Chapter 28
Rhain's emotions as he kissed Keelin for the first time were nearly indescribable. He felt a joy so overpowering that it was almost agony. The power of his love for her was frightening in its depth and yet he knew no greater peace than he felt in the moment that she consented to be his bride. Suddenly, his future opened up before him, bright and beautiful. He could not forget the hardships of war that were soon to come, but he now felt certain of victory. He had his return to the woman he loved to look forward to; he had the serenity that he found in her arms to call him home. Rhain was excited at the thought of all that they were and all that they would be together. He felt inspired by the belief that she would be his life partner, that they would have children together, that they would grow old together. He felt that, with her by his side, he could truly make something wonderful of his kingdom and bring about changes that would be for the betterment of every man, woman, and child.
When the kiss ended, Rhain pulled back a little so that he could look into the face of his future bride. She looked at him shyly through the screen of her eyelashes and he could feel his heart swell as he fell even more deeply in love with her. He brought her left hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly, holding onto her hand while his free hand reached into a pouch that he was carrying. He pulled a magnificent diamond ring out of the pouch and slid it onto her finger. She gasped in surprise and he saw her eyes fill with tears.
"'Tis so beautiful," she whispered, admiring the ring.
"'Tis a family heirloom. 'Twas the ring that my grandfather gave to my grandmother in honor of their betrothal," he said, pleased with her reaction.
"I shall treasure it for always, as a symbol of your love and also because it serves to link me to your family history," she vowed. "How can I ever begin to thank you for all that you have given me? I find it hard to believe that I am worthy of such blessings."
He smiled tenderly at her and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "There is nothing to thank me for, for I believe that I am the one who is not worthy of such blessings."
"I shall try my hardest to be a good wife to you and a good queen to the people," she said, her voice intense and faltering only slightly as she spoke the word queen.
He smiled at her once more. "I have not the slightest doubt that you shall excel at both for you have already done me more good than you know."
She did not say anything, but reached a hand up to caress his cheek. Her touch was so warm, so gentle, that it nearly overwhelmed Rhain. He had longed to feel her touch for so long now, but had never imagined that it could feel as wonderful as it did. He took her hand and kissed its palm. The king studied her face, wanting to linger over every last feature until he had every inch of it memorized.
"You are so beautiful," he said to her, reverence in his voice.
She blushed furiously and averted her eyes for a moment. "Nay," she replied.
"Aye. I have long thought so. Every time that I saw you I was again struck by just how beautiful you are. You are like an angel to me. I never dreamt that anyone could be as beautiful as you are and now that you are mine, I shall endeavor to remind you so every day."
Keelin blushed even more deeply. "You are so kind."
"Then perhaps you will be kind in turn by promising me that you will not wear caps any longer. You hair is so beautiful and long have I wished to touch it. I have never seen hair like it." As he spoke, Rhain reached up and gently freed her of her cap, unwinding her hair slowly from its knot, savoring the feel of the silken mass in his hands. Finally, it tumbled freely down her back. He let it fall from his fingers to tumble around her face and shoulders. She was a vision to him.
"I suppose that is a sacrifice I could agree to make," she told him, with a rather mischievous smile.
"Sacrifice indeed!" he cried, wrapping his arms tightly about her waist and picking her up so that he could spin her in a circle. She threw her head back and laughed and the sound was pure joy. It ceased only when he stopped spinning her so that he could kiss her once more. There was such passion in the kiss that it made him far dizzier than the spinning had and he wanted nothing more than for the kiss to go on and on forever.
When he at last pulled away from the kiss, they were both breathing in a rather labored manner. Keelin's deep brown eyes were warm with love and passion and the sunlight caught in the strands of her golden hair. He could not tear his eyes from her.
"I can scarcely believe this to be real. I fear that if I say anything more I will awaken and the dream will be over," she whispered to him.
"'Tis not a dream," Rhain said softly, raising her palm to his lips and kissing it gently. "Did you not feel that?"
"Aye," she replied. The expression on her face was beautiful, as if that one kiss had made her the happiest woman in the world. He gathered her close to him and held her tightly in his arms.
"Do you not feel this?"
"Aye," she sighed. "You have convinced me."
"I am heartily glad of it," he said to her, placing a kiss on her brow. He looked at her and sighed with regret. "As much as I wish to remain with you thus all the day long, I must return so that I may spread my news to my dear mother."
