So, what had happened?
God, she yearned for the truth!
And perhaps the truth could be found in helping him.
There was but one thing to do for the moment, she determined.
Get past the night.
And begin the new day. Forewarned…
And forearmed.
She did begin the day. Definitely late.
But by ten-thirty, Shawna had summoned the Reverend Massey, and she stood by his side at the entrance to the main tunnel dug out of the rugged cliffs near the loch.
The miners and their families were assembled nearby, the men with their caps in their hands, the women with their heads bowed.
“Shawna MacGinnis, do you think that this will work?” the Reverend Massey asked worriedly.
Shawna lowered her eyes, hiding a rueful smile from Massey. Would it work? She was trying to convince miners that a shaft couldn’t be haunted while she was halfway convinced she was mad and carrying on with a ghost herself.
“Reverend, whether it ‘works’ or not, a blessing on the mines would be a good thing, would it not?” she asked.
“Aye, aye,” he said after a minute of thoughtful frowning.
“Be strong!” Shawna told him encouragingly as she looked at the crowd of sixty or so people who had come to hear the blessing. Her great-uncle Gawain, flanked on either side by hercousins Alistair and Alaric, were watching them, waiting. Alistair caught her eyes upon him. He grinned and winked.
Shawna had managed to depart Castle Rock without seeing Gawain, Alaric, or Alistair. She was determined to follow her own way, and it seemed more prudent to have her own way now and argue about it later, rather than risk a public argument.
“Please proceed, Reverend,” Shawna urged. The people were beginning to grow restless.
“Uh-hmm!” the Reverend Massey said, clearing his throat. He lifted his hands to Heaven. “My good people, let us pray!” he invoked, then dropped rather slowly to his knees.
Everyone followed suit. Before closing her eyes in prayer, Shawna saw that her great-uncle Lowell and cousin Aidan had come as well and were kneeling at the far left side of the crowd. Aidan offered her an encouraging smile as Alistair had done, and Lowell, as gentle a man as Gawain was rough, winked as Alistair had done. It was a pity. She didn’t see nearly as much of her great-uncle Lowell as she did of Gawain. Lowell and Aidan had maintained residence at Castle MacGinnis to keep up the MacGinnis ancestral home.
She wished now that she had stayed there herself. But along with all the business-related reasons for her maintaining her residence at Castle Rock, the recently deceased Laird Douglas, David’s father, had asked her to do so himself. No matter what, she wouldn’t have been able to have refused him. Since Gawain had run many of the affairs of both estates for years, he had decided to move to Castle Rock too. His two sons, Alistair and Alaric, had joined him there.
From across the crowd, she saw Aidan arching a curious brow at her. She realized that she had been frowning.
She tried to smile.
She should have remained in her own home, no matter what the old Douglas laird had asked of her, no matter that he and herfather had been the closest of friends. She should have known that “ghosts” could come back to haunt Castle Rock.
“Father in Heaven,” the Reverend Massey intoned, “we ask for your blessing on these thy children who work the earth. We ask your blessing on these coal mines which offer so many here sustenance. Oh, Father, hear our prayers, through the infinite goodness of your son, Jesus Christ, grant us your goodness and mercy. Bless this work we partake of in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Be with us in all our endeavors, bless each man, woman and child who works within the mines…”
The prayer went on and on—once the Reverend Massey had got started, he found passion in the event. Shawna found herself opening her eyes. Alistair’s eyes were open as well. He was still watching her, his expression amused. His blue eyes sparkled. His handsome face was cut by a broad grin. She shook her head in warning, and he lowered his eyes dutifully.
At last, the prayer ended. The Reverend Massey implored them all to go and work dutifully and in peace. When they stood, Massey was approached by a young woman with a baby on her hip, and Shawna discovered that Mark Menzies was at her side, thanking her for the arrangements that morning. “The men are enthusiastic about their work once again.” He lowered his voice. “Aye, and still, it would be best if I knew myself what causes the sounds that haunt the mines at times!”
“You’ve heard these sounds yourself?” she asked.
Mark started to reply but paused, and she realized that Gawain had come up behind her.
“I was thanking m’lady for the prayer, MacGinnis,” Mark said politely.
“If a blessing matters to the work, then a blessing there must be,” Gawain said.