An Honest Mistake Read online

  Nessa smiled at her and said, “and I too am looking forward to getting to know my new sister.”

  All of the McCabe’s had arrived for the wedding. Hamish McCabe was thrilled to have all his sons assembled at one table for the first time in quite a long while. Eadan who was the oldest was now seven and twenty. The first set of twins Ham and Ross were five and twenty, and Alastair was four and twenty. The second set of twins Craig and Rory had just turned two and twenty, and Owen, was ten and nine summers. That left the last set of twins, James and Jacqueline, who were ten and eight summers.

  Ham and Ross had been serving in the King’s army for the last three years but had been able to arrange time to come home, to see their brother get married. Owen was in his last year of fostering with the Fraser clan, and Craig had taken an apprenticeship with a blacksmith in a village not far away. Next year he would be coming back home to take over the blacksmithing in the McCabe village at Gleann.

  “How about dancing with me, little sister,” Owen said offering her his hand.

  “I’d love to,” she answered. Although Jacqueline was not good at many of the female skills, when it came to dancing she was an excellent partner and could stay on the dance floor all evening.

  The musicians began a reel, and Owen spun her around the floor as they joined in with other couples of the clan and followed the steps. Jacqueline didn’t sit back down for hours as each of her brothers, and then different men from the clan offered to partner her. She never turned any of them down and danced all night.

  Towards midnight it became obvious that many of the men of the McCabe clan had had too much to drink, including her father, brothers, and Conner. The noise in the hall had risen as their voices and laughter grew louder. Jacqueline was walking back to her seat when someone stumbled into her, knocking her off balance and making her fall. It happened so suddenly she didn’t have time to reach out and grab hold of anything, she saw stars as the side of her head connected with the table.

  “Ouch,” she yelled. She tried to get up, but her vision seemed to blur each time she tried.

  “Are you alright?” James asked her, kneeling down beside her. He hadn’t meant to push Owen so hard that he stumbled into her, making her fall.

  “Give her some air,” Connor said, also kneeling down, and helping her to sit up.

  “I think I’m alright,” she said to them, rubbing the knot already forming on the side of her head. She took the hand Ross held out to her, he pulled her up and helped her stand, once upright her vision again blurred, she felt wobbly and almost fell again.

  “Get the healer,” she heard her father say to one of her brothers. “Take her to her room, Ross, well send the healer up.”

  “Aye, Da,” Ross answered him. He then turned back to Jacqueline and asked, “can you walk or do you want me to carry you?”

  “You can barely walk yourself,” she said laughing. “I think I can make it.”

  “That’s a nasty lump you have on your head,” he told her, touching it and making her wince.

  “Don’t touch it you idjit,” she hissed at him, putting her hand over it.

  “Well if you’re calling me names, you must be alright,” he said, smiling at her.

  “I think I just need to lie down,” she told him. “Don’t worry; I’ll be fine.”

  Ross and James both helped her to her room and stayed until the healer came. The healer assured them their sister would be just fine and that she was just going to give her a sleeping draught to help her rest that night. They two brothers then left to go back to the party in the hall below. Jacqueline drank what the healer had given her, hoping that it would take the pain in her head away. It didn’t take long for it to take effect and she fell into a sound sleep.

  Down below in the hall, Eadan and his new bride Nessa made their getaway to the room they would now share. The rest of the brothers and clan broke out the Scottish whiskey and talked about what they believed was going on upstairs. The cups of whiskey and ale flowed and soon not a sober man was left.

  It was hours later when Conner stumbled up the stairs to the room he had been told to sleep in. He opened the door and closed it firmly before slipping off his clothes and climbing under the sheets. He was asleep within minutes.

  “What are you doing in my bed,” he heard someone scream next to him. “Get out of here,”

  “Hang on a minute, wench,” he said, throwing his arm across his eyes to block out the light in the room. He didn’t remember taking any of the women of the keep to bed with him the night before, but he must have.

