The Chieftain Needs an Heir - a Highland ménage novella (Clan MacKrannan's Secret Traditions) Read Online Free PDF

cold, but seemed as an extension of his own blood.
    "Trust us, chieftain," said Hilde behind him, taking hold of his hands and raising them above his head.
    He saw why the instruction was necessary when Cecily placed three wee willow baskets to float on the water between his open knees, for each basket contained a flaming candle.
    Hilde's grasp would be no match for the famed strength of the clan's chieftain, but he nonetheless left his hands in hers.  Trust was all, no matter how perilously close the candles now floated to the parts he should really keep in working order if an heir was ever to be sired.
    "Ye could have told me to shut my eyes and I would have been none the wiser," he said, when Hilde finally freed his hands.
    " As ye say, milord, ye would have been none the wiser.  Seeing things for yerself is part o' this Tradition.  And a lesson in trust is seldom wasted."
    A strange energy filled his groin and flowed to fill the entirety of his body as the candles flamed their vibrancies and sweet aroma. 
    The scent identified the candle s as Oona's, and he supposed the acorns and pine cones bobbing beside them had come from her too.  And he discovered the continuous humming sounds came from Hilde and Cecily or one of them at a time as they leaned in to run their cloths over his body, working in tandem on each side like a swarm of two bees and speaking their curious mantras.  Surprisingly, he was roused none by their chests so close to his head nor by their attentions further to the south.  His purification had begun long before this cleansing ritual.  Since his Summons to the Vault, only thought of Sorcha could rise him.
    The humming of the Wisewomen had a quietening effect on his spirit and brought his fragmented thoughts into order.  He submitted to the cleansing more readily now, for these lassies were only doing their work, and he prepared himself as he would for battle by focussing his mind on strategies and images of victory under his leadership.  In his mind's eye the victory was his vision of his Sorcha's smile as she crooned to their babe, and the babe holding a single eagle feather in his tiny fist.  A healthy son who would grow to command the clan.
    Niall's face was serious as he left the oak tub and stood to his height, arms outstretched for the Wisewomen's drying.  They left only his siring equipment untouched with their drying cloths, placing him instead near the open window with his legs apart for the breeze.
    The Fertility Tradition had begun , just as the sky tinged red for the sunset.  The Wisewomen took turns at muttering an incantation over each piece o' the clean clothing handed to him, and the humming of the bees' song continued unbroken until the chieftain was delivered to the Vault.

    Hilde and Cecily did not speak on their long return journey through the castle, for their next cleansing would be a challenging one.
    The door was opened by Mirren, a sure sign of her intention to dominate the situation.  That could not be allowed.
    "Where have ye been?  My husband in naught but a cloth all this time and the water barely lukewarm!"  Mirren dipped her hand in a  bucket to prove her point.  The drips already around only this bucket spoke of several impatient samplings during her wait.
    " Aye, milady, it is as it should be," said Hilde.  And she started humming the bees' song in unison with Cecily to drown out the harmful black noises from Mirren's words and thoughts. 
    Cecily took the chance to say, "And if ye please, milady, there must be silence while the cleansing is done."
    Luck that the Grandam Wisewoman had foreseen the requirement for a very small flagon of her mead.
    Ruaridh was already quiet, saving his mind's strength for bonding with the spirits of his ancestors during the forthcoming ritual, and he made no protest as Hilde and Cecily did their work.
    The mild sedation of the mead and the scent from the three beeswax candles placed on a table was just sufficient and no