The Tweedie Passion (13 page)

When Robert twisted his head around to look at me with those huge, sorrowful, hurt eyes I could not continue, much as I knew he deserved it. I dropped the whip and stood there, panting for breath.

'So you don't wish me to talk to me in front of your friends,' I heard the catch in my voice. 'Yet you can run to this,' I indicated Kate with a lift of my hand, 'this hussy, this whore, this, this…' I struggled for words that would match my anger. 'This town-bred creature.'

I had known Kate for nearly as long as I had known Robert. Her treason hurt nearly as much. I knew that if I remained in this room much longer I would do something I would truly regret. Robert's sword hung proudly on the wall and for a moment I was sore tempted to blood the blade, so starting a feud between the Tweedies and Fergusons that would rock the Lethan Valley. Instead I tried to control my passion.

'Robert,' I said, 'you and I have an agreement. We have an arrangement to marry. Together we would rule the Lethan Valley.' I remembered, albeit belatedly, my mother's words. 'My family is doing all they can to ensure that our marriage works. Now you have a choice. Either you have me, or you have this other woman.' I could not bear to speak Kate's name. 'You cannot have us both.'

Turning away I made what I hoped was a dignified exit.

'Now you know,' Archie Ferguson met me part way down the turnpike with fresh blood seeping down his face.

'Now I know.' With my anger quickly dissipating I felt only like crying. I was empty inside.

'Do you still want him?'

'I still want him.' I said. I had no choice, you see; we were destined to be together. And anyway, how could I blame Robert for doing with Kate what I had done with Hugh? In a way, my recent actions had been directed as much at my own weakness as they had at Robert.

Perhaps that is why I was crying like the Lethan Water itself as I rode up the valley, and perhaps that was why I did not head toward Cardrona Tower but westward, into the high stark hills. Somewhere behind me I heard the voice shouting 'I choose you, I choose you' but I did not know if that was Robert calling from the square keep of Whitecleuch or if it came from inside me. At that second I did not care. I wanted to be alone.

FALADALE
OCTOBER 1585

I felt the tears burning my eyes as I pushed Kailzie across the Lethan Water. The western hills were darkening yet seemed more welcoming than any of the peel towers or cottages along the valley. It was only a few days since I had returned home and so much had happened in that time that my mind was in total confusion.

I barely knew where I rode that night. I pushed Kailzie above the outfields and into the heather fringe and allowed her to pick her own route after that. To be honest, I did not know what to do.

Even then, deep within me, I knew that things would turn out for the best. I clung to the truth of my vision, I stuck to that truth. Despite my own weakness with Hugh, despite Robert's betrayal with Kate and my mother's abrupt change of attitude, I knew that I would marry Robert. I now knew that it would not be a perfect marriage; I would not have full trust in him after this evenings revelations, and I certainly did not trust myself.

I rode on into the hills with my faithful brown mare carrying me step by step. There was no rain that night. There was nothing except the wind sighing through the heather and the soft gurgle of distant burns. At one time my mare was walking along the summit ridge of Posso Craig, from where Robert's brother had fallen, making him the heir. My mare halted as something gleamed on top of a shrub of heather. I looked down; father's ring lay there.

I lifted it, folded it in my sleeve and continued. At that moment I thought nothing of the incident. My mind was in confusion.

Hugh.

That name sprang into focus. I had to warn Hugh. Although family was paramount, Hugh and I had been through a lot together in a brief space of time. He had saved my life, and I could not allow him to be killed when my father led the Tweedies on a raid. However if I warned him, I would be putting my father and all my family, including my fiancé and my new-found brother, in danger. Yet there must be a way.

My thoughts wandered from Robert and of the Yorling over to Kate of the fine blonde hair and lusty nature, and back to Hugh again and I knew that there was a way. I just did not want to follow that crooked and dangerous path. But I knew that I would. I remembered Hugh's smile and the way he cared for me, and the passion he raised in me and I recognised that I would do what was necessary, despite, or because of, Robert.

'This way, girl,' I pushed Kailzie with my knees, guiding her now as we took the hill passes over the Heights. I knew these hills well, up to a point, and that point was a slow-gurgling burn where Tweedie land ended and the lands of the Veitches began. I stopped at that brown burn and looked backward over the dark roll of hills that I would own: Tweedie land. Ahead was hostile territory and I was alone, unarmed and unwanted. I knew only that Hugh was there somewhere, but where, I did not know.

Strangely, the Veitch hills were not all that different from the Tweedie hills. They comprised the same mixture of long grassy slopes, heather that hid leg-snaring holes, dark peaty pools of uncertain depth and sudden scree slopes where the ground fell away to unseen ground below.

