The Inheritance (9 page)

By the end of March the winter finally began to melt into spring, and Alan breathed his last the first week of May; just as the world was bursting with new life, and the smell of blooming flowers was wafting through his window.  He was buried with all the ceremony due to him, and John wasted no time in moving into the Laird’s quarters.  Now Isobel had her own chamber above his.  John’s mother had decorated it in shades of peach and cream, and the room had a light, airy quality to it that appealed to her.  She particularly liked the tapestry of the young, fair maiden sending her knight off to war.  She looked at it every night before falling asleep, seeing herself and Rory in the medieval scene. 

A ceremony would be held
in July, where all the clansmen would come to the castle to swear their allegiance to the new Laird and John was overjoyed.  The preparations were in full swing, and the kitchens hummed with activity.  Clansmen had been hunting for days in order to supply the cooks with fresh meat for the feast.  Isobel’s role was more ornamental, so she decided to go take a walk in the garden.  She saw Anna by the forge as she came out of the castle, and beckoned to her to join her.  Anna hurried over and they entered the sanctuary of the garden.  The flower beds were brimming with color, the fragrant blooms eagerly soaking up the summer sunshine. 

“I long to walk by the sea,”
Isobel complained to Anna.  I feel like an animal in a cage.”  Anna gave her a conspiratorial wink and took her hand, pulling her along toward the far wall.  She looked at the wall intently and then moved aside some vines to reveal a small door cut into the stone.  The hinges were rusty, and sounded like a wounded beast when Anna pushed the door open. The path on the other side led to a cliff walk.  The brisk breeze off the sea sent their skirts billowing around them, but it was wonderful to be free of the castle and the watchful eyes within. 

“What if we are seen?” 

“Dinna worry, there are nae that many windows on that side and everyone is busy with preparations.  Just tuck yer hair into yer cap, and no one will ken it’s us.  All they will see are two maids from the village.  Oh, Isobel, I have such news!”  Anna’s blue eyes shone with joy. “Last night Dougal spoke to my father.  We’re to be wed next month.” 

“So soon?” 
Isobel tried desperately to feel happy for her friend, but all she felt was the ache in her own empty heart.  Anna was in love with her Dougal, and her marriage would be very different.  It would be a union based on love and respect.  Dougal worshipped the ground she walked on, and his eyes always followed his sweetheart as she walked past the forge to and from the castle. 

“We wanted to wait till the
autumn, but there is much talk of an uprising, and if it comes to pass, Dougal, being the blacksmith, will have to ride with the Laird.  He wants to make sure we’re wed afore he leaves.  He says he’s been making a lot of swords of late.  Preparations are being made.” 

“If he has to go, I hope he at least leaves me with a bairn,” Anna said wistfully
, and then realized she was being insensitive.  “Isobel, there’s a wise woman in the village.  Would ye see her?  She might give you a charm to help ye get with child.  She gave me a love charm for Dougal.  I left it under his pillow while he was out and it worked!”

Isobel
looked at her friend while trying to decide whether to tell her the truth, but on this cliff, away from the watchful atmosphere of the castle she felt she had nothing to hide.  She had to tell someone.

“Anna, I
dinnae want to get with child.  I loathe John, and I cringe with disgust every time he touches me. The thought of his bairn inside me fills me with revulsion.  I hope never to get pregnant.  Maybe he’ll put me aside then.”

Anna’s eyes were round with shock.  She was marrying the man she loved
, and the thought of her wedding night filled her with longing and tenderness.  She couldn’t imagine the dread that Isobel felt every time John walked into the room.  He reeked of liquor and stale sweat, and his meaty hands grabbed her mercilessly as he rolled on top of her, grunting and thrusting.

Anna reached out and touched Isobel’s wet cheek.  She hadn’t realized she was crying.  “I am so sorry, Isobel, and here I am prattling on about my wedding
.”  Isobel turned her face into the wind and let it dry her tears.  The thought of John marching off to meet His Majesty was an appealing one, and the longer he’d be gone the better.  Then Isobel thought of something else.

“Anna, how did y
e ken about that door?”

“Everyone
kens, but they never use it.  There is no need.  They made some emergency exits out of the castle when they built it, ye ken, in case of a siege.  There’s a tunnel that leads down to the beach.  It comes out in a cave in the cliff face.  My brother and I used to sneak out of the castle when we were children.  We took off our shoes and ran in the surf; it was bliss, till our mam got hold of us.  We were supposed to be doing chores,” she giggled with the memory.  “I’ll show ye one of these days, in case ye ever need to escape in a hurry.” 

