“Thank you, Will,” Alan said, his heart full to bursting.
“My time grows short,” Will said, his voice fading. He took the form of light once again and spiraled into the night sky, disappearing among the stars.
“Is he gone?” Jessamine asked, staring up at the millions of glistening lights overhead.
“I don’t think so.” Alan put his arm around her. He pulled her close. “He’s been guiding us all along. I doubt he’ll abandon us until the ark is truly safe.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
The next day, as the sun reached its zenith, Alan, Jessamine, Simon, and the rest of the Templar troops stood in the bailey of Stonehyve Castle. Within moments of the gate’s opening, Jessamine found herself engulfed in the arms of William Keith’s wife, Siobhan.
“We are so very pleased to have you here with us.” Siobhan stepped back to look at her, but didn’t release Jessamine’s hands.
“ ’Tis a miracle, indeed!” William Keith grasped Alan in a playful hug, but Jessamine didn’t miss the sheen of tears in the warrior’s eyes. “How in Hades did you survive the battle of Teba? If we’d known, we would have stayed and—”
“William, I understand,” Alan said with a gentle smile. “The memories of that battle are behind us.”
“That they are,” William agreed and nodded toward the ark, which had been placed near the two men. “I see your stay in the Holy Land was an adventurous one.”
“I’ve brought the ark to you for safekeeping until it can be placed with the other treasures.”
“Stonehyve Castle’s walls are secure,” William promised, then stepped forward to address all the men in the bailey. “Come inside. My good wife and I have prepared a wedding feast for Alan and Jessamine.” He turned to them. “Come along, you two. It’s time to introduce you to our guests.”
Jessamine looked to Siobhan with surprise. “You shouldn’t have.”
Siobhan’s hand squeezed Jessamine’s arm. “We’re family now.”
“I’ll escort my bride. If that’s allowed.”
“Yes, of course,” Siobhan stepped back as Alan took Jessamine’s arm and led her toward the open doors of the keep.
In the great hall Jessamine came to a sudden stop. “It’s magnificent,” she breathed, as she took in the chandeliers blazing with hundreds of candles and the rich tapestries lining the walls. Seated at tables across the chamber were the men who were Alan’s Templar brothers. Retainers rushed back and forth, carrying trays of food that they served to the guests and filling silver goblets. The lilting strains of a flute and a fiddle rose above the voices, lending a festive air.
Jessamine found herself laughing for no other reason than the joy flowing through her. As a princess she had been to many fine feasts in her life, but not like this. This room was filled with color and light and friendship and love. By sacrificing her status just as her father had done, she had lost nothing and gained much. Jessamine smiled. She finally understood her parents’ choices.
Siobhan and William ushered the two of them forward to the head table, where they were seated and goblets were pressed into their hands.
“To the bride and groom.” William raised his own goblet in a toast echoed by the entire room.
When the toast was drunk, a man who’d been introduced as Brother Kenneth from the monastery approached them. “Greetings to you both.”
Brother Kenneth turned first to Alan. “It pleases me you were able to find both Jessamine and the ark. And now you’re married too.” He offered them both a sincere smile. “I had a feeling you’d be leaving the brotherhood, as William did. So I brought you this.” He pulled a folded and sealed square of parchment from inside his robe and handed it to Alan. “Consider it a wedding gift, though in truth it has always been yours.”
Alan accepted the paper. He broke the seal, unfolded the parchment, and read the contents. As he did, Jessamine studied his face. At first his eyes darkened, then a sudden warm smile lit his face. “My father’s property. You’re returning it to me?”
“You granted the estate to the order when you joined us. But now you’ve chosen the sacrament of marriage, it is clear you’ll need a place to call your own. It’s a renewal of the cycle, Alan, and a fitting reward for your service. You’ll accept Red Castle as your own?”
“I’ll accept it. Thank you.” Alan’s voice was husky.
