A Year & a Day (28 page)

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ofTorthwald Castle. Try as he might, he could find no way inside without being discovered. Fitz-Waren had the walls so heavily guarded, there was no chance to even swim the moat without being seen.

The following day, he rode out across the surrounding dales and talked with shepherds and cattle herders. The rumors of atrocities at the castle seemed so exaggerated, Lynx doubted most of what he heard, but he was sure of one thing. Hatred for the English conquerors was spreading like a contagion.

He spent the afternoon in the village of Beattock, but the people were so closemouthed and suspicious of him, he found no one who would answer his questions. Lynx realized he would have fared much better if he'd had Jock Leslie or one of Jock's sons

with him. In the evening he went to the village of Torthwald. The people were surly and afraid.

When he saw the gibbets with their grisly fruit, he understood why.

As Lynx de Warenne rode back to Dumfries, the grim realities of trying to conquer a people brought his spirits low. He thought of all the castles garrisoned by English across Scotland and wondered how many were being ruled by an iron fist rather than conciliation. Were the English so blind they could not see such brutality would only strengthen the Scots' resistance?

Lynx believed that John de Warenne would be a moderate governor, even though the other viceroys, Ormsby and Cres-singham, were incapable of moderation. He knew the first thing he had to do was get Fitz-Waren removed from Torthwald. On the ride home, the heavens opened and cold rain poured down in sheets. The glorious autumn weather had lasted into November, but winter threatened.

By the time he stabled his horse at Dumfries, Lynx felt sick at heart. He wanted the heirs of his body to hold this castle in peace and prosperity. He prayed it was the weather that had drowned his optimism and put him in such a dark mood.

Because of the drenching rain, he did not take the outside steps to the parapet of the MasterTower. When he reached Jane's chambers, he hesitated, in the hope that she would hear him and speak. He lingered for long minutes in the silence, feeling strangely empty. Then he made a decision and slowly undressed.

As he moved toward the bed he said, "Jane, are you awake?" He thought he heard a swiftintake of breath. "Don't be alarmed, it's Lynx." He slipped into the warm bed and moved across it until he was against her back.

"My lord," she gasped, rising up.

His strong arms went about her to draw her back down. He stroked her hair. "Hush, Jane. Go back to sleep."

Their breathing was the only sound that disturbed the silence. As she lay with her body touching his, she knew it would be

impossible to go back to sleep. But she lay still as his long, strong body shared her warmth. In a while she felt his hand slide over her belly where it lay possessive and content. Jane smiled into the darkness, feeling surprisingly contented, too.

Nineteen

In the morning Jane awoke alone in her bed. She had not heard Lynx leave. Could she have just dreamed that he'd slept nestled against her? No, his body had left its imprint in the feather bed. Her hand touched the linen sheet, imagining she could still feel his warmth. She wondered why he had come to her.

Was he troubled? He hadn't come to talk, and it certainly wasn't desire that had brought him to her bed.

There was only one answer: his unborn child had drawn him to her.

Jane wished with all her heart it were otherwise, but she decided she wasn't going to waste her day longing for the impossible. When she was dressed, she made her way to the kitchens, secured a leg of mutton for the lynx, and wrapped it in a linen towel. His wound had almost healed and she hoped that within another week he would be able to hunt for himself.

To avoid being followed by Keith, she did not go near the stables, which was the shortest route to the forest pool, but instead walked across the clearing behind the laundry, toward the trees.

From his chamber window in the Master Tower, Lynx watched Jane as she headed toward the woods. Where the devil was she going and what was she carrying? He had asked her brother Keith to keep an eye on her, but it looked as if she were deliberately avoiding the stables. As Lynx watched her, he knew she was not out for a morning stroll, but had a definite purpose in mind.

He had been mulling over whether to pen a letter to the governor or go to Edinburgh himself, but Jane's actions now filled his thoughts and he knew his mind would not rest until he

discovered what she was up to. Lynx made his way to the laundry, then crossed the clearing and entered the forest at the spot where he had seen Jane disappear. He did not resort to stealth, but strode through the trees knowing instinctively which direction to take. It wasn't long before he glimpsed her some distance ahead of him. He saw her pause and turn with alarm, ready for flight.

"Jane, hold!" he commanded her. She stopped in her tracks as if rooted to the spot, as he closed the distance between them. The look on her face clearly betrayed the fact that he had caught her at something she didn't want him to know about and that she wished him a thousand miles away.

"What are you doing?" he asked bluntly.

"What do you mean, my lord?"

"It's a simple enough question. What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Her breasts rose and fell with her agitation.

"Clearly, you have come to the forest for some purpose."

"I have come to gather herbs," she said, indicating her cloth bag, yet gripping it close as if she would keep the contents from him.

Lynx raised a powerful hand and took the bag from her. He did not know what he expected to find, but it was certainly not a leg of mutton and a pot of ointment. He pulled out the meat. "This is in case you fall hungry while you are gathering your herbs." He knew her dainty appetite. The suggestion that she would eat a whole leg of mutton was palpably ridiculous.

She opened her mouth to speak.

"Do not lie to me, Jane." His face and his tone were grim. His first suspicion was that she had come to aid some outlaw or fugitive hiding in the forest. He had her neatly cornered and suddenly he watched her evasiveness turn to anger as she took the offensive.

"It isyour fault," she flared. "You and your careless hunters! I am simply tending an animal I found wounded by an arrow."

For a moment, Lynx felt badly. He knew how tenderhearted she was with animals and the creatures of the forest. "Jane, in a

hunt, it happens. We try for clean kills, but it happens. Where is it?"

"I won't tell you!" she defied.

