A Year & a Day

by Virginia Henley

  He opened his mouth to refute its power, and Jane, anticipating his denial, put her fingers to his lips. “The lynx is very special to me.”

  Swallowing his words, he took the touchstone from about his neck and put it over her head. “Now it will keep you safe,” he said firmly. The lynx talisman nestled between her lush breasts and once again lust rose up in him. Lynx removed his hand from her as if he had been burned. He stood and bowed politely, his manner as stiff as his body.

  “You need your rest. Thank you for a most pleasant evening. Good night, my lady.” “Good night, my lord.”

  Long after he disappeared upstairs, Jane could still feel the heat from his hand. She lifted the lynx touchstone and looked down into its green eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. She imagined the stone still held his body heat as she touched it to her cheek. With a sigh of longing she went to her wardrobe and took out his black velvet bedrobe; if she couldn’t have him in the bed with her, this was the next best thing.

  The moment Jane fell asleep, her dream began. She was running through the forest; the lynx loping along at her side. The pair didn’t stop until they reached the edge of the pool. They paused together, Jane’s hand resting lightly on the tawny tufted mane. They plunged together, swimming side by side, joined by an invisible, mystical power. Then came the magical transformation. Her lynx turned into a man who lifted her into his arms and carried her from the water. The man was Lord de Warenne. His kiss was deep, his ravishing deeper still.

  Upstairs, in the wide bed, Lynx lay motionless, thoughts of his child filling his imagination. He tried to picture a boy and then a girl, but knew it was impossible to visualize a true image. All that really mattered was that the child be healthy. Lynx was thrilled that he had felt it move. He suddenly wished that he had undressed Jane so that he could have touched her naked belly. Then he wished that he had shared her bed so that he could lie beside the child all night.

  Lynx threw back the covers and his feet hit the floor. He would go down now. Then he hesitated. It would be selfish to disturb her sleep. Lynx lay back down. What the devil was the matter with him? The best thing he could do for the child’s welfare was marry its mother. He would make the arrangements tomorrow. Once he had made the decision, he turned over and fell asleep.

  * * *

  At breakfast time, Jane went down to the hall with Jory’s prompting. “I shouldn’t sit up on the dais without Lord de Warenne taking me there.”

  “You are wrong, Jane. That is your place,” Jory said, leading the way onto the dais.

  “Sit beside me,” Jane implored. She sat down and watched Lynx enter the hall with her father. A woman caught up with him and possessively touched his arm.

  Jane clutched Marjory’s hand. “Oh no,” she murmured wretchedly. “Is that Alicia with my lord?”

  “Aye, she doesn’t usually arise this early,” Jory said dryly.

  “I had no idea she would be so tall and slim and beautiful.”

  “She’s not slim, she’s bony, with no breasts to speak of; and she’s far from beautiful.”

  “Her hair is blond,” Jane said hopelessly, realizing Lynx must be attracted to fair women.

  “She’s not naturally blond, she’s mousy brown,” Jory insisted.

  “She’s lovely,” Jane contradicted.

  Alice Bolton watched Lynx go up onto the dais. The first thing he did was take Jane Leslie’s hands and raise her up for a polite kiss of greeting.

  Alicia’s eyes narrowed as she assessed the girl. She was small and red-haired, neither of which were desirable in a woman. However, she was vexingly young. Alicia’s eyes focused on her belly and she shuddered. The girl wasn’t very swollen yet, but within the next couple of months she would become disgustingly distended. Nothing repelled Alicia as much as childbearing. Better her than me, she thought with malice. Alicia decided then and there that she would not allow this girl to be a threat to her. She would watch and listen, and sooner or later would find a way to destroy her. She had done it before, and with accomplished courtesans. This little serf would be no match for her.

  “I trust you had a good night, Jane.”

  “Yes, thank you.” She could feel her cheeks growing warm. Her night dreams had been wondrous, but now that she had seen Alicia, she doubted her nocturnal fantasy would ever become reality.

  Lynx piled her platter high with food. “Eat as much as you can. We want the child to grow strong and healthy.”

