Macbeth's Niece (15 page)

“When I tell him tomorrow, I expect he will
release himself from our engagement. After that, I will get to
Scotland somehow and find my uncle. He is king now, and perhaps
despite my adventures he will take me back once I tell him the
facts of the matter.”

“How does a woman alone make such a
voyage?”

“I could travel as a male. I’m short enough,
and I spent my youth acting like a boy, and the disguise would
eliminate most dangerous situations.”

“But the trip is long. It will take days,”
Madeline protested.

“What else can I do?”

There was another pause as they both
considered the prospect. “If you must take this chance, I have some
money,” the old lady finally declared. “My father and William were
much alike, and once it was clear I would not marry, my mother
wanted me to be able to live on my own if necessary. She sold some
of her jewelry and gave me the proceeds as a sort of emergency
fund. I have kept it all these years but never had need of it here
on the manor. It’s unlikely now I will ever need it. With Eleanor
gone William will appreciate my presence. It saves him hiring a
chatelaine.” Her plain face showed some measure of pride that she
could at last earn her keep in this way. “If Cedric rejects you
tomorrow, you must take what money you need for your trip
home.”

There was no use in polite refusal. They
both knew it was Tessa’s only chance. Hugging Madeline’s bony
shoulders, the girl felt relieved and warmed by the offer of help.
“If ever I can, I will repay you.”

“Oh, be off with you! I want nothing for it.
Come, let’s find some breeches and a shirt. We must tear some rags,
too, for wrappings that will hide your more feminine qualities. You
must be ready in case things do not go well with Cedric.” They went
up the stairs together, both more cheerful than they had been
moments earlier. The old lady chuckled, “I almost hope things do
not go well with Lord Acton. He isn’t worthy of a hair on your
head, I say.”

William was noticeably absent when Cedric
arrived the next morning, having had a tray brought to his chamber.
Tessa asked for a few moments alone in the hall, and, though
curious, the girls stayed away.

Cedric was dressed for travel in an array of
decorative, but on the whole useless, accessories done in his
family’s colors, argent and verte. His tunic was green trimmed with
silver, and a matching cape hung nearly to the ground though the
day was fine. Silver spurs and elbow-length leather gloves
completed an ensemble intended to impress, but Tessa had other
things on her mind.

“Cedric,” she began when they were alone. “I
must tell you something I should have told you before. Because of
circumstances I shall not explain, I misrepresented myself to you
and to the Brixtons. I am not related to Eleanor. I am from
Scotland, that is true, and I am of the clan macFindlaech. In fact
Macbeth, now king, is my uncle.”

Cedric’s large jaw dropped with surprise,
and she hurried on. “Eleanor and I thought it would be better if
Sir William felt…obliged to sponsor me. Now that he knows the
truth, he will contribute nothing to my wedding nor have any more
to do with me.” It came out in a rush, and she wondered if she was
coherent.

Cedric’s expression, at first confused,
finally cleared, and a bob of his head indicated understanding. He
looked surprised, interested, and, if she was reading him
correctly, calculating.

“You are related to the king of
Scotland?”

“He is my uncle,” she repeated.

Cedric was thoughtful, and for the first
time, Tessa saw the light of intelligence in his eyes. However,
that was not as heartening as it should have been, for she sensed a
shrewdness that belied Cedric’s apparent shallowness. “I have heard
of Macbeth as a general.”

“He is considered a great warrior among the
Scots, where warriors are plentiful.”

“Some claim he murdered the old king.”

“I have heard that, but the man’s own sons
may have killed him, to reach the throne all the earlier.”

Cedric went on, speaking almost to himself.
“One of the sons, Malcolm, has come to England and convinced King
Edward of Macbeth’s guilt. He is raising an army to take Scotland.”
What had this to do with her? Cedric’s next question was telling.
“He has no children, this Macbeth?”

“Why, no, he has not.”

“Is it possible he will have?”

“I doubt it, but what—?”

“Nephews?”

Quite puzzled, Tessa answered, “None. My
father was his only brother, and we are a family of six
daughters.”

