Joanna Fulford (10 page)

‘Is everything all right, my sweet?’

She turned her head to look at him. ‘Of course. Never better.’

They were lying on his cloak on a pile of sweet-smelling hay in an old stall towards the rear of the barn. The light was muted here, the quiet broken only by the occasional cooing of a pigeon in the rafters above.

‘You looked lost in thought.’

‘There is much to think about. My father’s health grows worse.’

‘God willing he will live a while yet.’

‘He doesn’t think so.’ She sighed. ‘It seems that Hugh will be laird before too long.’

‘He has all the makings of a worthy successor.’

‘I believe that too. It’s not Hugh who concerns me as much as Murdo.’

‘Surely he will serve your brother as he served your father.’

‘Murdo has too much power and he has abused it. Hugh knows that. I hope he may redress the balance.’

‘That may not be easy,’ said Ban. ‘Men like Murdo don’t readily cede what they have won.’

‘If my father had enjoyed better health the situation would not have arisen but, as his condition progressed, he was glad to delegate more responsibility. Many would say too much.’

‘It wouldn’t be the first time such a thing has happened.’ He paused. ‘But, if your brother is his own man, then he will eventually take back control.’

‘I hope so. Then perhaps Castlemora could go back to being the way it was. The atmosphere never used to be so tense, so...threatening.’

‘Why should you feel threatened by Murdo?’

She hesitated. It was dangerous ground.

‘Isabelle?’

‘He aspires to my hand.’ Seeing his expression she hurried on. ‘There was never any chance it would be granted.’

‘Did you want it to be granted?’

‘Good heavens, no! I detest him and he knows it. But, as you said, he’s not a man to give up easily.’

Ban’s eyes narrowed a little. ‘He had best give up all thought of you.’

‘He is no rival to you, my lord. Indeed I hope the futility of his ambition will soon become apparent.’

‘I will suffer no rivals, Isabelle. You belong to me or to no man.’

Her pulse quickened a little. ‘I am betrothed to you.’

‘That you are.’ He rolled, pinning her beneath him. ‘And it is my intention to make my claim on you very apparent very soon.’

‘Is something preventing you?’ It was provocative and as soon as she’d said it she was astonished at her own boldness. At the same time she knew that she wanted him to match his words to action.

His eyes glinted. ‘Nothing will prevent me, my sweet. I am jealous of my rights.’

‘Say you so?’

‘I do say so.’

‘I might refuse.’

‘You might try,’ he conceded.

The words were deliberately provocative in their turn and she tested his hold. It might have been steel. Ban surveyed her steadily.

‘Rebellion, Isabelle?’

She regarded him speculatively. ‘What if it were?’

‘It would be crushed without mercy until I had complete submission.’

‘Oh? And how exactly would you achieve that?’

He proceeded to show her. The method was swift and ruthless and devastatingly effective.

* * *

She relived it when she was alone in bed that night. The memory created an unwonted glow deep inside her, and once again she found herself looking forward to the day when their relationship could be declared openly. Their conversation suggested that Ban wanted that too. The mere mention of another man’s interest had brought out a fiercely possessive streak that was unexpected and, on balance, more pleasing than not. It was another indication that he already thought of her as his. His subsequent actions reinforced that notion strongly. She smiled to herself in the darkness. It was impossible to think of any other man when she was with him. Not that she intended to tell him, of course. He already had too much advantage.

* * *

Ban too had reflected on their earlier conversation since it shed light on some of the things that had initially puzzled him. Murdo’s attitude was one. If he entertained hopes of marrying Isabelle then his aggression towards Ban and Glengarron became more comprehensible. When Isabelle returned to Castlemora, Murdo must have seen that as a golden opportunity. Marriage to her would secure his position once and for all. He would also be gaining a very beautiful bride. The possibility that she might be barren evidently didn’t bother Murdo, or he was willing to take a chance. That such an ambitious man should do so seemed suddenly significant. Of course, it might just be that he was so deeply in love that it didn’t weigh with him, but, knowing what he did of Murdo, it seemed unlikely.

Ban frowned, conscious of undercurrents that he couldn’t identify. Usually he was good at reading men but something here eluded him. Moreover, he knew instinctively that it was important. Nothing in Isabelle’s manner caused him to think that she secretly returned Murdo’s feelings. Indeed she seemed to fear him. Either that or she was an accomplished actress. He rejected that notion. A woman in love with another man would have reacted very differently to their coupling. Whatever Murdo’s motivation Isabelle was already lost to him. As soon as she was pregnant Ban intended to acknowledge her as his wife. That would put paid to the upstart’s pretensions. It would put paid to anyone’s pretensions in that direction. No other man would touch her again. Effectively she belonged to him now.

