Lady Eilean

Chapter 11

Walther was "officially" wed a few weeks later. It was a lovely late spring evening and the great hall was thrown open to the elements. Only the smallest of fires crackled merrily in the grates, keeping off the slight chill that occasionally blew in to nip at cheeks and noses. Partygoers laughed and drank and embraced the festive mood. Even the counterfeit bride and groom joined in on the fun. It had been a clever trick by the priest, to wed them without truly marrying them. With a handful of sly word changes and a clever rearrangement of the vows, only a religious scholar could have noticed the deceit. Aside from the priest himself, there was no one of such character at Stormway.

Miss Sterling — Walther's would-be bride — had married her true love a few hours before. With both Walther and Miss Sterling wed to their respective choices, they were more than able to laugh and drink and wink at each other as newlyweds ought. It was an amusing deception, one that me, Alex, and my brothers took great pride in. Walther and Bess planned to depart to the Mainland within a few weeks. The ruse only had to last until then. According to my brother, preparations were well underway.

Alex sat beside me at the head table, at the formal place added for him between me and Robert. As my father had explained while demanding the place setting, he was, after all, one of the family. Alex's thigh pressed against my own under the table, and it was hard to concentrate beyond the heat of his body radiating into my own. My hand itched to rest on his knee. It would be so easy to settle my fingers on his leg, the action hidden by the tablecloth.

The days between Walther's wedding and this sham affair had been rife with stolen moments. A steady ratcheting up of the teasing and banter Alex and I often shared. There had been a shift in intent. Our quick words and boastful grins translated into a new, secretive language. There was a tension in our exchanges that made my heart thrum and my mind trill. I lived for it, surviving between one conversation and the next by supping on the delight of each encounter. A feeling, urgent and hungry, twirled low in my abdomen. I was clueless, bumbling along; but I was having glorious fun.

Alex's knee knocked against mine and I bit my bottom lip to steady my heartbeat. Daringly, I did what I wanted and settled my palm over his thigh.

Slowly turning toward me with a golden goblet in his hand and a knowing grin, Alex raised his drink. "To the fairest offspring of Stormway. It is only by coincidence that you are a woman, too." he toasted. "I am glad I came to visit. And I am very glad that we are such good friends again."

I smiled and raised my cup, "To charmers from foreign soils who pretend to flatter me while spending the evening making moony eyes at my brother Timothy — "

"That was a secret affair! He swore no one saw us!"

I laughed. "Well, then to handsome gentlemen who know good company when they see it. I am, after all, such a captivating and charming person." I bowed my head toward him. "And humble."

For the first time in my life, I felt comfortable. Unafraid to laugh or trade barbs. I found time and courage enough to walk out of endlessly tedious afternoons spent sitting with Mother to meet Alex in the kitchens. We'd eat hot buns straight from the ovens. Laughing and taunting each other as hot icing dribbled down our chins. It had been months since I felt the pull of that old, oppressive fog. It wasn't so much that the world had flickered back into existence, but that I had been given a chance to be in the world at all. I felt myself blossom. Long dormant feelings of spirit, humor, defiance, and delight ignited in my chest.

"You seem happy tonight," Alex commented as I offered him a bright smile.

"I am," I said sincerely.

Alex beamed over the rim of his wine glass, "I am glad. How are we going to welcome dear Miss Sterling to the family? I'm fresh out of frogs, I'm afraid."