Love's Ransom (6 page)

‘We’ve made a man of my laddie at last,’ William said triumphantly, turning back to face Zander and his friends. ‘I’d begun to wonder if he’d ever act like a normal man but even a monk would find it hard to resist such a pretty young wife.’

It was later that day when Zander learned the reason for his uncle’s jubilation. He knew the servants gossiped and they were curious about Henry and his young bride so they all knew about the blood stained sheet which Lizzie had brought for washing after she had been to their bedchamber that morning.

‘I could have sworn she was a virgin still,’ Walter muttered to Zander when they were alone together. Zander was in no mood to discuss his cousin and Walter guessed the reason for his friend’s dark mood. He did not speak to Isabella or Henry during the rest of the day.

The following morning Zander was finishing breaking his fast when Anna and his uncle joined him.

‘I have decided to go on a journey,’ he announced brusquely. ‘I shall go west towards Dumfries town. I have a desire to see the ships which sail up the Nith river.’

‘You’re not planning to sail away on one, are you?’ his uncle asked.

‘Maybe. Henry does not need me to watch over him now he has a wife,’ he added, unable to hide his discontent.

‘Then you must take some trustworthy men with you. I hear the Johnstones and the Maxwells are constantly at war. You must not to get involved. Remember the wardens have the same powers over the West March as I have here.’

‘I am in need of adventure,’ Zandar replied.

‘Then please do not take Walter with you,’ Anna pleaded. ‘I do not want to be a widow before I have been a wife, as your own mother was, Zander.’ William Douglas frowned at her.

‘What can you know of your Aunt ? She died before you were born.’

‘I know she loved you, Father, and that you were going to marry her but you went away.’

‘I had to go abroad or end up as a prisoner in Edinburgh, and probably a dead man. Alexander, will you be bringing back some pretty trinkets for Anna?’ he asked deliberately changing the subject.

‘Is there anything you would like, Anna?’

‘Oh yes please. If you see silks or velvets Isabella and I would like some to make new dresses. Isabella needs several for daily wear but we shall weave some fine wool for winter. I know she longs for a needle case with different sizes of metal needles. Her father gave her one but she left all her treasures behind when she came here to offer her life to save her brother. She will need a special dress for my wedding too. Will you be back in time?’

‘Maybe Isabella will not fit into a special dress in six months,’ her father said smugly. Anna flushed a little and didn’t reply. Zander wondered if she knew and if she was as amazed as he was to discover Henry had managed to make love to his new wife. He did not care to dwell on such matters. The sooner he got away the better.

‘I fear Walter will not be happy at being left behind,’ he said.

‘If he truly loves me he will not go,’ Anna said with certainty.

***

Isabella had plenty to keep her occupied but she missed Zander’s presence more than she had expected considering she had known him so short a time. She and Anna worked with the women in the kitchens, making bread and ale, churning butter from the milk cows, taking a turn at milking. She was pleased and proud that her mother had taught her well. Even Eliza grumbled less at the young maids who came from the village to help and to learn. In the afternoons there was spinning and weaving to do, garments to make, or to mend. Above all Isabella was delighted with the area which Henry had set aside for her garden. He had not only built two walls for shelter from the wind, but he had repaired the wattle fence on the other side and designed a stone seat big enough for two where she could rest. He had devised pillars to hold up a small roof so that she could shelter from a sudden shower. He instructed two of the men to clear thorny branches and an area overgrown with weeds, but the days were growing shorter and cooler and she knew she must wait until spring before she could grow plants for food. Sometimes travelers passed through and stayed a night but none of them brought news of Zander and none ever ventured over the marshlands in the direction of her family. There were so many things she longed to ask her mother. There were several bee hives and she helped Henry attend to them and asked him if he could mend the two rickety ones so they could keep more.

‘We can never have enough honey,’ she said.

‘I will do better than that. Old Hubert is good with wood. I will ask him to help me make two new ones.’

‘That would be lovely. We might entice a new swarm of bees to occupy one of them.’ She would have hugged him in gratitude but she knew now that he did not like close contact. So long as she was content to sleep with the long pillow between them and she made no personal demands on him, Henry was eager to do anything which made her happy. She was pleasantly surprised at the things he had learned from the elderly monk who had taught him and Zander to read and write and count. He knew more about bees than she did herself and he even understood that saving barm from the ale, or a piece of dough from the last baking, helped the bread to rise and made it lighter, though neither of them knew why this should be. He showed her where the wild raspberries grew and asked one of the men to dig some up for her to plant in the garden so she could cultivate them and have them nearby. He brought her plants of wild garlic and thyme, sage and mint.

It pleased William to see his son at ease and chatting amiably with Isabella. Sometimes he saw shadows in her lovely eyes and supposed she must miss her family, though she was usually content in her new surroundings and never complained. He saw how much the garden meant to her and made up his mind to take a couple of men and travel south to see what he could buy, or order, from the captains of the boats which came in from France or Holland.

‘I hear we need more salt to preserve the beef and lamb before winter sets in,’ he said at breakfast one morning. ‘Now the grain is gathered in I shall journey to the port of Annan. There is no word to say when Zander will return so I shall leave you in charge here, Walter. Don’t let the guards be idle.’

