“Tonight there will be a Yule log. The vicars are locked in their houses and we will be celebrating with good spirits. You will see how Scots enjoy a party, Gloriana.” Jeremiah looked a treat in a black and gold doublet with his kilt. Oh, but he had great legs in his stockings tied with garters and shiny black dress shoes. A silver pin held more plaid at his shoulder. This was his court look at its best. He held his hands behind his back as he looked me over.
“Do I look fit to be seen before the king?” I twirled in front of him. “I wouldn’t want to disgrace you.” I wore a red velvet dress I’d had made in London but not yet worn. Jeremiah had been so generous with me, urging me to shop with Maggie when he had had meetings with the king.
“You are beautiful, fully recovered from whatever that witch did to you.” He held out a package. “I bought you something for Yuletide. This is the first of several gifts for the season. See if you like it.”
I tore into the paper. It was a necklace and matching earrings made of gold with ruby drops. It would look a treat with my dress.
“Jeremiah! This is too fine!” I held the necklace up to my exposed chest. The dress was low-cut, as my lover liked it. “I have nothing for you.” I couldn’t wait to remedy that.
“Nothing is too fine for you, my love. You give me everything I need. No gift could match the way you look at me, Gloriana. It fills my heart.” He kissed me sweetly, then turned me and fastened the necklace while I blinked back sudden tears.
He dropped another kiss below the clasp beneath my hair, then whirled me around. “I knew it would suit you as soon as I saw it. I went to my mother’s favorite jeweler here in town.” He smiled. “You look beautiful. Now put on the earrings and let’s go. I heard my intended bride will be there. We must start our campaign to turn her attention elsewhere this night.”
I quickly put on the earrings. If only I could see myself in a mirror! I felt the swing of the earrings against my neck, glad my hair was pulled back with simple gold pins. I’d left the rest of it to flow down my back. Mercy had brushed my hair until she claimed it “shone like a gold coin”. The young maid had already set up a flirtation with a footman, much to Valdez’s relief, and would be exploring the city with him during the day while I was in my death sleep.
Before we left, Jeremiah handed me a goblet of fresh blood. “We have servants on our staff who are willing donors. Just as at the castle, they are well paid for this. Drink up. We will need our strength tonight. I would be surprised if we will leave the king’s castle until just before dawn.”
I should have known the Campbells would have arranged things to suit their unique lives. The scent was reassuring and I emptied the goblet quickly. I felt as if Red Mary had never touched me and Jeremiah too seemed fully recovered. I admitted my nerves fought with excitement to see the inside of the famous Edinburgh castle and the king again. Such a fine life I had fallen into. I could never have dreamed of such good fortune.
“The carriage is here.” Valdez was in his usual black. He had my fur-trimmed velvet cloak over his arm, taking it from our butler. He had hovered over me ever since what he saw as his failure to protect me from Devlin.
I had no doubt he would stay close at court. Jeremiah had explained to the king that he needed Valdez near his mistress because of a jealous former suitor of mine. That had amused the king and he had allowed Valdez entry into all the events we would attend during the holidays. I had a feeling the king was humoring Jeremiah so he would accept this alliance he had arranged. The very thought of such forced marriages for political purposes made my hands fist.
“It seems silly to take a carriage when we are so close to the king’s castle.” I let Jeremiah help me into the stately coach. The Campbell coat of arms was emblazoned on the side. I settled against the plush seat, a warm brick at my feet. The journey would take less than ten minutes.
“It is part of the show. We will be announced at the door, everyone will look and gossip about us, and the coachmen will talk about where we are staying and the quality of our cattle.” Jeremiah patted my hand. We were alone. Valdez was up on the box with the coachman.
“I suppose if it looked like the Campbells had fallen on hard times, the coach was shabby or the horses inferior, the king would hear about it before tomorrow’s noonday meal.” I gripped Jeremiah’s hand. My nerves were winning over my excitement. We were in Campbell territory. I didn’t doubt Mag would have friends here and she would get a full report if I put a step wrong. That would make her gleeful. I was surprised she hadn’t arrived to take over the townhouse. It was certainly her right. I said as much.
