Free Ellida by J. F. Kaufmann

eyes, and her
breathing gradually slowed down, adjusting to Jack’s rhythm.
    Of course, everything would be okay. Any
other option was out of the question.

 
     
Nine
     
    THE DINNER for the Captains, the heads of
the eleven Red Cliffs Houses, and their spouses took place a day
after Jack and James had returned from Scotland.
    During dinner, Astrid had been seated to her
uncle’s right, and Jack to the left of his mother, the place
reserved for the male guest of honor.
    “My friends, please join me in welcoming
Ellida Astrid, daughter of Hal and Rowena, to our Red Cliffs clan,”
James addressed them in a clear voice. “As our ancient tradition
requires, Astrid will announce her decisions about her future
status here and about choosing her mate after two full moons.”
    James raised his glass, and the men and women
around the table followed him. “To Ellida Astrid!”
    “To Ellida Astrid,” Jack repeated with a
wide, warm smile and raised his glass, too.
    James rested his eyes on Jack and
beckoned.
    Moving his gaze from Jack to his guests,
James said, “Twenty five years ago you asked me to be the clan’s
temporary Einhamir until Jack was ready to take the position
offered to him after his father’s death.” His eyes turned back to
Jack. “John William Canagan, are you ready now to accept the
position of Red Cliffs Einhamir?”
    Jack’s head bowed slightly. “I am ready,
Einhamir.”
    One more time James addressed his guests in
his strong voice. “Does any among you want to challenge John
William Canagan, son of Brian, for the position of Red Cliffs
Einhamir?”
    Eleven pairs of eyes fixed on Jack in silent
acceptance.
    James nodded. “Then I’m asking each of you to
swear your alliance to your new Einhamir.”
    Jack stood up, and then James. With hand
fisted over his heart, he slightly bowed his head and said in a
firm voice, “I, James Edward Mohegan, your predecessor, swear my
alliance to you, Einhamir John William Canagan.”
    One by one, three women and eight men did the
same.
     
    WITH THE ceremonial part over, the
atmosphere loosened up. Astrid discreetly let out a deep sigh. So
that was it. The transition of power had gone smoothly. That night,
James had killed two birds with one stone: he’d introduced Astrid
as the clan’s future Ellida, and appointed Jack as its Einhamir.
After two months, the Ellida would announce that she’d mated with
their Einhamir. That would cement Jack’s status as the leader of
the clan.
     
    DAYS TURNED into weeks, yet Astrid’s life at
Red Cliffs refused to slip into a routine. There was a constant
flow of people through the house. Astrid often accompanied Jack or
James to the ranches and farms scattered around the town to
introduce her to the owners and their families.
    Jack kept coming and going. Sometimes he
would stay home for days, while on other occasions he only stopped
in long enough to take a shower and change his clothes.
    The Blakes continued to phone her every
night. After a busy day full of previously unplanned activities and
unpredictable twists and turns, Astrid looked forward to talking to
her friends.
    Her cousin Maggie had come home for spring
break from Austin, where she was studying petroleum engineering.
Tall, slender, with wavy light brown hair and amber eyes, she
resembled her mother and older brother. She was more reserved than
her merry, outgoing younger brother.
    Like her mother, Maggie preferred to draw her
own conclusions about her cousin rather than to go with the flow.
Her assessing methods were less delicate than Betty’s. Astrid often
felt Maggie’s amber gaze on her—openly curious, penetrating and
thorough.
    Maggie looked so much like her brother that
Astrid couldn’t help but like her right away. Fighting against her
own introvert personality, Astrid tried to initiate small talk with
her cousin, but only after Maggie had decided she’d gathered enough
information about Astrid to come up with her own opinion did she
loosen