Page 16 of Married for a Highland Debt
“What are you afraid of, Bettie?” Kairstine asked softly as they lay face-to-face in the big four-poster bed in Bettina’s room. “I know there is something troubling you.”
“Tomorrow night,” she replied. “I am worried about lying with Ninian, Kairstine. He is so big and strong and...what if I do not know what to do? I have been told that all I must do is lie still and let the man do everything, but I cannot believe that is all that happens.”
“Perhaps you should ask him what he wants,” Kairstine said softly. “Men are different to us, Bettie. They think differently, and they certainly act differently. All you can do is try to learn as you go along. I think he will be a good husband.”
Bettina frowned in puzzlement. “What makes you think that, Kairstine?” she asked.
“You know that I am not usually wrong about people,” she replied. “There is something solid about him. He may be grumpy and short-tempered, but underneath I believe he is good. Look at what he is doing with our house, and he is actually letting Da live there too. He is a good man, Bettie, and I think you will find that out.”
“What if I cannot give him an heir?” Bettina asked desperately. “Do you think he will throw me out as he did with his previous wife?”
Kairstine sighed. “We do not have to worry about that for a few years, Bettie,” she answered. “It is unlikely you will conceive straight away.”
“And perhaps Da will have managed to pick up some business by then,” she mused. Then she shook her head and gave a growl of exasperation. “Listen to me, Kairstine. Tomorrow is meant to be the happiest day of my life, and I am already imagining the worst!”
They laughed softly.
“I will miss you, Bettie,” Kairstine said sadly. “So much.”
“And I you.” Bettina stroked her sister’s cheek. “I will miss sitting in front of the fire chatting, doing our mending at night, and cooking dinner together. I will miss reading aloud to you and occasionally smacking you on the hand when you steal my honey cakes.” She sighed. “Now everything is going to change.”
“There is always change,” Kairstine mused. “It is the way of the world, Bettie. Now go to sleep.”
“I will try,” Bettina replied. She wrapped her arms around Kairstine, and in moments, they were both asleep.
Bettina’s dress was a masterpiece of simplicity. It was made of pale-blue velvet, with a modest round neck, long pointed sleeves, and a fitted waistline that hugged her slim waist then flared out from her hips to drop in graceful folds on the floor.
“Oh, you look like a queen!” Kairstine breathed as she stood back to admire the effect. “I hope I look as lovely as you when I am married, Bettie!” She clapped her hands, and Bettina could see the glitter of tears in her eyes.
“I hope I am there to see it, with my sons,” Bettina murmured, then she turned as her friends from the kitchen came in.
“Have ye ever seen anythin’ sae lovely?” Lizzie asked, her voice enraptured. “Ye are a vision, Bettie. Is she no’, Ina, Moira?”
“Aye, indeed,” Moira replied, smiling from ear to ear. “We have a wee somethin’ for ye, hen.” She produced a crown made of wildflowers of all colors. There were crocuses, bluebells, heather, poppies, and others that Bettina could not name, all cleverly woven together with silk ribbons and twine.
Moira placed it on Bettina’s glossy brown hair, and Kairstine clapped her hands and gave a joyful squeal. “I told you! You look just like a queen. Now you have a crown!”
“Thank you,” Bettina said huskily. “This means more to me than you will ever know.” She wrapped her arms around each one of them and kissed them. “And you will find a little gift from me in the pantry.” She winked. “And some crystal glasses. You can drink to my happiness. I need all of your good wishes.”
Ina came forward to embrace her first, then Moira and Lizzie. “We will see ye in the chapel, Bettie,” Lizzie said, smiling. “An’ when ye come out, we will a’ call ye ‘milady.’”
“Don’t you dare!” Bettina laughed. “Call me that, and there will be no more wine.”
William Hamilton had stood before his daughter at the entrance to the castle chapel and begged her forgiveness for the ruination he had brought on the family. “I will never be able to undo the wrong I have done you, Bettie,” he said sadly as he drew her hands up to his and kissed them, “but I will spend the rest of my life trying. Please forgive me.”
“Are you still gambling?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.
“No.” He shook his head vehemently. “I swear by the blood of Christ that I am not.”
“Then I forgive you,” she said, smiling affectionately at him. “We all make mistakes, Da.” She turned to see the tall figure of Ninian waiting ominously at the end of the aisle, wearing his Ogilvy tartan kilt and looking as stern and forbidding as she had ever seen him. She was filled with dread, but the wedding had to go ahead for the sake of her family. She only hoped she could live up to everyone’s expectations.
As she reached the altar, her father put Bettina’s hand into her husband’s, symbolically giving her into his keeping. Ninian gave him a brief nod of acknowledgment, glanced at Bettina, then turned his attention to the priest. He showed no emotion throughout the brief ceremony, and when it was over, and he led her out of the chapel. The expression on his face was no different from the one he had worn at the start of the ceremony.
“Bettina,” he said to her as he led her out of the chapel, “I would like you to know that I will never give you any cause to regret this. I hope we can live together in some semblance of harmony.” It was hardly a declaration of undying love, but it was the best he could do.
“I hope so too, Ninian,” she replied, trying to smile. It had not been the wedding she had dreamed of, but neither had it been as bad as it might have been.
In truth, Ninian was relieved that it was all over. He was not enchanted by the thought of being a husband again, or a father. Nevertheless, they were duties he had to fulfill. But at least his wife was beautiful and would hopefully pass that trait on to their children. He could have done much worse.
