Papa, what did you mean by what you said in your last letter to me?
‘For the Moon sets and rises in your hair.’
Yes, that. What did you mean?
‘I entrust my secrets to your care and have faith that you will discover the meaning in time.’
In time for what? Papa?
Cleo cried out in her dream for her father, but he was no longer there, lost to the fog of time.
Waking with a start, Cleo found tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh, Father, why?” she sobbed, turning her face into her pillow.
A knock at her door interrupted Cleo’s weeping. “What troubles ye, lass?” Arthur’s voice soothed as he came to sit on the side of the bed and took her into his arms.
“I dreamt of father and his infuriating riddles. I am sorry to be weeping thus after our wedding. It is naught but self-pity and I will regain my composure shortly.” She swiped at the offending liquid on her cheeks with the backs of her fingers.
“There is nae need tae apologize, lass. Ye have every right tae weep, bride or nae.”
Cleo attempted to smile up at her handsome husband. “How can anyone weep when they have you to hold them in your arms?”
“I dinnae ken,” he smiled roguishly. “Shall I kiss the tears away?”
“Yes, please,” she whispered, her heart beating faster in anticipation of what she felt was certain to follow.
Arthur caressed her cheek with his lips, then took her face in both of his hands. “Will ye have me, lass?” he asked, a flicker of uncertainty deep in his eyes breaking through the cloud of desire.
“Yes, always, now and forever.”
* * *
When the time came for their wedding supper, Cleo and Arthur descended the stairs, each dressed handsomely, with Cleo wearing the dress and adornments that her father had given her before he died. They had the glow of two people truly in love who finally understood what the bards of old had so diligently attempted to describe.What description is there for such bliss?Cleo felt her cheeks flush at the thought of what they had been doing but moments before.
Arthur chuckled and squeezed her hand as if he could read exactly what she was thinking. “I dinnae believe that there is one, lass, but heaven comes tae mind.”
Cleo’s jaw dropped open as she realized that he had spoken her thoughts aloud. Mortified, she blushed a deeper shade of crimson and turned her face into his chest to hide her embarrassment.Heavenly,she sighed,it was certainly heavenly.
Jacob was the first guest to arrive, having brought a large quantity of food carried by himself and his immediate family through the front door and straight through to the kitchen as if they had lived there their entire lives. Cleo loved having all of them in the house. The Glickman family brought warmth to the house that it had not had since her father’s passing.
Cleo’s friends Elizabeth, Sarah, Gwendolyn and her new husband, Devon, arrived together as a group, each twittering away in excitement as Arthur and Devon stood back together watching with affection for their new brides. The menfolk instantly took a liking to each other and were soon immersed in their own conversation on the current state of the monarchy. Cleo shook her head at them in amusement and ushered the ladies in the drawing room to catch up on everything that she had been missing out on.
Jacob’s sister, Miriam, shyly joined the rest of the girls and they were soon talking as if they had all known each other since childhood. Mrs. Glickman and Mrs. McGrath could be heard sharing recipes and laughing conspiratorially together in the dining room as they prepared the table. Aunt Caroline and Lady Chapman sat across from each other carrying on a polite conversation as would be expected of respectable women of their standing, but the Earl of Dustshore himself had yet to arrive.
Cleo hoped that his tardiness did not signify any bitterness on his part for her decision to wed Arthur and not himself. She caught Arthur’s eyes from across the room and saw a flash of concern in his eyes. Cleo shook her head and smiled to show him that she was well. He smiled gently back, but the concern did not leave his eyes. When Dustshore finally arrived, they soon discovered the reason for his lateness.
Dustshore entered the house with a man that Cleo did not recognize, an older gentleman of somewhat unkempt appearance, causing Aunt Caroline a moment of great alarm. “My Lord?” she questioned, rising to see what was going on. A whimpering sound emerged from beneath the strange man’s coat and a small dark nose poked out from between the buttons. The man opened his coat and pulled out the most adorable black and white border collie puppy that Cleo had ever seen.
“Many blessings on your wedding and the most joyous of salutations from the house of Dustshore,” the Earl bowed over Cleo’s hand. “He is yours.”
“He is beautiful! Thank you!”
“Sadly, I cannot take the credit for such a thoughtful gift. Your husband wrote me of your blessed news and remembering that my favorite Border Collie bitch had just dropped a litter, he asked if I would be so kind as to bring one as a gift for you in celebration of your union.”
“Oh, Arthur!” Cleo breathed.
Arthur came and took the puppy from the man and knelt down beside Cleo, placing the puppy in her lap. “I thought that ye might like a companion tae walk by yer side, if life were ever tae dictate that I could nae,” Arthur murmured softly for her ears only. He wanted something there to protect her if the day ever came that by God’s hand, for no other could make him go, he was forced to leave her and this earth behind.
“Camelot,” she murmured, tears in her eyes. “We will call him Camelot.”