  “Wench? Wench? Who are you calling wench?” he heard the woman cry. He felt the covers being pulled off of him. “You’re naked? Oh my God, you’re in my bed naked. Get out.”

  Just then the door to the bedroom burst open. Ross, Owen and Jacqueline’s father all stood there with swords in hand. “What’s the meaning of this?” her father asked.

  “I woke up, and he was in my bed, Da,” Jacqueline said.

  It wasn’t until that moment, that Connor realized where he was. “It’s not what it looks like, I swear, Hamish,” he said, trying to defend himself but knowing that might be impossible. He’d really messed up.

  “You’re in me daughter’s bed buck naked, lad,” Hamish McCabe said. “I think it’s exactly what it looks like.”

  “Da, the healer gave me a draught to sleep last night,” Jacqueline said, holding the covers up to her chin. “I didn’t even hear him come into my room. I swear, nothing happened.”

  “I must have stumbled into the wrong room last night. Jacqueline is telling the truth, nothing improper happened,” Connor also tried to explain.

  “Looks like we’ll be having another wedding,” Hamish said, shaking his head at Connor. “Ross, go see if the priest is still around.”

  “I don’t want to marry him, Da,” Jacqueline cried.

  “You’ve got a naked man in your bed, daughter, you’ll be marrying the man,” Hamish told her.

  “It was an honest mistake, Hamish,” Connor told her father. “I swear, nothing happened.”

  “Doesn’t matter, Connor,” he said. “There’ll be talk around the village, and her reputation will be ruined. You need to marry her.”

  “I have no problem agreeing to marry her,” he said. “I think the issue is her agreeing to marry me.”

  “What?” Jacqueline screamed at him. “How can you agree with this crazy idea, I don’t want to get married to you.”

  “It doesn’t matter what either of us wants right now,” Connor told her. “We’ll be getting married anyway.”

  “Nay, we won’t,” she said.

  “Could you leave us for a moment?” Connor asked the men at the door. “I need a minute of privacy with my soon to be bride.”

  “Come, lads,” Hamish told her brothers, “Let’s go get everything organized with the priest and wake up the rest of your brothers.”

  “Da, please,” Jacqueline pleaded. Hamish ignored her as he closed the door behind them.

  Connor got out of the bed and quickly threw on his trews before turning to talk to Jacqueline. “There is nothing we can do, your Da is right, your reputation will be ruined because of me, so we need to marry.”

  “But I don’t even like you,” she said.

  “You don’t even know me,” Connor told her. “I’m a nice guy, you’ll see.”

  “Nay,” Jacqueline said shaking her head. “This is all your fault; you got us into this mess, you get us out of it.”

  “The only solution is to marry, Jacqueline,” he said and went to touch her arm. Jacqueline was so angry at the situation that when he touched her, she didn’t even think but swung out at him, slapping him across the cheek.

  “That was uncalled for,” he told her, “but if that’s the way you want to do this, fine,” He took her by the arm and walked over to the side of the bed, pulling her with him. He quickly sat down and pulled her down to lay across his knees. Although he left her nightdress down, he placed one h
and in the center of her back and his other hand on her arse, holding her in place.

  “Now you’re going to listen to me,” he said as he brought his hand down firmly on her right cheek. Smack. “We have no choice but to get married.” He again brought his hand down, this time striking her left cheek. Smack. Jacqueline flinched. “You can agree to this marriage now, or we can do this until you do.” He brought his hand down twice more, once on each side. Smack, smack.

  “You can’t make me agree to marry you by spanking me,” she told him, “and get your hand off my arse, this isn’t proper.”

  “Let’s see about that,” he said. “Let me know when you’ve had enough and you’re ready to go see the priest, and it’s definitely proper for a husband to touch his wife’s backside.” He started spanking without stopping this time. Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack. He would first do five quick swats on one side and then five on the other. Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack. Jacqueline wasn’t sure how many times he struck her before she began to cry. She was determined not to give in. Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack. Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack.

