“I have. Thank you. I will tell Isobel as soon as I see her.”
Daniel was barely able to contain his excitement at the sound of his ex-girlfriend’s name. He was so close to her that he could smell victory in the air.
“Good day, my lord,” Daniel said then left. He would have to watch the comings and goings of the castle’s main entrance to the market. At one point or another, he was positive that Isobel would make an appearance in the market and that would be his one and only chance of kidnapping her and bringing her to Tuloch. To finally be rid of the blasted woman, who had been nothing but a thorn in his side since he was assigned the task of finding her, would be a welcome relief.
******
Isobel was busy pulling weeds in an area she had not yet touched. She was determined to finish this side of the garden before she had to leave things be for day and go get cleaned up before Jakar returned.
It was a nice day for a change with the sun straining to show itself from behind the ever present clouds. A ray of sunshine would slip through every now and then, landing of her back. The warmth of the ray warmed her considerably to the point where she had to push up the long sleeves of her dress. She was dirtier today than normal because she had finally succeeded in removing the dead stump from its clutches on the damp soil. It had taken several hours for her to dig out enough mud from around the base of the small stump in order to wiggle the thing enough to get it to pop free of the earth.
She swiped a dirty hand across her brow to wipe away the beads of sweat that were threatening to run into her eyes. A cool breeze swept past her as she stopped for a moment to survey her work. Happy with the results she pushed forward with her work. She hummed quietly to herself as she worked and was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the thundering footsteps approaching her.
“What in the hell do you think you are doing?” Jakar’s loud, booming voice yelled from behind her.
She froze in mid-pull of a rather thick weed when she heard her husband’s voice. That bitch, Betsy must have ratted her out. How was she going to handle this? He didn’t sound happy one bit. Slowly she turned her body until she was sitting in the newly turned soil looking up at Jakar. She put on her best smile and prayed he didn’t snap her head off.
“I asked you a question, Isobel.” His eyes were narrowed at her with fury. He stood there in front of her with his arms folded across his chest and his legs spread wide. It almost appeared as if he was struggling to contain his anger.
“Hi! Umm…I thought I would do a little bit of gardening,” she said as she slowly got to her feet, brushing some of the dirt off her clothes.
“Who said you could come in here? I know I certainly didn’t!”
She was in a lot more trouble then she realized. She knew she was going to regret agreeing with Nyla to clean up the garden. Her instincts had told her to leave it alone but she didn’t listen.
“I umm…I wanted to surprise you,” she mumbled out. “I was hoping to have it finished before you found out. I guess I didn’t work fast enough.” She tried to giggle to try and lighten the mood but it only seemed to make Jakar madder.
“Surprise! If I had wanted you to do this I would have asked. Since I did not ask, you have no business being in here!” His anger was climbing as he spoke.
“I…” she tried to say something but he cut her off.
“Silence! Betsy said you were warned not to come in here! So, you take it upon yourself to come here anyway! This place is forbidden to everyone, what makes you think I would be happy about you changing my mother’s garden?” He stepped closer to her until he was peering down his nose at her, glaring with squinted eyes as cold as ice.
Her earlier mood now vanished as Jakar yelled at her. How dare he silence her! “I am not changing anything. I am just cleaning it, for crying out loud!” She put her hands on her hips and stared up at him. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. “And, for your information, Betsy did not warn me of anything! She is a mean, nasty person.” If she could have shot fire out of her eyes she would have.
They stared at each other as the minutes ticked away. Neither was willing to give in or apologize to each other. She was beyond angry at this point and she knew Jakar was too. But, his reason for being so mad at her seemed so stupid. It was just a garden for goodness sake.
“Isobel,” Jakar said, “Are you going to stand there and tell me that someone in my house hold is lying to me?”
Defiantly, she replied curtly, “Yes!”
He watched her as he studied her. She had no way of knowing what was going through his mind but it was obvious he wasn’t going to believe a word she said.
“I brought you into my home with the intentions of dumping you in the dungeon. I listened to Nyla and Nana with their stories of you being from another time and that you were the one spoken of in the prophecy. But,” he stopped for a moment to arrange his words, “I was mistaken in marrying you. You are one of Tuloch’s minions and nothing more.”
As she listened to her husband’s hurtful and hateful words, she couldn’t help the tears that trailed down her face and fell to the dirt she stood upon. What had suddenly turned him against her? Why did he no longer believe who she was or where she came from? Someone, probably Betsy if she had to bet on it, had put words and ideas into his head that he was game to believe.
She struggled to get the words to pass her lips as she fought down the burning lump in her throat. “What? What did I do other than clean up your mother’s garden? Do you really think she would want it to continue to decay and rot away because her son is selfish and refuses to let anyone in here?”
