A Year & a Day

by Virginia Henley

  She had fully intended to wash his tangled mane of hair, but she could see Lynx was near exhaustion. “Help me change the bed,” she told Taffy and Thomas, who were assisting her, “then we’ll leave him in peace for a while.”

  After midnight came the first of many drenching night sweats. Jane knew that Lynx was still an extremely sick man. They had managed to keep him alive through a critical time, but he had no reserves of strength or any stamina to carry him through another crisis. Jane also knew his pain was constant by the way he drew up his knees and set his jaw. She told herself that it was good Lynx was fighting against it, instead of lying passively. She decided to cut the dose of poppy in half and try to ease most of his agony with her touch.

  One afternoon, Taffy beckoned Jane into the adjoining chamber. “My lady, I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want to upset you. Lord de Warenne’s uncle John, the Earl of Surrey, said he would come to Dumfries as soon as he could. He asked me to tell you that when … er … I mean, if your husband died, he would confirm Lincoln Robert as his heir. He wanted you to know that he would appoint a legal guardian for your son until he comes of age.”

  Jane’s hand went to her throat. She did not understand the legal ramifications, but the word “guardian” to her implied that he meant to take her son away from her. “We must send a message to him immediately and inform him that Lord de Warenne is going to survive!”

  “Too late, my lady, the governor just arrived in the bailey.”

  Jane’s instructions tumbled over each other. “Run and tell Jory. I must change my dress. Ask my father to come up here to me … No, no, Dumfries’ steward needs no instructions, even if our visitor is an exalted English earl and Governor of all Scotland! Ask my brother Andrew to come up instead.” She snatched off her apron. “Where is Thomas? He can stay with Lynx while I greet John de Warenne and at least pretend to make him welcome.”

  “Thomas is making himself scarce, my lady. He is covered with guilt over what happened to my lord at Irvine, and there is no doubt the governor will be demanding answers to some hard questions.”

  “Dear God, why did the wretched man have to come now?”

  “I’ll stay by Lord de Warenne, my lady,” Taffy offered, though Jane could see he also was very apprehensive about facing John de Warenne.

  Jane raced down to the apartment below, and while she was selecting a suitable gown for herself, told Grace Murray to prepare his lordling for a visit with the exalted Earl of Surrey. Lincoln Robert began to chortle and screech the moment he saw his mother. He was five months old and as big as a child twice his age. Jane gave him a hug and a kiss as she was unplaiting her braided hair. The moment it flowed loose, her son grabbed two fistfuls with great delight.

  When Andrew arrived, Jane said, “Fasten me up!” She presented her back to him so that he could button the pale green silk. “How many in the governor’s retinue?”

  “He has an escort of a dozen.”

  “Make sure the best chambers are plenished, make sure we have something special to eat. The forks! Don’t forget the forks and rosewater bowls and towels after the meal … and a harpist too!” Jane raised her eyes heavenward. “Oh, St. Bride, send me strength … how do I entertain a bloody earl?”

  It was the first time Andrew had heard his sister swear. “Calm down, Jane, we’ll help you get through this. Father is serving them a stirrup cup.”

  “Damn the man! I should be with Lynx, I haven’t time for dancing attendance on earls!” Jane gathered all her courage and drew herself up until her back was as straight as a ramrod. She was fully prepared to dislike the Earl of Surrey. When Jane arrived, she was thankful that Marjory was before her, gowned in exquisite peach, edged in deeper apricot. As Jory moved out of her uncle’s arms, Jane got her first look at John de Warenne. The man was so haggard, Jane’s heart immediately went out to him.

  “This is Lynx’s wife, Jane. She is a miracle worker and we love her with all our hearts,” Jory said.

  Jane swept down before him, but John would have none of it. He lifted her and enfolded her in his arms. “My dearest child, how can I ever thank you?” John’s eyes were wet with tears.

  “My lord earl, welcome to Dumfries.”

  “My name is John, whatever would you think if I continually addressed you as Lady de Warenne?”