“King James prefers a young crowd.” Jeremiah smiled. “My parents weren’t summoned and wouldn’t dare appear without an invitation. You will notice that the heirs are here, not the lairds. Jamie looks to the future. He is not wrong to think that way.” The carriage lurched to a stop and the door opened. “Yes, we are already here.” He kicked down the steps and offered his hand. “I say it again. You look beautiful. I will be proud to have you on my arm, Gloriana.”
It was the right thing to say. I couldn’t stop smiling as he led me up the steps and into the stone castle that loomed over the city like a fierce guardian. The well-armed soldiers who lined the steps stood stiff at attention. It was a show of force that made me shiver. But inside, there were more than a thousand candles that showed a festive atmosphere. Greenery was everywhere and the red berries on bunches of mistletoe above the doorways made Jeremiah whisper that he would catch me later under one and give me a kiss.
As soon as we were announced—Lord Jeremiah Campbell, Madame Gloriana St. Clair, if you please—a footman hurried up to Jeremiah and thrust a note into his hand.
“The lady said it was urgent.” He scurried away with a furtive look, not even waiting for a coin.
Jeremiah stepped behind a potted evergreen and opened the small note. “This is interesting.” He showed it to me. “Fiona must not be any more eager for this match than I am.”
I read the brief note. “Meet me in the library now and bring your lady. Fi.” The handwriting was bold even in the small space allowed by the scrap of fine paper.
“You got that from this message?” I took his arm as we made a leisurely stroll through the crowded rooms in a path that I assumed would get us to the library. There were roaring fires and dozens of the same kinds of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen who had thronged the king’s court in London with a major difference. Here there were mostly the kilts and plaids of the clans on those men in attendance. Even some of the ladies proudly displayed their clan plaids in shawls or a scarf over their shoulders. Wives of some of the heirs, Jeremiah explained. Of course the jewels were dazzling and I kept touching my own jewel at my neck, glad I could hold my own in this company.
The king was not in attendance yet. Or at least I didn’t see him. There was an empty dais next one of the many fireplaces, the largest one. I assumed it would hold the Yule log. Jeremiah had already explained that custom and I looked forward to when the log would be brought in with great fanfare.
“Fi would not want a private meeting just to say she looked forward to our marriage. As I told you, I think she has her eye on another. There was gossip in London about her and a Scot as soon as he arrived to attend Jamie. How the king feels about that, I don’t know. Jamie and Fiona are cousins and are quite close. I believe he thinks he is arranging this marriage to please her. Certainly he didn’t do it to please me.” Jeremiah stopped at a hallway, looked around to be sure we weren’t being followed, then eased me ahead of him. “Here we are.”
The library doors were massive and beautifully carved. Jeremiah pushed one of them open then got me safely inside before he turned the lock behind us. A woman stood in front of yet another huge fireplace. I hardly noticed the walls lined with books or the furnishings. My eyes were drawn to the woman who had been chosen to be Jeremiah’s bride. She turned at the sound from the doorway. Of course she was beautiful. Her dark hair was sprinkled with diamonds an
d her brilliant blue eyes shone in the light from a brace of candles on the table next to her. She had a perfect heart-shaped face that would make her irresistible to most men. She wore black so crusted with diamonds and pearls that the dress alone glittered with light. It belled around her below breasts plumped above a scandalously low neckline. A diamond chain held a pearl the size of an egg that nestled between the generous mounds.
How could Jeremiah choose me over her? But one look at him and I could see he was smiling, seemingly not dazzled at all. He squeezed my hand before he bowed before her as formally as he would any woman he might meet.
“I am here at your command, my dear.” He straightened.
“Jeremiah! Say you are as loathe to marry me as I am to marry you!” She rushed forward, her hands held out to him.
“What a greeting, Fi!” He laughed and took her hands, kissing her on each pale cheek. “I am wounded.”
“You are not.” She turned to look me over. “Introduce me to the lovely girl on your arm who is looking daggers at me.”
I blinked. Had I? I had hoped to hide it. I dropped into a curtsy and lowered my eyes.
