Tartan, Gown & Sweeter After Difficulty


Day 2 – Mac'IlleMhìcheil Estate – Blue Room

Sam sat before a full length mirror. He was wearing a t-shirt and shorts just like Mason and Jim. The tailor had arrived only to be intercepted by Lady Ailis after dropping several packages in the blue room. Mason, Sam and Jim simply stared as Lady Ailis bustled the tailor out of the room. None of them knew what was going on.

Mason laughed as he sat down "Lady Ailis is sure interesting. She reminds me a bit of your mom Blondie."

Sam agreed "Yeah both are strong women that are full of grace and compassion."

Jim rested against the window sill as he watched men setting up what appeared to be wood for a large bonfire in the center of the area to be used for the games "So what exactly happens at a gathering Mason?"

Mason leaned back on the chair "Just after dark today there will be the Torchlight Ceremony, it is the official opening of the gathering. They call it the calling of the clans. The Mac'IlleMhìcheil clan has many variants and has settled in various places around the world. Each will announce itself by carrying a torch and then adding it to a bonfire."

"Any and all clans in attendance will do this even if they are not Mac'IlleMhìcheil. That means I get to participate. The ceremony is accompanied by piping. Once that is done then Laird Mac'IlleMhìcheil will open the games and perform the handfasting ceremony."

"Tomorrow will be mostly signing up for competitions and enjoying good food, drink and socializing. The next four days will be the games and competitions for piping, drumming, dancing and a few other things. The final day will be the Parade of Tartans where the winners of the competitions will take the field along with pipers and drummers and essentially parade around the track as a closing to the gathering."

Mason grinned "The final item will be Marsaili's and my wedding."

Jim asked "So do we get to give you a bachelor party?"

Sam grinned "Oh yeah. I was talking to Wallace last night. We are gonna be doing a traditional Creelin' of the Bridegroom."

Mason groaned "No Blondie. No. Let's just go to a pub or something."

Chuckling Jim said "I have no idea what Creelin' of the Bridegroom is but from the look on Sam's face I'm gonna enjoy it."

"Oh we will but Mason not so much. I'll tell you more about it when Blaze and Winds get here" Sam quipped.

Just then the tailor came back into the room. He looked harried. He looked at Mason and said "You first." Turning to Jim he said "You next." Then turning to Sam he sighed "You will be last. I need to wait until your tartan arrives."

Sam saw the package with his name on it lying on the table. He pointed to it and said "I'm Sam. My package is over there."

The tailor shook his head "No. No there has been a change. My assistant will arrive in a few hours with your tartan."

Sam looked at Mason confused.

Mason only shrugged and stood up then said "I'm ready to be your pin cushion."

Sam flinched at the words and seeing the large stuffed ball with hundreds of straight sewing needles in it that the tailor pulled out of his box.

Ah crap Mason and Jim thought at the same exact time as they both reached for the ball to remove it from Sam's sight.

The tailor tried to keep it out of their grasps as he complained "What do you think you are doing? I need that."

Sam stood up and said "I'm gonna go get a coffee." Then quickly headed for the door.

Jim and Mason watched him leave. Mason quickly explained to the tailor that the needle ball needed to be kept out of sight of Blondie. The tailor nodded and complied putting it in a small box that would still be assessable to him.


Mac'IlleMhìcheil Estate – Outside the Blue Room

Sam stood outside the room as he took a calming breath and tried to relax his rigid muscles. Damn, would he ever get over his reaction to needles? Sam shook his head no, probably not.

Lady Ailis saw Sam and stopped in front of him with a huge smile "I have news for you."

Sam gave her a smile and asked politely "What news?"

A bright smile caused Ailis's winkles to crinkle up as her eyes danced "Your lineage traces back to Patrick Ferguson, which means we are also distantly related. I've asked the tailor to redo your kilt in the Ferguson tartan and I would be very much pleased if you would answer for Ferguson in the calling of the clans in this evening's ceremony."

Sam was incredulous "That was fast. Are you sure?"

Ailis waved her hands "Fast smast. I have all the genealogy records for the Ferguson clan on computer. My grandson Wallace helped me set it all up a few years ago. It was rather easy to trace once I had your grandmother's name. I'll show you later if you are interested."

Then Ailis took his hand and said "I would be proud and grateful if you honored the Ferguson Clan by answering in the calling of the clans. Will you do that for me?"

"Tha mi urram ri freagairt airson na cinnidhean Ferguson."
(I am honored to answer for clan Ferguson) Sam said and then kissed the hand of Lady Ailis.

