“I was waiting in here,” she breathed, “just in case you were not in the drawing room when I went there.”
“Come along, we will brave them together and let me tell you that you look very lovely, Sheinna.”
He was not exaggerating.
She was wearing a beautiful gown she had bought in Paris, which had been designed by the famous Frederick Worth, the greatest modern couturier of the fashion world.
The gown was supremely elegant and at the same time it enhanced the graceful curves of her figure.
It was a soft shade of blue, which was a perfect frame for her translucent skin and glorious fair hair with its touch of fire.
One glance told the Duke that she would astound anyone who lived locally and even outclass anyone who came from London.
As they went into the passage, Sheinna commented,
“Now I can understand why the Scots wear the kilt. No gentleman could look smarter than you do. If there are any Englishmen here tonight, they will indeed have to look to their laurels!”
“Thank you. Now, as we are both so pleased with one another, we will make a dramatic entrance!”
Sheinna thought she would really prefer to creep in unnoticed, but it would be rude to argue with her host.
She therefore merely trembled a little.
The piper standing in the passage was asked to play the stirring tune of the McBarens’ Salute to the Chieftain and, as he did so, the Duke told the footman to throw open the doors.
The Duke offered Sheinna his arm.
There were already about twenty-five people in the large drawing room. Most were young and only the older gentlemen were wearing the kilt. The girls were dressed in their very best evening gowns, but they did not even begin to compare with Sheinna’s.
There was a cry of delight as the Duke appeared.
Then he started to shake hands with the guests and to introduce Sheinna as his fiancée.
Most of them thought it very exciting that he was engaged to be married, but did not understand that there was anything at all peculiar about his engagement.
Sheinna, however, was aware that the Countess was scowling.
She thought it particularly tactful of the Duke when he deliberately ignored his cousin and stayed amongst the younger guests.
He was talking and laughing with them and telling them that Sheinna had recently come North from London.
As most of them were from other parts of Scotland and had no idea of the feud between the McBarens and the MacFallins, they talked to Sheinna as if she was one of them.
When they went into dinner, the Duke had altered the placement at the table with Rory, having thrown away the original plan that had been arranged by his mother and his cousin.
Tonight all the youngsters were at his end of the table, while the older generation were at the other end.
Sheinna sat on his right and a pretty girl, who he had met before, was on his left.
The dinner was delicious and the party were all laughing and talking as if nothing unusual had occurred – with, of course, the exception of the Countess who was looking daggers at the Duke all through the meal. She had made no effort to speak either to him or to Sheinna.
When dinner was finished and the piper had piped around the table, the Duke led the way to the Chieftain’s room on the ground floor.
All the walls were covered with the horned heads of stags.
Tonight there was not just a single pianist but a small band already playing when they entered the room.
They started off with Scottish reels.
The Duke had expected that, as Sheinna had been living with her grandmother in London, she would not be able to take part in them, but to his surprise she danced them better and more gracefully than anyone else.
He was of course her partner and when they could speak, he exclaimed,
“I had no idea you were so good at all the reels.”
“I loved them when I was a child,” said Sheinna. “When I was in London I had a number of Scottish friends, so we kept ourselves in practice.”
“You dance them far better than anyone I have ever seen.”
“Now you are flattering me, Alpin. May I say that you are very good yourself.”
“I have to be. A Chieftain who could not dance the reels would be deposed immediately!”
Sheinna laughed.
“That will never happen to you and I am enjoying having you as my partner. In fact you are as good on the dance floor as you are on the river.”
“Now that is the sort of compliment I like to hear!”
Now they both laughed.
In fact they were laughing happily all the evening.
When the band struck up a dreamy waltz, the Duke found that Sheinna danced as well as anyone he had ever had as his partner.
“Why did I not meet you in London?” he asked as they moved smoothly around the room.
“I can answer that question quite easily,” Sheinna replied. “You were far too busy, Alpin, enjoying yourself at Marlborough House and ignoring, where possible, the dances given for debutantes.”
This was true.
The Duke remembered how he had avoided those dances simply because he was an undeniable matrimonial catch.
“I never thought,” Sheinna was saying softly, “that I would be privileged to dance like this in Scotland or in any house as magnificent and majestic as your Castle.”
The Duke swung her round without answering.
He was thinking that they were certainly a perfect match on the dance floor.
As far as Sheinna was concerned the dancing came to an end far too quickly.
Some of the guests had to drive a long way home and so in the early hours of the morning they said sadly that they must leave.
All of them had brought a present for Charlotte’s birthday and they were arranged on a table near the door.
Charlotte stood with Mary-Lee beside her thanking everyone for all her presents and begging those who lived nearer not to go home so soon.
They had drunk Charlotte’s health at dinner and there had been a special birthday cake for her.
