Chapter 74

The priest read from Holy Scripture and gave a homily about the mystery of Christian marriage, the dignity of wedded love, the grace of the sacrament and the responsibilities of married people. When he was finished, he signaled them stand and join their right hands together.

"It is time for the Profession of Intention. By your words you solemnize this occasion and declare before God your intent to consecrate this union. The husband first."

"I, Frang Cameron, take this woman to be my wedded wife, to live together according to God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony. I solemnly promise I will love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep only unto her, so long as we both shall live."

The priest nodded to Isobel.

"I, Isobel McTavish, nee Murray, take this man to be my wedded husband, to live together according to God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony. I solemnly promise to obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep only unto him, so long as we both shall live."

"Wilt thou both, accept lovingly from God the children with which he will deign to bless you, and nurture and educate them in accordance with the law of God and of his holy Church?"

"We will," they answered.

"Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?"

"In the absence of any other family, I, Thorburn Cameron, Laird of Cameron Keep, do give this woman."

"It is time for the Exchange of Consent. Frang, if you please."

"I, Frang Cameron, take thee, Isobel McTavish, to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law; and thereto I plight thee my troth."

The priest nodded to Isobel.

"I, Isobel McTavish, take thee, Frang Cameron, to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse: for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy law; and thereto I give thee my troth."

"In the sight of God and in the presence of these people, I witness and receive the consent of this couple in the name of the Church. Do you have a ring?"

Stuart gave Frang his mother's ring which he handed to the priest.

"Bless, O Lord, this ring, and grant that he who gives it and she who shall wear it may remain faithful to each other, and abide in thy peace and favor, and live together in love until their lives' end. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

He sprinkled the rings with Holy Water and handed the ring to Frang.

"Place it on her hand, repeating after me, 'With this ring I thee wed;'"

"With this ring I thee wed."

"With my body I thee worship."

"With my body I thee worship."

"And all my worldly goods with thee I share."

"And all my worldly goods with thee I share," Frang repeated.

"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Frang repeated all, gazing into the eyes of his beloved Isobel. With his 'Amen' he squeezed her hand.

"Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder," the priest said. "Forasmuch as Frang and Isobel have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth each to the other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a ring, and by joining of hands; I pronounce they be man and wife together, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

The guests proclaimed 'Amen'.

He signaled to all to kneel, waiting until they all knelt down before him.

"O eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, giver of all spiritual grace, the author of everlasting life: send thy blessing upon these thy servants, this man and this woman, whom we bless in thy Name; that, living faithfully together, they may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made, whereof the ring given and received is a token and pledge; and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according to thy laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"O Almighty God, Creator of mankind, who only art the wellspring of life; bestow upon these thy servants, if it be thy will, the gift and heritage of children; and grant that they may see their children brought up in thy faith and fear, to the honor and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"O God, who hast so consecrated the state of Matrimony that in it is represented the spiritual marriage and unity betwixt Christ and his Church; look mercifully upon these thy servants, that they may love, honor, and cherish each other, and so live together in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their home may be a haven of blessing and of peace; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen. Please stand."

Everyone stood and the priest continued, "The Peace of the Lord be with you always."

"And with thy spirit," all said in unison.

"You may kiss the bride."

Frang whispered, "I will never give you reason to rue this marriage," before kissing her, a touch light and soft as a feather.

Thorburn shouted, "If you can clear the room for a few minutes, we will bring in tables and begin the feast. The bride and groom will greet our guests in the courtyard in the meantime. Please stay for the food if you have time before you must leave."

Frang and Isobel went to the courtyard and started greeting the people who'd stayed for the wedding. Many of them were people who'd attended the Midsummer Festival the previous day, but Isobel was pleased to see several people from Lady Luck Farm there, including Cyrus McTeague, his wife, and several of the students she'd been instructing on fencing. Also present was Bjarkë. She was delighted to see them and asked how they were there.

"Laird Frang sent word yesterday you were to be married," Cyrus said. "He said it would be good if a dozen or so of us could be here for the ceremony, and of course I had to come and bring the missus. We arrived about five minutes before you walked into the room. You were so beautiful, lass. I'm happy for you."

"You were careful, were you not," Frang asked.

"Aye, Bjarkë and I picked out those coming and we didn't tell anyone we were leaving, just like before. Went the back and hidden ways, staying off the main path. We'll all be spending the night and traveling back with you tomorrow with a large party. Hopefully, one too large to be attacked. You'll be happy to know I've been practicing my footwork."

"Well, sadly, I may not be able to continue with your training," Isobel said. "It seems I'm with child."

Cyrus glanced at Frang. Isobel said, "We'll discus the details when we really have time to chat. I must greet the rest of our guests now, I'm afraid. Thank you so much for coming. You too, Mrs. McTeague. Perhaps we can speak later about the best way to manage your man."

Mrs. McTeague chuckled. "I doubt you'll have much trouble managing this one," she said, nodding towards Frang. "His mouth near dropped to his chest when you came through the door. I believe our young Laird is quite smitten with ye."

"You're quite right, Mrs. McTeague," Frang said. "The Laird is entirely enchanted with his new bride. Thank you for coming."

Bjarkë was next in line. He clasped Frang's arm in a steely grip. "Well done, nephew. You plucked a good one for sure."

"That I did," Frang said proudly.

"Mrs. Cameron," he said to Isobel. "Am I the first to call you that?"

"I believe you are, Bjarkë. Thank you. I'm so glad you could come."

"I'd not have missed it. Tis a pleasure to welcome you to the family. Come here, lass." He picked her up off the ground and gave her a dramatic smooch on the lips. "Here's hoping Thorburn knows how to throw a proper wedding feast. We missed the last one they had around here." He set her down. "If this lad gives you any trouble, make sure you speak to me. I'll knock a little sense into him."

"You're the second one to offer that, Bjarkë. I don't need to worry about him, do I?"

"I doubt it. But we'd disown him before we'd disown you, so he'd better treat you right."