"Tapadh leat. A-nis feumaidh mi a 'ruith . Bha mòran ri dhèanamh fhathast."
(Thank you. Now I must be running. Loads to do still) Ailis said and bustled off.

Sam stood there bemused a moment and all thoughts of coffee and needles evaporated. A smile spread across his face. Sam turned and went back into the room.


Mac'IlleMhìcheil Estate – Blue Room

Sam walked in and looked at Mason for a several moments. Mason was currently dressed in a white shirt and a kilt. The tailor was removing the Prince Charlie jacket from a hanger.

He noticed that Mason looked like a true highlander dressed in his clan's tartan. It was the tartan all the guys were going to wear for the wedding. It was an intricate pattern of alternating rows and columns of royal blue and moss green squares. The blue squares had two medium lines of black running close together at all edges of the squares. There was a thick maroon line that crossed the middle of the blue squares too. The green squares were bisected in the middle both horizontally and vertically by a medium black line.

Sam wondered for a moment what the Ferguson tartan looked like. But those thoughts quickly faded as the thoughts he had outside this room reasserted themselves. Sam walked straight to Mason and embraced him.

Mason was startled and wondered what was going on "Blondie you okay?"

Sam stepped back but held onto both of Mason's shoulders and shook him slightly "Family is a grand thing."

Mason and Jim shared a look wondering if the whack to Sam's head yesterday was making him weird.

Jim said slowly "Yes family is grand. Sam, are you okay? You in pain or something?"

Sam just gave Mason a lopsided grin and said "Ailis traced my ancestry. Seems that somehow I am related to her. Which means I'm related to Marsaili. Which means that after you marry her we will be related by marriage. We will be truly family brother."

Mason's jaw dropped "Really?"

Sam nodded.

"Hot damn!" Mason exclaimed and hugged Blondie with all his might.

Sam tried to get out of Mason's crushing hug "Can't breathe, need to breathe" he managed to get out.

Mason released him "Sorry. I forget myself sometimes."

Jim laughed "Damn that is awesome. So are you related via your Dad or your Mom?"

Sam answered "My Mom. Her Mom was a Ferguson. I'm also somehow a descendant of Patrick Ferguson. My Dad is gonna freak when he finds out about that."

"Who is Patrick Ferguson?" Jim asked.

Sam relayed what he had learned from the Laird last evening. Then he told them that Ailis had changed the order wanting him to wear Ferguson tartan.

Jim questioned "So if you are a Ferguson will you be doing that torch thingy Mason was telling us about?"

Sam nodded "Yep. Mason I need you to tell me what I need to do."

The three of them talked while the tailor worked. An hour later Blaze and Winds arrived straight from Kandahar. They went to shower and change into shorts and t-shirts for their fittings.

When they got back the guys all relaxed with a few beers as each of them was fitted. They joked and teased each other as to whether they should go commando under the kilts. The consensus was that they would wear boxers not wanting to have an indecent moment in front of so many women and children if the wind stirred up.

Sam was the last to be fitted once several assistants arrived. The tailor assured Sam that his kilt would be ready for wearing for the opening of the gathering. Sam stood in front of the mirror clad in a Ferguson tartan kilt while the tailor made minor adjustments.

All Sam could think of while looking at his reflection was that Jules was gonna like this.


Mac'IlleMhìcheil Estate – Jules' Room

Jules stood as she looked in the mirror. Today had been a whirlwind shopping day. She, Marsaili, Heather and Wynfreda had visited several shops. Marsaili had coaxed her into choosing this dress. She had said that she would be wearing a similar type dress and said it would be fun to see both Mason's and Sam's reactions to them.

They had stopped at a tartan shop and Marsaili bought her a length of a beautiful tartan to be used for the handfasting. The cobalt blue in the tartan reminded Jules of Sam's eyes. It was beautiful Jules thought as she asked Marsaili why she chose that particular tartan. Marsaili had smiled and explained that it was the Ferguson tartan and would be appropriate given that Sam's maternal grandmother was born as a Ferguson.

The Ferguson tartan was made up of equal sized medium sized squares of cobalt blue, dark hunter green and a weaved mix of the blue and green. The rows alternated between one of solid cobalt blue with mixed squares and the next of solid dark hunter green with mixed squares. The columns aligned so that they were the same alternation of cobalt blue and hunter green. The end result was that each solid blue and solid green square was surrounded by mixed blue and green squares. All squares were bordered with a thin crimson red line.