I did not try to force the pace. My mare had been tried and tested in her journey from Liddesdale. She knew exactly what she was doing. I allowed her to walk at her own pace and knew she would find the safest paths, which would always lead somewhere. In this case that somewhere would be owned by the Veitches. I allowed my mind to drift, seeing again the picture of Robert panting astride Kate's wiry body, seeing him wince under my blows, seeing Kate's sneaking glances at me and Robert's appealing brown eyes.

'Name yourself, stranger!'

The voice floated from the dark.

I stopped. I had not thought that I might be challenged. 'Jeannie,' I said and knowing that I could not give my real surname I added 'Ninestane.' It was the first name that came to my mind.

'You are late wandering the Heights,' that voice said. 'And coming from Tweedie lands. What do you seek here?'

I remembered one of my mother's sayings. If in doubt, tell the truth. 'I am looking for Hugh Veitch,' I said.

'Which one?' The voice said. 'We have many men of that name. Is it Bessie's Hugh, or Hugh of the Gate, Lugless Hugh or Hugh Rob…?'

'I don't know his to-name,' I said, for in my time, with so many people sharing a limited number of surnames, most were known by their to-name. I was Bessie's Jeannie Tweedie, although I never called myself that. 'He is about twenty two with dark hair and…'

'Well met, Jeannie Ninestane.' Hugh appeared from the dark, smiling. 'What the devil are you doing here? And bare-backed I see; don't they have saddles where you come from?'

'Do you know this woman, Hugh?' That voice in the dark asked.

'We have met,' Hugh said, 'she saved my life in Tarras.'

Two more men emerged from the dark. 'What do you wish done with her, Hugh?'

'I'll take her to the tower,' Hugh said. 'You carry on here.' He held out a hand to me. 'Come Jeannie, and welcome.'

'I must talk to you,' I said urgently, 'Hugh; you have to get away from here.' We were descending a steep path with my mare following Hugh's piebald, both horses picking their own way. It was full dark ahead of us, broken only by flickering lights from scattered cottages and towers.

'It's just like the Lethan Valley,' I said. It was the first time I had seen Faladale, even though it was so close to my home.

'Very similar,' Hugh said. 'Why are you here?'

'To see you.' I said quietly. Now that I had found him, I was not sure how to go about things. 'I have to talk to you.'

'I am listening,' Hugh said.

We stopped on the hillside beside a small waterfall. The sound brought back a host of memories, of Hugh naked and washing as I stood in the shelter of a tree, of what I saw and how I felt, and how I still felt.

'Hugh!' I took hold of his arm, 'you have to get away from here!'

'Why?' He sounded quite amused.

'It's not safe for you!'

'Tell me more once we get inside,' Hugh said. 'Or don't we have time to do that?'

'I don't know,' I said honestly.

'I will take the chance,' Hugh raised his voice. 'It's Hugh! Open the gate!'

We rode through a high arched gate with a brace of spearmen watching us; both acknowledged Hugh's salute.

'They treat you with respect,' I said.

Hugh laughed. 'They know me and my ugly face.'

The interior of the tower was very similar to Cardrona Tower, with the turnpike staircase leading to the great hall on the first floor. There was the same gaggle of servants and dogs sleeping on the same rush-and-straw flooring and the same scrabble to get out of the way when Hugh and I walked in.

'Give us space,' Hugh ordered, 'and bring wine.'

'Who are you?' I asked as the servants hurried to obey.

'I am Hugh Veitch,' Hugh told me.

'Are you the Lord of this tower?' I looked around at the groined ceiling and the carved fireplace, the mixture of tapestries and armaments on the wall, the long tables that ran the length of the room and the cross-table at the top, where Hugh sat as if by right. I could have been in Cardrona, rather than in the home of the fearsome Veitches.

'I am,' he said.

'You are very young to be the lord.'

Hugh screwed up his face. 'I had no choice in it,' he said. 'My father was killed in a raid by the Tweedies and my mother died in childbirth. I was sent away to be brought up by aunts so Faladale had an heir.' He shrugged. 'Some of the rest you know.'

'Oh,' I said. 'I am sorry.' It was the first time I had considered the feud from the other point of view. I had been brought up with the idea that the Veitches were the wicked family who attacked us; I had never really considered that we should be looked on as the aggressors.

'It is the way of the world,' Hugh seemed to accept it. 'It was not your fault so no need for any apology.'

'It was my surname; my family,' I said.

We were silent as servants produced a flagon of French wine and a plate of cold chicken, with that morning's bread and some cuts of salmon and a bowl of apples.

'Eat, drink and tell me why you crossed the hills to see me at this time of night.' Hugh's eyes were as friendly as ever. 'It is hard to know that you are so close, yet we are divided by a waste of hills and your love for another.'

That was undoubtedly the frankest admission I had ever heard from a man.

'I do not love another.' I said quickly, and once again cursed that I could not curtail my tongue. What power had Hugh that he made me speak the truth to him without forethought? I knew the answer of course, but I could not dare again put it into words.