  “Are you ready to go down and speak your vows yet?” he asked her, stopping for a moment.

  “You can’t make me marry you by spanking me,” she said again, trying not to let him see her tears.

  “Maybe my hand isn’t making enough of an impression,” he told her and reached over onto the table next to the bed, grabbing her hairbrush. “Maybe this will hurry things along.” He brought the hairbrush down upon her sit spot firmly. Splat, splat, splat, splat, splat, splat. It only took six swats from the brush before Jacqueline finally spoke.

  “Stop,” she yelled. “I’ll marry you, just stop, please.”

  “That’s better,” he said as he sat her up on his lap and put his arms around her while she cried. She didn’t remember when she did it, but she laid her head down against his chest as she tried to pull herself back together.

  Once she had stopped crying, Connor said to her, “put on a pretty gown and meet me downstairs. I was thinking about getting married soon anyway; this will turn out alright.”

  Jacqueline nodded at him as he threw on the rest of his clothes and headed out the door in search of her father and brothers. Once the door had closed, she sat down on the bed but then jumped right back up. How dare he spank her. How would she ever manage being married to a man she didn’t even like?

  Jacqueline slowly got dressed with the help of her maid Betsy and then made her way down to the hall, where her father and brothers were waiting for her.

  “Connor is waiting at the Kirk,” Ross said to her.

  “Please, Da, don’t make me do this,” she tried one more time.

  “It’s already arranged, Jacqueline,” he told her, barely looking at her. “The wedding is happening now; then you are leaving with your new husband to go back to his home. It’s all been taken care of.”

  “Connor is a good man, Jacqueline,” Eadan quietly said to her, “I’ve known him for a long time. He’ll be a good husband.”

  “There’s no other way to fix this, little sister,” Alastair said to her.

  “So no one is going to help me? You all know I never wanted to marry,” she said looking at each one of them. “You also know I’ve never liked Connor Fraser, how am I supposed to survive this marriage?”

  “Let’s go, daughter,” her Da said and took her by the arm, leading her out to the kirk. “I have a feeling this is all going to work out just fine.” Within a half hour, it was done, and she was Connor Fraser’s wife.

  “I’ll send the rest of your things in a few days,” her Da said to her as he helped her onto her horse. “Betsy packed enough to get you through until then.”

  Jacqueline had not talked to any of her family since arriving at the kirk and the wedding had begun. She was angry with all of them and made sure that they knew it. “This is all for the best, Jacqueline,” he Da said to her quietly, “you’ll see.”

  Jacqueline didn’t say goodbye to any of them as she kicked her horse and took off at a gallop out the gates of Gleann, towards her new home, where she knew she’d never be happy again.

  Chapter 3: Tarmon

  “You’re acting very childish,” Connor said to her as he rode up beside her. He tried to stay away from her at the beginning of their ride, to give her time to think things through. “You couldn’t even say goodbye to any of them?”

  “Why?” she answered. “They didn’t care about what they were making me do.”

  “One day you’ll realize this was for the best. Your brothers were hurt you had nothing to say to them, at least speak to Owen since he’s traveling with us,” he told her.

  “I’m hurt they wouldn’t listen to me,” she said. “Owen hasn’t tried to speak to me since we left, why should I seek him out?”

  “You’re a married woman now, Jacqueline,” he said, “time to grow up.” He then nudged his horse with his heels and galloped ahead of her.

  Jacqueline sighed as he rode off, thinking about what he had said. She decided she didn’t care what Connor or Owen or anyone else thought, her family should have helped her.

  “How are you doing, little sister?” Owen asked as he rode up beside her a short time later.

  “Does it matter?” she asked him, still angry.

  “Of course it matters,” Owen replied. “I know you’re upset with all of us, but what did you want us to do?”

  “Listen to me? Take my side? Now I’m married to a man I don’t even like for the rest of my life,” she told him.

  “Connor is a good man, Jacqueline,” Owen said. “I’ve fostered with his family at the keep for the last three years. He’s kind and fair to everyone.”

