Highland Conqueror (16 page)

“As I once was. Aye, there may be some justification for her thinking she can win this game.”

“Ye havenae exactly explained what she once was to you,” Somerled said. “I cannae recall ye mentioning her.”

“That was when ye were off wandering the country trying to find out ways we might fill our coffers. Which ye did, thank ye verra much.”

“My pleasure. Now, tell us all about Barbara. If we ken what she was, we might better understand why she thinks she has any chance at all of winning you as a husband.”

Sigimor took a deep breath and very succinctly told them of what had happened between him and Barbara. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he was no longer so embarrassed by it all. It helped that he saw no pity or scorn in their faces, only a fleeting sympathy for the young fool he had been and anger. Sigimor suspected that both men probably had a similar tale which they kept to themselves.

“She may think she but needs to make a few amends for the past and ye will fall right back into her grasp,” Somerled said. “I suspect she excuses the times ye turned her away after that as simply ye living up to your reputation as a mon who will have naught to do with married women.”

“Ah, I hadnae considered that. Tis also evident that she doesnae expect me to hold to my wedding vows.”

“The woman has probably kenned too many men who dinnae.”

“True, true.” Sigimor finished his drink and stood up. “This is getting me nowhere. I just cannae shake the feeling that there is something here I cannae see, something more than the obvious, but I simply cannae think what it would be.”

“We will keep close to Donald as ye asked us to. We will also start looking for Harold in the morning.” Somerled frowned. “Ye really believe he will come here, that he willnae give up the hunt and scurry home?”

Sigimor nodded. “Aye, I do. The mon’s mind has settled on revenge now, I am sure of it. He has a need to punish Jolene for all he has suffered. Oh, he still toys with the idea of tightening his grasp on all he has stolen by wedding her and then silencing her,
but there is much more to this hunt now. Much more. In truth, he should have stayed at Drumwich, held fast to it, and planned ways to catch her or thwart her when or if she returned to try and cause trouble for him. I think he kens he has made a serious mistake, but he blames her for it. I suspect he now grows desperate, and that makes him verra dangerous indeed.”

“Weel, now we can hunt him,” said Liam.

It was a pleasant thought and Sigimor held to it as he made his way to his bedchamber. He gave a soft sigh of relief when he found the door unbarred. Telling himself he had nothing to feel guilty about, he stepped boldly into the room and shut the door behind him. When he saw Jolene sitting on the thick sheepskin rug before the fireplace, brushing her hair, he relaxed a little. She might be angry, but she had not locked him out or gone to sleep elsewhere. Sigimor decided to see that as a good sign, as an indication that she was willing to hear what he had to say.

Jolene tensed as Sigimor walked over and sat down facing her. She did not look at him, but kept right on brushing her hair. From the moment she had left him with Barbara, she had gone over and over what she had seen in that room. He had not looked willing to be in the woman’s arms, of that much she was certain. The problem was, a little voice in her head kept whispering that he had not looked willing
then
, but what about later? What about the next time? It was also hard to ignore the fact that he had taken a long time to come to her. How much of that had been spent with Lady Barbara?

When she finally looked at him, she caught him watching her brush her hair with a very familiar gleam in his eyes and she scowled at him. “Do not give me that look.”

“What look?” he asked.

“That warm look. This is not a good time to be giving me warm looks, not after I saw—”

He held up his hand, pleased when she immediately fell silent. “Not when ye saw me in another woman’s arms? I didnae want to be there, lass, and I think ye ken it.”

“Are you trying to make me feel guilty for being angry?”

“Och, nay. If I had caught ye in a like situation with another mon, we would still be picking up pieces of him. Nay, ye can be angry, if only because I was idiot enough to get within ten feet of the woman, now or ten years ago. I got trapped into carrying her to her room and then she wouldnae let go of me. Stronger than I would have guessed her to be. Clung like a leech. I was puzzling o’er how to detach her without hurting her when ye walked in.”

“You were about to kiss her, reluctant or not.” Jolene clutched her brush tightly as she waited for his answer.

“Aye, I was.” He grimaced when she paled. “She was being verra persistent, refused to accept that I could be cold to her. I had the passing thought that, if I let her kiss me, she would see that that coldness was no act.” He removed her brush from her hand and took both of her hands into his. “I was completely unmoved by her, Jolene.”

