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Desire surged through his veins, conquering all traces of his panic He needed no further encouragement They had a few hours left to them before the man of God would bind them beneath the Samhain mantle He pulled her toward the broch

Adrienne stiffened instantly "Nay, not in the broch"

So he took her to the stables To a thick pile of sweet purple clover where they spent the rear’s precious last coins on a splendid feast

CHAPTER 29

ADRIENNE’S WEDDING DRESS SURPASSED ALL OF HER CHILDHOOD dreaant lace, with shimmery threads of silver embroidered at the neck, sleeves, and he roses Lydia had produced it proudly from a sealed chest of cedar-lined oak; yet another of the Hawk’s clever inventions She’d aired it out, stea water, then lightly scented it with lavender The gown clung at the bosom and hips, and fell to the floor in swirls of rich fabric

It had been stitched by the Rom, Lydia told her as she and a dozento the Hawk’s father Lydia’s wedding had also been celebrated at Dalkeith-Upon-the-Sea at the Beltane festival, before the saone ahead now, up to the ridge The one too, shooed on by Adrienne a quarter-hour past It had taken every ounce of Adrienne’s courage to get through the past few hours

Lydia had been so elated, practically dancing around the roo herself to pretend She was about to do souaranteed to make Lydia and Hawk despise her, and she had no other choice

How could she bear the looks on their faces when she did it? Hoould she endure the hate and betrayal she would see in their eyes?

Adrienne stood alone in Lydia’s lovely bedroo round irons and discarded choices for underthings and half-empty cups of tea, left undrunk in nervous anticipation

The ti, breath by bitter breath She shivered as a crisp breeze tuh the openof Lydia’s bedroo to close it, but froze, one hand upon the cool stone ledge She stared ht

I will re each precious detail to mee in silvery brilliance It seeer than usual Maybe she could step into the sky to stand right next to it--perhaps give it a fire and watch it roll across the horizon

Adrienne ic

She had a perfect view of the feast froe was alive with hundreds of people spread about the fires on bright tartans, talking, feasting, and dancing Wine, ale, and Scotch flowed freely as the people celebrated the harvest to come A rich harvest, her husband had seen to that

Children played children’s ga parents And thewith the soft roar of the ocean The powerful hypnotic beat of the dru

Between the two circles of fire, she could justwith his people, his head tossed back, adding his deep butterscotch cry to the song Her husband At least she’d gotten to love him for a while--maybe not forever, but…

The beat of drums intensified, and she watched hie, yet so incredibly tender and loving

I adore this place, she thought If I could have ever dreao, back in the twentieth century, I would have dreaainst the cool stone wall a long moment and squeezed back the tears "I love him more than life itself," she whispered aloud

And that had been the deciding point

"Nay" The Hawk raised his hands in th to wed and bedwomen who tried to lure him into yet another dance

Despite the disappointed looks and saucy reher up the ridge He’d seen Lydia wander that ith Tavis while he’d been dancing He paused athe s intently There it was Lydia’s roohtly litHe watched her turn her back She was on her way