The Border Hostage

by Virginia Henley

  “The Border Wardens' Court is just a farce then?”

  Ram's smile was cynical. “It serves tae confirm that in the Borders, crime pays. Sheep get eaten; only wolves survive.”

  Rob's voice was suddenly intense. “What about Heath?”

  Ram shook his head. “Heath is neither sheep nor wolf. Ye bred yerself a wild black stallion; they'll never be able tae hold him.”

  During dinner, Rob Kennedy pondered the best way to go about breaking the news, which he knew would be so unwelcome to his family. Should he tell them separately, or should he gather them together for the announcement? In the end he realized that there was no best way, so he decided to get it over in one fell swoop; that way there would be only one collective explosion. The meal had been a celebration of Donal's return, with more than one toast to their good fortune. Rob set down his empty whisky glass and stood. “Before ye leave the table, there is summat I must tell ye.” All looked at him with only mild interest as contentment stole over them. “Try tae hear me out, before ye start interruptin'.”

  He looked at Lizzie, then Duncan, and finally Donal, and a measure of calm descended upon him as he began his confession. “A long time ago, I did summat that was wrong, and I never did anythin' tae set it right. Instead I lied, an' swept it under the rug as if it had never happened, thinkin' that was the best an' the easiest fer all involved. But fate has a way of makin' us pay fer our lies, an' I've finally come tae realize that what I did turned out fer the worst an' the hardest fer all involved.”

  Rob saw that he had their full attention now, and it pained him that he must destroy their contentment. “Ye are all well aware that Heath is my firstborn. It was a grievous sin on my part tae let ye believe he was illegitimate. What none of ye know is that I was married tae his mother, Lily Rose, which makes Heath my rightful heir.”

  Elizabeth gasped and cried, “No!”

  Duncan cursed and knocked over a goblet of water in agitation.

  Donal sat absolutely still.

  Beth got up and ran from the room.

  Meggie slipped her hand into her husband's.

  The blood drained from Elizabeth's face as she stood up to confront her husband. “Damn you, Rob Kennedy! I always knew that you loved Lily Rose more than you ever loved me, but I told myself that I was the one you married, not her, and that was what saved my pride. Now you have stripped it away!”

  “Lizzie, I cared enough about ye tae deny my first marriage an' tae deny my firstborn son his rightful place. I knew ye were too prideful tae take second place tae another woman, but pride is a deadly sin we must pay fer, as I've learned at great cost.”

  “And now my firstborn son has to pay for your sins! Your noble confession strips everything from him. You have ruined his life!”

  Donal stood up quietly. “Mother, that's not true. I've led a privileged life since the day I was born. Father not only had wealth, land, castles, and ships, he had strength and power that he seldom abused. I've long worried that I could never measure up to Father and fill his shoes, so in a way it is a relief tae know I'm not the heir.”

  Duncan's chair crashed to the floor as he stood up to face his brother. “Yer a useless weaklin' tae no' fight fer yer rights! Surely tae Christ ye'll no' hand everythin' tae that half-breed Gypsy? I'm the one who shouldha' been born the Kennedy heir! I hope the bastard rots in Carlisle prison—better yet, I hope Dacre hangs the son of a bitch!”

  Donal's beefy fist shot out, smashing his brother in the face. Duncan was unconscious before he hit the floor.

  Castle Douglas had been built so close to the water that Douglas vessels could sail right into the bailey. Valentina had been watching for the Revenge all day, and was waiting when Ramsay climbed over the ship's rails and jumped down beside her. He took her in his arms, kissed her once, then looked into her eyes so he could watch her reaction when he gave her the good news.

  “Tina, Donal is alive! I just delivered him tae Meggie.”

  Her golden eyes were luminous and her face turned radiant. “Oh, Ram, how wonderful! Is he all right? Where did you find him? Was he taken in the raid?”

  “He has a slight limp, but other than that, he's in fine fettle. Come, I'll tell ye the whole tale over dinner. I hope Mr. Burque has prepared somethin' special fer our homecomin'.” Ram wanted to save the bad news about Heath until Tina had eaten something.

  “I'll have it served in our chamber. Will that be special enough for you?”