“But, she is so beautiful, all a man would want in face and form.”

“She is certainly verra pleasing to the eye. I could see it and ye would think me a liar if I said elsewise. But, I could also see that there was naught but ugliness beneath that fair skin. Selfishness, vanity, greed, and an inability to understand or care how her actions might hurt others. She wants a husband and she thinks I am the same blind fool I was years ago. The woman is so vain, I am nay sure I can convince her otherwise.”

“Then why not just send her away?” Jolene asked. “We both know her injuries are not e’en worthy of putting salve on them. I do not believe her tale of having been robbed is true.”

“Neither do I, or Liam, or Somerled. I would like nothing more than to toss her out, right now, but I cannae. She has some verra powerful friends and kinsmen, or did. God alone kens what twisted tale she would give them if I threw her out, but I dare not chance it. I need to tread warily here. She isnae worth the trouble she could cause if she starts to cry about insults or abuse at my hands.”

Jolene sighed and nodded. He was right. There was no doubt in Jolene’s mind that Barbara wanted to cause trouble between her and Sigimor, but she could only succeed if they let her. On the other hand, if one gave her even the smallest reason to go crying to her allies and family, there could be blood spilled. She had to agree that the woman was not worth it.

“How long do you think we must endure her company to avoid giving insult to anyone?”

“A few days, nay more. As ye said, her injuries are minor, mere bruises. If I discover that she has lost her powerful allies, has been cast out by them, she will be sent off immediately. Tis odd, but, in a small way, some good may come out of this.” Sigimor smiled at her exaggerated look of disbelief. “True. It made me realize that we need to keep ourselves better informed about who is allied with whom, who is feuding with whom, who is in favor, and who is not. All the things I have ignored until now, considered useless rumor and of no concern of mine.”

Jolene nodded. “It can be good to know as much as possible about such things.”

“Aye. Somerled and Liam agree. I fear it will mean sending one of the lads to court.”

“Liam,” Jolene said and smiled faintly. “He would be perfect if he is inclined to accept the chore. He is educated, can be most charming, and he is very handsome. If your court is like ours, his pretty face will be most welcome.”

“By the women,” he grumbled, but her suggestion had a great deal of merit.

“Despite all of the grumbling and complaining about him, Liam has a lot of male friends. Men do like him. And, do not discount the women as a source of valuable information. Tis true that some seem interested only in fashion and other womanly topics, but, not all. E’en the ones who seem to chatter and gossip about nothing can reveal the most interesting things.”

Sigimor smiled at her. “Then Liam it is, if he is agreeable. And one other for those times Liam might wish a rest from it all.” He tugged on her hands until she tumbled into his arms. “Now that everything is settled—”

“You are ready to go to bed,” she finished for him.

“Actually, I was thinking of the rug before the fire at Scarglas, the one which is verra similar to this one.”

“Sigimor,” she whispered in shock, knowing he was thinking of what they had done on that rug, but her shock quickly changed into an eager willingness as he kissed her.

Jolene idly rubbed her cheek against Sigimor’s chest, sleepily enjoying the last vestiges of the passion they had shared on the rug before the fire. She was not quite sure
how they had gotten into bed, but was too happy and comfortable to puzzle over it for long. Sigimor made a soft rumbling noise that was not quite a snore and she smiled. The poor man had worn himself out. After all they had been through the past few days, she was a little surprised she was still awake. A few things still troubled her, however, refusing to let her mind rest.

Lady Barbara MacLean was one trouble that refused to be banished from her mind too quickly. Although Jolene did not doubt that the woman would like to snare Sigimor, Jolene felt there was more. Several people had told her that the woman had known Sigimor was married to an Englishwoman, that her well-played shock was just that—well played. The maids had been especially scornful. From what she had overheard the woman say to Sigimor while she clung to him like a limpet, Barbara also knew that the marriage could be easily annulled. The question was, how did she know? It was the lack of any clear, precise answer to that question that worried Jolene.

