“It’s late, I’m tired and I really should find my bed.”
“Don’t go. The celebration will continue until dawn.”
With only about six hours between sunset and sunrise, dawn was only few hours away, but even so, she would never last that long. “I can’t dance another step. I’m terrible to start with. Mix that with weariness and no one’s toes are safe.”
He pulled her close, nuzzled her ear and whispered, “No one’s toes have been safe all night, but there isn’t lass I’d rather dance with.”
His voice, rich and husky, was like molten butterscotch. She smiled. “Calling it dancing at all is quite a complement.”
He chuckled, sending shivers down her spine. “We don’t have to dance, but I’m not ready to let ye go. Walk with me.” He took her hand leading her away from the dancing, outside the ring of light cast by the bonfires.
She knew she shouldn’t go with him, but God help her, she couldn’t resist. They walked in silence around the edge of the loch until they came to the cluster of boulders she had been sitting on the day she told Gertrude she wanted to stay. He walked to them and sat on one, pulling her down beside him continuing to hold her hand.
He looked at her for a moment, his brow furrowed. “Elsie, I’m sorry, but I can’t grant yer request.”
“My request? What are ye talking about? I’ve asked nothing of ye.”
“Aye, ye have. Ye asked me to give ye distance, but I can’t.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Sir Cade—”
He put his hand up. “Don’t. I don’t ever want ye to call me that again.”
“But—”
“Nay, Elsie. I adore ye, in fact, I love ye. Trying to keep my distance was excruciating.”
She chuckled. “Not to mention the fact that ye weren’t very good at it.”
“Obvious was I? That’s because I want ye in my life, at my side, forever.”
She shook her head. “We’ve been through this.”
“Nay Elsie, ye misunderstand me. I want ye to be my wife.”
Elizabeth smiled sadly at him. “Ye know yer father will not allow that—bird and fish, remember?”
“Putting that aside for a moment, do ye wish to marry me?”
“Of course I do. I have never met someone who can infuriate me one minute and make me weak in the knees the next.”
He grinned. “I make ye weak in the knees?”
“Ye know ye do. When I asked ye for distance, it wasn’t because I didn’t love ye.”
He kissed the back of the hand he held. “So ye agree, we love each other and should be together forever.”
“Aye but yer da—”
“My da wants ye married. It is the only sure way to keep ye here.”
“Are ye serious?”
“Absolutely. He hasn’t raised the issue with ye because he thought there was time and he’d hoped ye would develop an interest in someone. I prayed to God ye wouldn’t.”
“Cade, ye know he won’t let ye marry me.”
“What I know, Elsie, is that I cannot live without ye. Aye, if I ask him for permission, he’ll say no. But, if I simply marry ye, he’ll bluster a bit and then be relieved that the problem of how to keep ye here is solved.”
“What if that isn’t his response? What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“He could disown me and banish us both.”
“What does that mean?”
Cade gave her a questioning look. “Ye don’t know what banishment means? It means I would no longer be his heir, we would no longer belong to the clan, and we would have to find a place to live away from Carraigile.”
“Ye’d marry me, knowing this could happen?”
“Aye, I would. I don’t think it’ll come to that, but I’d accept it in order to spend the rest of my days with ye.”
“Ye’re certain?”
He chuckled, pulled her close and kissed her with a passion and intensity she had never experienced. Every conscious thought, every reason why she shouldn’t give in to this, fled her brain. Nothing existed outside of them. When he broke the kiss, his eyes twinkled. “Aye, I’m certain.”
“Certain of what?”
He laughed. “Ye asked if I was certain I’d accept banishment for ye and I am, Elsie.”
Elsie.
She couldn’t accept his proposal and marry him without telling him who she really was.
“Then there is one more thing ye need to know and accept before I’ll agree to marry ye.”
“Yer secret?”
“Ye knew?”