  Jane liked him immediately, but she exchanged an alarmed glance with Jory over the earl’s own state of health. Jane was no longer a shy maid and the chatelaine inside her, reinforced by her strong maternal instinct, took over. “John, you are gray with fatigue … you need some good food, some rest, and some pampering … thank heaven you have come to the right place!”

  John searched Jane’s face. “I don’t know how he survived the journey home. Take me to him so that I may see with my own eyes that he is still hanging on.” With Jane holding one arm and Jory the other, John de Warenne climbed to the Master Tower.

  “Lynx, my boy, I deeply regret that this happened to you. I’ll get to the bottom of it, never fear.” John glanced at Jane. “They tell me your wife is a wonderful nurse, but I suspect she is an angel.”

  Jane slipped her hand into her husband’s and squeezed. Miraculously, she felt him squeeze back. “He doesn’t have enough strength yet to talk much, but you can see he is glad to see you, John.”

  Lynx managed to utter, “Our son.”

  Jane had Taffy move the big cushioned chair from before the hearth to the side of the bed. “Sit down, John, and I’ll bring Lynx’s son upstairs.”

  When Jane brought the chortling child, glowing with health, John turned from the silent, gaunt man lying in the bed, and held out his arms. “Splendor of God, he’s the spitting image of his father!”

  Jane knew he meant what his father used to look like. When John took the child from his mother’s arms, Lincoln Robert’s face screwed up as if he was going to scream down the rafters, then suddenly he seemed to change his mind. Opening his green eyes wide, he took hold of one of the earl’s ears and crowed with curious exuberance.

  John tore his eyes from the splendid child and gazed at the young woman who had produced him. She was small and delicately beautiful, but she had a luminescence of goodness about her that was so tangible you could almost reach out and touch it.

  Jory smiled at her uncle. “She has the gift of healing on top of everything else. We are truly blessed in Jane.”

  “Nay, I am the one who is blessed,” Jane insisted. “I am so very honored to be a de Warenne. All of you accept me for who I am.”

  John looked at Jory and shook his head, bemused. “She hasn’t the faintest idea of her worth, Minx. Her price is above rubies!”

  Jane blushed with pleasure and signaled for Grace Murray to take her son, whom she knew was a hard-to-control bundle of energy. “Dumfries has a steward worth his weight in gold. He also happens to be my dearest father, and he will see to your every comfort, my lord. My brother Andrew here is the vice-steward. He will prepare your chamber and your bath and tend to all your needs. I’ll see you in the hall for dinner, my lord.”

  “John,” he reminded her.

  After a couple of days at Dumfries, John de Warenne began to look less tired and haggard. Relief that Lynx was still alive, combined with the respite from his heavy responsibilities in Edinburgh, did much to lighten his spirit. As well, Jane prescribed a tansy of balm mixed with eggs and honey, which acted as a tonic to the aging earl.

  On the third day, however, the governor began an informal inquiry regarding what had taken place on the battlefield at Irvine. When Taffy told Jane that John de Warenne had requested a meeting with Thomas and himself, she and Jory approached the earl to ask if they could sit in on the questioning. Never able to refuse Jory anything she asked of him, John agreed.

  They gathered in the small chamber off the great hall. John questioned Thomas first because he was Lynx de Warenne’s premier squire.

  “I remember nothing, my lord. I followed Lord de Warenne into battle, on his rig
ht flank, as always. Then nothing! The next thing I knew it was night and I was stumbling about the dead on the battlefield, feeling as if my head had bin caved in. I didn’t know where I was or even who I was, till Lady Jane’s young brother found me and took me back to camp.”

  Jane bit her lip. How bravely Keith acted!

  John de Warenne turned his attention to Taffy. “I would like to hear your account of what happened.”

  “The three of us rode into battle—I flanked my lord on his left and Thomas was on his right. At some point I glanced around and saw that Thomas was missing. I feared he had gone down in battle. A short time later, I saw him return and felt much relieved. I cut through the enemy without too much difficulty but when I wheeled my destrier, I could see neither Thomas nor Lord de Warenne. I was forced to fight on alone. I didn’t see either of them again during the battle.”

