“Aye,” Hamish answered. “I need you legally wed before King James arrives. This may not work out well, lass, I’ll warn you now.”
“What could happen?” Peigi asked.
“The King could annul the marriage,” Hamish told her, “but I’ll do everything I can for you and Craig to see that doesn’t happen.”
Peigi thought about it and reached her decision quickly. It would be worth it even if Craig was hers for just a small amount of time.
“Aye,” she said again as the two turned and walked back to the lodge. “I’ll marry him, today if that’s what you need.”
**********
“I still can’t believe you’re alive,” Jacqueline said, grabbing Craig’s hand while Flora probed his ribs.
“I wouldn’t be if Peigi wouldn’t have been here,” Craig told them.
“Your ribs seem fine,” Flora said, beginning to untie the strips of cloth that held the splint on his arm. “Does this still bother you?”
“Aye,” Craig said. “Peigi doesn’t think anything is broken, but she’s not skilled in healing like you are.”
Flora moved the wrist around and Craig winced. She had him open and close his fingers and bend it at the elbow.
“I think you cracked the bone, but it stayed in place,” Flora told him. “I’ll make a better splint when we get back to Gleann, you may need to wear it for another fortnight.”
“Aye,” Craig agreed. “How did you figure out where I was?”
“Ethan finally woke and told us you were attacked after leaving Edinburgh,” Jacqueline answered. “We weren’t searching in this direction.”
“Ethan is alive?” Craig asked. “How is he?”
“He was at death’s door when the King and his guards found him,” Flora answered. “He insisted they bring him to Gleann, but he was unconscious when he got there and just woke this morning.”
“But he’ll survive?” Craig asked.
“Aye,” Flora assured him. “Although it’ll take him some time to fully heal.”
“Craig, we need to talk before Da returns with...what did you say her name was...Peigi?” Jacqueline said.
“Aye,” Craig said, “Peigi Farland. What do you need to talk to me about?”
“You need to marry her,” Jacqueline told him.
“I plan on it,” Craig assured her, “as soon as I get her back to Gleann.”
“Nay, Craig,” Jacqueline said, “you need to marry her today, now, before we go home. Father McMurphy traveled with us.”
“I’ve asked her, Jacqueline, and she hasn’t agreed yet. I can’t marry her until I get her to agree,” Craig explained. “She believes she’s not good enough to be my wife because she’s a bastard.”
“Well if you don’t get her to marry you today, you’ll be marrying Isla McKinnon when King James arrives,” Flora finally interrupted and said.
“I’d never marry that woman,” Craig told them both.
“You’ll have no choice if King James orders it. Da said the only way to save you from that fate now is to find you a wife before he arrives. We’ve been told Cory McKinnon is traveling with him,” Jacqueline explained.
“I’d marry Peigi right now if I could get her to agree,” Craig said honestly. “I love her.”
“Aye,” Jacqueline said, “I can tell by the way you talk about her that you do. Da is talking to her now. He’ll get her to agree.”
“I hope so,” Craig said. “Because I’ve done everything but hogtie her and throw her over the back of my horse to try to get her to go to Gleann and marry me. So far she’s refused.”
Flora had Craig pull the plaid he still had tied around his waist up so she could check the wounds on his thighs. Peigi was still binding them, afraid the wounds would open. Jacqueline saw him flinch when he shifted his weight.
“Do your legs still hurt?” Jacqueline asked, watching as Flora untied the bindings and inspected the newly sealed wounds.
“Some,” Craig answered honestly, “but these weren’t the worst of my injuries.”
“Do you have cuts on the back of your legs too?” Flora asked, pushing his leg so she could look underneath.
“It’s not my leg,” Craig said, slapping her hands away and tucking the plaid between his legs.
“We’ve already seen that today, brother,” Jacqueline said as she saw what he was doing.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you to knock before entering a room?” Craig asked her.
