The Highlander's Secret(18)
He handed the ladle back to her with a grin and she felt her cheeks get hot, saying, “Well, it’s the least I could do. We’ll have a lunch prepared fer ye to keep yer strength up.”
She turned and went back inside, bringing the bucket with her.
The rest of the day seemed to fly by, and before she knew it Alan and Rodrick were headed home for the day to wash up before the party. Jain and Aileen took great care in finishing up their chores as well so they wouldn’t be late. As the sun began to set, Jain and her family started off towards the festival. She’d changed into a linen dress Aileen had embellished with Celtic knotwork around the neckline. It was the finest garment she owned by far, with a full skirt and fitted lacing along the back. Wearing it was one of the few times Jain actually enjoyed the way she looked and even left her hair down at Moira's request. Instead of her usual scarf, her red tresses had been crowned with a wreath of wheat and barley. Aileen and her mother had similar ones made for themselves and Jain thought they all looked positively radiant.
When they went outside, Eamon hitched Angus up to the wagon so Moira wouldn’t have to walk up the hill and risk straining her hip.
Aileen giggled when he urged the horse forward and started on the path towards Elign. Jain couldn’t help but smile at her cousin because her enthusiasm was infectious. She looped her arm around Aileen and laughed, deciding to enjoy herself for once.
Eamon led the horse beside them through the outer gate that led into the village. They grew closer to the village green and Jain glanced around at the other families coming out to join the festival as well. Everyone around her was chatting excitedly and the whole world seemed abuzz with anticipation for the night’s festivities. Jain’s heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Alan again, but was distracted by the splendor of the harvest preparations.
Her eyes widened as she took it in. Everyone was dressed up in their finest clothes, and a giant feast had been prepared and laid out on several trestle tables with benches for the populace to sit on. On the stone floor outside the keep was a special table for all the nobles resembling a high dais in the great hall. Keenan and his wife Gracie were in the center, wearing their finest raiment as they chatted with some other prominent villagers.
In the center of it all was a giant bonfire, crackling as the flames kicked up the sides of the wooden pyre. Jain watched the flames dancing. “Have ye seen Heather yet?” Jain asked.
Eamon shook his head. “Sorry, lass.”
Aileen’s face lit up amidst the orange glow of the bonfire and Jain turned to see what caught her cousin’s eye. She was unsurprised to see Rodrick waving from across the green and smiled when Aileen scampered off to greet him.
Jain shook her head and smiled, casting her eyes one more time across the crown before hearing a voice speak up behind her. “Are ye looking fer someone?”
When she heard his voice, Jain smiled and turned around to see Alan in the fire light. “I was looking fer Heather.”
Alan glanced back the way he came and shook his head. “Sorry, I haven't seen her.”
“Oh,” she squeaked out awkwardly.
As she looked at him, Alan grinned and offered her his arm. “In the meantime, would ye like to dance?”
Jain bit into her smile and nodded while she looped her arm in his. “Aye, that would be fine.”
Alan smiled. They walked over to the bonfire to join in the dancing revelry. Couples were dancing arm in arm and laughing while they spun around in circles. She glanced over at her partner and Jain felt like her skin could ignite with flames with the heat of Alan's touch. They joined hands as the lute and drums started playing with a bounce in their step and grinning widely from ear to ear.
Jain laughed as the tempo changed and their rhythm shifted to keep in time with the music. Despite his great height and the wide breadth of his shoulders, Alan was light on his feet, and he kept up with her better movements.
She was having so much fun that when one song ended and another began, they just kept dancing with each other.
Other couples came and went, joining them dancing by the fire. She didn't pay any attention to all of that because she only had eyes for Alan.
The melody ended at the end of another song and the crowd erupted in applause. Alan bent down to whisper in Jains ear, “I'm getting rather parched would ye like to have something to drink with me?”
Jain nodded and followed him over to the feast where the food and drinks were being served. “I’d love a cup of mead,” she told him.
Alan nodded and handed her a cup of mead before getting one himself and turning back toward the fire.
Jain glanced over and saw Aileen and Rodrick dancing just like they had been a few minutes prior. They looked happy, and in love. It made Jain happy for her.
Alan downed his drink and pointed over towards the keep. “I found Heather fer ye. She's over there talking with Conrad.”
Jains eyes bulged and her head whipped around to find them exactly where Alan spotted her.
“Nae,” she gasped. “What's a sweet lass like Heather Gordon doing with Conrad?”
Alan nodded in agreement. “That I couldn't tell ye. I've never liked Conrad much myself. He's a skilled fighter, but arrogant and rude. He’s constantly talking back to Bruce and expects us to work fer free.”
Jain agreed. “My Uncle Keenan doesn't like him either. He said Conrad’s temper gets the best of him and they cannae let someone that unhinged be in a position of authority.”