Again there was a pause as Cedric stroked
his chin and paced the hall a bit. Finally, he came briskly back
and stood in front of Tessa. “My dear Tessie, though your
confession upset Lord Brixton, it need not concern us. I have more
than enough money to pay for our wedding, and I would see it
through. I have admired, may I say, desired you, since our first
meeting, and nothing you have revealed today changes my intention
to marry you.”

“But—”

“Please, do not worry your lovely head over
it further. I only ask that we be married without delay, which
should please you well if you no longer feel welcome at Brixton. I
will inform Lord Brixton as we journey, and instead of going on to
London, return to Beverly to inform Mother of my changed plans. I
may be able to convince William to allow you to remain here for the
short time it will take to make our final preparations.”

Cedric briskly clapped Tessa on the
shoulder, his posture becoming, if possible, even more erect. “Now,
my love, I must be off, so that I may return to you at the soonest
possible moment.” With that Cedric kissed her hand and left,
calling to a servant to hurry his master along.

In a few moments William came down the
stairs, also dressed for travel. Throwing Tessa a black look, he
went out after Cedric, his poor page half-running to keep up. There
was hubbub in the courtyard for a few moments and then silence.
Tessa stood trying to make sense of what had happened. Was it so
easy, after all her plans and worrying? She would still become Lady
Acton, then, still have security and wealth, despite her lies? She
replayed the scene with Cedric in her mind again. What had it
meant? Auntie Madeline entered the hall rather timidly.

“What happened, my dear? What did Cedric
say?”

“He says we shall be married as
planned.”

“That is an answer to prayer,” the old lady
breathed. “I would have been quite mad with worry if you’d had to
go back to Scotland alone. Cedric must love you very much.”

But the word he’d used was desire, and that
was much closer to Cedric’s true nature. He was much like William,
concerned only with himself and what he wanted from life. Tessa
felt disquiet at the thought, but what choice had she now? If
Eleanor could bear this sort of life, then so must she.

Going back to her room, she considered the
purse of money and the borrowed boy’s clothing that lay rolled into
a blanket. On an impulse, she stowed them at the bottom of a trunk
filled with trousseau items. She would explain to Auntie Madeline
about the keeping the money. The dear old lady would understand it
was necessary to be prepared for anything in the next few days.

A moment that evening did much to relieve
some of the burden on Tessa’s heart. Aidan, who had not gone with
William but stayed one more day to finish some business, took Tessa
aside after the evening meal.

He looked very handsome in a suit of deep
burgundy that, though plain, complimented his lean build and warm
skin tones. Seating her beside the window, he stood facing her and
made a speech Tessa realized he must have practiced carefully.

“Tessa, I would like to congratulate you on
your wedding to Cedric, and I wish you all the happiness in the
world. It seems to me, however, it would be best if I do not
attend. I would not for the world bring discomfort to you on such
an occasion, and therefore I ask you to understand if I return to
London tomorrow morning.”

She smiled warmly at him. “Of course, Aidan.
I will miss you there, for I have come to count you as a close
friend, but if you feel it’s for the best, I am content.”

Secretly she was relieved. Aidan’s
confession of love had made subsequent meetings awkward. It really
was better if she did not have to go through the strain of this
hasty marriage with Aidan’s dark eyes watching her every move.

He came over and kissed her cheek softly.
“You know I wish it were otherwise,” he said, “but I accept what
you have chosen to do and will be ready to answer when you call on
me for help—always.” With that he was gone.

Cedric returned with the proper documents
the next day. “I’m sorry you won’t have the large wedding we’d
planned, Tessie, but I must tell you Lord Brixton is quite adamant
that you leave his home at once. The only way we can accomplish
that with honor is for the two of us to be married today, which I
have arranged with a priest in York. It will be quite informal, I’m
afraid, not the large wedding we had planned, but you shall of
course have the company of the ladies here. Can you be ready in an
hour?”