Brother Kenneth smiled crookedly. “I recall you dreaming about being a ship maker in your early days with us at the monastery. Lunan Bay below the castle seems a proper location to start a shipyard, wouldn’t you say?”
“It’ll be the perfect place to build a new life with the woman I love.”
Alan leaned toward her and brushed his lips against her temple. “It won’t be a palace, but it will be our home.”
“Remember once you asked me what the most beautiful thing I had ever seen was?”
He nodded.
“I’m looking at it now.” Jessamine smiled up into his eyes. “A husband I love. A new home. A new life. It is everything I’ve ever dreamed of, and all by my own choice.”
Jessamine stood on the beach of Lunan Bay waiting for whatever surprise Alan had in store for her now. The past ten months had been filled with one endless surprise after another.
She had a surprise for him today as well. She smiled to herself, already knowing what his reaction would be. Jessamine turned her face into the crisp, salty breeze blowing along the coastline where Alan had set up his shipyard. She tugged her tartan wrap closer about her shoulders. What was keeping her husband?
“Alan?”
He appeared at the railing of the ship just then, and his expression lit with excitement. “Are you ready?” he asked as he slipped the gangplank into place for her to come aboard.
She saw nothing, was aware of nothing but her husband waiting for her. She could tell by the smile on his lips that he thought he was the most fortunate man alive. The notion sent a ripple to her core.
Jessamine smiled as well. She was no longer afraid of the physical attraction between them—it must have been the same intense passion her own parents had felt for each other. They’d also had the kind of attraction that pushed past barriers, and had allowed them to overcome the objections from both their families. She realized now that she hadn’t been an outcast, or half of anything. She’d been born of love. How much more fortunate could a person be?
That was the real prophecy of her life—the prophecy of love.
“What do you think?” Alan asked as she stepped on deck.
The first ship he’d built. He’d modeled it after the Arab dhow they’d sailed on from the Holy Land. “It’s magnificent,” she breathed, taking in the tightly stitched and lashed timbers making up the hull as well as the gleaming wood deck. Over the months of living with a shipwright, she’d learned what quality workmanship her husband had produced. “It’s a masterpiece.”
“One that will take us to Spain as swiftly as any ship on the sea.”
“I’ve been so worried…” Her voice trailed off.
“I know you have. That’s why I sent my men on the dhow along with your letter to your uncle, detailing the conde’s scheme to poison the royal family and explaining our marriage.”
“He wrote us back, giving us his blessing.”
“Aye, but at times when we talk of your uncle’s family, concern still lingers in your eyes. I want you to see for yourself that your uncle and his family are hearty and hale.”
A half smile came to her lips. “I know I shouldn’t still be concerned. In spite of your attempts to warn the king, all turned out well. The conde’s plans to poison my family failed when the taster he’d hired to poison their food suddenly died.”
“Do you think the ark could have been responsible for that?” Alan asked.
She shrugged. “I did pray for their deliverance, as well as our own. And look what happened for us.”
“I’d like to believe that’s what happened.”
“Me too.�
� She leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on his lips. As she moved to pull back, he drew her closer instead. She lifted her hand to his face and stroked his cheek. “I like my surprise.”
He smiled mischievously. “There’s more.”
He took her hand and led her to the forecastle. The wind sharpened and tossed her hair about her shoulders. She gathered it with her hand and stood beside her husband, staring out at the sea. “This is my surprise?” she asked, suddenly curious why he’d brought her here.
“Nay.” He took her hand and placed it on the wheel. “The wheel guides the boat. A steady hand keeps the crew and passengers safe.”
Puzzled by his words, she looked down at the brightly polished wood beneath her hand. Her eyes widened. “The remaining eleven stones.” He’d set them into the wood of the wheel.
“Is it safe to put the stones there?”
“There is no better place to guarantee the safety of those I love.” He grinned. “I’ve named the ship the Divine Fire. It’s our ship, Jessamine, yours and mine to use as we please, to return to Spain whenever you feel the need. The stones will guarantee steady winds and safe passage.”
