The Highlander's Secret(54)
Jain shifted her weight and asked, “Alan…do ye still want to marry me? I mean even after all of this?”
Alan pulled back from her surprised. “Aye, lass! More than anything.”
Her smiled widened, exposing the dimples in her cheek. “Good, because I cannae wait to be yer wife. Ye’re sweet and good and everything I could every want fer myself in a husband.”
Alan smiled back at her, reaching up to brush his fingers through her hair. “I will try my best not to disappoint ye.”
She dipped her head to kiss him briefly on the lips and Alan breathed with a sigh.
“I dinnae want to wait any longer, until after the Vikings have been dealt with,” Jain told him. “There will always be a reason to postpone. I want to start a life with ye as soon as possible.”
He tucked a curl of hair behind her ear and sighed. “That’s a sentiment I completely understand. If yer da will give his permission, I would marry ye in the morning.”
Jain grinned, backing away from him. “Then ye’d be happy to ken that I already spoke with him about it. The preacher is expecting us on the morrow.”
Alan shook his head. “I might have ken.”
She paused in the doorway before she left and smiled. “I’ll be ready fer ye, Alan. That’s one thing ye can be sure of.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Jain sat quietly on Nora’s bench while her aunt wove flowers into her hair around the edges of her veil. The red waves of her hair had been plaited into an exquisite crown on the back of her head with a handful of pins to hold them in place. Aunt and cousin had spent the morning bathing her from head to foot until she was clean and polished. Jain had never felt so loved and cared for as she did on the morning of her wedding.
Moira had surprised her with a stunning blue surcote to wear over her linen gown. The fabric was soft as lamb’s wool and made of the finest material Jain had ever seen. A portion of lacing in the back caused the material to accentuate her bust and hug her curves in a most attractive fashion. A sash of plaid fabric was hung across her chest over one shoulder.
“Ye look beautiful,” Aileen sighed while joining her. “Alan is a lucky man.”
Jain smiled at her and said, “I love him so much, Aileen. We’re a perfect match in every way. It’s the happiest day of my life.”
Her cousin laughed gently, with her eyes cast down toward the floor. “Ye must be nervous,” she prodded lightly.
Nora chuckled and finished securing the flowers before turning to face her daughter. “Dinnae be putting ideas in her head, Aileen. Ye’ve got ye’re own engagement and things to worry about, let Jain have hers.”
Aileen blushed and Jain reached out to give her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m not sure if I ever congratulated ye on that. Rodrick is a fine man and I ken ye’ll be happy together too.”
“Yer da was kind enough to approve. It wouldn’t even be happening without him.”
Jain scoffed. “Ye dinnae ken that’s true. Rodrick loves ye and ye love him. It was bound to happen eventually. All ye need to do now is enjoy it.”
At that point, Moira came back inside and beamed at Jain with pride. Her face was red and puffy from happy tears and the bustle of commotion in the day’s festivities. “Oh, my sweet lass! I cannae believe that’s ye. Where have the years gone?”
Jain laughed and stood up while picking up her skirts and said, “Thank ye, Mam.”
Her mother embraced her with a hug and then stepped back to hold the door open for all of them to come. “We mustn’t keep the lads waiting. Alan and yer da are already at the kirk.”
Jain glanced at the others and bowed before following them out into the road. The delicate shoes she wore barely protected her feet as they walked over to the church. Across the square was the village kirk, where all her friends and family were gathered to celebrate. Her chest felt tighter with every step she took, reminding herself to breathe.
The doors opened when she approached and everyone turned. Moira and Nora went in before her and stood with the rest of the crowd, waiting for Jain to come inside. Her eyes were wide and excited when they fixed on her soon to be husband standing at the front of the chapel. His smile told her everything she needed to know about the decision they were making. It was an expression of love and devotion that Jain could hardly even fathom.
Alan was in a clean white shirt and he wore the same plaid tartan across his chest and a pair of hose. His golden blond hair was long, but clean, hanging down on either side of his face. Jain met his eyes and smiled, walking down the aisle towards him.
When she reached the altar, Eamon took her hand in his and placed it inside Alan’s as a timeless symbol of giving his blessing to their union. Jain felt her heartrate quicken, looking up at Alan with all the love in the world and gazed into his kind brown eyes. With their hands clasped together, the priest laid a white ream of sash on top of them and wrapped around it twice to signify their marriage. Jain didn’t even hear what the priest was saying with her heartbeat drumming in her ears until she was asked to say, “I do.”
Jain swallowed hard and responded with, “I do.” Her voice cracked with raw emotion as she said it, overwhelmed by the outpouring of love she had for the man that stood before her.
Alan said the same when it became his turn to pledge himself, and the priest removed the sash to present them to one another. The next thing she knew, Alan presented her with a silver ring and slipped it onto her finger. She looked down at it in awe as Alan was presented with a knife from the priest and he cut the fabric of her sash. The plaid that hung across Jain’s chest over her gown was removed ceremonially and handed to Moira in the crowd.