A Wedding

A s he strode unaided into the crowded church, Rowan couldn't understand what he'd found so difficult about mastering the artificial leg. Clad in full highland garb, Niven joined him in the front pew. Ash's nose was out of joint because Rowan had chosen his brother-in-law as his best man, but Ash didn't understand what Rowan and Niven had endured together. They had a bond that Rowan had never developed with his brothers, much as he loved them.

Judging by the buzz of conversation, the congregation had definitely taken note of the fact Rowan appeared to have two legs. He and Niven exchanged a smug wink.

As he stood waiting for his bride, the discomfort in his stump reminded him that striding confidently into the church might not have been such a good idea. His pride had demanded it, but the gesture hadn't helped the chafing. The pain didn't concern him. He was upright, crutch-less and about to marry the only woman he'd ever loved.

He turned at the appropriate moment to watch his smiling bride walk down the aisle on her brother's arm. It suddenly occurred to him that losing his leg had its advantages. He was marrying a woman who loved him despite his physical limitations. She didn't care about the noble title he bore nor the wealth he enjoyed.

As Kenneth passed Daisy's hand into his, he considered himself the luckiest man alive.

"Something is bound to go wrong," Daisy whispered to her brother as they prepared to walk down the aisle.

"Nonsense," he replied. "What could go wrong?"

For a man whose sister had jilted her last fiancé at the altar, Kenneth could be obtuse.

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps the roof will fall in, or we'll all be swept away by a flood, or Rowan will decide to call the whole thing off."

"A flood?" he exclaimed, drawing curious wide-eyed stares from many in the congregation.

As they drew nearer to the altar, Daisy noticed the Lockie plaid draped over Rowan's shoulder—the same ancestral plaid she wore as a sash over her gown. The adoration in his eyes assured her all her foolish fears were unfounded. "He loves me," she murmured.

"Of course he does," her brother replied as he gave her away to the man she loved.

As the ceremony progressed and she and Rowan pledged themselves to each other, she was more certain than ever that this man was her destiny. Loud applause resounded when the minister gave Rowan leave to kiss his bride and he made the most of the opportunity. Their tongues mated. His ardor spoke of commitment, his taste of promise.

"Go forth as man and wife," the minister declared.

Smiling broadly, Rowan offered his arm and they processed slowly out of the church, nodding in acknowledgment of the many well-wishes.

"I'm so proud of you," Daisy said, nestling into him for the carriage ride to the townhouse.

"As far as I know, my family tree boasts not one drop of Scottish blood," he replied, thinking she spoke of tartans. "But I was proud to wear your ancestral tartan to the ceremony. You claim not to be overly enthusiastic about your Scottish heritage, yet you too wore the Lockie plaid."

"To please my mother," she confessed. "But I was referring to the way we walked back down the aisle. I felt like a queen on the arm of my king."

In the dark days immediately following his amputation, Rowan had wished for death. Thank God his wish hadn't been granted or he'd never have known the exhilaration of escorting his bride out of the church. And to hear her refer to him as a king… "Not a monarch, my love, just a mere marquess," he replied, swallowing the lump of joy in his throat .

"Speaking of Scotland," she said. "I'm not sure if you know that Niven, Kenneth and my step-father have planned a traditional hand-fasting ceremony once we get back to your house."

He hadn't known, though he wasn't surprised. "I seem to recall Kenneth doing something of the sort at Niven's wedding. I thought it very meaningful."

"I longed to speak to you then on the occasion of my cousin's wedding to your sister," she confessed. "But you disappeared before I had a chance."

"Forgive me," he replied, lifting her hand to his lips. "I was afraid."

"You need be afraid no longer," she declared.

He kept to himself the one remaining fear—she'd yet to see his stump in all its gruesome glory.

A smiling Rapp and the footmen greeted them at the townhouse with glasses of champagne. They joined the rest of the family in the drawing room. His father shook his hand and bestowed a courtly kiss on Daisy's knuckles. "Welcome home, my dear," he said.

Daisy's tearful mother hugged her daughter, then her new son-in-law.

Excited chatter and congratulations ensued until the rousing notes of a lively reel pierced the air. Niven's bagpipes signaled the beginning of the hand-fasting.

"Our Uncle Gregor can't be here," Kenneth explained. "But he'd want this traditional blessing offered for you both. Join hands if you please."

When Kenneth tied his plaid around their joined hands, Cat explained to the guests. "'Tis the tradition in Scotland to tie the knot, if ye will."

"I call upon the spirits of air," Kenneth intoned when an expectant hush fell. "Their energy brings communication between heart, mind, and body. May your love be like air, the sharing of dreams, thoughts and emotions, always carefree, found in the breath of a whisper or a kiss."

Rowan was right when he said Daisy wasn't overly enthusiastic about her Scottish heritage, yet her brother's solemn words had a more profound impact on her heart than the vows repeated at the church.

"I ask the spirits of fire to bring the heat of passion and a promise of light in darkness. May your love be like fire, passionate, intense and energetic, a flame that never dies, as radiant as the morning sun, and as warm as an evening embrace."

The promise of passion with Rowan made Daisy tremble. She'd waited so long for him to join his beautiful body to hers.

"I call upon the spirits of water, that love be deep, life-giving, exciting, and passionate. May your love be like water, moving, constantly changing, never still, never stagnant, as vast as the ocean, and as fresh as spring rain."

Rowan's eyes had never left hers all through the ceremony. In those green depths she saw that he too was moved by the invocations.

"I ask the spirits of earth to bring blessings of steadiness and stability, and the promise of a prosperous home. May your love be like the earth, rich, natural, and deeply rooted, strong as rock yet soft as sand, always growing and always patient.

"May your love be like all four elements, intertwined to create the perfect balance and to craft the perfect tie to bind your two hearts into one."

As everyone applauded and Niven took up the bagpipes once more, Daisy felt truly married at last. She and Rowan just had to consummate their union and she knew how nervous he was about the bedding.