Love's Ransom (4 page)

As they talked Anna was laying aside a selection of petticoats and a clean linen chemise as well as a lovely embroidered white nightgown. Lastly she brought another dress in blue silk which laced down the back. Obediently Isabella tried it on and Anna pulled up the lacing, making the bodice fit closely down to the pointed waistline over her stomach. The full sleeves were slashed and embroidered with tiny pearls.

‘Your waist is so small,’ Anna sighed wistfully.

‘But it is so low,’ Isabella gasped, struggling to cover her breasts. Anna giggled.

‘I have brought this embroidered gauze in case you felt it was low and here is the matching cap and slippers embroidered with the same pearls.’

‘Oh, Anna, they are all beautiful. Are you sure you don’t mind me borrowing them for today?’

‘You may keep these for yourself, but I shall lend you my blue velvet cloak. The evening will grow chilly and most of the feasting will be outside. Everyone will want to see the bride of the Douglas Clan’s future master. The men have lit two fires and they are roasting a pig and a sheep in the court yard.’

‘Oh dear. I hope they will not be disappointed when they see me.’

‘They will not. You are beautiful, Isabella.’ Anna giggled again. ‘I know Cousin Zander thinks so. I have seen the way he looks at you. He and my father have an eye for beautiful girls.’ She chuckled at the sight of Isabella’s rising colour. ‘Come we will take these to the chest in the bed chamber you will share with Henry so that you are familiar with it. It is a custom for the women to accompany a new bride and undress her and help her into her night robe ready for her husband, but I shall tell them you have requested only my company because you are a stranger to them and a little shy. They will be disappointed but I shall be able to show you where I have hidden the cup of blood if we are alone.’

‘Thank you. I-I did not know the women would want to –to undress me and put me to bed like a child.’ Her cheeks flushed and Anna smiled.

‘Aah, but they don’t treat you as a child. They make sure you are attractive for your new husband so that he will love you well.’ Isabella stared and her colour deepened even more. She wished her mother was here to explain everything. ‘I believe you are as modest as Henry.’ Anna chuckled. ‘I think you will do well together.’ She hoped Zander would be able to protect Henry from some of the more raucous and disorderly men. She did not warn Isabella that it was the custom for the men to accompany the bridegroom to the marital bed with many crude jokes and much advice.

Two women were in the upper chamber and Anna introduced the older woman as Lizzie Buchan.

‘Lizzie is like a mother to Henry and to me. Now she will be like a mother to you too, Isabella, since you have had to leave your own mother behind. You must tell her if there is anything you need.’

‘Thank you.’ Isabella smiled nervously at the old woman with her wrinkled face and the tight white cap which allowed not a single strand of her white hair to escape. She looked around the room. ‘I-I am sure we-we shall be very comfortable.’

‘I dae hope sae,’ Lizzie said fervently and both Anna and Isabella guessed her thoughts were on Henry. ‘He’s a guid man. Be kind tae him lassie and ye’ll no rue the day ye came to Moyenstane. This is your own kist and I put some lavender in it frae the garden.’

‘You have a garden?’ Isabella asked, her eyes bright as she turned to Anna.

‘We have a wee patch near the house,’ Anna said. ‘Henry calls it a garden. Lizzie says Mother planted vegetables and herbs there. Did you have a garden?’

‘Yes. My mother learned to grow herbs and onions and plants for potions and poultices when she was at the convent, and she keeps the bees for honey. We have apples and plums on the trees. I would like to have a garden to tend.’

‘Then we shall tell Henry and Zander and they will make it bigger and safe from wandering animals, especially the pigs. Henry tends the bees so we have plenty of honey. Maybe you will teach me what to do before I become a wife to Walter?’

‘Aye,’tis a pity your ain mother and her sister didna live long enough to teach ye things, lassie,’ Lizzie sighed. Anna hugged her.

‘You’ve always looked after us well, dear Lizzie. Are the women preparing the food?’

‘Aye and Walter has brought his mother to make sure things are ready. Mistress Nixon is telling Eliza what should be done so she is a scowling fit tae turn the milk sour and scolding the wee maids who have come to help.’

‘Oh dear,’ Anna said, ‘I will come down soon and try to smooth things.’