  When he looks at me, all he sees is the child.

  “I spoke to your father about the wedding. I plan a two-day hunt to ensure the marriage feast doesn’t empty the larders, then we can proceed.”

  Jane’s heart lurched against her ribs. “Yes, my lord.” She felt Jory kick her under cover of the table. “No, my lord.” She stopped eating and folded her hands in her lap.

  Lynx smiled politely down at her. “What is it, lady?”

  “I need to speak with you in private, Lord de Warenne.”

  Again, the polite smile. “You will have to learn to call me Lynx.”

  “Yes, my lord,” she murmured.

  “Do you have a problem, Jane?”

  “No, my lord, I don’t have a problem,” she said softly, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, “but you might.”

  17

  “What did you say?” Lynx spoke low, almost silkily, his voice carrying a much greater threat than if he had shouted at her.

  Jane stood before him in her chamber in the Master Tower, wishing herself a thousand miles away. “I will not marry you …” the terrible silence dragged out until she felt intimidated enough to add, “just yet.”

  De Warenne’s face was set in such a hard expression that it looked as if it had been carved from rock. He walked around her, examining her from all angles. “Is that or is it not my child you are carrying?” he asked bluntly.

  “It is, my lord.”

  “Did I not handfast you with the understanding that if you quickened with child, I would wed you?” “You did, my lord.”

  “I am convinced you will be an excellent mother.” “Thank you, my lord.”

  “I am also satisfied you will be an adequate wife.” The word “adequate” stung Jane. “Am I missing something here?” he asked politely. “Yes, my lord.” She had to bend her neck to look up at him. “A handfasting is for a year and a day. A marriage may take place before the year is up, but only if both parties agree to it.”

  “You don’t believe I will make you an adequate husband?” he demanded with disbelief.

  “Oh yes, yes I do, my lord.”

  “Then, splendor of God, what is your objection?”

  Jane swallowed hard, He was not a patient man and clearly his was running out. “Adequate may be good enough for you, Lord de Warenne, but it is not good enough for me.”

  He stared at her as if she had used an obscenity. For a moment he was so stunned by her reply that he was speechless.

  Her insides felt like jelly. At least he’s looking at you for once and not the child, she told herself.

  “I am of noble birth, have wealth and lands, am heir to an earldom, and have offered to wed you and someday make you a countess, yet you consider me only adequate!” His brows drew together showing that her words had insulted his pride. “What more do you want from a husband?”

  Jane lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. “I want a caring, loving, respectful husband who will share his life with me.”

  Lynx de Warenne stared at her in amazement. She had more pride than any noble lady born, and she knew exactly what she wanted.

  Jane lowered her gaze and said softly, “I cannot marry you yet. I would like more time, my lord.”

  “By all means, Lady Jane, take all the time you need.” He swept her a mocking bow.

  Lynx made his way to the room off the great hall. Jock had reported some minor disputes that had arisen between his English knights and the Scots at Dumfries during his long absence and he had decided to hold a court to hear
the complaints. Jane had irritated him beyond measure. He was stung by her refusal to marry him immediately. Most women would be overjoyed by an offer of marriage from him. But apparently Jane was so unworldly that wealth and titles meant nothing to her. She seemed to place no importance on the fact that marriage to him would elevate her from the servant class to the ranks of nobility. No doubt that intimidated her and was the reason why she had asked for more time, he told himself.

  But deep down Lynx knew that wasn’t true. She wasn’t intimidated at all; rather, she had sounded extremely haughty when she’d declared that adequate wasn’t good enough for her. Reluctantly, Lynx admitted to himself that he knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted him to be a real husband who would share his life with her; she wanted to be loved.

  When he arrived, the chamber off the great hall was filled with complainants, most of whom were Scots. For the most part, the charges were petty. A shepherd claimed de Warenne knights continually rode through his flocks of sheep, scattering them. A groom complained that his knights arrogantly ordered the stable hands about as if they were slaves. At least half a dozen men charged that his knights had slept with their wives. When de Warenne asked if the women had been forced or willing, the Scots became sullen and didn’t seem to think that should matter. “Bloody women!” he muttered under his breath.