She wasn’t prepared for him to get down into her face as close as he did. She was so confused by his actions and words that she stumbled backwards. The look on his face made him appear as if the devil had taken over his body.
“I found out your little plan. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out about it? That you were going to be able to pull off getting Tuloch’s men into my home?”
She stood shocked to the core at his words. Plan? She didn’t have any kind of a plan and she especially wasn’t one of Tuloch’s people. Out the corner of her eye she caught a movement near the door that lead into the garden. She knew instantly who it was and why she was there. Betsy was watching and enjoying her humiliation by her husband and it was all Betsy’s doing!
Isobel was going to stand up for herself. “It is Betsy who is the liar! There is something about her that I don’t trust, Jakar! I will admit she found me in the garden the other day but that is all. She stands over there by the door listening as we speak!” She pointed in the direction of the door. Jakar turned to look at what she was pointing to and found nothing.
“Isobel, enough of your lies!” He reached out to grab her arm but she managed to sidestep him and put a short but thick shrub in-between them. “Come here, Isobel.” He moved to round the shrub. “I will escort you back to our room and deal with you after I have seen to the mess that you have created.”
Hell no! She wasn’t about to let him lock her up again as if she were some kind of a common criminal. With her left hand she gathered enough of her dress in her hand so that she would be able to run away and not trip over the hem that nearly dragged the ground. She needed to put some distance between them. Bending down quickly, she grabbed a handful of dirt. She waited until Jakar was close enough to her to throw the loose dirt into his face and into his eyes.
“Ah!” Jakar yelled as the dirt hit him right between the eyes.
As soon as she had her chance she took off at full speed. She raced past Jakar and headed to the door of the garden. As she pushed through the wooden door, a yelp came from behind it. She turned her head thinking it was Betsy she had squashed between the door and stone wall. To her horror she saw it was Nana, but she had no time to stop and make sure the old woman was alright. She was getting out of there and away from Jakar. Her new world had just crashed down on top of her and she wanted out. She wanted
to go home. If it took her last dying breath, she would find her way home.
******
Jakar was blinded by the mud Isobel had thrown into his face. He hadn’t expected her to do that and neither did he except her to take off running. Furiously he rubbed at his eyes until he was able to see enough to make his way over to the small well in the center of the garden. As he washed his face and removed the mud from his eyes, the sound of Nana approaching him made him cringe. Nana was the last person he wanted to deal with right now.
“Jakar! Jakar, what have you done?” she shouted at his back.
He turned to face her, dripping face and all. “Nana, please, not now.” He made to move past her but she blocked his way. “I have no time for this, Nana,” he grated out through clenched teeth. He didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the woman who finished raising him after his mother’s death.
Nana put up a finger to his face. “No! You listen to me. I heard everything you said to Isobel and you are wrong! Wrong, you hear me? How could you treat your wife like a common criminal?”
“Wife?” he sneered, “ You and Nyla convinced me to marry a woman I knew nothing about and now I find out that she is definitely one of Tuloch’s spies just as I had assumed she was.” This time he wasn’t going to let Nana set him on a different path than what he planned. He would see that Isobel confessed that she was a spy.
“And who told you all of this?” Nana stood glaring at him with hands on her wide hips.
“Don’t worry about who told me what. I know the truth now and I am going to see that all involved are punished. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a wife to track down.” He pushed past her and left her standing there open-mouthed.
He hated to be so disrespectful to the woman who had helped raise him but she was blinded by Isobel’s supposed innocence. He should have stayed with his first feelings about Isobel. True, he didn’t want to believe Betsy at first but when she pulled out the note written in Tuloch’s hand, he had no choice but to believe her.
The sound of his footsteps on the stone floor made everyone move out of his way as he stormed through the halls. Isobel had nowhere to go, so he figured she would have gone to their room. If she would just admit the truth to him, he might just keep her locked in their room instead of sending her to the dungeon.
The rest of the way to his room his mind was struggling to figure out why Isobel would go so far to hurt him and his people. She had pleaded so often to him about who and what she was that he began to believe her. Even Nyla and Nana had backed his wife which had been strange itself. Most people under his care were always leery of strangers, but not those two. They took her in with open arms and barely asked any questions. Now he was going to get every last answer he wanted from her even if it killed him.
When he flung open the heavy door to their room it slammed against the stone wall, knocking a portrait off the wall. His eyes scanned the room quickly and found it empty. “Isobel!” he called out and strode to the washing room and kicked the door open. “Isobel!” He called out again. Their room was empty. He had no idea where she might have gone. Without another thought, he marched out of the room and headed to the stables. She could possibly be in the market or maybe with the animals. Where ever she was though, he needed to find her.