‘Oh aye, and I forgot to say, Zander arrived back with the priest before I came upstairs. Nae doubt he’ll be quaffing ale and eating the best wheat bread.’

‘Father has not given us enough time to prepare,’ Anna said in despair. ‘Dear Isabella, can I leave you here while Lizzie and I go to the kitchens?’ She looked earnestly into Isabella’s eyes. ‘I must go now, or it will be too late.’ Isabella nodded.

‘I shall come back and help you dress.’

‘Would it be possible for me to have a quill and paper so that I may write a letter for Jamie to take to our mother when he leaves?’

‘You really can write a letter? On your own?’ Anna asked in surprise.

‘Of course. Mother taught me and my sisters to read and write. Even wee Mary is learning to form her letters.’

‘Then I will ask Henry to bring you what you need. He is our scribe and he will be delighted to give you everything you want.’

When Anna and the women had gone Isabella sank down onto the heavy oak chest. There were two of them, presumably for herself and Henry. The bed looked very wide and she longed to stretch out on it but it didn’t seem right somehow. She felt a terrible weariness wash over her. She had had no sleep the night before while she waited for Jamie and Sam’s return, and they had left well before dawn to cross the marshes. So much had happened. She couldn’t believe that in a few hours’ time she was to be married to a stranger. She thought of her mother and sisters. They ought to be here with her, but she might never see them again. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of Jamie going home without her. She didn’t hear the footsteps approaching so she was surprised by the light tap on the door and Zander’s entrance.

‘Are they tears I see in those beautiful eyes?’ he asked. His voice was gentle but that made things worse. Isabella tried to brush the tears away but the sympathy in his eyes made them gather faster. He sat down close beside her on the oak chest and turned towards her, drawing the pad of his thumb slowly beneath one eye and then the other.

‘Please don’t cry Isabella. A girl who is brave enough to cross those marshlands by night or day can surely manage a husband, especially one as meek as Henry. I cannot blame my uncle for wanting you to be the mother of his grandchildren, but for the first time in my life I envy Cousin Henry.’

‘You envy him? Being forced into marriage against his will?’ Isabella looked at him in surprise. He saw a lingering tear drop on her thick dark lashes and touched his lips to it in fleeting caress.’

‘It would not be against my will if you were my bride,’ Zander said softly, as though the words were drawn from him. ‘You need not be afraid. Henry is the gentlest of souls. He will not hurt you if he can avoid it, and he is always kind.’

‘I – I am not afraid of Henry,’ she said. ‘I am a little weary and thinking of home, my mother and sisters. I-I c-can’t believe I am to be married without them. I don’t even know what I am supposed to do.’

‘My uncle has not given either of you time to consider.’ There was a faint bitterness in his tone which he could not hide. ‘If it is any consolation Henry is more nervous about being married than you are,’ he added wryly. ‘He asked me to bring writing materials for you and I see he has trusted you with his best quill.’

‘Thank you. I want to write a letter to my mother and sisters for Jamie to take with him when he leaves. Do you think his wound will have healed enough for him to ride?’ she asked anxiously, looking up at him with trusting grey eyes.

‘I shall make sure he does not leave too soon. We shall give him a good horse to carry him all the way. Anna is applying another salve now. She will give him a draft to help him get a good sleep. He is young and strong. You must not worry.’ He glanced around. ‘I see you have a table but no chair to sit and write. I shall bring you one now.’ A moment later he was gone, leaving the heavy door wide open. Soon he was back, carrying a stout wooden chair from the room below. He put it at the table ready for her. She had set out the paper and ink and laid the quill beside them.

‘Thank you, Zander? Shall I call you Zander? Anna said I should, now that I shall soon be your cousin too.’

‘Yes, yes…,’ he said absently but his eyes were fixed on her face. Her skin had been so soft and smooth beneath his thumb. He knew he ought not to but he could not resist a single kiss before she belonged to his cousin. He bent his head and put his mouth to hers but the touch of her soft lips yielding to his was like a smouldering fire bursting into flames. Isabella did not resist when he drew her into his arms and held her against his broad chest. She felt she could stay there forever but his lips were arousing emotions she had never known before and she clung to him helplessly. Zander was breathing hard when at last he found the will to draw his mouth from hers.

‘Have you ever been kissed before Isabella?’