“You’d think she’d have learned after barging into your Da’s room,” Flora said laughing. “Show me your last wound and I’ll tell you the story.”
“It’s on my arse,” Craig mumbled.
“I’ve seen your brother’s bare arse,” Flora said and Jacqueline laughed, “yours can’t be that different.”
Flora motioned for him to roll over. He rolled his eyes and did as she asked. As she checked the wound she told Craig about Jacqueline finding Hamish and Davina in bed together. Craig was laughing out loud when Peigi and Hamish walked back into the lodge.
“I hope Connor spanked you good,” Craig said to Jacqueline. “Poor Davina.”
“Poor me,” Jacqueline said, but she was laughing too. “Maybe I should just lock myself away at Tarmon and stay there.”
“Nay,” Craig said, “I’d miss you.”
“And so would I,” Hamish said, wrapping his arm around Jacqueline’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “I think we need to leave these two alone for a few minutes so they can get ready to say their vows. Father McMurphy will be ready when the two of you are.”
Craig waited until his family left the room before sweeping Peigi up in his arms and kissing her. She was stiff for a moment and then melted into his embrace.
“You said aye?” he asked, making sure his Da was right.
“Aye,” Peigi told him, “but you know the marriage may not last. King James could annul it.”
“Then we leave and don’t come back. I won’t marry anyone but you, Peigi,” Craig told her. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” Peigi told him.
“I don’t have a ring, but I’ll get one as soon as we return to the Keep,” Craig said.
Peigi walked over to her bag and dug into the bottom. She pulled out her mither’s ring and handed it to Craig. “I always planned to use this one if I wed,” she told him. “Do you mind?”
“Nay,” he assured her. “Haven’t you figured it out yet, Peigi? I’d agree to anything for you to be my wife.”
**********
“Are we ready to begin?” Father McMurphy asked the couple standing in front of him.
“Riders coming,” one of the Gleann guards said.
“Who now?” Craig asked.
“Maybe it’s Gory,” Peigi said hopefully.
“Nay,” Jacqueline said, “I’d know that rider anywhere. That’s Connor, and Owen is with him.”
“Craig!” they heard Owen’s voice before recognizing his face. “Rory kept saying you were alive!”
Owen and Connor stopped their horses not far from the lodge and dismounted quickly. Owen rushed to his brother and embraced him. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Waiting here for you,” Craig chuckled and said.
“You’re well?” Owen asked as Connor pushed him out of the way and gave Craig a quick embrace.
“Good to see you,” Connor said, clapping him on the back before walking over to Jacqueline and pulling her into his arms and swinging her around. “What are you doing here, wife?”
“Da needed someone to ride with him and begged me and Flora to come,” she answered seriously, and then giggled when Hamish coughed into his fist and Connor gave her the look. She told him the truth then, “once Ethan woke and started telling us what happened, I knew where Craig would be. We arrived over an hour ago. What are you doing here?”
“We were searching the area and decided we might as well make the rest of the ride to Edinburgh. We found the spot where Craig and Ethan were ambushed. Th
e bodies were still scattered on the ground, and when we checked them we saw a few of them were wearing Jedburgh’s crest. We did what we could to cover them before we left. Owen had a feeling Craig would try to come here, so we thought we’d check,” Connor answered. “What’s going on out here?”
“Craig and Peigi are getting married,” Flora told him.
“Married?” Connor asked. “But I thought King James was coming and…”
“That’s exactly why this wedding is happening,” Hamish cut him off and said, “go ahead, Father.”
Chapter 9. Finally Home
“Do you think all the search parties are back yet?” Owen asked Hamish as they approached the gates of Gleann.
“Not all of them. I sent riders from Gleann as far south as Branxholme, and Finley was sending some from his Keep back to Jedburgh,” Hamish answered. “But I’m sure James sent out messengers to bring our guards back by now. I’d bet coin all your brothers have returned.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see everyone out in the yard waiting for Craig’s return,” Jacqueline said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised either,” Hamish agreed.