Chapter 20
Betsy leaned against the wall in the kitchen and laughed. She had actually convinced Jakar that Isobel was up to no good. It was perfect! It hadn’t taken her long to spew her story to him but when she produced note written by Tuloch she knew she had him hooked.
Her plan couldn’t have played out any better. She had been working on a way to approach Jakar with the lies she was going to tell him, but when she had found out about Isobel working in his mother’s garden she knew she had her reason. She thought back to the expression on Jakar’s face as she poured out her tale.
She had waited for him to come back from the stables where he had gone to see the new horses he had purchased. She had to act the shy servant when she asked if she could speak with him in private.
“Of course, Betsy,” he had replied genuinely concerned.
He had escorted her into the room where he took care of the money aspect of his lands. It wasn’t a large room but it was big enough for him to complete the necessary tasks. A large desk sat near the windows that lined the far side wall of the room. Several cushioned chairs sat neatly before the desk as if standing at attention. The little sunlight there was streamed into the room. The desk was cluttered with papers and numerous empty bottles of ale. Most of the walls were undecorated with the exception of one portrait of his father and mother that hung over the fireplace which was unlit for the time being.
“What did you need to speak with me about?” Jakar leaned on the desk as he waited for her to speak.
“Well, my lord. I don’t like being one to tell tales but there is something you should be aware of.” Inwardly she smiled to herself. “But, I…umm…” she paused for more of a dramatic effect. “I came across my lady in your mother’s garden.” She waited.
“When?” he asked.
“This morning, my lord,” she answered. Yes, this was going to be so easy! “I warned her when she first started to explore the castle. I even showed her where the garden was so that she would not mistake it for another. But, sadly, she has taken it upon herself to go there and…” she paused again. She could see the anger beginning to rise in her employer as his body tensed.
“And what? Do not be afraid to tell me, Betsy.”
“She has umm… she has begun to clear the garden.” Direct hit! She watched closely as Jakar clenched and unclenched his teeth as he tried to hold on to his anger.
“What did she say when you found her there?”
“She told me to go away. She was the lady of the castle now and would do as she pleases. She also said that if I revealed to anyone what she was doing, she would see to it that I would be beaten.” She let her voice tremble as if she was fearful of her words.
“She said that?” His eyes bugged out as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Yes, my lord.” She curtsied quickly as she replied.
“Thank you, Betsy. I will take care of it.”
He moved to dismiss her but she wasn’t finished yet. “There is something else, my lord.” She cast her eyes down so that he couldn’t see the glimmer in her eyes. She withdrew from her brown apron a yellowed, wrinkled piece of parchment and handed it to him. “I found this in the pocket of my lady’s dress when I went to bring her things to the wash.”
Jakar accepted the parchment and unfolded it. His eyes quickly scanned the contents of the letter. His face turned redder and redder as he read further down the page. She had him now. There was no way he was going to dismiss the letter.
He looked up to her and said in a strained voice, “Thank you.”
That was when he had stormed out of the room and headed for the garden. She had lingered behind as he made his to find his wife who was in the garden as they spoke. She had made sure Isobel was still there before she confronted Jakar.
Now, after the confrontation he had with his wife, she was satisfied that she had planted a big enough seed in Jakar’s mind that there was no doubt in his mind about who and what his wife was.
She barely had enough time to hide in the small alcove again when she heard approaching footsteps while she had been eavesdropping on the couple. Nana was about to open the door when suddenly Isobel had come flying through it at a high rate of speed. The woman didn’t even stop to see who she had hurt. Within seconds Isobel was out of view and Nana was in the garden, going to Jakar.
Without lingering any longer, she took off for the kitchen and waited for Jakar to go in search of Isobel. Unfortunately, she had not seen where the woman had gone but surely someone would have seen her. Tuloch’s plan was in full effect now and she would be able to return to his side. She still had to meet with Tuloch’s men at the old mill and hoped when she did, they would be able to trav
el to South Aslog with the woman in tow.
******
Isobel rushed through the castle halls as fast as she could run. She had to get away from here and away from Jakar. Tears streamed down her face as she thought about the words he had flung at her. He truly believed she was a spy and had done nothing but lied to him since her sudden appearance. Just when she had finally resolved to herself that she was stuck here forever, something goes wrong and blows up in her face. Would she ever have a home again? A family who cared for her?
She burst out the front door of the castle, slowing her pace just a bit. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself as she made her way to the main gate of the castle walls. The market was busy and people were everywhere. Carts heavy with new purchases, waited patiently to be allowed to pass through the gate while another cart waited to enter. Women held baskets full of fresh vegetables as they walked to the gate. How was she going to get out of the castle walls without the guards recognizing her? Her heart pounded in her chest as she struggled to catch her breath and to come up with a plan.
Through the Looking Glass Page 18
