A Touch of Betrayal (37 page)
The first droplets of a warm rain greeted Grant and Alexandra the morning they arrived in Kenya. Then it began to pour. Soaked to the skin, Alexandra helped load her fiancé’s Land Rover with tents and supplies. They had decided to use the Nairobi house as their city base—a place where they could come to write, design, and rest—but the plains of Maasailand would be home.
Crammed to the windows, the Land Rover rattled down the streets of Nairobi. Tillie and Graeme McLeod, baby Khatty, and Mama Hannah followed close behind in their car. After them rolled a third car carrying Grant’s sister Jessica McTaggart, her husband, Rick, and their son, Splinter, all of whom had flown up from Zanzibar Island for the celebration.
When the three vehicles finally arrived at Grant’s old base camp, the Maasai warriors gathered to greet them. A massive raising of four tents was followed by feasting around a campfire. Everyone passed Khatty around until the baby finally fell asleep in Mama Hannah’s arms. Splinter joined in the group singing, and then he, too, fell asleep at the old African woman’s side.
Alexandra had never known such joy. She and Mama Hannah occupied one of the tents. Around midnight, Tillie and Jessica crept over to join them. The women stayed up late into the night, talking and giggling—trading stories about their childhoods, exchanging family news, and welcoming Alexandra fully into the family.
For the next four days, Alexandra had little chance to talk with the man who was to become her husband. He spent every waking hour in the
kraal
, observing and recording the details of the
Eunoto
. Grant also participated in the feasting and dancing along with the other warriors, who now considered him a full-fledged member of their group. Several times Alexandra joined in the celebration, and she found that the people greeted her as a beloved friend.
Kakombe was chosen
Alaunoni
—the leader—of his age-group. He, Loomali, and the other warriors submitted to the trauma of having their heads shaved of their coveted long locks. Several men wept or fell into frenzies, shaking and foaming at the mouth over this culmination of the highest period of their manhood. Mama Hannah was escorted to the
kraal
, and she shaved Grant’s head as he submitted to the rite along with his brothers.
Early on the morning after the final day of the
Eunoto
, Sambeke Ole Kereya and the other elders walked out to Grant’s camp and instructed Alexandra to accompany them to the
kraal
. Followed by the whole Thornton clan, she walked slowly toward the future that beckoned.
Grant stood at the gate of the village enclosure. Taking Alexandra’s hand, he led her inside. There, the Maasai women surrounded her, slipping beaded collars around her neck and tying green grass onto her sandals and clothing. Then Sambeke Ole Kereya stepped forward.
Speaking first in Maasai and then in English, he addressed the gathering. “This Grant Thornton is the son of our people, the brother of the brave warriors who have now passed into elderhood. As an elder, Grant has the right to marry. He has chosen wisely. Alinkanda of the long legs wears his silver chain.”
The Maasai murmured in affirmation of this excellent choice. Alexandra glanced at Grant. Tall, as nervous as any bridegroom, he gave her a grin.
“We bless you both with the peace and joy of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” Sambeke said. He dipped his hand into a gourd of fresh milk and brushed the traditional Maasai blessing on the skin of the couple. “We pray upon you great prosperity. Strong cattle. Healthy goats. And many children.”
Alexandra laughed with delight as the Maasai crowded around her, offering her gifts of beads, baby goats, and even a calf. Though a church ceremony would follow late that evening in Nairobi, to her this was the true moment of marriage.
“Alexandra.” Grant stepped over a little brown goat and took her in his arms. His sisters and their families cheered as he placed a kiss on his bride’s lips.
“I love you,” he murmured against her ear.
She slipped her arms around him and held him close. In the distance the clouds rolled back and the snows of Kilimanjaro gleamed in the early-morning sun. God’s gift filled her heart—a treasure more precious than pearls—the union of two souls.
Catherine Palmer lives in Missouri with her husband, Tim, and sons, Geoffrey and Andrei. She is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University and holds a master’s degree in English from Baylor University. Her first book was published in 1988. Since then she has published over forty novels and won numerous awards for her writing, including the Christy Award—the highest honor in Christian fiction—in 2001 for
A Touch of Betrayal
. In 2004, she was given the Career Achievement Award for Inspirational Romance by
Romantic Times BOOKreviews
magazine. More than 2 million copies of Catherine’s novels are currently in print.