She decided she would have to discuss it with Sigimor and nearly smiled when she felt herself begin to relax. For a minute she feared she was being too weak, was too readily tossing all her troubles into his lap. Jolene quickly dismissed that fear. Although it was never spoken aloud, she knew Sigimor and the others were all aware of the fact that she would have released them even if they had declined to help her. They had a score to settle with Harold themselves. It was also not weak to want to share one’s doubts or enlist help in finding answers. It was always better to have two people work on a problem. Finally, feeling sleep grab hold of her, Jolene promised herself she would speak with Sigimor in the morning about these troubling questions as soon as possible. She also promised herself that, powerful allies or not, if Lady Barbara MacLean did not keep her dainty white hands off Sigimor, she was going to hurt the woman.

Jolene neatly folded the shirt she had mended for young Fergus and looked around the great hall. It was nearly empty, only three young women from the village moving around cleaning the room. The men had finished their noon meal and rushed out to hunt for Harold, just as they had done after breaking their fast early in the morning. She ought to be pleased that Harold was nowhere to be found but, instead, it made her uneasy. After he had come so far, why would he give up now? There was the possibility that all the trouble he had suffered at Scarglas had made him give up, that he had headed back to Drumwich hoping to salvage what he could of his grand plans, but she could not make herself believe it. Everything inside her told her that he was out there, plotting, waiting for his chance. She shivered.

“Are ye cold, Jolene?” asked Fergus.

A little startled since she had not heard his approach, Jolene smiled at the youth. He was going to be as big and handsome as his brothers Sigimor and Somerled. He was also the only one, aside from the Camerons who had ridden with her from Drumwich, who had fully accepted her. She told herself it was early yet, that she had not even spent two full days in their company. And both days the men had spent little time at Dubheidland, for the hunt for Harold had begun immediately.

“Nay, I am not cold. I just had a dark thought, ’tis all,” she said.

“About that whining lady upstairs?”

“Ah, nay, about Harold. I am troubled by the fact that he seems to have disappeared.”

“They will find him and they will make him bleed.”

Boys, she decided, were particularly bloodthirsty creatures. Jolene suspected Fergus said that to make her feel better, so she smiled as she handed him his newly mended shirt. He thanked her and ran off. Just like the rest of them, she thought, then scolded herself. They were gone because they were hunting down her enemy. It was ridiculous to feel as if she had been deserted. After so many days of being always in the company of others, she was just finding it difficult to be so alone.

The uncertainty of her own future made it even more difficult. If she knew she was going to stay at Dubheidland, was going to remain Sigimor’s wife, she could start making a place for herself. There was certainly a lot she could do, such as planning some ways to ease the stark look of the place, the almost overwhelming feel of Dubheidland being solely a man’s domain. Yet, she knew it might be unkind to add her own little touches to Dubheidland if she was going to leave and never return. Sigimor would certainly not want to see things that reminded him of her after she left him.

She turned her thoughts to Barbara and frowned. The talk she had intended to have with Sigimor had not happened yet. The times she had been with him they had talked of the hunt for Harold or made love and gone to sleep. Yet, the question of how the woman had known so much still troubled Jolene. Since she could not speak with Sigimor, then she ought to speak to Barbara herself. There was a small chance that the woman would provide the answers Jolene needed.

One other question that needed answering was why the woman was still at Dubheidland. Sigimor avoided the woman as did most of his family. About the only company the woman enjoyed was that of the two men who had arrived with her and the
occasional ill-tempered assistance of Old Nancy, who made no secret of her distaste for the woman. Barbara was comfortable and courteously given all she asked for, except Sigimor, but nothing else. Jolene began to wonder if the woman had decided to linger for that alone, yet, why would she unless she had no other choices.

Setting aside the mending, the one chore she had felt she could do without guilt, Jolene stood up and started out the great hall only to meet a scowling Old Nancy in the doorway. “Is something wrong?”

“Aside from having to wait hand and foot on that blond bitch?” Old Nancy asked.

“Aye, aside from that.” Jolene was pleased to see some of the woman’s anger begin to fade. “Lady Barbara
is
a nuisance, but I fear we have little choice but to endure her. At least for a little while longer.”

“Aye, I ken it. Tis just the way she is constantly asking for things, as if I didnae have other work to do.”

“What has she asked for now?”

“Some wine, bread and cheese. Why, I dinnae ken, as she had a full meal but a few hours ago. Told her that, if she didnae stop eating so much, we would be rolling her out of Dubheidland when it was time for her to leave.” Old Nancy shook her head. “That woman has a vile, blasphemous tongue.”