  “Good. I don't want tae share ye with anyone tonight.”

  By the time he had visited the twins, picking both up at the same time and singing a Scottish lullaby in a deep baritone, the food had been delivered to their adjoining bedroom in the great Master Tower. Ram put his babies in their cradles and joined his wife in the magnificent chamber, which boasted polished pink granite from floor to ceiling and a huge fireplace that took up an entire wall. The floor was carpeted with black sheepskins, and the bed was covered by a lynx fur, so large it spilled to the floor.

  While they ate, he regaled her with all that had happened at the Border Wardens' Court, and Tina listened attentively, picturing the whole thing in her mind. Finally she grew impatient. “But you haven't told me about Donal. I gather my brother was taken in the raid and was being held by that swine Dacre in Carlisle Castle. Did you ransom him?”

  “I tried negotiatin', I tried blackmail, I even contemplated murderin' the whoreson, but as Dacre reminded me, he had the whip hand; he had Donal.”

  “Then how did you gain his freedom?” she asked breathlessly.

  Ram wiped his mouth and threw down his napkin. “I didn't. It was Heath negotiated his freedom.”

  “But how on earth did he … oh dear God, he offered to take Donal's place, didn't he?” She remembered that he had done the very same thing for Ramsay once.

  “Ye know he has more reckless courage than any mon breathin'.” Ram came around the table and put his arm about his wife. “He'll find a way tae get free; he did before.”

  “I can't believe he did it; he has so much more to lose now.”

  “What do you mean, love?”

  “Father confessed that he was legally married to Heath's mother, Lily Rose, before he married my mother. Heath is heir to the Lordship of Galloway … didn't he tell you?”

  Ram whistled. “He never said a word.” Ram recalled that Heath had worn the silver dolphin badge. “I do know he feels responsible fer Dacre's reprisal raids on the Kennedys.”

  “He is a noble fool if he feels guilt over displacing Donal as Father's heir. He has been cheated his whole life; the Lordship of Galloway is his birthright!”

  “And he will live to fulfill that birthright, never doubt it for one moment, Tina.” Ram's arm tightened about her shoulders to lend her strength. “I made sure Dacre understood what his fate would be if any grave harm befell Heath Kennedy.”

  “In light of Heath's courage, I'm ashamed of my own cowardice. I came to Castle Douglas as soon as you left; I didn't want to be around when Father told the family about Heath.”

  Ram hooted. “Judas, we'll feel the shock wave any minute. Do ye think these granite walls will hold?”

  “For generations.” Valentina lifted her face for his kiss. “I always feel safe here.”

  “I'm glad, fer I'm off again tae Glasgow tomorrow. I visited the goldsmith in Carlisle where Angus deposited money fer me, and he tipped me tae a rumor he'd heard that a shipment of gold was on its way from London fer Archibald Douglas.”

  “Oh, that reminds me, you have a letter.” She brought it from his desk and handed it to him.

  When Ram read it, he nodded with satisfaction. “John Douglas, Duke of Albany, has set sail fer Scotland. If Queen Margaret's spies have passed this information tae her, it could goad Archie tae take action sooner. I'd best go straight tae Edinburgh.”

  Tina gave a mock sigh. “These babies will be grown up before they ever get a chance to be christened.”

  He took her in his arms. “I promise ye a
christening the minute I return, Vixen. It'll be bigger and better than aught they've ever seen in these parts!”

  “Why does everything connected to Douglas have to be bigger and better, you swaggering devil?”

  He quickened against her soft belly. “Because I am bigger and better. Did I not give ye twins tae prove it?” he teased.

  Valentina arched a perfectly plucked brow. “I thought they were my gift to you, devil-eyed Douglas!”

  “And so they were, a priceless gift indeed. I love ye, Tina.”

  In preparation for her parents' return to Rockcliffe, Raven scrupulously erased all signs that a male had stayed there overnight. The big tub was moved back to the bathing room, the sheets and towels they had used were washed, the red Gypsy dress was hidden away, and Heath's bloody shirt was burned. She had no illusions that the servants, especially Mrs. Hall, would keep her secrets, but for appearances' sake Raven wanted everything to be in order when her family arrived home.