Charlotte was pretty in her own special way, the Duke thought, but if he compared her with Sheinna, she looked very countrified and somewhat heavily built.
There was little doubt that she had greatly enjoyed her birthday ball and the young gentlemen had fought with each other to dance with her.
The Duke, however, made no effort to dance with anyone except Sheinna and since the guests had been told they were engaged, that was what they expected.
At the same time he was aware that Mary-Lee was looking at him almost pleadingly.
“I hope you have enjoyed the evening, Mary-Lee,” he enquired.
“It has been real wonderful,” she replied, “except you haven’t danced with me.”
The Duke smiled.
“I felt you would understand that since my fiancée knows very few people here and I don’t want any man to take my place, I have found it difficult to be as pleasant as I wanted to be to you and the other charming young ladies present.”
“Please dance with me now,” Mary-Lee asked. “I do want to boast when I go back home to the States that I have danced with a real Scottish Duke. Last night you did not come into the room where we were dancing.”
The Duke looked round quickly.
Then he saw one of his friends with whom he had often stayed standing without a partner but with a glass of champagne in his hand.
“We will dance the next dance, Mary-Lee,” he said “if you will just wait for me to introduce Charles Faulkner to Sheinna.”
“You can be certain I’ll wait right here,” Mary-Lee replied, speaking in her broad American accent.
The Duke took Sheinna across to Charles Faulkner.
“I have rather neglected my guests who are staying in the Castle,” he said, “so would you be kind, Charles, and look after my fiancée for a few minutes?”
“When I heard you we
re engaged to be married,” Charles Faulkner replied, “I did not believe it, Alpin.”
“Well, it is true and I will talk to you later. Now please look after Lady Sheinna and don’t allow anyone to upset her.”
“I will do so,” Charles answered, “but unfortunately I did not bring my skean dhu with me!”
Sheinna smiled.
“I know what that is and if you were not dancing you would be wearing it in your stocking.”
“And most uncomfortable it would feel,” Charles added. “Can I fetch you a drink, Sheinna?”
“I would just love a glass of lemonade.”
He did not persuade her to have champagne which he was drinking and he took a glass of lemonade from a footman standing by the door with a tray of glasses.
They sat down when the dance started and the Duke led Mary-Lee onto the floor
Then Charles asked Sheinna,
“Is it really true you are engaged to Alpin?”
She nodded.
“Yes, but he told his mother only today.”
“And what does your father say about it?” Charles enquired. “I have always understood that he loathes and detests all the McBarens. People laugh at the way he is so vehement against my friend Alpin.”
“Perhaps in some way we will be able to put an end to the ridiculous feud between our families. After all we both live in and love this beautiful part of Scotland and it is silly for us to go on fighting for no particular reason except that we always did so in the past.”
“I agree with you absolutely,” replied Charles. “I am a Scot, but I live on the border and thank goodness we have given up our feuds there including even our hatred of the English.”
“I have found a great number of Englishmen very charming,” said Sheinna.
“I am sure they feel the same about you – ”
There was silence for a moment, then he went on,
“So if you and Alpin could bring your Clansmen together and make them forget the way they have hated each other all down the centuries, I think it would be a great moment for Scotland and a step forward for everyone who lives here.”
“You are repeating exactly what I have been saying myself. Please will you help Alpin? It’s very difficult for him when his own relations hate my father and his people.”
She glanced across the room at the Countess.
Charles Faulkner knew exactly what she was saying and lowering his voice, he confided,
“The Countess is one of the older generation who will never change their ways, but the younger ones, who like yourself are growing up, think this animosity between the Clans is old-fashioned and out of date.”
“So do I,” Sheinna asserted.
“After all, we are all Scots,” Charles added, “and that we are of the same blood should matter more than anything else.”
“That is exactly what I feel. Please, please go on saying it.”
“I will,” Charles agreed. “As I shoot and fish here with Alpin every year, I should be honoured if your father would ask me to be his guest.”
Sheinna managed a smile.
Although she thought it was very unlikely, she said,
“I am sure that my father would be delighted to welcome you.”
“I will greatly look forward to you asking me. I have always been a guest at Alpin’s first shoot and I would be hurt and upset if I could not be his guest this year as well.”
“If you were indeed forgotten, would you blame me?” Sheinna asked Charles.
“I cannot believe that you would be so unkind. In fact I should cry my eyes out, as this shoot is one of my best invitations during the whole year.”
“I will make sure you are not forgotten, Charles.”
As she spoke she was wondering if she would still be with the Duke when the autumn came.
One thing she was quite sure of – if her father knew Charles Faulkner was Alpin’s friend, he would definitely not be a guest on their moors.
The Duke, having danced with Mary-Lee for nearly ten minutes, came back to her side.
“Has Charles looked after you?” he enquired.