“I knew ye had a secret. I don’t know what it is. After everything happened at Easter, I was certain there was something ye weren’t telling me. There are things about this whole situation that don’t seem logical. I was sure Macrae was lying when he said ye were his most skilled midwife. But I also firmly believed ye were telling the truth when ye said there was no one better able to assist Wynda. I never fully understood how yer stories matched but he could be lying while ye were telling the truth. I had to be missing a vital piece of information.”
“Ye’re right. I’ll tell ye my secret, but I warn ye, it’s hard to believe. Yer da, Lady Wynda, and Morag are the only people who know it.”
“And they believe ye.” It was a statement, not a question.”
“Aye, they believe me. So please promise to hear the whole story before ye draw a conclusion.”
He kissed the back of her hand. “I promise.”
She proceeded to tell him the story of the pocket watch and all that had happened from the moment she met Gertrude, right through to when Gertrude came to see her in the dungeon.
When she had finished, he looked astonished. “Ye stayed? Ye had the chance to leave. Twice. Why did ye stay?”
“The first time was because I had fallen in love.” He grinned and she laughed. “Don’t be so sure of yerself. I fell in love with this clan. I’d never really felt so much a part of a community before, and I liked it. I also liked being able to make a difference in the lives of these people who had become dear to me.”
“And the second time?”
“Well, to start with, I couldn’t let Elsie return to the mess I’d made.”
“Ye didn’t make the mess, Elizabeth. Laird Macrae did.”
“Still, I couldn’t let her face the consequences of my decisions.”
“All of that was sorted out before the last day. Ye could have gone back and Elsie would have been safe here.”
“Aye, but she’d found happiness in my time. I didn’t want to take that from her.”
“So the only reasons ye stayed was because ye loved my people and ye wanted Elsie to be happy?”
Elizabeth laughed. “Those might not be the only reasons,” she gave him a cheeky grin, “but I can’t seem to think of any others at the moment.”
“Can’t ye? How about this?” He kissed her lightly. “Or this?” He kissed her again, his lips more demanding this time. “Or maybe this?” He pulled her onto his lap, and cradling her head in one hand gave her a passionate, toe curling kiss.
When he released her, she could barely think. She rested her head against his chest. “Aye, it might have been one of those. So, ye believe me Cade MacKenzie?”
“Aye, I do. And, ye’ll be my wife and take me as yer husband, Elizabeth Quinn?”
“Aye. I will.”
“Well let’s go make our vows.”
“What do ye mean?”
“Ye’ve said ye’ll be my wife, there’s no time like the present to make things official.”
“Cade, it’s the wee hours of the morning. Father Henry has likely been asleep for hours.”
“It’s better if he’s a little groggy. Then he’ll have an excuse for having not talked us out of it when my father blusters at him in the morning.” Cade stood, pulling her up too. “Marry me, Elizabeth. Marry me now.”
Could she do this? Could she simply marry him without gaining anyone’s permission? She had always played by the rules and
done exactly what was expected of her and this was likely to infuriate Laird MacKenzie. David’s words came to her: I want you to discover what makes you happy—not what you think other people want from you. And once you find your destiny, I want you to embrace it.
Cade made her happy and along with this clan whom she loved, he was her destiny.
“Aye, Cade. I’ll marry ye now.”
Chapter 27
As they walked back towards the bonfires, Elsie could scarcely believe she was doing this. If she had fallen in love with a man in her own time and eloped—even if he were perfect husband material in her family’s eyes—there would have been hell to pay. She suspected there would be this time too, but her emerging rebellious streak delighted in it.
Before they reached the merry-makers, Cade turned to her. “Stay here for a moment. I am going to get Eric; we need a witness. Better yet, just make yer way through the crowd and wait for me at the edge of the village. Eric and I will meet ye there.”
“Aye, that’s a good idea.”
He gave her a quick kiss, “See ye in a moment.”
She smiled. “Hurry.”