  She took particular care with her own appearance. She chose a simple dress of cream linen with long sleeves and a modest neckline. Then she brushed her hair back smoothly and tied it with a ribbon. The mirror showed her that she had achieved her objective of looking more like a saint than a sinner, and she hoped it would prompt her parents to forgive her.

  She watched and waited apprehensively for the carriage, and when it arrived she went down to the entrance hall to greet her family. Raven imagined her mother had been worried sick about her disappearance and that when she saw that Raven was at home, safe and sound, her mother would be more relieved than angry. Raven, however, imagined wrong.

  Kate Carleton sailed through the front door like a battleship with her cannon primed. “So, here you are at home, looking serene as a novitiate in a convent, while we have had to face the wrath of the Dacres! You are a selfish, willful girl, who has no regard whatsoever for her parents or for her poor spurned bridegroom! Have you any conception of the humiliation you have heaped upon your family, to say nothing of the Dacres' humiliation? I will never live this down if I live to be a thousand!”

  Raven was forced to take the defensive before the rest of the family had even entered the manor. “I am sorry I ran off without telling you, Mother. I had no choice, and hoped you would understand when I explained.”

  “Explain? Perhaps you can explain what I was supposed to say to a furious bridegroom, to a tearful Lady Rosalind, to a livid and abusive Lord Thomas Dacre! Perhaps you can explain why you ran off on the eve of your wedding, discarding a gown that cost the earth, and disregarding over a hundred invited guests!”

  “I couldn't marry Christopher Dacre,” Raven protested, “because I don't love him.”

  “You don't love him because you only love yourself, Raven Carleton!” her mother cried.

  “Kate, let's discuss this in a rational manner,” Sir Lancelot implored.

  “Rational? There is nothing rational about the girl. She has acted like a lunatic, like someone unbalanced!”

  “Can we at least be civil?”

  Kate turned on her husband. “You are to blame for this. You have spoiled her, indulged her, and allowed her to run wild, so that she has no notion of duty or responsibility, and on a mere whim she has ruined her family, spoiled her sister's chance for a good marriage, and turned us into a laughingstock!”

  “That is enough, Kate!” Lance Carleton roared. “If you are more concerned with what people think than the state of your daughter's mind, then you are a shallow woman indeed. You have been talking, nonstop, since dawn. Kindly be quiet long enough to allow Raven to explain, and let's not stand out here in the hall like uncivilized barbarians.”

  Lance Carleton led the way into the living quarters, where he and Heron remained standing until the ladies were seated. Kate pressed her lips together. No doubt her husband's remark about uncivilized barbarians was directed at her, since she had been born and bred in the Borders. When silence descended, all eyes turned expectantly to Raven.

  She took a steadying breath. “Mother is right. I am to blame for everything that has happened. I knew a long time ago that I did not love Christopher Dacre, did not particularly like him even. I should never have agreed to a betrothal. I should have ended it between us. But out of a misdirected sense of duty, I thought I could go through with it and become his wife. I knew how happy this marriage made you, Mother, and how devastated you would be if I called it off.” Raven looked at her father. “I also knew you were not displeased with the match. When I began to have doubts, I tried to postpone the betrothal, thinking that if I had more time, I could grow to care for Christopher.”

  Raven licked dry lips. “Postponement seemed to offend Lord Dacre, and Mother pointed out to me that you owed your appointment on the Border Wardens' Court to Dacre and we could not afford to offend him, so I compromised and did what everyone else wanted. At the time it seemed the easiest thing to do.”

  “My appointment was the result of service to the Crown of England, given to me by the late king. I do not owe my position to Dacre, and a damn good thing too, since our opinions differ and our principles seem to diverge in opposite directions lately.”

  “Oh, I'm so glad to hear that, Father,” Raven said earnestly. “Dacre is supposed to keep peace along the Borders between the English and Scots, but I believe he harries Scotland to keep our two countries forever divided.”

  Heron jumped into the conversation. “Raven is right. I can no longer stomach the things Chris Dacre brags about to me. I know they go on raids into Scotland, reiving, burning, and even killing. I'm glad Raven finally saw him for what he is.”