  Lord de Warenne stood. “Thank you for speaking plainly. Rest assured I will address your grievances immediately. I will do my part to control my knights, and I suggest you do your part to control your wives. Good day.”

  He told Thomas to summon every de Warenne knight to the hall. When they were assembled, he gave them a scathing set-down. His method for ruling men was simple: he set extremely high standards and expected his men to reach them.

  “Some of the complaints I have received are petty and therefore beneath de Warenne knights. You will refrain from scattering the flocks when you ride out.”

  “But there are sheep everywhere, my lord,” Montgomery complained.

  “There will soon be a hell of a lot more when the main flocks are brought back from the Uplands. Sheep mean wealth in these borderlands and you’ll be damn glad of mutton on the table in the dead of winter.” He changed the subject. “I’ve had complaints from the stable hands.” He looked grimly into the face of each knight present. “If any man here doesn’t take care of his own horse, he will no longer be a de Warenne knight.” He paused to emphasize his edict.

  “And now to the matter that seems to irk the Scots the most. They complain that you are fucking their wives.” One side of Lynx’s mouth twitched. “I won’t ask for a show of hands.”

  The knights laughed at his acerbic humor.

  “I know you think you are irresistible devils and I know the women throw themselves at you, but try to limit yourselves to unmarried females and widows—or learn discretion.”

  Lynx beckoned Thomas. “I’d better lay the law down to the men-at-arms. Have them assemble in the bailey.”

  Once he was satisfied his rules were understood, Lynx told them to prepare for a hunt. Though there was to be no wedding feast, a two-day hunt was necessary. Moreover, the stags and boars would be at their fattest after the summer months and the game at its most plentiful.

  When Marjory learned of the hunt and asked to be included, Lynx gave her a flat “no.” “Jory, I’d appreciate it if you’d occupy your time teaching Jane the ways of a lady. Perhaps it will give her the confidence she needs. I think the idea of becoming Lady de Warenne overwhelms her.”

  “I shall endeavor to teach her the things she will need to know,” Jory promised innocently. “How flattering that you want her to be like me.”

  “God’s bones, I wouldn’t go that far,” Lynx said dryly.

  Jane was in the middle of having some of her new gowns fitted. Her chamber was awash with vivid colors from garments piled on chairs and the settle. When Marjory arrived, Jane had on an emerald tunic over a pale green underdress. “This is so wasteful. The tunic will be too tight in another month.”

  “Why don’t you put two rows of buttons down the sides to allow for expansion?” Jory suggested to the sewing woman. “Jane, buttons are marvelous. They make my gowns fit my body much tighter, but in your case they will make them fit looser.”

  “Buttons are expensive,” the Scotswoman said with tight lips.

  “If they weren’t, we wouldn’t want them,” Jory said lightly. “Lady Jane must have the very best; Lord de Warenne insists upon it.”

  Jane removed the emerald tunic and handed it to the sewing woman who gathered up the garments to carry away with her.

  “Lady Jane would like these to be ready tomorrow,” Marjory said firmly as she held open the door for the woman.

  “Jory, you are so bold.”

  “The bloody woman would dress you in sackcloth if she had her way. You must learn to be assertive with servants, Jane. My brother wants me to teach you to be a lady and the first lesson is to be high-handed with everyone, starting with Lynx.”

  “He is infuriated with me.”

  “Then you are doing everything right. Provoking your lord isn’t just a pleasure, it’s a duty!” “Jory, you are so bad.”

  “I know. When they go off hunting tomorrow, why don’t we go hawking?”

  “I’d love to, but hawking is a man’s sport,” Jane said with surprise.

  “Not anymore. In England, the ladies have taken such a fancy to falconry, the men complain we are turning the sport frivolous and effeminate. Our smaller hands can manage the jesses and tyrrits easier than theirs.”

  “Your brother has forbidden me to ride.”

  “Oooh, and you are just shaking in your boots.”

  “Jory, he can be extremely intimidating.”

  “Darling, he can’t use corporal punishment on you; he won’t maul you.”