  “It doesn’t matter now, does it, Owen? Even if he was mean and beat me, I’d have no say in this marriage,” she complained.

  “There was no other choice, servants were out in the hall and heard what was going on. Even if you wouldn’t have married, your reputation would have been ruined,” Owen tried to explain.

  “Well now Da’s gotten what he has always wanted,” she said, “he’s rid of me.”

  “Da never wanted to get rid of you,” he protested. “He just never knew what to do with a daughter, he let the nurses take care of that.”

  “Da hardly ever even talks to me,” she said, getting emotional, “he never has.”

  “Eadan, Ham and Ross told me before that it’s because you look too much like our mother,” Owen said.

  “I wouldn’t know, Owen,” she replied, “no one at Gleann ever talks about our mother.”

  “I don’t really remember her either, Jacqueline. I was only two when she died. Just don’t be angry,” he said to her, “our brothers were all very hurt you didn’t say goodbye to them.”

  “Right now, Owen, I don’t care if I ever see any of them ever again,” she said. “I’m so angry at all of you.”

  Owen looked over at her before sighing and riding away to join Connor. He knew there was no talking to his sister when she was in this mood.

  They traveled all day before finally reaching Connor’s home. Jacqueline had never seen it before but had heard plenty about it. Tarmon was the name of the keep, and it was twice the size of Gleann.

  As they rode through the gates, many of the villagers stopped, waved and called out, “welcome home, Connor,” Even though Owen had told her, it still surprised Jacqueline to see how well liked he was among the villagers.

  When they arrived at the keep castle, Jacqueline was again surprised when they were met on the steps by an older man and a young woman about Jacqueline’s age.

  “Welcome home, son,” the man said. “How was your trip? And who is this beautiful young lady?”

  “It was good, Da,” he answered. “This lady is my new wife, Jacqueline McCabe, who is now Jacqueline Fraser.”

  “How did that come about?” his father asked. “Not that I’m unhappy about it. Are you Eadan’s sister?”

  “Aye, Laird Fraser,
” she said, giving a small curtsy.

  “Bah,” he said. “We’ll have none of this laird nonsense. You can call me Da,” he told her smiling. Jacqueline couldn’t help it, she liked this man instantly and smiled back.

  “Aye, Da,” she said. “Eadan is my oldest brother.”

  “I always liked that brother of yours,” Laird Fraser told her, “come in and rest, I want to hear the story of how this wedding came about. Oh, I’m sorry, let me introduce you to my daughter Fiona, Connor’s sister.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Fiona,” Jacqueline said.

  “Welcome,” Fiona told her grabbing her hands. “I hope we can get to know each other well. I’ve always wanted a sister.”

  “As have I,” Jacqueline replied. She was once again surprised by how welcoming Connor’s family was being.

  Laird Fraser turned towards Owen, he laughed and said, “I guess you’re family now, so you might as well come too.”

  Laird Fraser led the group into the main hall and motioned towards a group of chairs. “Sit, make yourself comfortable.” Jacqueline chose to sit in one of the padded chairs in front of the fire.

  “Thank you, lai...I mean, Da,” she said and smiled at him.

  “Bring us some wine,” Laird Fraser said to one of the servants who had been in the hall before taking a seat himself. “Now tell me, how did this marriage happen so quickly and why was I not invited to the wedding?”

  “Before I tell you, Da,” Connor began, “you need to know it was an honest mistake.”

  “I have a feeling this is going to be one hell of a story,” the Laird said and grinned. “Let’s hear it, son.”

  “You already know I went to Gleann to see Eadan get married. Everything was going great, the wedding was beautiful, the food was good, and the ale and whiskey afterward flowed. Towards midnight many of the men, including Jacqueline’s brothers and myself were well into our cups, Jacqueline ended up getting knocked down on accident by one of her brothers, she hit her head on the table.”

  “That’s terrible,” Fiona said.