He strode towards the crowd. Elizabeth decided going around the merry-makers would be easier than weaving through them. She circled to the right staying just beyond the people and the light cast from the fire. Lost in her happy thoughts, she didn’t notice the two men, who also skirted the crowd deeper in the darkness, until it was too late.
A huge hand clamped over her mouth and before she realized what was happening, her captor stuffed a gag in her mouth while the other man tied her hands behind her back. Then the bigger of the two men threw her over his shoulder and ran towards the tree line, his companion guarding from behind.
Elsie tried to kick, but the man had a vice-like grip on her legs. The fabric was stuffed in her mouth far enough to tickle her gag reflex. Add to that the pounding her stomach took from his shoulder as he ran through the trees and it was all she could do to keep herself from vomiting.
After what must have been about ten minutes, they stopped. Another man waited there with horses. They mounted up, threw Elsie face down across her captors lap and rode hard away from Carraigile.
~ * ~
It took Cade a few moments to locate Eric in the crowd. He finally found his cousin sitting on a plaid spread on the ground, nibbling the ear of the giggling crofter’s daughter, in his lap.
“I’m sorry to interrupt ye, coz—”
“—then don’t,” he said between nibbles.
“Ah, sadly, I must. It’s urgent.”
“Nothing could be so urgent as to make me abandon this bonny lass.”
“I fear it is. The future of Clan MacKenzie rests on it.” Well it was true. Cade couldn’t begin working on an heir until he married Elizabeth.
“Ye can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious.”
“Well, lass, I fear clan duty calls.” The lass pouted prettily as Eric slid her off his lap. He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Don’t sulk, sweetling, I’ll be back as soon as I’ve secured the future of the clan. He planted a quick kiss on her lips.
Picking up his plaid, he turned to Cade, “This had better be important.”
“Aye it is, let’s go.” Cade headed towards the village.
Eric followed. “Are ye going to let me in on what this urgent mission is?”
“I need a witness.”
“For what?”
“For my marriage.”
Eric stopped and stared. “Yer what?”
“My marriage.”
“Tell me ye don’t intend to marry Elsie behind yer da’s back.”
“I can’t do that, coz, because it’s exactly what I intend to do.”
“Have ye lost yer mind? Yer da will be furious.”
“I’ll deal with it.”
“Ye aren’t the only one he’ll be furious with.”
“He’ll get over it. He wants Elsie married. It’s in the clan’s best interest if she stays and I am happy to oblige.”
Eric shook his head and laughed, “Ye know coz, if he banishes ye, and Wynda gives birth to a wee lass, I’ll be laird someday. Do ye really think that’s in the best interests of the clan?”
Cade grew serious. “Ye’d be a good laird, Eric.” Then his face split into a wide grin, “But I don’t think I’ll be banished.”
Eric fell in step beside him again. “Aye probably not. If he banished ye, he’d lose Elsie too. I guess if ye can stand his wrath, so can I.”
When they reached the edge of the village where Elsie was supposed to meet them, she wasn’t there. Cade frowned. “She must have gotten waylaid. She’ll be here soon.”
Cade became uneasy after they had waited a few minutes. She should have gotten here before them. “Stay here. I’m going to see if she was pulled into the crowd. If she shows up have her wait.”
Cade searched the crowd for several minutes but didn’t find her. No one he asked had seen her. He went back to Eric hoping to find her waiting there, but Eric was alone.
“Maybe she misunderstood ye. Maybe she waits for ye at the church.”
“That could be it.” Cade practically ran to the village church with Eric on his heels, but she wasn’t there.
“Eric, something’s wrong.”
Eric frowned, “Aye, I fear there is.”
“Go to the keep, just to make sure she didn’t return there. I’ll go back to the bonfires and check one more time. If she isn’t at the keep, bring men and horses. We need to find her.”
Cade tamped down his panic as ran back to the bonfires. She had to be there. It took a moment, but he silenced the crowd. “Has anyone seen the midwife, Elsie?”