She smiled. “Those you love are pleased.”
His gaze searched her face. His eyes brightened as comprehension dawned. “Are you well?”
“The two of us are fine.”
His gaze was a warm caress embracing her and the child she carried. His arm slipped around her and he drew her against his chest. He placed a tender hand over the mound that hadn’t even started to rise.
She tipped her head to look up at him. “I want you to know that although I’m Spanish and Moorish, Scotland is my home now.” She laced her fingers through his. She steadied herself against the desire that flared at his adoring gaze. She had to ask him one last question that had burned in her mind since the time they’d spent at Stonehyve Castle. “Do you regret giving up the brotherhood for me?”
He tightened his fingers around hers. “I didn’t give up the brotherhood—those men will always be dear to me. I gave up the Templar ways and causes.” He placed a slow and gentle kiss on her lips that told her without words that she was his life, his heart, his soul.
The wind sharpened again, and this time along with the breeze came a small blue orb. The light chased the wind about the deck of the ship until it came to rest before the two of them. Jessamine reached out and put a finger to the blue light. She laughed as it tickled her hand, but her laughter died a moment later when the orb flared then curled in and over itself…as though waving good-bye.
“He’s leaving,” Jessamine breathed as her chest tightened.
“We don’t need him anymore,” Alan said, although his voice was as raw as her own. “We have each other.”
The orb pulsed up to Jessamine’s cheek. It lingered there for an instant before it spiraled upward and vanished in the blue skies overhead.
“It was Will who truly found the Ark of the Covenant,” Jessamine said when she could speak once again.
“Nay,” Alan said, pulling her against his side. “We found the ark because of each other, your prophecy, and Will’s help. It took all of us.”
“And now the ark is safe.”
He nodded. “Until it is called forward from its resting place by a new and greater cause.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder with a sigh. “The ark was a blessing in our lives.”
Alan’s hand moved down to caress Jessamine’s abdomen with all the love in his heart. “I have a feeling our blessings have truly just begun.”
She smiled. “Along with the greatest adventure of our lives.”
He kissed her cheek as he whispered close to her ear. “How right you are, my wife. May our adventures go on forever.”
Afterword
The hero of Seducing the Knight, Sir Alan Cathcart, was a real historical figure who was one of ten knights selected as King Robert the Bruce’s inner circle. Their mission was to take the Bruce’s heart after his death to the Holy Land for placement in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Their crusade to the Holy Land was symbolic of the journey the Bruce had longed to take during his lifetime but was never able to manage. Their journey came to a devastating end at the Battle of Teba in Spain.
As is the case with much of fiction, I used a little fact and a lot of fantasy to send Sir Alan Cathcart from the devastation in Teba into the Holy Land, where he would search for the legendary Ark of the Covenant.
In biblical history, the ark was where God manifested his presence on earth. The ark went ahead of the Children of Israel wherever they traveled. Not only was it the center of worship when it resided in the tabernacle, but the ark also protected the Israelites in battle, supernaturally defeating any adversaries that came before them (Joshua 6:3–4). The Israelites also went to the ark to seek God’s guidance and wisdom for the nation (Numbers 7:89; Exodus 25:22).
But the Ark of the Covenant is also one of the most frightening artifacts described in all of biblical history. A golden box with the power to strike men dead, the ark, to the ancient Hebrews, was both a divine manifestation and a talisman so powerful that they carried it with them into battle. To their enemies, it was a treasure to be coveted, but once captured, a terrible punishment. It came to occupy the most revered spot in Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies at the Temple of Solomon, and then it mysteriously disappeared.
Where the ark went has been the subject of much conjecture over the centuries. Many theories exist: In 586 BC, the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II sacked and destroyed the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, as a prelude to enslaving the Hebrews. But in the detailed biblical list of all the spoils the Babylonians took back with them to their homeland, the ark is not mentioned, which suggests to some that by then it had already disappeared.