“Fi, this is Madame Gloriana St. Clair. Gloriana, may I introduce Fiona Boyd, Duchess of Argyll. Fi, Gloriana holds my heart.”
A duchess! Was there nothing this woman didn’t offer? I deepened my curtsy. Jeremiah was turning her down for me? I was surely dreaming and would wake up in that alley beside the Globe with another lump on my head. Then I’d be forced to sell myself for a penny. I slowly rose to face her.
“Why she is lovely. And you are smitten at long last, my dear friend. I am happy for you. For both of you.” She finally let go of his hands. “This makes the matter so much easier.” She ran her hands over what I finally noticed was a quite plump middle. Jeremiah noticed as well.
“Fi, have you gotten yourself into a difficult situation?” Jeremiah stared at her hand, still stroking those jewels on her stomach, deliberately I thought.
“Do I look like I have? I certainly hope so. I had my maid sew a cushion into my petticoats so everyone would think I was in an interesting condition.” She turned sideways. “What do you think, Gloriana? Could I be, oh, about seven months along?”
“Your grace, I am not sure I could say, but the fashions today conceal such things well. Unless you want everyone to know and gossip about it.” I wasn’t sure how to talk to such a lofty lady.
“Of course I do. I am setting a trap, you see.” Fi laughed merrily. “The man I want has no idea. Nor does the king. But King Jamie and I have been friends since wee babes. And he owes me.” Her face hardened. “I hope you have been given the freedom to choose your man, Gloriana. I was not for my first husband. I was married at fourteen to Argyll. The rutting beast gave me three fine sons as quickly as he could then got two daughters on me before he turned to his favorite mistress.” She pulled a lace handkerchief from her sleeve and touched her eyes. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I loved the lusty satyr when all was said and done. Damn him for dying in her arms.”
“Fi, I’ve heard your boy Douglas is a fine man, his own marriage arranged this Yuletide.” Jeremiah touched her shoulder. “I hope he will be happy in it.”
“He is only eighteen but already knows his own mind. I would never arrange a marriage for my own child.” Her mouth firmed. “Thank God, the minute he saw Liza MacHugh he had to have her. She is imminently suitable and will do well as his duchess. Her dowry brings us fine lands and a good clan alliance as well.”
Fi had pulled herself together. “You see how it will be though. I do not want to be the Dowager Duchess, bothering them in their newlywed bliss. Let the girl run her house as she wishes. I will marry for love this time, see if I don’t.” She flounced back to the fire, her wide skirts knocking against a small table and almost toppling a vase. I hurried to catch it. “Then Jamie tries to push me into this arrangement. At Yuletide!”
“What do you need from me, Fiona? You know I cannot refuse the king’s orders.” Jeremiah followed her. I stayed on his heels. I did not want to miss a word of this plot, my relief that this beauty didn’t want my man almost making my legs weak.
“Now you know I love you like a brother, Jeremiah. If I needed an army at my back, needed saving from a dastardly deed, I would call for you. Never doubt it.” She smiled up at him. The woman was tiny. I could see she stirred all of Jeremiah’s protective instincts. I moved a little closer.
“And I would come running, Fiona. There was a time I worried that Argyll’s temper had turned on you. Jamie even sent me word to go around and see how things were there.” He was holding her hand again, damn him.
“I know. Argyll loved me in his way. Loved me in his bed at least. He did have a ready temper but never raised his hand to me. He didn’t dare. He needed me. I was a good manager. No one can run a castle like I can. Argyll never had to speak to a steward or see to his lands and that was how he liked it. All he cared about was hunting, raiding or fighting a war if one was on. He was never happier than with his men and a sword in his hand.” The hanky was out again. “I am still young, Jeremiah. I want a man who has a little wildness to him and knows how to please me. I think you know who I want.” She squeezed his hand. “He is not your favorite person.”
“No, he is not. Are you sure of this? If you claim the babe you are pretending to carry is his, he will deny it.” Jeremiah glanced at me. “I have reason to know it cannot be his.”