Jules checked her hair and makeup once again. Heather had insisted on helping her with her hair today and it was arranged down and with soft curls. Wynfreda had brought her a freshly made circlet crown of small baby's breath and heather that now sat like a tiara or halo on her head.

There was a knock on her door. Jules took one last look at her reflection and knew that Sam would like it. She padded softly over to the door in the soft slippers that were under her gown. She took a deep breath and held it a moment to calm her excitement. Slowly releasing it she opened the door to get her first look at Sam in a kilt.

Jules stopped short with a small amount of disappointment.

Blaze smiled seeing the disappointed drop of Jules face. It was clear to him she was expecting to see Blondie. Blaze drawled "Expecting someone else?"

Jules recovered quickly and gave Blaze a quick hug "Yes but you are a sight for sore eyes. I'm glad to see you Blaze."

"Jules you are stunning" Blaze said as he offered her his arm.

Jules laced her arm in his "Thank you Blaze. Are you not wearing a kilt tonight?"

Shaking his head Blaze said "I'll wear one for the wedding but I refuse to wear it any other time." Then he joked "I just don't have the knees for it."

Laughing Jules said "So is Winds wearing one?"

"Nope. He barely agreed for the wedding. When Mason said he could change right after the ceremony he finally agreed" Blaze shared as they walked.

"So where is Sam?" Jules asked as they made their way to the stairs.


Mac'IlleMhìcheil Estate – Main Entry

Reaching the top of the stairs Blaze simply pointed to the bottom of the staircase. Blaze disengaged his arm and stepped aside.

Jules did not register anyone else at the bottom of the stairs even though all of Marsaili's family was there as well as Mason, Jim, Heather and Winds. She only had eyes for Sam. Her breath caught.

Sam was dressed in the Ferguson kilt with a Prince Charlie jacket and vest in black over an ivory cream shirt with a black bowtie. There was tartan over one shoulder that was held with a plain brooch and hung down his back to his calf. He wore black socks to his knees and traditional shoes that were laced up in criss-cross fashion on his calves.

Jules could see he was wearing a sgian dubh, a small knife, at the top of his left sock just above flashes made from Ferguson tartan. He wore a sporran that was black and appeared to be made of fur with silver closure and chain strap. On his head was a cobalt blue beret cocked to one side. The final touch was that he was outfitted with a sword.

She had no words. None would cross her lips. Sam was magnificent.

Sam sucked in a breath when he saw Jules approach the top of the stairs. She was beyond gorgeous. Jules was stunning, elegant, exquisite and dazzling.

Jules was dressed in a Renaissance Victorian period styled gown. It hugged her curves on top and then flared out into a full skirt at her tiny waist. The bodice of the gown was inset with cobalt blue satin as was a quarter of the front of the full part of the gown. The rest of the gown was soft ivory cream. The sleeves were snug fitted to the elbow and then opened up in a V-shape with gathered material that fell loosely to her wrists. At the top of each V there was a satin cobalt blue bow.

She glowed. The halo of baby's breath and heather in her hair crowned Jules an angel on earth. Sam felt faint and then remembered that he needed to breathe.

Breathing resumed as he set his feet in motion up the stairs to claim his beauty. He didn't hear the cheerful laughter as he stumbled up the stairs unsteadily to Jules. Part of him wondered if it was only a dream. Maybe he was actually still sitting in the chair in his room sleeping and this was all a dream.

Sam reached the top of the stairs after what felt like a monumental climb up Kilimanjaro. The air must be thin up here so close to heaven Sam thought as he tried to even out his breathing.

Tentatively Sam reached out to touch Jules' cheek fearing she was just a hallucination. If she was, he would gladly hallucinate like this any day. It sure beat the hell out of purple people eaters and rabid raccoons.

His fingers made contact and the world became real. Sam gave Jules a WOW smile.

Sam felt giddy. Later he would blame it on Matt or maybe the whisky he and the guys consumed while getting ready after dinner. Sam softly sang Marry You by Bruno Mars with slight altercations.

It's a beautiful night,
We're looking for something fun to do.
Hey baby,
I know I wanna marry you.

Is it the look in your eyes,
Or is it this dancing juice?
Who cares baby,
I know I wanna marry you.

Well I know this little chapel on the meadow we can go oh oh oh,
Everyone will know oh oh oh,
Oh, come on, girl.
Who cares if get trashed got a pocket full of cash we can blow oh oh oh,
Shots of whisky,
And it's on, girl.

Don't say no, no, no, no-no;
Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah;
And we'll go, go, go, go-go.
If you're ready, like I'm ready.