"What if Her Majesty does not like it?" Keelin asked. Her voice wavered slightly.
"She shall love it," Rhain promised her, caressing her cheek tenderly. "My mother and I are often of one mind. She has always understood that I wished to marry for love and has always encouraged me to follow my own heart. She will understand my reasons for wishing to marry you and I know that she will love you as her own daughter once she knows you."
"I hope you are right. I hope she will think me worthy of you."
"I have not the slightest fear on that account. Indeed, I am certain that once she knows you, she will hardly think me worthy of you."
Keelin smiled at him and threw her arms around him, startling him, but not in an unpleasant manner. Instead, he savored the feeling of her, holding her in his arms tightly, knowing that she wished for this embrace as much as he did.
"You must go now," she said to him after a long moment, pulling back a little so that she could look him in the face. "You words shall bewitch me if you stay any longer."
"Then perhaps you would be as bewitched as I am," he replied, kissing her gently on the nose, feeling his heart tug as she smiled. "Will you attend me in my study?"
"What change is this?" Keelin asked in a teasing tone of voice. "Where once you commanded, now you request!"
Rhain groaned with true chagrin. "I pray you, do not remind me of those days. I can scarcely believe that you could feel anything but animosity for me. I treated you most abominably."
"I meant only to tease you," Keelin said, lightly. She gave him a short, sweet kiss as if wishing to make amends for her words. "'Tis not as if I was much kinder to you. And of course I shall attend you in your study, but I pray you to go to the castle ahead of me. I do not wish to make an appearance with you until you have spoken with Her Majesty."
Rhain took her hand in his and lowered his face to kiss it. "I will not be long," he told her.
"I wish you to be gone for as long as it takes. You must not rush away from your mother soon after delivering such shocking news."
"I promise I shall not," Rhain said. He leaned down and kissed Keelin briefly, breaking away from her embrace reluctantly. "I must go now."
"I shall wait for you."
He knew he would never forget that vision of her as he walked away, stopping very frequently to turn and look at her. She was so lovely, so wonderful as she stood there in her servant's gown, her hair tumbling over her back and shoulders in an unruly mass of curls. He had never seen her look as happy as she did at that moment. Her face was glowing and her eyes were shining as she raised an arm to wave farewell to him. The sun flashed off the gold of her betrothal band and Rhain felt his heartbeat quicken in his chest. He could not believe that she had actually consented to marry him.
That thought gave him new purpose and he hurried his steps toward the castle. He could hardly wait to tell his mother of his news, could hardly wait to introduce her to Keelin. He was certain that they would love one another greatly. Rhain did not fear his mother's disapproval for he was secure in his knowledge that it was his mother who had taught him to follow his heart, even if its desires were, at times, in contrast to those of his head. He fervently hoped that his news would bring her some joy at this tense and sorrowful time.
The king found his mother in her presence chamber. She was with several of her ladies, who were attempting to amuse her by reading aloud to her or trying to engage her in conversation. Rhain was concerned to see that she seemed rather listless and inattentive. When he entered the chamber, the ladies immediately stopped what they were doing and rose to bow to him. He was relieved to see his mother smile when she turned her head to see what the cause of all the commotion was. She rose from her seat and walked over to him. He took her hands in his and kissed her warmly on the cheek.
"How glad I am to see you, my son," she said, softly, her smiling never wavering.
"I am glad to see you as well. I wish to speak with you."
It was not necessary to say anything more. He saw that his mother knew his news was important and she immediately, though politely, sent her ladies away so that they could talk in private. When they were gone, she moved away from him and seated herself in an ornately carved chair, her face tilted up toward him and her expression one of complete attention.
"I know you, Rhain, and I know you have something very important to tell me. I hope that 'tis good news."
"I think it the best news in the world and hope that you will agree with me," he told her. He now felt a little nervous.
"Then I pray you, share it with me," the queen said, smiling at him once more.
Rhain took a deep breath, smiled at his mother, and announced, "I am betrothed."
The queen gasped in shock and rose from her chair. One of her hands gripped the arm of the chair, as if she could not quite believe what she had just heard. "Betrothed? To whom? When did this happen? Has it been long? Have you been planning on getting married for a long time?" The queen sank back into her chair in shock.
