Twelfth Knight's Bride by E. Elizabeth Watson

Author:E. Elizabeth Watson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Two-Hour Romance Short Reads; Historical Fiction Short Stories; Historical Scottish Fiction, Historical Romances; Scottish Historical Romance; Women's Historical Fiction; Medieval Historical Romance; Holiday romance; Scottish romance; Highlander romance; Scottish Highlands; Christmas Romance; Enemies to lovers romance; revenge romance; Scandalous; Entangled Publishing; Category romance; series romance; Twelfth Night’s Bride; Elizabeth Watson; Scottish Romance; Historical Holiday Romance; Arranged Marriage Romance; Winter; Scottish Mountains; Yuletide
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Scandalous)
Published: 2020-10-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

27th of December

The hall was lively as a bard sang and musicians played in anticipation of the Yule log lighting. Aileana couldn’t remember a time when such merrymaking had graced the halls of Urquhart. She watched maids dance with soldiers, smiles on their faces. Guarded smiles cast her way from time to time, too. What should she make of that? Guardsmen chanted along to the bard’s song with tankards held high, and children dashed about, weaving through the others and sneaking nibbles off platters. She smiled at their antics.

“The dancing is merry,” Lady Brighde said beside her as they bound their ashen twigs for the Yule fire. “Do ye think ye’ll try dancing tonight? I was sad to see ye skip the fanfare last night.”

Lord no. The commons floor would probably clear of all the people wanting to evade proximity to a Grant. She swallowed. Still, ever since arriving, Brighde had made an effort to be welcoming and charitable, just as James had promised she would, and Aileana would foster the chance to be sisterly.

“I admit, I’m tired this eve, but will enjoy watching the festivities. And ye?” she replied. “Do ye plan to dance?”

Brighde grinned. “The night away, aye. This is my favorite season. I enjoy this comradery and warmth and cannae imagine a winter without it.”

Aileana summoned a smile, in spite of the sadness Brighde’s remark evoked. If only her people, too, could find pleasure in the season, for it was an experience so far in her past, it felt foreign now. She had no right to find pleasure relaxing within this enemy hall, basking in having enough, which admittedly felt…wonderful.

“It might interest ye to learn that my brother is actually quite light of foot when he dances and surely wouldna’ mind a good reel with his new bride, in case ye change yer mind.” Brighde winked at Aileana now. “I see the way he watches ye. He’s unable to peel his gaze away. I’ve never seen him so taken with a woman before.”

Heat ravaged Aileana’s cheeks to be the center of so much attention. She cupped her hand upon one.

“How are yer twigs, lady?” Brighde changed the subject.

Aileana tucked the flexible ends of the evergreen around the sticks—a never-ending process, it seemed. For each day they made more, and each eve, the womenfolk burned them with a blessing tied to them, the sparks induced by the popping evergreen fabled to be the magic of the blessing coming true. She stacked it in the basket between them.

“I suspect I’ve made at least a dozen,” she replied.

“And yet ye give them away, and nay once have ye made yer own blessing.”

God no. After last night, Aileana had learned her lesson well. These folk would certainly grab torches and pitchforks if she declared a blessing in front of everyone. And yet the faces had been gentler today. She’d been treated to a kind smile or two, a curtsy here and there.

A cluster of young girls arrived before her now, giggling, red-cheeked with embarrassment.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.