‘Only by my mother and little sisters. Neb Truddle tried but I kicked his shins so hard he let me go. I did not know a kiss could feel so different – so wonderful…’ Zander realised she was as innocent as a new born lamb in spite of her courage.

‘What a waste,’ he muttered, ‘to marry you to Henry.’ He shook his head as though to clear away a cloud. ‘He will never know how fortunate he is. Now I must leave you to your letter sweet Isabella for it will soon be time for Anna to help you dress.’ He sighed heavily and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Isabella found it difficult to concentrate on her letter. The memory of Zander’s kiss kept coming back to her. He had awakened the strangest, most wonderful feelings and there was an unfamiliar and pleasurable heat in the pit of her stomach.

Four

Anna led Isabella down two flights of the spiral staircase to a small chapel on the second floor where her wedding to Henry was to take place. It was overflowing with people. The sight of so many men in their fine clothes surprised her. Jamie came to her as soon as she and Anna appeared. He was limping badly but he was dressed in a green and gold doublet with a lace collar and matching cuffs. He had on padded breeches cut into panes and velvet canions to his knee.

‘Where did you get such fine clothes, Jamie?’ she asked.

‘Our host insisted I must borrow them from Alexander or Henry. Alexander’s were too big for me. Henry is nearer my height but these are a little too tight to be comfortable. You will see Alexander is dressed almost identically and Henry looks splendid in dark blue velvet. But you are a truly beautiful, dear sister. How proud our mother would be to see you now, and Marjorie too.’ His voice shook. ‘I have got you into this trouble. I should have listened to your suspicions about the Truddles.’ His mouth tightened making him look much older than his seventeen years and reminding her of their father.

‘Don’t blame yourself Jamie. I insisted Sam bring me. At least we are both alive. Zander assures me your wound is healing well?’

‘It is, thanks to Anna. Are you sure you will be happy here, Isabella?’

‘I cannot say I shall be happy without you and our mother and sisters but I think I shall be content. Anna is kind and generous. I think my life will be satisfactory. I’m sure Henry will not be cruel as Neb Truddle would have been. They are brutal men. I beg you to be careful when you return. Keep Mother and our sisters safe.’

Zander was never far from Henry, giving him support by his presence and Isabella felt a peculiar yearning in the pit of her stomach as she stared at his long muscular thighs. All too soon it seemed the ceremony was over. Her husband did not kiss her but Anna did, and her new father-in-l
aw, William Douglas, who was in jovial mood and ordering a new barrel of brandy to be opened. So, Isabella thought, he might be opposed to raiding and reiving of cattle and sheep now he was a warden, but he was not against trading with the French smugglers who plied the Solway coast with their little ships. She wondered if that was where he got the silks and velvets for Anna to sew. Plates were laden with meat, fish and fowl and often all three and gravy was mopped up with chunks of the whitest bread Isabella had ever tasted, even though her own mother was good at bread making.

‘How do you make such wonderful bread?’ she asked Anna at the first opportunity.’

‘We have used a month’s ration of wheat in your honour,’ Anna laughed. ‘We never have enough wheat so we often mix in barley or rye. We shall probably live on oatcakes for a month now but we are hoping for a good harvest so we shall set aside enough for my wedding too.’

‘When the English raiders came they often set fire to our crops,’ Isabella said, ‘even though they were almost ready for harvesting. That made a very lean year for any kind of bread, but Father used to say our own men were just as heartless when they went over the border. Now I would like to talk to Jamie. They leave at dawn tomorrow, and there is Sam. I must talk with him. He has been such a loyal friend.’ She blinked away tears.

The music and dancing and revelry increased as the night wore on and Isabella had little time to worry about the night ahead. Then Jamie came to say goodnight.

‘Sam and I need a good sleep if we are to set out early and cross the marsh before dark.’ Isabella hugged him tightly and stifled her tears. ‘Anna is coming to help you to bed soon. I thought Alexander would enjoy the revelry but he has been very quiet and serious. He says he can’t wait for the night to be over. Ah, here is Anna coming to escort you to bed.’ He kissed Isabella and hugged her, but he could say no more for the unmanly lump which had gathered in his throat. Isabella understood and gave him a tremulous smile as she followed Anna, and escaped from the other women who tried to follow until Zander intervened.