Another theory surrounding the ark’s disappearance from the temple is that it had been smuggled out of Jerusalem prior to the Babylonian conquest and spirited away by Solomon’s son Melenik, the founder of the Ethiopian royal dynasty. Melenik was supposed to have brought the ark with him upon returning to the Ethiopian homeland of his mother, the Queen of Sheba.
Today, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians believe the ark resides in the Church of Saint Mary of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia. The sanctum where the ark supposedly is kept is guarded by a priest, and no outsider is allowed to enter, so the claim is impossible to substantiate.
Based on ancient Jewish writings, some have suggested the ark is hidden on Mount Nebo on the Jordan River’s east bank. This site is presently in the modern nation of Jordan and there is no hint of the ark’s presence there. Others suggest the ark is hidden somewhere near the Dead Sea, on the Jordan River’s west bank. This location is usually considered in association with the ancient site of Qumran and the people of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The ark and other artifacts are believed buried in one of the region’s caves, like the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Another view suggests the ark is located beneath Jerusalem, in a carved stone tunnel. Some say it is beneath the suggested site of the Crucifixion, Calvary. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem’s Old City, an Ultra-Orthodox organization dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish temple, says the ark is under the Temple Mount and will be revealed when the temple is rebuilt.
While some ponder the whereabouts of the ark, others search for a scientific explanation of its miraculous powers. It has been proven that the ark’s components of wood and gold, in the dimensions specified in the Bible, could accumulate and release an electrical charge strong enough to strike someone dead, as it might have done to Aaron’s sons when they touched the ark.
And what about the strange manifestations of light documented in the Bible? Such as when God appeared to Moses upon Mount Sinai in a cloud of devouring fire (Exodus 24:15–17). Modern-day researchers have had similar experiences in the Sinai wilderness.
In 1993 a team of British archeologists were working around a shrine on the summit of Jebel Madhbah when they were caught in a rare thunderstorm. They were hurrying to get off
the mountain when they saw a red ball of fiery light, estimated to be around six feet in diameter, hovering over the temple ruins. It was visible for about five minutes and moved slowly back and forth before vanishing. Some scientists explain the phenomenon as ball lightning, spheres of highly charged particles created by the electrified atmosphere of a thunderstorm. However, ball lightning tends to be bluish in color, not red, is not larger than a football, and is usually only visible for a few seconds.
Another explanation, which fits better with what was observed in 1993, is a rare electromagnetic anomaly known as geoplasma.
Plasma is an electrically charged gas that has been altered by an external energy source. The plasma can then ignite into an ionized “cold flame.” It is capable of hovering in the air as a sphere or column of luminous gas that can move or remain static, depending on conditions, and can continue its state for several minutes. Geoplasma is believed to be caused by geodynamics. It occurs when certain types of rocks are rubbed together by seismic activity, ionizing the air above them.
Strange lights such as those reported at Jebel Madhbah have been reported at various locations throughout the world, usually in areas prone to earthquakes and tremors and in areas that host large amounts of rocks that contain arenite sandstone and carnelian granite.
Most geoplasma phenomena are also reported during or after heavy rainfall. The event on Jebel Madhbah included heavy rainfall, which was also the case in the appearance of the “glory of the Lord” as witnessed by the ancient Israelites. Exodus 19:16 reports “thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount.” Was it geoplasma or a divine visitation?
In the pages of Seducing the Knight, I had to make many educated guesses about the Ark of the Covenant’s location after it disappeared from the Temple of Solomon, about whether the Templars really had possession of the artifact at some point in history, about the location of the Mount Sinai mentioned in the Bible, about strange lights, guardian angels, and what powers the ark truly possessed. However, I believe this book is true to the essence of what the Ark of the Covenant was and how important it still is to millions of people worldwide.
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