People looked around, shaking their heads.
Someone called, “Not since she left with ye, Sir.”
“Is something wrong with Wynda? called his Uncle Hamish.
“Nay, Uncle, she’s fine. But Elsie is missing.”
His uncle frowned. “Maybe, she’s just gone back to the keep.”
“Eric has gone there to check.”
“Who was guarding her?”
“Guarding her? I-I was.”
“And who else? Yer da said she was to have two or three guards if she were outside the village.”
By all that’s holy, Cade had forgotten that. “We were here, surrounded by most of the clan, I didn’t think about her needing additional guards.”
“But, lad, ye left with her.”
His Uncle Hamish’s voice had been gentle and held no accusation, but the realization of how Cade had endangered his beloved came crashing down on him. “And I let her walk to the edge of the village alone. I thought she was safe in the crowd. She must have walked around it. What have I done?”
Hamish put a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t borrow trouble. She may be at the keep. But until we know for sure we’ll begin searching.” To the crowd he said, “Men, grab a torch and search the area for some sign of what happened.”
Several minutes later, Cade’s heart fell when his father and Eric rode out of the village with a contingent of mounted men. Eric led Cade’s mount.
Angus looked furious. “How did ye lose her?”
“Da, I’m sorry. I thought she was safe in the crowd.”
His father shook his head. “We don’t even know which direction to search.”
“We were here, on this side of the gathering when I saw her last.”
“That might mean they took her northward, but they could have just circled the lake on the north side before turning southward.”
Just then a shout went up from the edge of the forest to the north. “The underbrush is disturbed here. It looks like someone came through here recently.”
“Then we search to the north. But Sully, take more men and ride south, just in case.”
Cade mounted his horse and rode into the woods. He was heartsick. Macrae had Elizabeth and it was his fault.
Before long it became abundantly clear that they
were going in the right direction. It appeared the man or men who abducted Elizabeth had met up with riders and it was much easier to follow the trail left by a several horses.
~ * ~
Alban Macrae stood on the deck of his ship, at anchor in the deep inlet that was MacKenzie’s northern boundary. He was ready to be done with this whole mess. When Laird MacKenzie had grasped at straws to help his wife, Alban knew there was nothing to be done, so Drummond’s suggestion to send an apprentice for a few weeks, seemed reasonable. Lady MacKenzie would lose the baby and they would send the lass home.
She had only been gone a few hours when he realized the position he had put himself in. He had to explain why Elsie had gone, and every member of his clan knew she wasn’t a midwife. If he had told them he sent her under false pretenses, he couldn’t be sure the truth wouldn’t make it back to MacKenzie. It was a minstrel, of all people, who first pushed for answers. If Alban had told the lad the truth, songs lamenting the Macrae’s deceit might be sung for decades.
So he told a slightly different version of the story. Elsie was the one who lied and ran away with the MacKenzies. But several people didn’t believe that. Dolina and the damned minstrel being chief among them. Still it surely wouldn’t be long before Elsie returned. He could threaten her into silence and everything would be fine.
When two months had passed and Elsie hadn’t returned, things got worse. Dolina was still extremely upset, and he learned his own wife, Una, was expecting. With Dolina upset, his wife was upset and she started pushing Alban to ask the MacKenzies to send Elsie home. He sent a polite message requesting her return.
Angus declined.
He sent a second messenger just before Pentecost, this time accompanied by several men-at-arms. If Angus refused, their instructions were to simply take Elsie. He had hoped they might gain easy access to her during the Pentecost celebrations. Angus didn’t budge nor were his men able to gain access to her and steal the lass away. Apparently she was always in the company of a guardsman. They had finally returned, empty handed. Based on the content of Laird MacKenzie’s messages, the only blessing Alban could discern was that it seemed Elsie had kept her mouth shut.
The Midwife: The Pocket Watch Chronicles Page 22