‘This nightdress is much too low, Anna,’ Isabella protested. ‘It barely covers me.’

‘That is the way it is meant to be,’ she chuckled, ‘to seduce your husband. Privately she thought it would take more than that to seduce her brother, especially if Lizzie was right. ‘You will not forget to empty the cup before you come down to breakfast?’ she whispered anxiously. ‘And you will never, ever tell anyone?’

‘I promise. I have heard of women being whipped.’ She shuddered. ‘I would not like that.’

‘Henry is coming! I must leave you, dearest Isabella.’ She leaned forward and kissed her cheek. ‘Goodnight, my sister.’ She went swiftly from the room and Isabella snuggled into the feather mattress. She was deadly tired and might have fallen asleep immediately if the noise of many men’s voices had not alarmed her. She sat upright in the big bed but curried down swiftly when the door burst open and several men entered half carrying, half shoving Henry before them, tugging at his clothes in spite of his protests. All of them were laughing, except Zander. Isabella thought he looked tense and in no mood for fun. He too had to be up at dawn and probably wanted to get to bed and sleep.

‘Let me go! Leave me alone…’ Henry yelled, struggling as the men pulled off his shoes and hose and removed his doublet and silk shirt. They were set to strip him naked but Zander bellowed at them and shoed them from the room amidst protests and rude remarks. Two of them dashed back on the pretext of kissing the bride, pulling down the covers as they did so. Zander saw how low her nightgown was, exposing her white skin and half of her firm young breasts before she could snatch the quilt back. He groaned silently. He would give half his life to be in Henry’s place tonight. But the two men were trying again to remove the rest of Henry’s clothing and he threw them out and closed the door.

‘Get into your nightshirt, Henry,’ he snapped impatiently. Henry had never known his cousin to be anything but mild and patient with him, even though he was known to be a fearsome adversary when other men displeased him. Henry looked at him in surprise. He had had a rough day and a rougher evening with all the men teasing and offering advice. He felt physically sick and he knew he could never do what his father expected of him this night. Now it seemed even Zander was losing patience. He was the only one who might have helped – yet how could he?

Zander snatched up the voluminous white night shirt and tossed it to the other side of the room.

‘Get into that while I kiss your bride goodnight, then I shall leave you both in peace.’ He leaned over the bed. Supporting himself on one arm while his other fell lightly across Isabella’s body. She gave a faint gasp as she felt the warmth of his hand against her heart through the thin cotton gown. He could not resist stroking her nipple with the pad of his thumb and her lips parted as he had known they would. His kiss was long and leisurely and he wished with all his heart that he was the one who would stay with her throughout this first night as a bride, and all the nights to follow. For the first time in their lives he was unable to take Henry’s place and shield him from his father’s wrath as he had so often done in the past. This time it would have given him exquisite pleasure.

When Zander had gone Henry came to the bedside. If she had not been so tired Isabella might have laughed at his thin legs beneath the voluminous shirt. He fell to his knees and put his head in his hands. At first Isabella thought he was praying. Was he catholic or protestant she wondered. Religion could cause difficulties even in families. Her own mother had been brought up in a catholic convent but she had accepted her father’s protestant religion when they married. King James’ own mother, Queen Mary, had been beheaded by order of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, for her catholic beliefs. Now King James himself was declared a protestant. Isabella was surprised to discover Henry was not praying at all when he looked up. His blue eyes were full of despair.

‘I can never be the kind of husband you deserve, Isabella. I shall never be the man my father craves either. It is beyond me! I should have refused to marry you, when I know I can never treat you as a husband should. I can only love you as a sister. Can you forgive me?’

‘There is nothing to forgive, Henry. You have saved my life. I could have been hanging from a tree now if you had refused to marry me.’

‘I can’t believe my father would have carried out his threat to a girl as brave as you.’

‘He would have demanded some kind of punishment, maybe he would have taken Jamie’s life. You have saved both of us. For that I shall be a good and loyal wife and do my best to please you. Right now I am so tired all I want to do is sleep for a week. I did not go to bed at all last night, and this has been an exhausting day.’ She spoke the truth and Henry seemed to relax. She would not make demands on him as a husband, even if she knew what those demands were supposed to be. She only knew that Zander’s touch had aroused unfamiliar yearnings in her.