July 1745

The clansmen began to arrive a few days before the ceremony.  The castle was full of unfamiliar faces and everyone was in good spirits.  There would be a great feast, storytelling and music after the pledging.  Countless children were running amok in the courtyard, and pestering Dougal to show them how to make a sword so they could fight the British.  Young girls were making eyes at the unmarried young men hoping to leave in a better position than when they arrived.

On the night of the ceremony
, the castle was ablaze with lights.  Torches were lit in every passage, and there was talk and laughter everywhere as people hurried to take their places in the Great Hall.  All the men were dressed in their finery with ruffled white shirts, dress kilts, and their plaids slung over their coats and pinned with the McBride crest.  Some were wearing bonnets, and all wore their swords at their belt and a dirk in their stocking.  The women were no less splendid.  They wore their best gowns, and some had necklaces and ear bobs made of silver or gold. 

Extra tables were set up in the
Great Hall, and these groaned under the weight of the food.  The cooks had outdone themselves.  There were platters of venison, roasted mutton, whole suckling pigs and geese still dressed in their feathers.  Fragrant loaves of bread were in large bowls on every table, and there were casks of ale, whiskey and mead.  The party would go on all night. 

Isobel
took her place next to John at the head table.  She wore a gown of pale green that matched her eyes, and offset her fiery hair.  John gave her a grunt of approval as she came down from her chamber, and noted her pearls.  Her mother had given them to her as a wedding gift before she left Castle Grant, and they shone in the candlelight pleased to be worn at last. 

The hall was filling up with clansmen
, and Isobel discreetly searched for Rory.  She saw him walking in with a group of men.  He was laughing at something someone said, but stopped when he saw her at the head of the table.  His eyes were full of admiration, and she felt all aglow knowing that he thought her beautiful.  She had dressed for him this evening.  Rory took his place at the table, and soon a hush fell over the crowd as John made a brief speech, promising to be a just and compassionate chieftain and to lead them to a bright future which might include a new king. 

The clansmen began to come up one by one, getting on one knee i
n front of John and swearing their allegiance to him and to the McBride clan.  Rory was the first to come up being John’s closest relative, and the next in line for the Lairdship.  He looked dashing in his dress kilt and white shirt.  His plaid was slung over his shoulder, and the blues and greens of the tartan matched his dark blue coat.  Isobel saw John’s eyes narrow and his lips tighten as Rory knelt before him swearing his loyalty, but he accepted Rory’s pledge and moved on to the next man.  Isobel wondered what the two men had been feeling at that moment.  She could understand John’s resentment of Rory, and she felt pity that Rory could never take his rightful place.  Auld Alan had cheated them both. 

The ceremony went on for hours
, with every single man in the clan taking his place before the Laird.  Finally, the swearing was over, and the feasting began.  Within an hour, there wasn’t a sober man to be found, and Isobel looked for a way to make her escape.  The Hall was full of people and she was desperate for a breath of air.  She longed to be alone on the cliff walk, but it wasn’t safe at this time of night, so she settled for the garden. 

The garden was bathed in moonlight
, and she looked up at the night sky.  Wispy clouds floated across the full moon and the stars looked like diamond pins on midnight-blue velvet.  The air smelled of grass and damp earth, and she relished a moment of quiet after hours of being in that crowded Hall.  Isobel heard footsteps and turned around to see a tall man walking down the gravel path.  She felt a twinge of fear, but relaxed when she heard Rory’s voice. 

“I was hoping y
e were here.  I needed to see a friendly face.”  He smiled at her in the moonlight and her heart melted.

“I am sorry y
e had to go through that.  It must have been difficult for ye.” 

Rory shrugged.  “It will be all right.  John is not my biggest
supporter, but he is nay fool.  He kens I have my talents, and he will make use of them to his advantage.  I just have to be alert and always one step ahead of him.”

Rory moved closer to her.  “There is only one thing I envy
him, and that’s ye.”  Isobel looked up to find his face close to hers.  His hair was swept back and clubbed and his eyes reflected the moon above.  Rory’s hand caressed her face, and his mouth came down on hers in a kiss so tender that it almost made her cry.  The kiss deepened and she felt herself melting into Rory’s arms.  He felt so different from John.  His smell was masculine, but not repulsive, and his muscular arms made her feel safe and protected.  They heard someone enter the garden, and Rory pushed her into a dark corner and blocked her from view.  They heard drunken laughter and someone called out, “Carry on!  Do it for all of us, lad.”