'Yet you will marry your Robert,' Hugh said, 'despite the strictures of your mother.' His smile was a trifle rueful, I thought. 'I remember, you see.'

'Many men do not listen to the cares of women,' I said.

'And some listen all too well, and are hurt by them,' Hugh said softly, as if he spoke to himself.

'My mother now wishes me to marry Robert Ferguson,' I heard the sadness in my voice, 'and that quickly.'

'What has changed her mind?' When Hugh poured me wine, candlelight gleamed through the splendid glass. I had seldom seen anything so beautiful.

'Robert is now heir to Whitecleuch,' I said. 'Our marriage will unite the properties and bring more security to the valley.' I looked up at him, reading the pain in his eyes. 'We will be safer from Veitch attacks.'

'This Veitch does not plan any attacks on the lands of the Tweedies,' Hugh told me, 'Yet he would fain capture the brightest jewel in the Lethan Valley, and remove one of the leading men.' His voice hardened as he made that last statement.

'Please don't' I touched his wrist with my hand, feeling a thrill run through me. 'It is hard enough.'

He nodded, 'it is all of that,' he said and, catching his meaning, I felt myself smile despite my thoughts.

'Is Robert Ferguson worthy of you?' Hugh sipped at his wine. A tiny drop spilled from his glass, to fall slow and soft to the table. I wiped the spot away with my fingers and licked them clean, watching him all the while.

'You have a pretty little tongue,' he said absently.

'I have had it for years,' I said. 'And I will not answer your question about Robert. He is a good man in many ways.'

'I know of him,' Hugh said softly.

'What do you know?' I looked up suddenly.

'I know he is a fine horseman and good at fishing, that he is lazy with his arms and spoiled in his person but kindly by nature and gentle to children and animals.'

I nodded. 'These things are true,' I agreed.

'I also know that he is not a warrior and has no taste for the lance and sword; he is slow of action and prefers horses to women: except for one woman.' His gaze did not stray from my face.

'I am that woman,' I said softly.

'You are not that woman,' Hugh said. 'That woman is Kate Hunnam of the Kirkton. She is blonde of hair, supple of body and weak of morals. She will make an uncomfortable wife for any man.'

I felt the pain like a knife, twisting inside my heart. 'I know of their friendship,' I said. 'It is not what I wanted to happen.'

'What we want and what we think we want are often two different things,' Hugh told me. 'In my case, I know what I think I want and I know what I want. They are one and the same and they are sitting opposite me at this table even as we talk.'

I closed my eyes. I knew then, that I wanted the same as him, yet I knew it was impossible. My future lay with Robert, not with Hugh. It was not the future I wished, yet it was destined and there was nothing I could do about it.

'Hugh,' I held his hand urgently as I strove to change the subject to one that I did have power to control. 'You must get away from here.'

'And why is that?' Hugh's tone altered from sincerity to amusement.

'The Tweedies are coming,' I said.

'I know that,' Hugh said calmly. 'Kate Hunnam has also been romping with Maisie's Hobbie Veitch. She tells him everything and he passes it on to me. My men are waiting for the Tweedies.'

'Oh,' I had not realised the depths of Kate's treachery. I wished I had landed my lash on her. I still wish that, so many years later.

Hugh continued. 'We have plenty of time together, Jeannie. My lads are positioned all along the hill crests at each pass and each opening to my lands. We will meet them with fire and sword.'

'My father … my brother and Robert are with them,' I said.

'I have given word not to hurt your father,' Hugh said. 'I did not know you had a brother. My intelligence is usually reliable.'

I explained about the Yorling.

'We still have time,' Hugh said. He did not comment on my half-brother. Such relationships were not uncommon. It was a fact of life.

'Time?' I asked and when I looked into his eyes I knew exactly what he meant. 'No, Hugh, I can't…' And then I remembered Robert, and how I had treated him. 'No,' I put steel into my voice. 'I won't.'

Yet when Hugh stretched his hand out to me, I took it and followed him up the turnpike stairs to his chamber. I knew it was wrong, I knew I would hate myself later, I knew that I should not, yet I felt that deep thrill of excitement within me, that mingled tingling of pleasure and apprehension and sheer lust.

Hugh's chamber was not like I had expected. I thought it would be a jumble of male things, over-run with dogs, scattered with weapons and discarded clothing. Instead it was clean, austere and cool, with a sturdy bed in one corner and a carved wooden chair beside a small table on which stood a candlestick and three books. I did not know any other men who read books, except the church minister, and the Reverend Romanes was a very infrequent visitor to the Lethan Valley.

The candle pooled its yellow light from the corner of the room, highlighting the firm line of Hugh's jaw and cheekbones.

'You are one of the few men I know who is clean-shaven,' I said, as he led me in by the hand and closed the door behind him.

'You are one of the few women I know who would ride across the hills at night-time to warn an enemy that he may be attacked.'