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“Mistress Hay, I greet you,” the king said, raising Fiona to her feet.
“And I you, my liege lord,” Fiona said quietly, her heart hammering with excitement. “I hope you will allow me to pledge you my loyalty.”
“And that of your clan, too, I hope,” the king replied.
Fiona chuckled. “I fear, my liege, that I have few clansmen.”
“How many?” His amber eyes were amused.
“There are but five of us, my liege. Myself, my two little sisters, and our two servants,” Fiona told him.
“Five loyal Scots is as good a start as any king can have,” James Stewart said gravely, and then he bowed gallantly to her.
“You have pleased him,” Angus Gordon told her when the king had left them to greet the others.
The royal party moved on past Edinburgh to the capital, Perth. The young queen was charmed by the raw beauty of the land. As they moved farther north, the terrain became more mountainous. They crossedmany swift-running streams and traveled by and around a number of lakes.
They came to the town of Perth on the twentieth of April. The king and his queen would stay at Scone Palace on the grounds of the abbey.
“I love ye, my liege,” Angus Gordon said when the king asked him to join his court, “but I canna do so, for there are matters at Loch Brae to which I must attend.”
“Stay with us for the coronation, Black Angus,” the king said, “and afterward I will ask ye to but bide with me a little while. In the autumn ye will go home, and I will come with ye to hunt the red deer.”
It was a request, but it was also a command. The laird of Loch Brae bowed his head in submission to the king's will.
“’Tis not for very long,” Fiona comforted her lover that evening as they lay abed. She stroked his dark head resting upon her naked breasts. “’Twill be verra exciting to see a king crowned, Angus. We're not likely to have such an opportunity again.”
“Ye'll need a new gown.”
“Nay,” she said, “the gowns I have are barely worn, and my surcoats are in good condition.”
“A white undergown,” he said, “and the gold-and-white brocade surcoat must be trimmed in white fur.”
“As you wish, but I will not wear one of those silly headdresses,” Fiona said. “Imagine putting horns upon a woman's head. It makes a female look like a cow with a veil.” She sighed as he began to caress her.
“I can understand yer aversion to cattle these days, lassie,” he teased her, raising his head just enough so he might kiss her now plump breasts. “Why, ye've become almost respectable.”
She gave the dark hair a severe yank, and he swore softly, half laughing. “Yer a villain, Black Angus,”she said, “despite yer close association to our king. Will I never be free of this debt to ye?”
“Never!” he said fiercely, pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard. “I will not let ye go, Fiona Hay. Ye are mine!”
Hamish Stewart and his wife, Janet, came down from the hills to attend the king's coronation. They brought with them young James Gordon and Jean Hay. The sisters embraced warmly; then Fiona stepped back to look at Jeannie, who was now twelve. Her sister had grown taller and had the beginnings of breasts, but in one thing she had not changed. She was still determined to marry James Gordon.
“Why, Jeannie lass, ye've grown quite fair,” the laird complimented the girl. “Ye'll soon be a woman, I can see.”
“Then match me with my Jamie-boy,” Jean Hay said boldly.
The object of her affections groaned and rolled his eyes, driving the others to laughter.
“It would be a good match for ye both,” Angus Gordon said. “I have always thought it, brother. Perhaps the time has come to arrange it before some other swain sweeps Jeannie off her feet and takes her away from ye.” He smiled.
“She's too young to bed,” James Gordon grumbled. “I want a wife I can bed. Besides, she has no lands of her own, and I want a wife with property, Angus. Surely ye can understand that.”
Janet Gordon Stewart looked to her elder brother but was uncharacteristically silent.
“I'll give ye some of the lands in the glen,” the laird said.
“For Jeannie Hay? ”wasthe surprised response.