‘Father, I would like to take my spinning wheel with me if I may, when I marry Walter,’ Anna said. ‘Isabella is very quick with the spindle and distaff but she was used to having a spinning wheel of her own. I’m sure she would like to have another.’

‘I will see what I can get. I must contact the French smugglers and bargain for more brandy before your wedding. It is a good thing the wool merchants gave a fair price for our wool this year.’

Isabella knew that reivers were more active on moonlight nights between Michaelmas and Martinmas, at the end of November. The days were already shorter so she was relieved to know Walter would stay behind to organise defences if they were needed. She was developing a warm affection for Henry, as all the women around him seemed to do, but she knew he would be little use at defending Moyenstane Tower, or the village and barns if a ruthless band of raiders came. Indeed he might be many miles away. On moonlight nights he opened the shutters to let in the silvery light. Twice she had wakened to see him pressing the oak panel on the far side of their bedchamber and then he had disappeared. She assumed it must be some sort of secret stairway. Once, after a great deal of fumbling and searching she managed to open the panel herself. She was faced with a blank stone wall. It was only after she felt carefully along that she discovered there was a narrow opening at the end. Even a slim man like Henry would have to edge sideways a step at a time, she thought. Isabella hoped she would never need to escape that way herself.

She longed for news of her family and to know whether Jamie had dealt with the Truddles. She always had a vague fear they might seek revenge on the Douglas Clan for setting her brother free. They believed that all property was common by the laws of nature and Neb Truddle had sneered at the laws King James had introduced regarding those who lived on the fringes of his two kingdoms. The wardens in all six Marches, on both sides of the border, were being paid a hundred pounds a year to enforce peace and harmony but Isabella doubted if Neb Truddle and his father knew the meaning of harmony. She wished Zander would return. What was keeping him away so long. Had he been injured, or even killed? Journeying was a dangerous occupation.

She mentioned her fears about the Truddles to Walter one morning when they were alone.

‘Sir William trained all his men well, and now he trusts Zander to do the same. I usually help him too,’ he said reassuringly. ‘I’d stake my life on their loyalty. Talk is cheap for men like Truddle but remember “they may take who have the power, and they may keep who can.” I believe the Truddles must be a cowardly lot from what Sam told us. The foul trick they played on your brother proves it. They didn’t have the courage to kill him outright. They wanted him hung by others.’ His face lightened in a grin. ‘Remember I have a very precious hostage living here. You can be sure I shall defend Moyenstane Tower and everyone in it with my last breath.’

The weeks wore on. William Douglas and his small retinue returned laden with brandy and salt and some rolls of silk, velvet and linen securely tied up and wrapped in oiled cloth to protect the contents from the weather, but most welcome of all to Isabella was the news that they had made a detour and called at Braidlands to enquire after Jamie and Sam and bring her news of her family. They had stayed a night and been well fortified for the remaining three days of their journey back to Moyenstane.

‘Your mother and sister have written letters to you, Isabella. We could have been home two days ago if we had allowed Sam to guide us across the marshes to the foot of the mountains but I dare not risk it with two laden mules and my men.’

‘I am glad you are safely home now,’ Isabella said, her grey eyes shining. The letters from her family meant far more to her than the beautiful materials or the new spinning wheel. Marjorie was not yet so free with her writing and Isabella could tell she had wanted to keep the letter neat. She could imagine her concentrating hard with the tip of her little tongue between her lips, but she had given her lots of news. Both she and Margaret now had a pony of their own and Sam was teaching them to ride safely. Mary had tried to draw her a picture of the horses and her own pet pig. There were several small blots obscuring her valiant effort. Best of all was the cheerful letter from her mother, telling her she had always known the Douglas family would be honourable and she was grateful for the sacrifice Isabella had made to secure Jamie’s freedom and send him back to his family. He had taken Sam and three other trusted men over to the Truddles and demanded the return of May, his beloved mare. They had been so shocked to see him alive, and free to go about his business, they had handed over the mare at once as well as six fine cattle which they had stolen. Following the advice William Douglas had given him when he left Moyenstane, Jamie had threatened to report them to the King’s officers of justice who would take them to the Tolbooth in Edinburgh to await trial and probable hanging if they offended again.

‘
Since
then
only
an
odd
animal
has
disappeared
.
Jamie
and
his
men
gathered
in
all
the
wheat
without
any
being
destroyed
by
fires
,
as
so
often
happened
in
the
past
.
If
we
are
careful
we
should
be
able
to
eat
bread
almost
every
week
for
most
of
the
year
and
we
have
had
a
good
harvest
of
oats
,
also
safely
gathered
in
.
I
hope
and
pray
this
peace
will
last
but
I
doubt
if
it
is
in
the
nature
of
the
Truddle
family
to
live
in
peace
but
they
fear
for
their
lives
if
they
venture
to
raid
farms
on
the
English
side
of
the
border
now
.

I
like
your
father
-
in
-
law
very
much
,
dear
Isabella
,
and
I
hope
you
will
be
able
to
give
him
the
grandsons
he
craves
.
I
believe
you
will
be
happy
and
more
content
when
you
have
children
of
your
own
to
love
and
nurture
.
You
were
always
a
most
loving
daughter
and
sister
and
we
miss
you
very
much
,
even
while
we
wish
you
happiness
and
good
fortune
.
’