They wandered around the carefully placed stones in the rockery, amongst which flowers and bushes of all varieties, and every bright color under the sun, had been planted. They filled the air with their fresh wild scent, and Grace closed her eyes for a moment to breathe it in. A smooth lawn led up to the outside wall of the castle, around which a few benches had been placed at regular intervals.
Fergus sat Grace down on one, then he bent to pick a small, star-shaped, white flower with a yellow center, which he gave to her with a smile.
“Thank you,” Grace said, enchanted. She sniffed the flower, but it had no perfume. “What kind of flower is it?”
“It’s a primrose,” Fergus answered. “And it is a symbol of eternal love.”
Grace felt herself blushing. “Thank you,” she said once again. She felt the seat move as he sat down beside her, and for a short while there was silence, not an awkward pause this time, but a comfortable one.
“I suppose we had better go and speak to our parents,” Fergus said after a few moments. He looked anything but enthusiastic at the prospect.
“I suppose so,” Grace agreed, sighing. She felt disappointed in the extreme, because she wanted to spend more time with this handsome, kind young man who had already begun to capture her heart.
He stood up and helped her to her feet, then he smiled at her. “Before we do that, let me introduce you to my horse, Sandy. He is a big lad, but very gentle.”
They went into the castle and stopped by the stable, where a handsome gray stallion stood. To Grace’s surprise, he was already saddled and bridled.
“Try him for size,” Fergus suggested, grinning. “I have heard you’re a very good rider, and he is very kind to ladies. He prefers them to men, in fact.”
Before she could object, Fergus had gripped her around the waist, lifted her into the saddle, and jumped up behind her. He urged Sandy into a canter before Crissy had a chance to say anything. Grace felt a twinge of guilt for a fleeting moment, but it soon disappeared as she felt Fergus’s hard chest on her back, and his strong arms around her.
They rode for perhaps half a mile before they reached the deep blue waters of a sparkling loch, where Fergus dismounted, then reached up and lifted Grace from the saddle.
“This is Loch Inverleck,” he told her. “We cannot stay long before we have to leave, but I wanted you to see it. I spent a lot of time here as a lad, and I love the place. I hope in time you will grow to love it too.” Fergus looked down at the girl who was destined to be his wife and felt a deep tenderness warming his heart.
She was so small that she brought out his most gentle side; he knew he could be a good husband to her; indeed, he already looked forward to it. He put his arm around her shoulders and, as he drew her close, he realized that her head fitted right under his chin. They were a perfect fit.
At that moment Grace would have moved heaven and earth to have Fergus kiss her, but then she remembered that she was only a girl, and not yet a woman. She might regret it. What if she did it wrong and made a fool of herself? No, she would wait. She knew that it would be worthwhile in the end, since she would be doing much more than that after wedding Fergus. She blushed again at the mere idea of it. Yet now she knew she would dream about the blue eyes that were now looking down at her every night. She could drown in them, she thought.
“Time to go back,” he said, sighing. “I think I might have made a whole lot of trouble for you, but I will say sorry to Crissy on my bended knees if I have to.”
Grace giggled. “Crissy will be as meek as a lamb, I promise you,” she assured him. “She has been with me for years, and I would not trade her for anyone.”
Fergus smiled widely, a great, beaming smile that lit up his face like the sun coming out. “Such loyalty,” he murmured. “I like you, Grace.”
“I like you too, Fergus,” she replied.
“It will be a long time before we’re married,” he reflected. “May I write to you?”
“Oh, yes!” Grace clapped her hands, her face lighting up with happiness. “I would love that!”
He laughed, embracing her tightly. Grace could have stood like that forever, smelling his heavy man’s scent, a mixture of leather, a hint of fresh sweat, and something else she could not quite place.
Likewise, Fergus was not keen to let Grace out of his embrace. Holding her felt so right, knowing in his heart that he had been born to love this young woman. He would likely write dozens of letters, but they would be a poor substitute for the real Grace; he would never be able to smell her freshness, and feel her soft skin against his. He ached to kiss her, but he instinctively felt that it was too soon. Her body was not yet that of a woman; it would feel improper.
‘Next time,’he thought.
Grace desperately wanted his kiss. It would be her first ever—the happiest, most exciting moment of her life. She tilted her head back to look at him, and saw that his lips were inches from hers.
There was a moment of exquisite tension between them, a moment when anything could have happened, then Fergus sighed and pulled away from her. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do, but he could not take advantage of Grace’s innocence.
“We must go back, or our parents will have our guts for garters!” He tried to make the words lighthearted but failed miserably.
Grace was plunged in disappointment as he hoisted her back onto the horse again. They had been so close to her first kiss, so very, very close. She sighed, and looked at the flower he had given her. She would press it in a book, and remember him every time she saw it.
1
Grace had been waiting for five years for her dream to be fulfilled. It had been five years of imagining, fantasizing, and trying to keep her wild emotions in check, because the very thought of Fergus MacAndrew made her heart skip a beat. It also did strange, wild things to her body, which had frightened her at first, until her maid and friend, Crissy, explained them to her. She was shocked at first, but now she was looking forward eagerly to experiencing all those sensations again.