Cause it's a beautiful night,
We're looking for something fun to do.
Hey baby,
I know I wanna marry you.

Is it the look in your eyes,
Or is it this dancing juice?
Who cares baby,
I know I wanna marry you.

I'll go get a ring let the choir bells sing like oooh,
So what you wanna do?
Let's just run girl.

If we wake up and you wanna break up that's cool.
No, I won't blame you;
It was fun, girl.

Don't say no, no, no, no-no;
Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah;
And we'll go, go, go, go-go.
If you're ready, like I'm ready.

I know I wanna marry you.

When Sam finished Jules answered "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah. I know I wanna marry you. And when we wake up I will never wanna breakup. If you're ready, like I'm ready."

Then Sam leaned down and kissed Jules. Neither of them heard the loud clapping that followed, they were in a world of their own. A few moments or it could have been hours later for all they knew someone was breaking them apart.

Blaze laughed "Save it for after the handfasting lover boy."

Jules and Sam both came back down to earth and both turned pink realizing they had an audience. Sam offered Jules his arm and said "Shall we?"

Lacing her arm in Sam's Jules replied "Yes we shall."

Wynfreda leaned into Heather and whispered "Oh so romantic. Why are all the good ones taken?"

Heather smiled and offered, "Winds is still a bachelor. He is made of the same stuff as the rest of the unit."

Wynfreda whipped her head to look at Winds. He was a handsome man. A bit older than she was looking for but he might be fun to hang around with during the games. She headed over to say hi.

Ailis met Sam and Jules at the bottom of the stairs. She had a length of Ferguson tartan in her hand. She smiled at both of them and spoke to Sam "Would you like to pin your tartan on your lady?"

Jules eyes twinkled as Sam nodded. Ailis helped Sam arrange the sash over Jules' right shoulder and across her breast.

Marsaili came up to help and said "Grandmother you forgot to bring a brooch."

Ailis nodded and said "So I have. Use Sam's. I'll be back in a moment. I have the perfect brooch for Sam."

While she was gone Sam removed the brooch holding his fly tartan to his shoulder and used the brooch to secure the sash to Jules' dress. Sam stood back and admired Jules yet again "You are so beautiful Jules it takes my breath away."

Jules smiled and said "You're not so bad yourself Soldier. Too bad I will probably never see you in a kilt after this trip. It suits you."

Sam winked "Who knows. I might be talked into it at home."

Jules' eyes danced but took on a bit of a seductive look "Mmmm I'll kept that in mind."

Ailis returned and the room quieted down as she called for attention "My I have your attention please."

Sam looked at the graceful older woman with curiosity.

In a clear voice with a soft lilt Ailis said "Samuel Braddock, grandson of Lady Rosemary Ferguson-Loving I wish to give you something I have cherished for years. As the family knows I was originally a Ferguson until I met the love of my life Gillebrìde. I am Scottish therefore I will always be proud of my original clan as much as I am of my married clan."

"I present to you my Ferguson brooch. May you wear it with pride in your ancestors" Ailis said as she handed Sam a brooch.

Sam looked carefully at the clan brooch. In the center was a chapeau gules furred ermine and upon it was a bee on a thistle. The words Dulcius Ex Asperis were engraved around the top.

"Dulcius ex asperis. Sweeter after difficulty" Sam spoke the Latin and translated to English. He felt emotion surge up and the prickle of tears stabbed the back of his eyes. Sam bowed his head to hide them. These were his very thoughts yesterday gazing at the rainbow. Everything he had gone through to get to this point in his life made this moment all the sweeter.

Ailis saw the welled emotion in the young man's cobalt blue eyes. She was unsure whence they came but she could tell it ran deep and the motto meant something to him. Ailis closed Sam's hand around the brooch and said "The Ferguson motto, sweeter after difficulty. I think it is fitting don't you?"

Sam leaned down and gently kissed Ailis' cheek "Thank you. Yes it is very fitting." He quickly wiped at his eyes not wanting others to see his tears.

Jules stepped forward and gently turned Sam away from prying eyes. Then she opened Sam's hand. Jules took the brooch and slowly pinned his fly tartan back onto his shoulder giving him time to compose himself. That motto hit him hard and deep. Ailis's words were profound. It was like that motto was written just for him.

When she was done Jules kissed Sam softly and covertly wiped the welled tears away. Then Jules whispered so no one else heard "You ready to face everyone?"

Sam had regained control of his emotions and nodded. The two of them turned to the crowd with big smiles. It was a jovial group that all headed out to the torchlight ceremony.