Tessa hardly had time to think as she was
shepherded away from Brixton, perhaps forever, and on to the
minster at York. As they approached the church, she remembered
young Rob, the boy on the boat that had brought her from Scotland,
and the pride with which he had described it. Dedicated to St.
Olaf, a Norwegian king, the church’s architecture showed evidence
of the Vikings who had settled along England’s east coast. The pale
stone shone in the sunlight as the small party entered the arched
gateway of heavy stonework. They turned left into the church
itself, a huge structure with thick walls topped with decorative
spires and pierced with tall, gracefully arched windows.

Tessa had invited the women of Brixton to
her wedding, and they stood in a small knot in the huge sanctuary:
Tessa, Mary, Cecilia, Alice, and Auntie Madeline on one side,
Cedric and two of his retainers on the other. Cedric had sent the
news of the wedding to his mother, who had journeyed to Dame
Ballard’s house in Grimsby after Eleanor’s funeral and could not
return in time. Tessa hoped she was not too angry to have been
robbed of the huge wedding she had envisioned.

After a brief ceremony Tessa was pronounced
one with Cedric, Lord Acton. Auntie Madeline sniffled a bit, and
the girls looked awed and confused. Were they to be happy or not?
Tessa herself didn’t know the answer to that. They now knew her
true identity. She had told them herself, being unwilling to lie
any longer to these people she considered friends. The girls
watched solemnly as the ceremony concluded. Cedric kissed her
gravely, Auntie Madeline congratulated her, and no one seemed to
know what came next. Finally Alice said they’d best be going, and
Tessa walked with them outside, telling Cedric she wished to say
goodbye to them alone.

Outside she received hugs from all four, but
the mood was not at all the happy one she’d hoped for all those
months ago when she and Eleanor had imagined her wedding. Everyone
tried hard to seem cheerful, but there was no true joy in this
hasty pairing. Tessa was determined they shouldn’t pity her, so she
tried to appear content and promised to see them when possible. As
soon as they had gone she returned to the church, feeling dread
rather than anticipation for her approaching wedding night.

As she entered the coolness of the apse, her
slippers made no sound, and it was thus that she overheard the end
of Cedric’s conversation with his man. “So when the king dies,
there will be his beloved niece, who has married an English peer
and given him sons. Who better to sit on the throne of Scotland
than someone who represents the interests of both English and
Scotsmen? Of course Macbeth may want to settle a dowry on his
beloved niece once he learns she’s alive. A grant of land would
show his appreciation.” The two chuckled together at the joke.

Tessa stopped short, calling herself all
kinds of a fool. She should have realized Cedric had motives other
than the desire he’d admitted to. He loved nothing, and he had all
that wealth could buy him, but he still desired many things. Power
was evidently one of them, and he’d seen in Tessa a chance at
power—and the creation of a dynasty, it seemed. Although he was
dull company for a woman, Cedric had a grasp of politics. Macbeth’s
niece was to become a pawn in his ambition to control her homeland.
Penniless and disgraced, she was still kinswoman to the king, and
her sons would have as much right to the throne as anyone. She
wondered just what Cedric and William had discussed on the road to
York. Had this hasty wedding been forced upon her so she would not
have time to think and perhaps change her mind?

Suddenly the way ahead was clear to her. The
mist she had wandered in since Eleanor’s death disappeared in a
flash of determination. Leaving the church quickly, Tessa hurried
to the carriage where Cedric’s driver had fastened her box. The man
offered to help, but she dismissed him. “I need to find something…”
She let the pause indicate it would be indelicate of him to see
what it was she sought. The man backed away in embarrassment,
turning his back as Tessa rummaged through the trunk until she
found the things she wanted. When the man asked politely if there
was anything he could do to help, there was no answer. She had
disappeared around the side of the church.

By the time Cedric and his men missed her,
Tessa was far away, running with a small bundle of clothing and the
bag of money Madeline had given her. Finally realizing that people
stared, she slowed her pace and tried to control her gasping
breath. A finely dressed woman tearing through the streets was sure
to be remembered. She tried for a more leisurely pace, though she
could not help looking behind her. Unsure of what to do, she found
herself outside a small shop. Before it sat an old, old woman, so
tiny that her clothes hung loosely and her head seemed too large
for her body. The woman gazed blankly into space, paying no
attention until Tessa spoke. “Can you tell me how far I am from the
river, mistress?”