  John looked frustrated and called in Montgomery, who could add nothing. He told the governor that he had questioned all the de Warenne knights and none could shed any light on how their lord had received a wound that might still prove mortal.

  Taffy hesitated, then spoke up. “My lord, young Keith Leslie said he experienced a vision. He said one of our own men attacked and wounded Lord de Warenne.”

  “I seek facts, truth, not visions!” the governor stated flatly.

  “My lord,” Jane spoke up quickly, “Keith Leslie is my brother. He is a seventh son and he has the second sight. Sometimes he can see things that happen without actually being there.”

  Montgomery too spoke up. “The lad led us to the exact place where Lord de Warenne lay. We had searched unsuccessfully for hours in the fog.”

  Taffy added, “He also knew where to find Thomas.”

  Marjory stood up. “I’ll bring Keith so he can tell us in his own words. He has special powers, just as Jane does.”

  When Keith entered the chamber with Jory, Jane saw that he looked more a man than a boy these days. War did that, she realized. It stole men’s youth away from them far too soon. The Earl of Surrey looked aged far beyond his years, and she could not bear to dwell on what war had done to Lynx. “Keith, you did not tell me about your vision. I suppose that’s because I had time for no one save Lynx. But I want you to tell us all now, exactly what it was you envisioned.”

  Keith Leslie got a faraway look in his eyes. “It was a crystal clear vision, not indistinct like some of them. I had readied the horses for battle and I lay down to rest, but I was too keyed up to sleep. Time slowed and I saw a de Warenne knight fell Thomas from his horse with an iron ball-and-chain. The knight dismounted from his own horse and vaulted into Thomas’s empty saddle. He spurred it like a madman until he caught up with Lord de Warenne. He came up behind him and raised the iron ball-and-chain again. When my lord’s limp body rolled onto the ground, the knight dismounted, unsheathed his sword, and ran him through the belly.”

  “A de Warenne knight?” John demanded incredulously.

  “My lord, I’ve searched every face of every knight since it happened, but I’ve not found him yet.”

  “You saw his face?” John de Warenne demanded.

  “Only his eyes, my lord earl, but I’ll never forget them as long as I live. They were filled with hatred and blood-lust, and after he plunged in his sword, they brimmed with triumph! His eyes were different from other men’s—his left eyelid drooped markedly.”

  John de Warenne went ashen in the face. Jory also blanched. John and his niece exchanged a long, meaningful glance. Keith Leslie had just described someone they both knew only too well!

  Thomas, Taffy, and Montgomery did not look at each other, not in the presence of the Governor of all Scotland. But any lingering doubts they had about the truth of Keith Leslie’s tale were immediately wiped away. Each one of them now knew that Lady Jane’s young brother had experienced a true vision of an attempted assassination.

  31

  Jane felt numb. She had assumed that Lynx had received his horrendous wound fighting the enemy. Now she learned that one of his own men had tried to murder him! Who? Why? her mind screamed. At all costs she must keep this alarming news from Lynx. He was not strong enough to handle the truth; it would devastate him, perhaps even kill him!

  Jane knew that Lynx de Warenne was a hard man, often grim-faced and uncompromising, with a towering pride, but he was a natural-born leader of men who earned their respect. He was scrupulously fair and would never ask any man to do something he would not do himself. He set uncompromisingly high standards, but always set the example. His men love him, yet there must be one who wants him dead!

  Jane suddenly realized she had left him alone in the Master Tower. “Please excuse me,” she murmured, trembling at the thought of Lynx’s vulnerability.

  She crept into the bedchamber, trying not to disturb him, but as she approached the bed, Lynx opened his eyes as if he could sense her presence. Jane threaded her fingers through his and smiled down into his eyes. Her resolve hardened. She would protect him until he was strong! But what if he never regains his former strength? What if he is left permanently weak and crippled? she agonized. He will blame me for not allowing him to die! Stop it, stop it, she told herself fiercely, I have the power … I have all the power. He has done exactly as I asked: given himself completely into my hands! Now that he has given me his trust at long last, I cannot let him down, I must be strong enough for both of us!