“He has been very attentive,” Sheinna replied. “We have both decided that the animosity and hatred between the Clans is ridiculous and should be banned once and for all.”
“I believe that it will be gradually,” said the Duke. “Perhaps you and I, Sheinna, will make a great number of people on either side of our two families realise that we are not as hateful as they thought we were.”
“I only hope you are right,” she sighed.
She was thinking as she spoke that she would never be welcomed with open arms by the Countess, nor would the Duke ever cross the threshold of her father’s house.
As if the Duke sensed what she was thinking and could read her thoughts, he declared,
“You are so right, Sheinna, and somehow you and I will make them both accept the flag of peace.”
“Of course,” Charles came in, “that is what we all want, peace and prosperity, and it is something I am quite prepared to fight for.”
“No fighting allowed,” the Duke stipulated firmly. “What we must do is to appeal to the hearts of our people and make them realise that whatever name they are called, whatever blood they bear, it is they themselves who can make Scotland a happy or an unhappy place.”
“I will join your crusade,” Charles exclaimed. “Put me down as a flag-bearer or would you rather I played the pipes?”
“I will make you do both,” the Duke chuckled, “and what you have to do now, Charles, is to persuade a great number of others to think as you and I do.”
“We can certainly try, Alpin, and what could be better than that you and this beautiful girl should marry each other and set an example to all the Clans in Scotland.”
“You are making our marriage seem even more important than I knew it was for me!”
“I think it will be very important for us all,” replied Charles. “It is time this part of Scotland moved with the times and you stopped fighting amongst yourselves. I have a feeling that our enemies are much further away.”
He paused before he added,
“I may be wrong, but time will show us eventually where our real foes will come from. I am convinced it will be from Europe.”
“I sincerely hope you are wrong,” said the Duke.
He was about to say more, but several guests came up to bid him goodnight and knowing of his engagement they wished him every possible happiness and the same to Sheinna.
It was only when the last guest had departed that Sheinna enthused to the Duke,
“That was a wonderful party and I did enjoy it.”
“I am very glad. Needless to say you were a great success. Everybody told me they thought that you were incredibly beautiful and no one will ever dispute that!”
They were walking together towards the door as he was speaking.
Then, as they turned to ascend the stairs, they heard the voice of the Countess saying to the Dowager Duchess,
“It has been a marvellous evening and Charlotte has never had a better birthday. In fact there was only one blot on the horizon and you know without my telling you what that was!”
There was a harsh note in her voice.
Without even meaning to, Sheinna drew just a little closer to the Duke and slipped her hand into his.
His fingers closed over hers.
“Don’t listen,” he urged quietly. “Tonight we have started our crusade and we must expect some opposition. But sooner or later – and this is a prophecy – all the people will join us and Scotland will be a whole country and not a divided one.”
“I will pray it will come true,” Sheinna murmured.
“I guessed you would,” answered the Duke.
CHAPTER SIX
The next morning when Sheinna came downstairs to breakfast, it was to find the Duke was already there, but there was no sign of anyone else.
“The rest of the guests are still sleeping,” the Du
ke greeted her, “and I did not expect you to be up so early.”
“I enjoyed myself so much last night that I was not even tired.”
The Duke smiled.
“You certainly danced all the reels much better than anyone else and indeed far, far better than I expected.”
“I do love dancing.”
“So do I at times, but naturally it depends who I am dancing with!”
Sheinna laughed.
“I am sure you had an extensive choice in London. My grandmother told me that all the great beauties go to Marlborough House.”
The Duke did not reply and Sheinna thought that perhaps she had said too much and lapsed into silence.
But because she was curious she could not prevent herself asking,
“What are we going to do today?”
She was half afraid, as she asked the question, that the Duke would say he was taking her back to her father.
Instead he replied,
“I am thinking of something that will really interest you. I thought perhaps a short trip along the coast in my yacht would be exhilarating.”
Sheinna gave a cry of delight.
“That will be wonderful. I would so much rather do that than anything else.”
“I thought that you would, Sheinna. As it is a new yacht and I am very proud of it, I will probably talk about it incessantly.”
“You could not talk too much for me, Alpin. I have never been on a yacht, but I have read so much about them, especially the clippers that are now being built in America. I always hoped someone would invite me on one.”
“Well, that’s settled then, but as I have some letters I must write and also, although it sounds very depressing, a large number of bills to settle, we will have to wait until later.”
“Then I will go into the garden. The sun is shining and I want to admire the lovely blooms you have growing there.”
“If you praise the gardeners they will be delighted,” said the Duke. “They have taken a great deal of trouble while I have been away to make new beds and I am thrilled with the way they have come on so well.”
“I had no idea you were interested in gardens?”
“Well, I am, and there is so much we have to learn about each other.”
He glanced over his shoulder before he added,
Love and the Clans Page 10