him as well. So, he mused as he looked at his pale, trembling bride, he was free to marry.
As the day dragged on, Alpin fought the urge to go to Sophie. His mood grew darker with every passing hour, every badly smothered sob of his distraught bride. Alpin did think it odd that Eric seemed to share his mood. It was not until they gathered in the bailey to begin the ride to the church that Alpin realized he had not seen even a fleeting glimpse of Sophie or Nella all day.
“Where is Sophie?” he asked Eric as the man rode up, leading the horse Alpin would ride to the church.
“Gone,” Eric replied while Alpin swung himself up into the saddle.
“Gone? Gone where?”
“She and Nella left to return to their home a few hours ago. Lady Sophie said ’twas best, for ye would be tied to Lady Margaret by vows said before God and that was a line she didnae want to cross. Feared she might be tempted if she stayed here. I sent three of the lads with them. Couldnae let them travel alone.”
“Nay, of course not,” he muttered, blindly nudging his mount into following the others to the village.
Alpin was stunned. He had wanted Sophie to leave, had thought it for the best. Yet, now that she was gone, he felt more desolate than he ever had before. This was how it should be, yet it felt all wrong. He certainly did not feel noble. When a man gave up what he wanted for the greater good, for the benefit of someone else, should he not feel some pride in himself, some warmth in the knowledge that he had done the right thing? All he felt was cold; chilled to the very bone.
It made no sense, he thought as he blindly obeyed someone’s command to kneel next to his weeping bride. Sophie had only been in his life for a month. Most of that time he had tried to avoid her or he had been yelling at her. How could the loss of one tiny, irritating woman make him feel so shattered inside?
He took his bride’s sweaty, shaking hand in his and looked at her. She was desolate and terrified, yet he had barely spoken two words to her in the fortnight she had been at Nochdaidh. Sophie had seen him at his worst and had never faltered. Could he have wronged Sophie in a way by thinking her too weak to endure what might yet come?
“Sir Alpin?” called the priest. “Your vows? ’Tis time to speak your vows.”
Alpin looked at the priest, then looked back at Margaret. “Nay,” he said as he slowly stood up. “Not to this lass.”
“This was agreed to with your father,” yelled Sir Peter as he glared at Alpin. “Your sword arm for her dowry, the land, and the coin. Ye cannae simply say nay.”
“Aye, I can. I suspect we can come to some agreement if ye feel a need for my sword arm. But not this way.”
“But, the land, the wealth? Your father was eager for them.”
“I dinnae want the land or the coin. I want,” Alpin thought of Sophie, “smiles.” He looked at Margaret, who had prostrated herself at the feet of the priest, kissing the hem of his robe as she muttered prayers of thanksgiving. “I want courage. I want someone who will stand beside me, nay cower or faint each time I enter the room. I want to be loved,” he added softly, a hint of astonishment in his voice. “I intend to be a selfish bastard and go get what I want and hold fast to it.”
“Thank God,” said Eric. “She rode southeast. She and Nella refused to ride anything but those ponies, so they should be easy enough to catch if we ride hard.”
Although he was curious as to why Eric looked so elated, Alpin decided now was not the time to discuss that. “I thought to leave ye here to make sure the priest will still be here and ready when I return.”
“Nay, I ride with ye.” Eric ordered a man named Duncan to watch the priest, then turned back to Alpin. “Ye will have to ride hard to get her, bring her back here, wed her, and get back within the walls of Nochdaidh ere the sun rises. Thought I would ride with Nella and leave the lads to follow at a slower pace.”
“Nella, is it?” Alpin grinned when Eric blushed, then started out of the church, idly noting that his people looked uncommonly cheerful. “Nella who rattles because she wears so many amulets and charms? A bit timid.”
“Aye,” agreed Eric as he and Alpin mounted their horses, “but, if ye recall, ’twas timid, wee Nella who put herself between your sword point and her ladyship’s heart that first day.”
“Ah, so she did. Timid, but no coward.” Alpin nudged his horse into an easy pace for, despite his sense of urgency, he had to go through the village with care.
“And, nay matter what happens, she is now, weel, accustomed to Nochdaidh. She will stay.”
“Do ye think I am being too selfish?” Alpin asked quietly.
“Ah, m’laird, mayhap, but isnae every mon? But, ’tisnae some weak miss ye go after. She kens it all, e’en a lot of our dark history. Why dinnae ye just let her decide?”
Eric was right, Alpin thought, as they reached the edge of the village and kicked their mounts into a gallop. Sophie was a strong, clever woman who knew exactly what he was and what he could become. She even knew they would have to make some hard decisions concerning a child. It was time to place the decision in her small, capable hands.
“I am sorry, m’lady,” Nella said as she sat next to Sophie near the fire the men had built.
“Aye, so am I.” She glanced at the three young men from Nochdaidh who stood to the far side of the campsite deciding how they would divide up the watch. “At least this time we travel with some protection.”
“True. ’Tis a comfort of sort.” Nella sighed and idly poked a stick into the fire. “I had hoped the laird would see the truth.”
“Weel, what we understand to be the truth.”
“ ’Tis the truth. I ken it deep in my heart. The words at the end of that vile curse say it clear. And I believe the fact that ’twould be a Galt woman and a MacCordy mon would make the curative power of the match e’en stronger.”
Sophie nodded. “It was verra hard to say naught, but that also had to be.” She smiled slightly when she saw how carefully Nella watched her. “Dinnae fret o’er me. I may have hoped for something different, but I anticipated such an ending. And, aye, I suspect I shall trouble ye with some bad days, but, at the moment, I am numb. ’Tisnae just that I have lost the mon I love, but I fear I have lost all chance of ending Rona’s curse. And mayhap my pain is already eased by the knowledge that I will still have his child to love.”
“His what?!”
“Hush, Nella. His child,” she whispered.
“Nay. How can ye tell so soon?”
“Trust me, Nella. I am certain. I felt it the moment the seed was planted. ’Tis odd, though, for Alpin was certain no MacCordy laird had e’er bred a bastard. Who can say? Mayhap the end of the curse will come through this child. Mayhap ’tis fate at work here.”
“And mayhap your kinsmen willnae bring the roof down with their angry bellows?”
“Ah, there is that. Weel, we shall deal with that trouble when it presents itself. Best we get some sleep now,” Sophie said as she moved to the rough bed of blankets arranged for her and Nella. “We didnae cover much distance this day and I should like to get an early start in the morning.”
“Alpin?” Sophie heard herself say as she abruptly sat up.
“M’lady? Is something wrong?” asked her guard, Angus.
“A dream, I think.”
Since Angus had chosen the first watch, Sophie knew she had only slept an hour or two. She looked around but saw no sign of Alpin. Yet she could not shake the strong feeling that he was near at hand. Just as she was deciding that she was letting false hope lead her, Alpin and Eric rode into the camp. She sat stunned as Alpin dismounted and walked to her bed to stand over