“I have to go,” Isobel whispered.  “We’ll be seen.”  Rory nodded.  “Wait a few minutes and then go back.  I
’ll wait a while, so nay one suspects we were together.”  He touched her hand as she slipped past him, but Isobel didn’t look back.  She rushed through the door, and nearly collided with Joan, who gave her a suspicious look.  The last thing Isobel needed was for Joan to see Rory coming out of the garden behind her, so she engaged her in conversation and led her away from the garden gate.  Joan wasn’t overly friendly, but she had no desire to antagonize the Laird’s wife, and they spent a few minutes discussing the ceremony and the gowns of the ladies.  Isobel saw Rory slip from the garden out of the corner of her eye and hoped that Joan was distracted enough not to notice.

When morning came, there were people sleeping on every available surface.  Men had been so drunk that they’d fallen asleep wherever they happened to be standing, and Isobel had to step over sleeping bodies to make her way down the stairs.  The women had retired earlier, and thankfully weren’t sprawled at her feet. 

The day was gr
ay, and a fine mist was falling making every surface glisten with moisture.  John had come to her room last night and collapsed on her bed in a drunken stupor, so she left her room as soon as she woke up.  She didn’t wish to smell his sour breath or listen to him snore.  He’d used the chamber pot before he fell asleep and the smell was nauseating her.  Isobel slipped past the dozing guard at the gate and made her way to the woods.  She just wanted to be alone for a little while to make sense of last night. 

She should feel guilty for allowing Rory to kiss her last night, but she didn’t.  She could still feel his lips on hers and she touched her mouth smiling with wonder.  So that’s what a kiss felt like.  What would it be like to lay with a man you loved?  Would it be as painful as it was with John or was there joy to be found in it?  She knew Anna was looking forward to her wedding night
, and tried to imagine being married to Rory.  She found the thought pleasing and blushed a little when she tried to picture his naked body.  John was barrel-chested and rough, but Rory was long-limbed and graceful.  He was a head taller than her and their bodies fit so well together last night when they stood in the garden.   Her thoughts were becoming very dangerous and she reluctantly turned back.  If she didn’t return soon she would be missed.  She knew that these were just fantasies; nothing could ever happen between them.  She was married to John for better or worse, and would have to spend the rest of her days wondering what could have been. 

By the time
Isobel returned to the castle, the hung-over masses were beginning to stir.  She was just about to go inside when she heard the sound of a galloping horse, and turned around.  The young lad was one of the grooms from Grant, and he made straight for her as soon as he spotted her. 

“What’s amiss, Billy?” Isobel was rushing toward him.  He jumped off the horse and handed her a sealed note.  Isobel sent him to the kitchen to get food and went up to her room to read the letter.  Bad news w
ould keep and she didn’t want to read it in the courtyard in front of all those people. 

The note was from her father.  Isobel’s mother had taken ill and didn
’t seem to be improving.  He was asking for her to come in case it was their last chance to see each other.  Isobel rose to her feet with a heavy heart.  She hoped that John would let her go.  He was still snoring on the bed and Isobel debated whether to wake him up.  He wouldn’t be in a good mood if she shook him awake, and would probably not be receptive to her request.  She decided to wait until he woke up, hoping it would be soon. 

She didn’t have to wait long.  John was woken by his overflowing bladder
, and she watched in revulsion as he made use of the chamber pot.  He breathed a sigh of relief and was about to collapse back on the bed when Isobel called out to him.  She told him of her father’s letter, and he looked as if he was about to refuse when something shifted behind the eyes and he gave her a pleasant smile.

“Aye, go to y
er mam, and give her my best wishes for a speedy recovery.  Take Mary with ye, and I will arrange for someone to escort ye.”  Isobel was amazed by his kindness, and thanked him profusely. 

“We can ride with Billy, he’ll be heading back,” she offered.

“Nay, Billy is a boy.  Ye need someone who can protect ye.”  With that, he got out of bed and headed downstairs.  Isobel was worried about her mother, but overjoyed at the prospect of going home, even for a short while.  She missed her parents and her siblings, and longed to see the familiar faces of the people she grew up with.  She went in search of Mary to tell her to pack for their journey.  Mary was asleep on her trundle and woke up with a start clutching her blanket to her chest, her eyes round with fear.  It took her a moment to regain her wits and she shot out of bed ready to leave at a moment’s notice.