“We shall see,” Jane whispered to the emptiness that remained. No one would take Bellhaven from her without a fight, especially her own cousin.
Nicholas climbed the stair, heading for Jane’s bedchamber in his search for Lady Margaret. He could not find her below stairs, and a maid in the hall said she had seen Lady Margaret carrying something up the stairs.
He paused at the open doorway and looked inside just as Lady Margaret placed Lord Lennox’s standard across the back of a chair, then leaned his sword against the seat back. Her fingers lingered on the flat of the blade for a moment before she pulled them back.
“If it is true that Lord Lennox is dead, there is no more honorable way to die,” Nicholas said softly, entering the chamber.
Lady Margaret spun around, startled. Hurriedly she brushed at the corners of her eyes with her fingers. “I am being a sentimental fool.”
“He was your brother. You have every right to be saddened by his loss.” Nicholas realized in that moment he had missed seeing Lady Margaret during his two-year absence from Bellhaven as well. Jane’s aunt had always been a calming influence in both Jane and Jacob’s lives.
Lady Margaret forced a wobbly smile. “I am trying to be strong for Jane’s sake.”
“You and Jane are so alike. You do not have to be so strong all the time. Let others help you.” Nicholas stepped fully into the room and held out his arms.
The older woman waited all of a heartbeat before she tucked herself into his embrace. He allowed his warmth and strength to flow into her. “It will be better soon. It has been… a difficult day.”
“For us all.” He tightened his arms around her.
Lady Margaret pulled back to stare into his face. “Do you truly believe someone in this very castle is trying to harm Jane?”
“Yes.” Nicholas offered the woman a smile as he set her from him. “Now then, are you better?”
She drew a deep breath, then nodded. “Much.”
“I came to find you to ask your help.”
“With what?” Lady Margaret asked.
“I need to find a particular servant girl who works somewhere here in the castle,” Nicholas said grimly. “She is young, perhaps around eighteen, blond hair. She said her name was Clara, or Clarisa.”
Lady Margaret frowned. “We have a Clara who is blond and about that age. She works in the kitchen. We also have a Clarisa. But she is a dark-haired maid. She is a score and five and the mother of twins.”
“This girl said she was the sister of the woodcutter.”
Lady Margaret’s face paled. “Peter was an orphan.”
“Was?”
She nodded. “He rode off with Lord Lennox and Master Jacob to battle and has not been seen since.”
A chill moved through Nicholas at her words. “Can you send both girls to me in the hall? I will speak to both.”
“The girl,” Lady Margaret asked, “why do you want her?”
“I believe she is either involved in Lady Jane’s accidents or knows who is.”
“Merciful heavens.” Lady Margaret straightened and a look of purpose came back into her eyes. Her brother’s death was not forgotten, but for now she had a way to move beyond it—with action.
“I will meet you in the hall shortly with both girls,” she said, and hastened from the chamber.
Alone, Nicholas looked back at the chair, bearing the Lennox standard and Lord Lennox’s sword, one last time. God’s blood. He had told Lady Margaret the truth. There was no more honorable way to die than in battle. He knew the truth of that. But why did Lord Lennox and Jacob both have to die in such a painful, violent way?
In the silence, bitter memories of another type of violence tugged at Nicholas. Even now he could smell the tallow candles of his father’s hall, feel the stone floor beneath his knees, sense the eyes watching from a distance and not a one of them moving forward to stop his father’s lash.
The lash came down hard, but with such talent as to neither break skin nor muscle. Only bruises would remain this time. Nicholas gritted his teeth, trying to summon the anger that had seen him through these endless nights of torment.
The anger would not come, only exhaustion. If only his father would cease for a moment, let him catch his breath, explain what had happened.
Nicholas shuddered as the lash came down again, two, three, four times. He fell to his hands, but not to the ground. Never would he collapse fully. His own pride would never allow that. He hitched a breath. “Father,” he rasped, praying the word would jolt some rational part of the man’s mind. “Please listen… to me.”
The lash came down harder. Nicholas bit back a cry of pain, fighting the black terror that threatened to choke him. His father never listened to him. Why would he start now? All he cared about was his drink. And when he drank, he got angry. Nicholas was the target simply because he refused to allow anyone else to be. But tonight, his father was completely past reason.
Something had to change. Perhaps it was time to flee his home, seek refuge somewhere else, anywhere else. Protect himself for once from the cruelties of a madman. Even as the thought formed, Nicholas knew he could never leave. If he did, someone else would take his place and he could never live with that.
The lash came down, again and again, draining him of life, of hope. He would have wept, but his tears had left him years ago, only humiliation lingered, and that rocked him to the depths of his soul until it smothered everything there. Would there ever be an end to the nightly torture? He had done nothing wrong except be born a Kincaid.
The memory tore through him, streaked across his back, and lanced his heart so deep that for a moment he could not breathe. That was the past. Nicholas straightened. This was not the time for memories. It was a time to be on guard and alert. If he did not, someone might get hurt.
Jane.