Jolene laughed and hugged the woman. Nan, as Jolene had decided to call her, was as blunt as any of the Cameron men. She had also been the one steadfast motherly figure in the men’s lives, even though she was only ten years older than Sigimor. If she stayed with Sigimor, Jolene knew Nan would be both friend and ally.

“Poor Nan,” she murmured as she stepped back. “If I was not afraid the woman would toss Sigimor to the floor and leap upon him, I would tell him to see to our unwelcome guest himself.” She smiled when Nan laughed. “Howbeit, as I was about to go up to speak to the lady myself, I will take the tray of food and drink with me.” She hooked her arm through Nan’s and started toward the kitchens.

“Are ye sure, m’lady?” Nan asked even as, once in the kitchen, she fetched a tray and began to collect the things Barbara had asked for. “The woman has a poisonous tongue and she wants your husband. I dinnae like to think of what she might say to you, what lies she might whisper to ye.”

Stopping herself from marveling yet again at the huge, well-appointed, and very clean kitchen that she would just love to put to use, Jolene looked at Nan. “Aye, I have a few questions I need answered.”

“Now, now, she was just a lad’s first lusting, eh?”

“Oh, not about her and Sigimor. I intended to speak with Sigimor about this, but he has been too busy. Although I do not doubt that Barbara hoped to ensnare Sigimor, I have this feeling there is something more here.”

“Weel, I am getting the feeling she has settled herself in for a long stay, as if she has no other place to go.”

“So have I. Yet, she was married to such a rich man. Sigimor said the man once told him that she was so free with his coin, he would end up poor as dirt and that he had closed his purse to her. Still, that does not mean he did not leave her something when he died and, as mother to his heirs, she would have a home, would she not?”

“But she wouldnae be the lady of the keep if he gave the rule of the boys to some kinsmon.”

“Oh. And, if that kinsman did not like her and her husband left her no money—”

“Then she becomes naught more than an unwanted poor relation. Mayhap, she has e’en been banished.”

“Something to consider for, if her husband’s family has banished her and suffered nothing for doing so, then ’tis safe to assume she no longer has all those powerful ties Sigimor worries about. It means we could send her away.”

“Now there is a lovely thought. But, ’tisnae what ye were fretting o’er, is it?”

“Nay,” replied Jolene. “It just puzzles me that she knew Sigimor had married an Englishwoman. According to those who saw her, she did a fine job of acting surprised, but it was just an act.”

“Aye, aye, I have heard the same.”

“Well, now I am certain of it. So, how did she know?”

“Gossip can move like a strong wind o’er this land,” Nan said, but she frowned.

“Possibly.” Jolene shook her head. “Nay, I do not think it is that simple. You see, she also knows that an annulment of this marriage could be easily had and the reasons why.”

“An annulment? But, ye have consummated it, havenae ye?”

Jolene blushed. “Aye, but that would not matter in this case. I am the sister of an English earl and Sigimor is a Highland laird. There is also the fact that none of my kinsmen approved and there are many reasons why they should, e’en if I am three and twenty. The question here is—how did she know these things?”

“Tis a puzzle, but, if there is anything, weel, bad about it all, I am nay sure ye will get that one to confess it.”

“Probably not, but there is no harm in trying.” Jolene picked up the tray of food and drink and started out of the kitchen. “I suppose she has her pretty pets with her.”

“Aye, the two men are there. Always are. That Donald isnae such a bad lad, but I dinnae like that mon Clyde. Just like the Lady Barbara, he is bonnie, but there is something nasty slithering about under that fair form.”

And that was a chilling thought to have set in her head, Jolene thought as she headed toward Barbara’s bedchamber. Since she agreed with Nan’s opinion, however, it was impossible to shake it. There
was
something cold and nasty about Clyde. Jolene had the feeling he would do anything Barbara asked and, considering the type of woman she was, that was rather alarming.

“Aunt Jo,” called Reynard as he skipped up to her just outside Barbara’s door. “What are you doing?”

“Taking this food and drink to our guests,” she replied.

“I will help.”

Jolene opened her mouth to tell him not to, to send him away, but he was already rapping on the door. She told herself not to be so foolish. There was nothing these people could do to her or Reynard here inside Dubheidland and, if she thought the talk was becoming too rough, she would send the boy away then.