‘I have not shared a bed since I was five years old,’ Henry said. ‘Do you mind if I put the long pillow in the middle? It will be like sleeping in our own beds.’ Even as he said the words he was tugging the bolster down the middle of the bed. Isabella was already asleep by the time he climbed in. He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew now he would never quarrel with this girl who had been forced to marry him, but pleasing his father was another matter and quite beyond him. He would have to be content with Anna’s children, and Zander’s, if his cousin ever found a wife to match his fiery passion and strength of character.

Isabella slept deeply but she awakened refreshed and alert as dawn was breaking. She wanted to see Jamie one more time before he left on his journey across the treacherous marshes. They were as unfamiliar to him as they had been to her. They both depended on dear, loyal Sam to guide them. She had checked the night before that her own clothes had been washed and returned. They lay ready now on top of her chest where she had placed them. Henry was still sleeping like a baby but she moved quickly and silently. Only her cap was missing but she found a cord and tied up her hair so that it fell down her back in rippling waves. She was about to creep out of the room when she remembered the cup of blood and Anna’s urgent plea. She took it from its hiding place and tipped it onto the sheet at her side of the big bed, taking care not to stain the long pillow which cocooned her husband. It was a very small amount and she wondered why Anna considered it so important but she had carried out her promise and she hid the tiny container again.

She crept down the stairs to the floor below. She smiled at the guard and continued to descended the stairs to the lower floor. She found Jamie and Sam with Zander as well as his friends Walter and Thomas. They were supping bowls of gruel. They looked up, surprised to see her so early in the morning. Walter and Zander exchanged glances. Isabella looked bright and cheerful and well rested. If she had been his bride, Zander thought, she would not have escaped from his bed for a night and a day at least. The gloom which had quenched his usual good spirits suddenly lifted and he smiled merrily.

‘I wanted to bid Jamie and Sam God speed one more time before they leave,’ Isabella said.

‘Perhaps you would like to ride with us to the foot of the mountain?’ Zander suggested.

‘Oh yes, I would like that very much.’

‘Then you must eat before we set out.’ He went to the top of the spiral stairs.

‘Eliza will you bring another bowl of oatmeal gruel please?’ Isabella noticed how Zander always said please and thank you even to the lowliest servants and they all smiled and did his bidding, even Eliza, who was apparently prone to grumbling.

Isabella pulled a face and looked across at Jamie when she tasted the gruel. He laughed aloud although he had been looking solemn and anxious.

‘It is not as good as you, or mother, make, I agree,’ he chuckled.

‘There is no salt in it,’ Isabella said. ‘It tastes vile.’

‘Salt?’ Zander asked. ‘You put salt in your oatmeal?’

‘When we make gruel we do,’ Isabella said. ‘Our father always brought back a barrel of salt after he had been to see the ships coming into the town of Annan. The women who live in the villages beside the Solway Firth collect the salt to sell so they can earn money to feed their families. Mother keeps it in a stone box to keep it dry.’ She turned to Jamie. ‘There is not much left. If Uncle David Munro does not bring some back with him you will have to make the journey instead. Be sure to take some trustworthy men with you, brother dear, for the Truddles will not be happy to see you have returned safely.’ She looked at Jamie with anxious eyes. The other men chuckled.

‘I think she is keeping you in instructions even now, Jamie Ellwood,’ Walter chuckled. ‘I begin to feel some sympathy for poor Henry after all.’

‘Just you wait until you take Anna for a wife. She will keep you in order,’ Zander teased.

‘Jamie and I have always looked after each other,’ Isabella said in a shaky voice.

‘Aye, so they have,’ Sam said, ‘but never fear lassie. His men will watch out for him when they hear of the dastardly trick Neb Truddle played. Young Marjorie will keep the salt crock full.’

‘I suppose she will,’ Jamie smiled. ‘I think it is time to start our journey though, if you have supped your gruel, Belle?’

‘I have but I must find my cloak. The morning is chilly. I don’t know where Anna put it.’

‘I shall find it for you,’ Zander said. ‘Will you see the horses are ready please, Thomas, including Isabella’s mare?’ The men left at once and he disappeared into an alcove off the main living area and returned with her soft leather cloak with the fur lining.’