It was Jane who had rescued him from that hell with her smile. Near her, a part of himself that had been dead for an eternity came back to life. She had given him something to live for, hope for, dream about.
No one would ever hurt her the way he had been hurt. He would protect her, and even if she chose another to be her husband, he would see she came to no harm, now or anytime in the future.
The thought of Jane with another man was like a hundred pricks of a sharp blade. He forced the sensation away. He would concentrate on Jane’s safety. Her future and his could wait another day.
Nicholas left the chamber, closed the door, and went up to the battlements for a breath of fresh air. When he felt more in control of himself and his emotions, he went down to the hall to await Lady Margaret and the girls.
When he reached the great hall, the three women were already there.
“This is Clara and Clarisa,” Lady Margaret said, introducing them both.
His gaze immediately moved to the flaxen-haired girl and disappointment filled him. She was not the same girl from the woods. He had been hopeful he had misheard her name.
Lady Margaret gazed at him expectantly.
He shook his head.
Her face fell.
“Do either of you know another young woman named Clara or Clarisa? She may or may not work in this castle,” Nicholas asked.
“Nay, milord,” Clarisa said with a quick curtsey. She stared at his shoes. “I know no one else by that name.”
Clara met his gaze, steady and strong. “No.”
She was not the girl, but he could sense she knew more than she was saying. “Does your mother work here in the castle?”
“Nay. I’m the only one from my family.”
“And your surname is?”
She paled slightly. “MacGuire.”
The MacGuires again? “How did you come to work here?” Nicholas asked, noting that the girl started rubbing her hands together as he continued his interrogation.
“My family sent me here two years ago when Lord Lennox inquired about a young kitchen maid who might someday take over for Miss Marthe.”
“Is this true?”
he asked Lady Margaret.
“My brother did hire a few new servants about that time. Jane could tell you more about it as she has always been more involved in the day-to-day activities of the estate than I have been.”
“Is there some other post besides the kitchen you can shift Clara McGuire to until I can speak with Lady Jane?” Nicholas asked Lady Margaret.
“Don’t send me away,” the girl cried out.
“You are not being sent away, merely given different duties until Jane can be consulted.” It would not do to have the girl in the kitchens where she would have easy access to Jane’s food. Poison had yet to be used against Jane, but they had to consider everything from this moment on.
The first rule of war was a surprise attack. With the maid out of the kitchen, there would be one less potential for surprise.
With only lanterns to guide them, Jane and David headed through the outer bailey toward the one hill inside the castle gates. They were alone, and yet they were not. The other men had insisted if Jane were going out of the keep that they follow as guards in case whoever was after her attacked once more.
Jane looked over her shoulder to see five dark shapes and five lanterns following behind her. They kept their distance, giving her and David privacy, but they were there. She was not certain if the fact thrilled or annoyed her.
With supreme effort, Jane shifted her attention to where it belonged—on David. He had won the last competition. Despite the danger she had faced that morning, and the news she had received about her father, she owed him the courtesy of her exclusive attention during this time. After all, it was why they were all here. No matter what else might happen to her or around her, she had to marry by Christmas Eve. “Where are you taking me?” she asked, forcing a levity she did not yet feel into her voice.
David offered her a rare smile that lit up his usually somber eyes. His mood was carefree and playful this evening. Not two words she usually equated with the serious boy from her youth. “We are almost there.” David carried a long slim object wrapped in linen under one arm and a bulging basket in the other. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted from the basket, indicating he had brought dinner along with him. No doubt Marthe had supplied him with all Jane’s favorites. The entire staff had warmed to the idea of her finding a husband, and as quickly as possible.
Jane and David stopped at the crest of the hill. He set down his lantern, then spread a thick pelt over a patch of ground that had been cleared of the snow. No doubt David had come out here earlier, preparing for this event.
Once the large pelt was in place, he sat down, then stretched his tall, muscular frame out upon the fur. Moonlight glistened on his neatly trimmed brown hair. He worn a soft linen shirt and breeches covered by a thick fur cloak. “Come join me,” he said in an inviting tone. Lying there with his hand outstretched, he looked sinful, elegant, and far too good for her nerves. Raw sexual energy shimmered off him in thick waves.
She startled at the thought. David was always so safe. She did feel safe with him tonight, yet she also felt a new awareness growing between them, something that had never been there in her youth. She set her lantern on the edge of the blanket opposite his before she accepted his hand and sat down on the blanket beside him. She arranged her own cloak to cover her legs.
The night was clear and cold. Jane inhaled slowly then let the air slide from her lungs, creating a wreath of mist to hang about her momentarily before vanishing. Above them the stars sparkled like a million jewels in the sky. “Why did we come out here for our time alone?”
He cast an ironic glance over his shoulder. “To be alone.” He shifted the cloth covering the basket and withdrew a chunky loaf of bread, a wedge of golden cheese, a small wooden platter bearing sliced, roasted pheasant, and two dried apples. “Your other suitors are always too much at hand.”
Jane smiled. “A moonlight meal?” she asked, once again returning her attention to her suitor.