He’d sent Gordon back the day before to let everyone know that Craig had been found and they’d be returning the next afternoon. He did tell Gordon not to mention Craig’s marriage or new wife. It was information he didn’t want to spread around the village yet.
“I’m sorry I worried everyone,” Craig told them, “but there was no possible way I could ride a horse, and there was no way to send a message to the Keep either. Even with all the extra plaids on my saddle now, my arse isn’t taking this ride to well.”
“Flora can look at it when we get home,” Jacqueline teased.
“Nay,” Flora said, “I’ve seen it once, that’s enough for me.” Everyone laughed, she’d been teasing him about seeing his arse since she’d checked all his wounds.
“I knew you’d be hurting by the time we reached Gleann, son,” Hamish told him. “I’m just glad you’ve healed enough to get there. Flora said Peigi did a good job tending to your wounds.”
“I tried,” Peigi said, “ I can clean a wound and stitch it, but that’s the extent of my healing knowledge.”
“No need to be humble,” Flora told her, “you deserve the praise. From the look of Craig’s scars, you most likely saved his life.”
“Did you ever wonder if I was still alive?” Craig asked.
“Nay,” Hamish answered, “Rory was sure you were alive somewhere. As long as he felt that way, we would’ve kept searching.”
“But the search is over, and I’ll be glad to sleep in my bed tonight,” Jacqueline said, stretching her back, “it’s been a long time since I’ve slept on a pallet on the floor.”
“Aye,” Connor replied, “but it was nice to wake up without one of the lasses between us.”
“Don’t lie, Connor, you love waking up with all the girls in our bed,” Jacqueline told him.
“Not always,” Connor replied and winked at her. Jacqueline giggled.
“When will the King arrive?” Craig asked.
“In two days,” Hamish answered. “Davina was going to get the castle ready for his arrival, and make sure there was someone to keep an eye on the children with everyone coming and going.”
“Do you think King James will try to annul the marriage?” Craig asked. “I won’t give Peigi up now that she’s my wife.”
“Neither of us will have any say in his decision,” Peigi interrupted.
“I don’t know, son. What Peigi says is true,” Hamish answered honestly. “I hope not, but he’s the King, and he can do what he wants. We’ll all do everything we can to protect the two of you.”
“Do you have a plan?” Craig asked.
“Aye,” Hamish answered, “I’m going to tell him the truth. He already knows we were attacked on the way back to Gleann, and so were you. We know from the messengers he’s sent that he’s been out riding with his Guard trying to track those men down.”
“How much of the truth are you going to tell him?” Connor asked.
“Most of it,” Hamish answered. “It’s true that none of us knew about the lass finding Craig or where the two of them were. It’s also true that while Peigi nursed Craig and he healed, the two of them fell in love. And it’s true that once Craig was able to make the ride home, the two of them arrived at Gleann already married. I’m hoping King James will agree that now that the marriage is legal, there’s nothing to be done about it.”
“What if he asks where the marriage took place?” Craig asked.
“Tell him the truth,” Hamish advised. “Father McMurphy stopped at the lodge on his way to Edinburgh. When he got there he found the two of you staying there, unchaperoned. You wanted to make an honest woman out of Peigi and asked the priest to marry you.”
“Isn’t that stretching the truth a bit?” Craig asked. “Are you going to tell him you were there?”
“Nay, that’s information he doesn’t need. Besides, Father McMurphy did go on to Edinburgh,” Hamish said.
“Aye,” Craig replied, “that’s true.”.
“Da made sure Father McMurphy won’t be back until the day before he marries Davina, so King James won’t be able to question him,” Jacqueline added. “You can be very devious when you need to be, Da.”
“Aye,” Hamish answered and grinned, ”and hopefully King James will have accepted the marriage by the time Father McMurphy returns.”