Rhain laughed at all of her questions, holding his hands up to halt her. He grew serious as he explained the situation to her. "Aye, I am betrothed. As you know, I have always intended to marry for love and I have long loved this woman. I was not planning on a betrothal because I was not certain that she loved me in return and there were—and still are—many obstacles in the way of my marrying her. 'Twas only today that I expressed my feelings to her and found that she returned them. Her name may not be familiar to you, but I know that her circumstances are and that you shall know who she is immediately once I explain them to you."
"Circumstances?" the queen asked. She looked perplexed. "Is she not a member of the court?"
Rhain pulled a chair over to his mother's, seating himself across from her. "She is not a member of the nobility of any nation. Her name is Keelin. She is a former servant of the former earl, the young woman that I rescued from him that night on the river, when the king of Spain was here visiting with his daughter."
"The servant girl?" his mother breathed, surprise clearly visible on her face. "I was not aware that you had any contact with her after that night."
"Aye, I spent much time with her. At first, I was concerned about her illness. Once she was well and was able to work, I began seeing her and questioning her about her former master. I wished to learn all that I could about him. She gave me much information and, initially, I thought that each time I wished to see her 'twas only to gather even more information. When I became aware of my feelings, I tried to separate myself from her, certain that she could not return my feelings. Even if she did, it did not seem possible that there could ever be anything between us.
"In spite of my resolution, we seemed brought together by fate for I saw her by chance several times. After a while, I could no longer deny my feelings for her, nor did I wish to do so. Mother, she is everything in the world to me. She is everything that is beautiful, that is kind, that is generous, and that is intelligent in this world. I have never met another woman who fascinates me as much as she does. She is everything I have ever wanted in a wife, and more. I feel privileged just to know her and can scarcely believe that she has consented to marry me. I feel certain that once you know her, you will love her as well."
His mother did not say anything for several minutes and Rhain could feel his palms begin to sweat. He knew it was ridiculous, that he was the king and could do anything he wanted. Still, he loved his mother dearly and truly wished with all his heart for her blessing and consent. He wanted his mother to love Keelin and to be glad to have her as a daughter.
The queen finally looked at him very seriously and began to speak. "Rhain, you know that I have always encouraged you to follow your heart and I have always wished you to marry for love. I knew that you would not be satisfied with just any woman and always hoped that you would find your equal, but I suppose I always thought you would find her amongst the nobility somewhere. I have no objection to her being lowborn and being a servant, but not everyone in this world feels as I do. For your own sake, Rhain, I beg you to consider this. Such a marriage will not be without some very great obstacles indeed. You are a man and a king and you may do whatever you please, but I ask you to consider the difficulties that will arise if you do marry this girl."
"Believe me, Mother, I have thought long and hard about them and so has Keelin. In fact, I had to persuade her to marry me because she feared that she would create problems for me if she consented to be my wife. We are both aware that there are many who will object to this marriage, many that will feel that 'tis improper and even offensive. We know that 'twill not be easy for us, but we also know that we love one another very greatly. I am certain that this marriage will be good for the kingdom, that 'twill help unite the people as they have never before been united. Keelin has given me a new understanding of my people and I feel certain that she will be the people's queen, that she will help those of the peasant class to feel a closer connection to their king and their country."
The queen smiled at her son, tears shining in her eyes. She took his hand and held it between hers. "'Tis never easy for a mother to watch her child grow, knowing the trouble that he will face. I have always wished that I could protect you from every hurt in the world, that I could shield you from all evil. I have always trusted in your judgment, and this occasion is no exception. If you love this woman, then I am certain that I shall love her too. I know 'twill not be easy for the two of you, but I promise you that I will be behind you every step of the way."
"We have your support, then?" Rhain asked eagerly, feeling a surge of joy. "Do we have your blessing?"
"Aye, my son, you have my support and my blessing. I wish you nothing but joy and am grateful for the joy that has been brought upon me on this occasion."
Rhain embraced his mother tightly and when he pulled away from her, he could see that she was crying, but knew that they were tears of joy.
"Where is this woman who has so enchanted my son? Will you bring her to me?" the queen asked.
"Of course I shall. I shall bring her to you immediately."
"I look forward to seeing her. I shall attend the both of you here, alone. I can scarcely wait to meet her."
The queen kissed her son on the cheek fondly. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it. Before he left the chamber, Rhain glanced over his shoulder at her. A smile of pure joy was plain on her face.