  “You are healing well, my darling, your body gains strength every day. But I know everything inside still gives you agonizing pain. Give it to me, let me take your pain, Lynx.”

  He never took his eyes from her face as she gently placed her hands upon his body. Beginning at his shoulders, she stroked soothingly, endlessly, down his ravaged arms, down his chest, over his protruding ribs. When she saw her touches begin to show their effect, Jane moved her hands lower, carefully avoiding his belly, beginning at the hips and stroking down his legs, once so heavily muscled, now only bone.

  She eased his suffering so much that his mouth was able to curve into a smile for her. “I want to sleep beside you tonight,” she whispered. “I want to touch you and hold you and love you all night. Do you think you could bear it, for my sake?”

  Lynx lifted his hand to cradle her cheek and murmured, “Janie.” The tender endearment almost undid her, but she willed back the tears that threatened to form. Tears were weakening to both of them. From now on, she would do only what was strengthening.

  * * *

  That night in the hall, Jane noticed that Marjory never left her uncle’s side. She sensed that they were talking quietly about Lynx’s attempted assassination. Perhaps there was someone they suspected, but Jane did not intrude upon their privacy. Perhaps I don’t want to hear the truth; perhaps I can’t face it yet.

  When the meal was finished, John de Warenne approached her as she sat with Elizabeth de Burgh. “Jane, I shall be leaving in the morning. Unfortunately, my time is not my own and duty awaits me in Edinburgh. I have not yet appointed a guardian for your son, and will hold off for the present and fervently hope it will not be necessary.”

  Jane impulsively took his hands. “Thank you, my lord earl. I swear to you I will heal Lynx, if it is humanly possible.”

  “I know you will, my dearest child. Lynx is a lucky man to have found a wife devoted to him as you are, but I believe he knows that. God bless you, my dear. I pledge to get to the bottom of who did this grievous injury to him.”

  He knows who did it! Jane realized. But John de Warenne was a good man and she would put her trust in him. “Godspeed and thank you for accepting me.”

  Jane undressed in a glow of candlelight. She knew how much pleasure Lynx took from looking at her body, and her only desire was to please him. Gently, she turned back the snowy sheet and slipped naked into the bed. Lynx now had enough strength to turn his head toward her on the pillow, and she spoke to him in muted tones.

  “The governor is leaving tomorrow. He wouldn’t go back to Edinburgh if he thought you would no
t recover. I like John de Warenne.” Her lips turned up into a smile, allowing her dimples to show. “Believe it or not, I think he approves of me.”

  Jane moved against Lynx, offering her engorged breast. As his hot mouth fastened upon her nipple, she heard him sigh with gratification. She wiped the dampness from his brow that formed in tiny beads from his exertion, then she threaded her fingers through his clean hair and held his head to her breast.

  The bond between them strengthened with each passing day and night. She was everything to him: wife, lover, friend, nurse, and now mother. Joined like this, Jane felt she was a part of him, his breath, his blood, his bone, his pulse, his heartbeat, his pain, his very life. Jane smiled into the candlelight. She felt omnipotent. By giving her his complete trust, Lynx de Warenne had empowered her, and for the first time since he’d come home to Dumfries with his life hanging by a thread, she was absolutely certain her beloved Lynx would survive.

  Jane fed him her breast milk for two more weeks, then she began to give him other food, and miraculously, his body did not reject it. Lynx gained strength rapidly after that and was able to turn on his side in the bed and eventually sit up. He was now able to speak without completely exhausting himself and Jane brought his son to him every day. At first she brought a sleeping Lincoln Robert and let him lie beside his father, but as Lynx gained strength, she let their son roll about on the bed, or on the floor, where Lynx could enjoy his antics.

  When Jane joined Lynx in the curtained bed at night, a subtle change occurred. Where before she had enfolded him, now they held each other, never separating until the darkness melted into morning. It wasn’t long before Lynx began to assert his authority again. “I want some fresh air,” he declared one morning in June. Jane opened the door onto the parapet walk. “No, I want to go outside. Thomas!”

  Jane instructed Taffy to take a chair onto the parapets in the sunshine. “Will you both carry Lynx outside?”