“Pah, I know some of his secrets, yours as well. They do not scare me. Mayhap I am crazed by years of lost youth, but I look forward to a life with new things to learn. He will have to go along with my charade or risk losing his life and disgracing his clan. I think the disgrace will weigh on him most heavily, don’t you? The king will not tolerate my humiliation in front of the court.”
“Of course not. And clan pride is important. But your lover may make you pay for this deception. His own pride is no small thing, Fi. You surely learned that from Argyll.” Jeremiah frowned. “If this doesn’t work out, you know how to reach me.”
“Of course.” She finally let go of him. “I am forced to do this before the crowd gathered for the holiday. I tried to have a private word with Jamie, but he put me off. Ignored my notes and claimed he had too many affairs of state to spare time for a cousin’s problems.” She sighed. “He knows me too well and did not want to listen to my objections. It is Jamie’s fault we will do this in front of everyone and risk humiliation for both of us.”
“If you force this, you may end with a husband who hates you for this trick.” Jeremiah reached for her hand this time. “Are you sure this is what you wish to do?”
“Would you rather be bound to me and a life of misery?” She cried out, then seemed to remember that the walls could have ears. “No, I have decided this is best. He loves me, I know it. We shall have a good life together. He just needs to be brought around to the idea and this trick will do it.” She rubbed that mound beneath her bejeweled velvet again. “Rest assured, I will cry bitter tears to all and sundry, when the babe is stillborn in a few weeks. I am a trifle old for childbearing, or so some people will whisper, so no one will question it. Not yet four and thirty!” She smiled at me. “Gloriana, you are very young. Enjoy your youth with Jeremiah. It is fleeting.”
“Yes, your grace. I know.” I wondered who she wanted. I couldn’t wait to find out. I tried to read her mind but Jeremiah kept stepping between us so I could not look into her eyes. He must have read her mind or perhaps he’d heard the court gossip in London. We followed her to the door and waited while Jeremiah unlocked it then looked out to see if anyone was lingering outside.
“You leave first, Fiona. Don’t worry about the man in the hall, he is ours and loyal to me. If anyone tried to spy on this meeting, Valdez would be sure to send them on their way. Gloriana and I will be out in moments.” He kissed her cheek. “You plan to do this tonight?”
“I must. Jamie is hot to get these marriages in train. Don’t be surprised if he announces s
ome of the alliances before the Yule Log comes in.” She patted his hand, smiled at me and then was gone in a swish of skirts.
Jeremiah closed the door again. “That was certainly a surprise.”
“The Duchess of Argyll! What an honor if you had married into that family.” I wondered if he had thought this through. Yes, it was complicated as a vampire, but the advantages of the connection couldn’t be denied.
“She is a Royal Stuart as well, close cousin to Jamie. That is why she can undoubtedly get away with changing his plans. It was clever of her to claim to be carrying another man’s child. I am heir to my clan. How could I accept her babe? A boy would be my heir. Even Jamie would not ask that of me.” Jeremiah stared at the floor. “I cannot like what she is planning or who she is trapping. She knows too much about some things as well. Stay close to me, Gloriana. Anything can happen when Fiona speaks to the king this night.”
“You sound worried. Surely she won’t say anything that can hurt you, will she?” I still burned at the way she had kept touching my man. “Will you tell me who she loves? Obviously you know.” His mind was blocked as usual.
“It is best that you be as surprised as the rest of the courtiers. It will show on your face. That will work to our advantage. I must pretend I am disappointed that Fiona will not be mine. There may be something in it for me later. A boon when I need one. Unless things go terribly wrong.” Jeremiah opened the door again. “Forget I said that. The king loves Fiona like a sister. I know that. She will talk him around to what she wants, I am sure of it. Now we’d better go, I hear the music beginning. There will be dancing later in the Great Hall. I will enjoy holding you again.”
“Dancing, marriage announcements, and the king deciding your future. This night promises to be more dramatic than one of Shakespeare’s plays.” I held onto his arm as we strolled toward what sounded like a mob of people determined to make merry. I smiled like I was having a grand time. I hoped the evening ended with us both smiling.
Real Vampires: A Highland Christmas (The Real Vampires series Book 14) Page 19