  “We are not discussing politics, we are discussing Raven's behavior!” Kate Carleton protested.

  “All right, Mother, I'll leave politics out of it. I could not marry Christopher Dacre, because I finally listened to my soul.”

  “What nonsense is that?”

  “Your mother told me to listen to my soul. When I did listen, it told me that I loved another.” As she spoke the words for the first time, Raven realized it was true. She was madly in love with Heath Kennedy. “I love a Scot, and I want to marry him.”

  “Intermarriage?” Kate gasped. “You expect us to countenance intermarriage?”

  “Scotsmen have been marrying English ladies for centuries. Margaret Tudor married a Scot!”

  “But he was a king!” her mother pointed out.

  “Margaret just married Archibald Douglas.”

  “Speaking of Margaret, Rosalind told me that she would be entertaining the queen shortly, and that you and she were to accompany the royal court on a journey to England. Raven, how in the world could you forgo such an honor?”

  Raven wanted to tell her mother that she had already met Margaret Tudor, but she held her tongue.

  Heron spoke again. “Englishmen marry Scottish ladies too. I myself took quite a fancy to Beth Kennedy when I met her in Carlisle a couple of months ago.”

  Kate was momentarily diverted. “Why, Heron, Beth Kennedy is the daughter of your father's cousin. We would have no objection to such a fine match; her father is the Lord of Galloway!”

  Raven's hope soared. “The man I love, and wish to marry, is from an equally important family. He has asked me to wed him many times, but I told him that I wanted your blessing.”

  “It's Heath Kennedy, isn't it, Raven?” Her father's voice was terse, his face set in disapproving lines.

  She refused to lie. She lifted her chin and said proudly, “Yes, Father, it is Heath Kennedy.”

  “Heath? Isn't that the name of the illegitimate son that Rob Kennedy had with a Gypsy girl called Lily Rose, years ago?”

  “Yes, that's the one,” Lancelot confirmed.

  Raven's eyes were blazing. “Being natural born is no fault of his, and Gypsy blood is every bit as good as ours!”

  “Eeew, you prefer a Gypsy to Christopher Dacre?” Lark cried.

  “Yes, I do. He is a man of honor, while Chris Dacre has no honor. He was trying to seduce you
. If he didn't already succeed, he soon would have!”

  Lark blushed at learning that Raven knew what had been going on.

  Kate looked at her daughter with new hope dawning. “My dear, if you aspire to a match with a Kennedy, Lady Elizabeth has a son who is yet unmarried. I'm sure your father would be happy to write to his cousin and sound her out about uniting our families.”

  Raven's mouth fell open as a full-blown picture of redheaded Duncan Kennedy came into her mind. Then her temper exploded. “You don't understand a thing I've been trying to tell you, Mother! You don't even listen! I am in love with Heath Kennedy. I don't care that he will not inherit the Kennedy wealth, I don't care that he is a Gypsy. Don't you understand, Mother? We are lovers! We are bound lovers!”

  CHAPTER 27

  Raven threw up her hands in utter frustration and ran from the room. Upstairs, she slammed her chamber door, tore the ribbon from her hair, and removed the demure cream linen dress. She pulled on her old riding clothes and boots, then ran back downstairs and out to the stables. She didn't bother with a saddle for Sully; she simply mounted her pony and galloped out to her favorite place, where the River Eden emptied into the Solway Firth.

  She rode along the shore, knowing this was the only antidote to her feeling of being trapped. Her need for freedom had always been restored by a gallop along this seacoast that divided England from Scotland and offered magnificent open vistas of the sea and the purple mountains beyond. Today, however, it only served to emphasize that she and Heath were separated and were now in two different countries.

  Why didn't I go with him? her heart cried out. He told me my parents would not listen to me. He told me I would never be able to persuade them to accept him as my husband! Heath was right, but I wouldn't listen. I put my parents before my love for him, and it hurt him deeply. When they reached the end of the beach, Sully stopped and Raven sat gazing out across the sea, feeling lost and forlorn, and divided from her love by a gulf as wide as the Solway. Her fingers sought the god stone beneath her shirt, and the weight of the phallic stone brought her a measure of comfort.