  “He’ll maul my pride.”

  “Yes, he’s very good at that,” Jory admitted. “But to tell the truth, when you refused to wed him, you mauled his.”

  “The birds do need exercise,” Jane wavered, “and I’m quite used to handling them, though they can be very cruel and fierce.”

  “That’s because they’re females,” Jory pointed out.

  “The best raptors are females; I never thought about it before.”

  “Lynx always flies a female, and the fiercer his falcon, the more he admires her.”

  Jane laughed. “You are teaching me to be bad.”

  Alicia, filled with jealousy and insecurity, laced with a great deal of vindictiveness, recruited Kate Leslie as her maid. Servants never stayed with Alicia for very long because she had the temper of a viper, striking her hapless maids whenever the real target of her rage was unavailable. In selecting Kate, however, she had an ulterior motive, so she treated her fairly well. Since Lynx adamantly refused to discuss the subject of Jane Leslie, Alicia had latched on to her sister, and the girl was proving to be a pipeline of information.

  “You have beautiful gowns, Lady Alicia. My sister Jane is having all new clothes made.”

  “Really? That seems like an unnecessary expense for my lord with her belly expanding every day.”

  “Well, that’s the only reason he handfasted her, so she would breed.” Kate couldn’t disguise her envy.

  “Do you know if plans are being made for a wedding?”

  “Nay, none that I know of, but my lord did promise to wed her if she conceived.”

  That’s the only hold the little slut has on him, Alicia thought. Eliminate the child and you eliminate the wedding!

  Just after sunup, almost two hundred men left for the two-day hunt. Jane watched from her tower window, wondering if she had done the right thing in refusing to marry Lynx. He had not come to her chambers last night, and though he had sat next to her in the hall, he had been polite but aloof. When the mood took him, Lynx de Warenne could be cold and remote. She’d missed the warmth she knew he was capable of showing.

  After breakfast, the sewing woman brought all
the dresses she had made for Jane. When she received more praise than she had ever heard in her life, the woman was suddenly mollified over the extravagance of the garments.

  “Thank you, I never dreamed I would ever have such lovely clothes.”

  “An’ why shouldn’t a Scots lass be dressed as pretty as the English?”

  When she was alone, Jane couldn’t resist trying on every one of them. Until lately, clothes had meant nothing to her. Now she realized they were one of women’s greatest pleasures. When she tried on the white silk, she was enchanted with her appearance. Nothing she had ever worn contrasted so dramatically with her long red-gold hair. White was sinfully impractical, but it made her feel like a goddess.

  Jane was so absorbed in her lovely new clothes, she had no idea that Robert Bruce had ridden in. She finally tore herself from the mirror and hung all of her new garments in the wardrobe. Jane couldn’t resist showing Jory how she looked in the delicate white silk, so she decided to return the gowns Marjory had lent her.

  When Jane arrived at Jory’s tower room, she wasn’t there. Jane suddenly remembered the plan to go hawking and concluded Jory was probably at the stables. As she was hanging the gowns in the wardrobe, she heard the deep voice of a man and recognized immediately that it was the Bruce. She also heard Jory’s provocative laugh.

  “I’m going to make love to you until Lynx returns,” Robert Bruce declared passionately.

  Jane’s jaw dropped open. She quickly climbed into the wardrobe and pulled the door half-closed behind her. She could see the couple plainly in the mirror on the other door of the wardrobe. Jane closed her eyes and prayed that they would soon leave. She could not close her ears, however.

  “Where is your sense of honor, sir, to take advantage of me in my brother’s absence?” Jory purred.

  “I have no sense of honor, and that enhances all my other senses,” Robert warned intensely.

  They stopped talking, but Jane could hear rustling. She opened her eyes and was stunned to see them both naked. She watched, mesmerized as Robert lifted Jory high and let her slide down his body. Then they went wild.

  The things the Bruce did to Jory aroused her until she was panting and scratching and biting him. Jory slithered to the floor and Robert mounted her, unleashing all the sexual energy that had been dammed up inside him since they’d last touched.