The moment Jolene walked into the bedchamber, she decided it would be better if Reynard left, but the child had already hurried over to see what Donald was doing. That man sat at a little table near the fire carving what looked to be a chess piece. He looked dismayed to see both her and Reynard, but the expression quickly faded, and he smiled at the boy. It was the faint smile upon Clyde’s darkly handsome face that really worried
Jolene, especially as it was matched by the one that curved Barbara’s full lips.

“So, ye have finally condescended to visit with your guest,” Barbara said as she sat up on the bed where she had been lounging while Clyde read to her.

“I have a few questions I would like to ask you,” Jolene said as she set the tray on the table, frowning a litle at how quickly Clyde had moved, puttng himself right behind Donald and Reynard.

“About me and Sigimor? About what we once were to each other? What we could be again?”

“I know all I need to know about you two and your past. Sigimor told me.”

Barbara chuckled as she donned her shoes. “And ye believed him? He is a mon, child. He lies.”

The last of Jolene’s concern about Barbara and Sigimor faded. The woman did not even know him. “Sigimor does not lie, m’lady. Not to me and not about you.”

“Then what could ye possibly have to say to me?”

“I was curious as to how you knew that Sigimor was married and married to an Englishwoman. Also, how did you learn that such a marriage could be so easily annulled?” She decided that the brief look of surprise upon the woman’s face was a compliment of sorts.

“But, I didnae ken it. Did ye nay see my surprise?”

“Nay, but many others did and called it an act. A very good one, but still just an act. You knew it all before you entered through the gates. Tis said that gossip travels very fast around here, but, I think, not that fast. So, how did you know?”

Barbara smiled and reached for the fur-lined cape draped over the end of her bed. “Why, Harold told me, didnae he?”

Jolene stared at the woman, all of her uneasiness, all of her doubts and fears, turning into a hard icy knot in her stomach. There was little joy to be found in this proof of her suspicions. It also explained one reason why this woman had not exerted herself to try and separate her and Sigimor. She had not needed to for Barbara had known that Jolene would soon be gone. The woman had not given up, she had simply been waiting for the impediment to her plans to be removed. Jolene took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“I wouldnae scream, if I was ye,” Barbara said, pointing toward the men and Reynard as she moved to close the door.

Choking back the scream she had been about to let loose, Jolene looked at the men in horror. Clyde held Reynard close to his body, a gleaming knife held to the child’s throat. Donald looked pale, his eyes gleaming with distress, but he made no move to help Reynard. Poor Reynard looked terrified, tears slipping down his cheeks, but he did not struggle and he made no sound.

“You are a mother,” she said to Lady Barbara even as she held Reynard’s gaze, trying to give him the strength to remain brave. “How can you allow a small child to be threatened like this?”

“Och, aye, I pushed out two puling little creatures,” said Barbara. “Twas the price I had to pay for a rich husband.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Mayhap if someone held a knife to one of their throats, I might feel a twinge or two, but this one isnae mine, is he. Nay, he is some Sassenach’s brat.”

“Might I ask what will happen after you hand us over to Harold?”

“I will come back here and console poor Sigimor, the humiliated husband.”

“And you expect him to believe that? To believe that I would risk my life and Reynard’s by running away whilst the man who wants us dead is still out there?”

“He will when I tell him that ye have fled to join with your other kinsmen, the ones now hunting Harold.”

Although she was pleased that her family might well have discovered Harold’s crimes and now hunted him, the news also brought a chilling fear. If it was true, she and Reynard were no longer of any use to Harold except as objects of revenge, as someone he could vent his fury on. She had nothing she could bargain with except the small chance that he might consider using them to save his own life. Depending upon how enraged he was over all he had lost, that might not be enough. Worse, Sigimor just might believe the woman.

Jolene quickly pushed that thought aside. Sigimor would come for her, would not believe this woman. If nothing else, he would feel it his duty to make sure that she and Reynard had reached her kinsmen safely. Jolene had to cling to the belief that Sigimor would come to her aid or she knew the fear clawing at her insides would overwhelm her.

“You place too much hope upon Sigimor believing you, especially when you showed him the folly of that ten years ago,” Jolene said, pleased to hear no hint of her fear in her voice. “E’en now he thinks you are lying to him.”