“I wanted to give you an experience you would remember,” he said, offering her a pewter plate and a two-pronged fork, before withdrawing a flask from his basket, then pouring her a cup of mead. She could smell the sweet honeyed scent as he passed her the flagon. “Have you ever had a supper for two under the stars?”
She took a sip of the wine. “Never.”
“Good.” He poured himself a glass of mead, then started serving their meal. “This meal is just the beginning.”
“It is good to have you here, David. It seems like years since you have been to Bellhaven.” It had been many years. David and his father used to come to the castle often. Then several years ago, they just stopped coming. No explanation was given. Her own father never mentioned the Buchanans again. It was as if they had ceased to exist.
“It has been a long time,” David said.
Jane picked at the wedge of cheese David had offered her. “Was there something that happened to keep you and your father away?” Jane asked, suddenly curious as to why he had vanished from her life so suddenly.
He frowned, thinking. “I am not certain, and looking back now, I cannot imagine why I ever allowed that to happen.” He popped a piece of meat into his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, then continued. “I only remember that last night vaguely. My father was upset about something your father did or said. It was not long after that that my father turned ill. I got involved in his care and in taking over the estate.”
David’s words faded and Jane knew his thoughts had turned to his own father’s death. “Death is a part of our life. It is inevitable for us all.”
“Yes, but a violent death is not natural,” he said softly. “Would you like to talk about your father?”
“Nothing I say will bring him or Jacob back. I have proof now of Father’s death. Jacob is still a mystery.” She stared down at her plate, her hunger no longer present. “I miss them. I want them back. But wishing it so will not make it happen.” She drew a deep breath then released a rush of mist to coil with the chill night air. She brought her hands to her chest, covering her heart. “I would know if they were dead. I would feel it here. And I do not, but with the proof of my father’s death…” She straightened. “I have to accept what has happened, and what I must do now.”
“Marry one of us?”
“Yes.”
“As much as I hate to admit this, there is not a man here who would not make you a fine husband, Jane. I have studied my competition. They all appear to be fond of you, and all are steady enough to provide you the support you will need as mistress of Bellhaven.”
“Even Bryce?” she asked with a chuckle.
“Even Bryce,” David said with amusement in his tone. “Bryce’s venom is merely his way of showing his disappointment not to be next in the line of succession.” David’s face grew serious once more. “I want the man you choose to be me, but I want you to make a decision that will make you happy for the rest of your days.”
“Thank you, David. It means a lot to hear you say that.”
His smile returned. “By the heavens,” he groaned. “When will I ever learn? Now I will have to work twice as hard to win your hand from my competitors. Perhaps I should get started. This night, I want to take you somewhere you have never been before.”
“Where?” Jane asked, suddenly curious about what he had planned for her.
“To the heavens.” He turned toward the linen-wrapped package he had carried with him. Spreading the fabric apart, he revealed a long cut of leather and two clear, spherical objects. He placed the large glass piece at the far end of the leather, smaller glass closest to him, then rolled both into a cone with the leather. Placing the narrow end up to his eye, he turned his gaze toward the sky. “It is a perfect night for stargazing, clear and bright. Have you ever seen the stars up close before?”
David turned and offered the strange contraption to her. “Place this—it is called a telescope—against your eye. Close the other one and focus your gaze on the stars.”
As he extinguished the lanterns, she did
as instructed. With only the light of the moon to cast a silvery light over the night, Jane looked up and gasped. The stars appeared so close, as if she could reach out and touch them. “Is this magic?”
David laughed. “It is a new kind of magic.”
She turned back to David. His face was alive. His eyes sparkled like the stars she had just seen up close. Never had she seen him so animated. Whatever this new magic was, it certainly agreed with him. “How does it work?”
“Basically, a telescope is a long tube with magnifying lenses at both ends. The end you put to your eye has two lenses that curve outward. These lenses magnify the image. At the far end of the telescope are inwardly curved lenses which draw in the light. The distance between these two sets of lenses can be changed to focus the image and make it clear.”
His smile shifted to a more pensive look. “There is one flaw, however. As this light passes through the tube and hits the lens nearest your eye, the image is magnified and appears close, but it also appears upside down. This is because the light entering the telescope bends the image. I have not figured out how to correct that just yet. But I will.”
“I am certain you will.” Jane put the telescope back to her eye and looked once again at the night sky. The usual pinpoints of light became more jagged, with light spiking out from several points. Even if the stars were upside down, they were magnificent. “The stars are so beautiful.”
Before she could register his presence, David slipped behind her. His chest pressed against her back and his legs bracketed hers. His hands moved to cover her own. “Let me guide you,” he said softly against her ear. He shifted her hands to the west. “Over on the western horizon at this time of year, you can see the planet Venus.”
Jane felt the warmth of David’s strong hands against her cool flesh. She breathed in his spicy scent, trying to focus on Venus while her thoughts shifted to the purpose for this time alone. David was handsome, reliable, a good protector, and curious about the world around him. He would make anyone a fine husband. This evening she had seen him smile more than she had ever remembered. He seemed happy, content in the thought of sharing a life with her. But was he the one?
A Laird for Christmas Page 10