He gave her a level look. "You don't need to tell me. It is near the forest pool. I will go with you."

"No! No!" she cried with passion. "Go away, leave me alone! You set my brother to spy on me and now you are following me yourself."

Her reaction was so explosive he immediately knew she wanted to keep her secret from him at all costs. What the hell creature would devour a leg of mutton? "What animal are you feeding?"

He watched her press her lips together and lifther chin in defiance, but he also saw her fingers clutch her touchstone protectively. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Splendor of God, it is that lynx you told me of!" His long strides carried him in the direction of Jane's forest pool.

She ran after him, knowing his intent. "No, no, please don't kill him!" But she saw that his hand was already drawing out his dagger. Her concern was all for the lynx and the fury de Warenne directed toward it. She did not even think of the fury he would direct toward her.

At the edge of the pool he stopped and looked intently for a spot where an animal might lie concealed. Infallibly, his keen eyes fell on the lowlying branches with their brilliant foliage, and without hesitation, he strode toward them.

"No!" Jane sobbed, dashing ahead of him and flinging herself down in front of the place where the lynx had taken refuge.

His big hand closed about her wrist and he plucked her from the forest floor as easily as if she were a wildflower and thrust her behind him. He tore back the branches with his knife at the ready, then cursed aloud when he found the lair empty, the wild beast gone. Lynx de Warenne's accusing gaze swung to Jane and she saw the enormity of the risk she had taken through his eyes.

"You care for naught but the child! You are obsessed!" she flung at him, too afraid to retreat into the defensive.

" 'Tis a damn good thing somebody has a care for it." His voice and his eyes were like ice. To stop himself from shaking her until her bones rattled, he ran a frustrated hand through his tawny mane. "You have deliberately put my child in danger's way, risking its very life, without a thought in your empty head.

Does your own child mean nothing to you?"

The cruel and false accusation angered Jane. "I love my child very much, I would never do anything to harm it! Please try to understand that I was in no danger from the lynx. I have the power to communicate with animals and to heal them when they are hurt. I think it is about time you got to know me and recognize my special abilities."

"Not one more word!" Lynx ground out. He pointed in the direction of the castle. "On your way, lady."

As Jane hurried through the trees ahead of him, his ominous silence blanketed her. He did not speak again until the walls of Dumfries closed about them. "You are confined to the castle," he said shortly.

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been distilling a new concoction purported to bleach hair. Alicia and her maid saw Jane arrive, almost in tears, with Lynx de Warenne close on her heels. The couple's body language screamed to all witnessing the scene that they had been fighting, even before they heard Lynx tell Jane she was confined to the castle.

A sly smile of satisfaction curved Alicia's lips as she watched Jane rush past her to ascend the stairs. "Your sister is upset. Take her some more of my special wine and find out what the trouble is," she instructed Kate. "We can wash my hair later." Alicia knew she had allowed this young woman to gain a profound advantage over her and hoped to use the quarrel as leverage. While

Lynx was angered with the girl, she would try to lure him back to her bed. Tonight in the hall she would leave her hair uncovered and wear one of Lynx's favorite gowns.

Kate arrived shortly, obviously out of temper with her sister Jane."She would barely speak to me, my lady. She puts on fine airs these days, pretending to be better than the rest of us."

"Did you give her the wine?"

"She set it aside with the other wine I took her. Was there something in it?" Kate whispered suspiciously.

"Of course not," Alicia lied. "Wine loosens the tongue. I thought it would make her confide in you.

Didn't you even learn what caused the quarrel?"

Kate, wishing to avoid a tongue-lashing, said quickly, "It must have been the child, Lord de Warenne has no personal feelings for my sister."

Alicia's lips thinned. "Of course. He has forbidden her to ride and now he has confined her to the castle. The care and attention he bestows upon the child must make her seethe with jealousy, and the brat isn't even born yet."
If the little bitch would drink the wine, she would abort!

Alicia unpinned her head veil. "Let's get my hair washed. I must look particularly beautiful tonight."

Various plans flitted through Alicia's mind as Kate ministered to her faded locks. Her maid obviously could no longer get Jane to confide in her, but she had her uses. She had free access to her sister's chambers in the Master Tower, which was an absolute necessity for the scheme that Alicia's brain had concocted. "I may have a gown that will fit you, Kate. I'm surprised your sister isn't more generous with you." In Alicia's experience, a bribe worked miracles.

Before she went down to the hall to dine, Alicia brushed out her hair and adorned herself with the sapphires Lynx had given her long ago. He treated her with casual indifference these days, and she must take this opportunity to change all that. Excitement stirred her blood. She had seen Lynx's anger, barely controlled,

and it aroused her. Alicia shivered as she pictured the battle scars on his naked body. They were the visible proof of the danger he constantly faced.

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woman's way to keep to herself as if she were the injured party. Well, it would be a good long time before he would ask her to sit with him in the place of honor again. She could dine in her chamber and consider her reckless behavior.

He spotted Thomas and saw that Alicia had engaged his squire in conversation. Lynx was annoyed because there was no way to avoid her. As he approached, he noticed cynically that she wore a favorite sapphire-blue gown with the jewels he had once given her.

"Good evening, Lynx." Her voice was soft; he knew she was about to ask for something.

"My lord, would you permit me to join you this evening?"

An outright "no" would be too surly, even in his dark mood. He considered fobbing her off with an excuse, but realized he couldn't be bothered. "Why not?" he said carelessly, taking a seat below the dais and helping Alicia into the chair beside him.

When Thomas poured them wine, Alicia took up her goblet and drank deeply. "Lynx, I want to apologize to you."

"For what?" he asked bluntly, wise to the soft, cajoling ways of women.