Page 63 of In the Highlander's Bed

For a second she was tempted to ask the questions crowding her mind, then decided against it. What was between them was too new for close examination. It needed time to settle. She believed all would work out as it should. He loved her. She loved him.

Was anything else important?

They dressed quickly. Constance’s petticoats had dried. They smelled of the night air and the crystal clear lake.

Before leaving the tent, Constance shyly held back. Gordon reached for her hand. He lifted the flap to allow her to go first.

Most of the clan appeared to be gathered around the cook fires. At the first sight of Constance and Gordon, conversations died down. Heads turned. Necks craned.

Constance had taken great care with her hair, but for the first time she wondered if she looked as lovingly used as she felt. Her body ached in places she’d not known it could ache before. Could they tell by looking at her?

Tad came trotting over to greet them, as eagerto please as always. He’d been at Fiona’s side. Gordon scratched the dog’s head, taking the opportunity to place his possessive arm around Constance’s waist. “Courage,” he whispered, and she realized he was as self-conscious as she herself.

And then someone started clapping, and another person joined in, and then another and another until the clearing rang with applause.

Even Fiona clapped. She came to her brother’s side, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and offered Constance a hug.

“’Tis a good thing,” Emma Reivers said. She wiped her hands on her apron. “’Tis time you handfasted a woman, Gordon. A strong, strapping man like you has needs, and as you can see, we all like Constance. She’s a good one. You don’t want her to escape. Many a lad here would take her in a wink.”

At the word “escape,” several people burst out laughing. One who didn’t was Thomas. From the corner of her eye, Constance saw him standing apart from the others in much the same way Fiona once had.

He caught her glance and turned away with a scowl.

She didn’t care. Right now she didn’t think she’d ever been happier. These people includedher as one of their own. She felt more a part of them than she’d felt anywhere, including her life in the Ohio Valley.

“Handfast?” she asked Gordon.

“It’s the old ways,” he explained. “If there is no man of the church available, a couple can pledge their troth in front of the clan and then their hands would be tied together. They had one year to either marry or part.”

“And we have the rope for you,” Old Rae Reivers shouted, holding up a lead rope like the one Gordon had used to tie them together days ago. Everyone laughed.

But Gordon didn’t take it further.

He kept her by his side. He touched her shoulder, her waist, her cheek. He deferred to her in conversation and, when their eyes met, smiled with such affection her heart made a funny skip.

She remembered him whispering “I love you” the night before. Sheknewhe’d said it, although in the light of day her practical nature warned her to be cautious, but she wanted to heed it.

And in the end the truth was that she didn’t want to be cautious. She was in love. Her heart sang with it. She would not let doubt rob her of this happiness.

If any of the other women noticed that Gordonhad not picked up the idea of handfasting, they were kind enough to not say anything.

Besides, work waited. Gordon went off to drill his men; Constance continued with the challenges of seeing to the needs of so many people.

By the time dinner was over, she was exhausted. Nor did she see Gordon. Her last glimpse of him had been almost an hour earlier. She’d caught sight of him with Jamie, Peter, and some of the other children.

Doubts teased Constance as she walked back to the tent. Perhaps nothing had changed between her and Gordon? Perhaps he was reconsidering what had happened last night?

She’d thought he had been as pleased with the clan’s approval as she, but what if he hadn’t been?

Constance stopped in mid-step. Gordon’s tent was no more than ten feet ahead. Tad wasn’t waiting, and she didn’t know if the dog’s absence was a sign that Gordon wasn’t there. Was she brave enough to go forward? Because if he wasn’t in there, if he wasn’t waiting for her, she feared her spirit would shatter.

How much better would it be to turn away? To not test this fragile love she’d just discovered. Certainly the Reivers would take her in, or Fiona.

In the end it was pride that made her enter the tent—and what she discovered inside sent her heart soaring.

Gordon was there, waiting forher.

He sat in the chair, leaning forward, resting his arms on his legs. His gaze was on the tent flap, and at her entrance the smile on his face erased all her doubts. She ran to his arms.