What is it?”

  “Did ye see Robert’s face?”

  Gavin shook his head, but cracked a smile anyway. “Where to? Why are we here?”

  “The King’s chambers, there! We have to find the will!” Elyn pointed to the king’s chamber at the top of the stairs. Gavin raced to it and set Elyn down. He tried the door, but the handle only jiggled against the lock. As he threw his weight into it, it shivered. Elyn stared down the stairs, the sound of armour and swords following close behind them. “Hurry!”

  With another powerful shove, the door broke free from the lock. They clamored inside and pushed over a bookshelf, dumping books across the floor. Elyn started digging through the mess, papers and ledgers scattered all over the place. A couple piles of ashes at the front of the fireplace made her heart sink. Had it already been destroyed?

  Gavin pulled on another piece of furniture and shoved it against the door. Just as he pulled back from it, the mob outside met the door and slammed against it. The wood creaked loudly but stopped abruptly against the bookshelf. Gavin looked around and found a fire poker,
wielding it like a blade. He turned to Elyn, his hair fraying and falling into his face with sweat. “Where is it!”

  Elyn threw her hands up, looking around the room in a frenzy. “I donae know!” She collapsed to her knees and pulled some fallen papers from underneath the bed. The door shivered again and the wood cracked. The bookshelf slid against the stone floor, and Gavin shoved it back into place.

  “Come out!” a voice called from outside. Gavin scowled and cursed.

  On her knees, Elyn stared at the paper. It was nothing. She reached under the bed a bit deeper and felt around for anything else that might have fallen, and she felt a seam in the stonework. She probed it with her fingers. “I might have found something!” she called out. She collapsed to her stomach and peered under the bed, but it was too dark. She scrambled back to her feet. “Help me move this!”

  Gavin dropped the fire poker and came to her side. Together, they grabbed the corner of the bed and shoved on it, its legs clawed the stonework and buckled as the floor ripped the wood apart. It shuddered to a stop, and Elyn fell to her knees again. “A bit more!”

  Gavin, alone, shoved on the bed again, groaning as its weight gave way to his strength. It shuddered and moved again, before one of the legs collapsed and the bed fell lopsided. It was enough. The loose stone that Elyn had touched was exposed, and she noticed there were several of them. She moved nearer and pried at the stone, pulling it up in fragments.

  Underneath the stones, she found the corner of some paper sticking out of the pulverized sand and dirt. She fished it out and found a sealed letter with a familiar insignia on it: King James’.

  “I found it, here it is! This has to be it!” Elyn said. She sprung to her feet and handed it to Gavin. He stared at it in disbelief, brushing the seal with his thumb. The army outside slammed against the door again, and it gave way, splintering and collapsing into pieces over the downturned bookshelf. Gavin snatched the fire poker and threw his arm in front of Elyn, before standing his ground.