As soon as the gates of Gleann came into view a horse came running out the gate towards them. Craig knew by the way the rider sat his horse that it was Rory. He was sure his brother had been more worried than most. Rory rode right to Craig’s horse and then spun the animal around to walk next to him.
“It’s about time you got your arse home,” Rory said, smiling over at Craig and then reaching his arm across and clapping him on the back.
“Aye,” Craig answered, “I’ve been trying to get here for a while.”
“You had me worried, brother,” Rory told him.
“I was worried myself,” Craig admitted.
“You’re well now?” Rory asked.
“Aye,” Craig answered. “I’ve healed.”
“Can you tell me why I’ve had this severe pain in my arse for the last fortnight?” Rory asked seriously. Craig started laughing. He’d wondered more than once if Rory would feel any of his wounds.
“He can show you later, because I don’t want to look at his hairy arse again any time soon. I think it would be better if Peigi tended that wound for now on, ” Flora said, and everyone laughed again. She kicked her horse into a gallop once she spotted Ham with the twins standing in the yard. She was anxious to see them.
“My arse is not hairy!” Craig yelled to her and he heard her laugh.
“Who’s Peigi?” Rory asked Craig as they watched Flora ride away.
“This is Peigi McCabe,” Craig answered. He smiled and nodded at the woman riding on the other side of him, “my wife.” Then he turned to Peigi and said, “Peigi, this is Rory, my twin brother, and fellow mischief-maker.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rory,” Peigi said, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“And it’s probably all true,” Rory said grinning. He could tell by the look on Craig’s face that the lass made his brother happy, and that was all Rory needed to know to like her.
“I’m sure it is,” Peigi said and grinned back.
“These two gave me the most grief when they were young,” Hamish confirmed, nodding at Rory and Craig, “but they also gave me the most laughs. I thought I kept a close eye on them to keep them out of trouble, but I’ve found out the last few years that I missed quite a bit of the things they did.”
“We were just entertaining ourselves, Da,” Rory said, still grinning.
“I hope you both have a son just like yourselves,” Hamish told them both, then added, “or better yet, two of them.” Then he laughed once more.
As they rode through the ga
tes Craig was glad to see the entire family gathered in the yard. All his brothers, sisters by marriage, and nieces and nephews were waiting to see him. He dismounted and planned to help Peigi down from her horse before greeting everyone. He never got the chance. As he walked around his horse to get to hers, his family rushed to him and he was being hugged by everyone.
“It’s about time you got here,” James said.
“Don’t ever do that again,” Alastair said, punching him in the arm before giving him a quick hug.
Hamish helped Peigi down from her horse while Craig was being passed between his siblings and their wives. Hamish understood how they felt finally seeing him alive and well, he’d felt that way himself when they found him at the lodge. Finally, he whistled to get everyone’s attention. They all went silent and turned towards him.
“I’d like you all to meet, Peigi McCabe, Craig’s new wife,” Hamish said. “Now welcome her to the family while I greet my woman.” He stepped back as the family surrounded her and walked to where Davina was waiting on the castle steps.
“I was beginning to worry,” Davina said as Hamish pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
When the kiss ended Davina asked, “he’s married?”
“Aye,” Hamish answered, “I don’t know much about her yet, but she saved Craig’s life, and he loves her.”
“What do you think King James is going to say?” Davina asked.
“I don’t know, Love. I just don’t know,” Hamish answered, a worried look on his face. “Would you like to meet Peigi?”
“Aye,” Davina answered, and took Hamish’s offered arm as he led her back to where the family was still gathered.
***********
“I need to sit for a minute,” Peigi said to Craig as they finished another dance.
Hamish and Davina’s wedding was less than a sennight away, and musicians had arrived at the castle to stay for the next fortnight to celebrate. With all of Craig’s brothers, there was always a dance partner available and Peigi barely had time to sit.
“So do I,” Craig told her as he led her to a seat next to his Da. He poured them both a mug of ale and passed one to her.
A Perfect Match Page 9