When they met in public he was attentive but he also made sure that the correct forms of behaviour were observed. As his potential future wife Isabelle deserved to be treated with the utmost respect and her father would expect no less. He was also aware that other eyes watched them. There must be nothing to indicate that his relationship with Isabelle was anything other than it seemed. A prospective suitor was one thing; a secret lover quite another.

Unexpectedly he found an ally in Hugh. The younger man had evidently taken a liking to his guest and lost no opportunity to speak with Ban and to ask him about Glengarron. His questions were intelligent and pertinent and he listened carefully to the answers.

‘My father sets great store by his friendship with Iain McAlpin,’ he explained.

‘As my brother-in-law does with him,’ replied Ban.

‘I have only met him once and I was very young then. To be honest I was too overawed to speak.’

Ban grinned. ‘Iain can have that effect on people.’

‘I have heard many things about him.’

‘What have you heard?’

‘Of his prowess as a warrior, his courage, his daring, his skill as a leader.’

‘All true.’

‘I’ve also heard he’s a dangerous man to cross.’

‘True again.’

‘Not that I have any desire to do so,’ Hugh went on. ‘In that respect his reputation is equally fearsome.’

‘He does not look on treachery with a forgiving eye.’

‘Neither should he. A man’s word, when given, should hold.’

‘So it should,’ replied Ban.

‘He would not suffer an enemy to rob or insult his kin, would he?’

‘Certainly not.’

‘What would he do in such a case?’

‘I imagine the matter would be settled at the point of a sword. Why do you ask?’

‘There is a certain matter I would have settled at the point of a sword.’ Hugh’s eyes were expressive of deep anger. ‘When I am laird it will be.’

‘Oh? May I ask who has so offended you?’

‘The Neils of Dunkeld.’

Ban was instantly alert. ‘Your kin by marriage, are they not?’

‘Not any more. Their treatment of my sister cancels all claims to kinship. Happily she is free of them and that worthless husband of hers.’

‘Worthless?’

‘Aye, a swaggering fool with a handsome face and a lying tongue. The world is well rid of him.’ Hugh frowned. ‘The world would be well rid of all of them.’

‘Perhaps it would. All the same, one must needs consider the ramifications very carefully. It is no light thing to start a blood feud.’

‘I know it.’

‘What does your sister think about this?’

‘She is just glad to be away from the Neils and from Dunkeld.’

‘Then she does not seek revenge?’

‘No. Belle has spirit and courage but she does not thirst after blood. Of course, that is because she is a woman.’

‘Women often show wisdom in these matters.’

‘You think the insult should be swallowed?’

‘By no means, but ideally it should be avenged without wholesale slaughter.’

‘How?’

Ban smiled faintly. ‘It is not hard to accomplish. A few whispered words in the right ears: that the Neils are treacherous; that their word means nothing; that they hold honour cheap and so forth. It would damage their social standing and tarnish their reputation irreparably.’

Hugh regarded him keenly. ‘The right ears?’

‘The king and the powerful members of the court around him, particularly those who have little love for the Neils anyway.’

‘I have no influence with the king.’

‘No,’ said Ban, ‘but you have staunch allies who do.’

‘You mean McAlpin. Would he be prepared to act for us in that way?’

‘You can ask him when you come to Glengarron, can’t you?’

‘I shall.’

‘Good.’ Ban paused. ‘Such revenge is not swift but it is extremely effective.’

Hugh grinned. ‘I can see that. I will think well on what you have said, my lord.’

Ban breathed a private sigh of relief. He could understand his companion’s anger and admire his loyalty to his sister, but the last thing anyone needed now was for a passionate youth to plunge headlong into an ill-advised adventure that could only end in disaster. If that possibility had been averted, then it was all to the good. He would speak to Iain about it later. No doubt something could be arranged to satisfy Hugh and put the Neils’ noses out of joint without them ever being able to pinpoint the cause.

Quite apart from the lad’s antipathy towards his erstwhile in-laws, he had let slip some interesting detail about Isabelle’s former marriage. It tended to support the idea that it hadn’t been happy. In what way had Alistair Neil been worthless? Ban would have given a great deal to know.

* * *

When he met Isabelle at table, he decided to broach the subject albeit indirectly. Everyone else was engaged in conversation so they were as private as they were going to get in the circumstances.

‘I spoke to your brother earlier. He is a young man with a lot of promise.’

She smiled. ‘I think so too. He can be impulsive at times but his heart is in the right place.’

‘He will make a good laird one day.’

‘I believe he will.’

‘He holds you in great affection.’

‘And I him. We have always got on well.’

‘As I have with my sister.’ Ban paused. ‘He harbours considerable resentment against the Neils on your account.’

‘I know it. He has good reason to resent them but it worries me all the same. He would like to slay them all and raze Dunkeld to the ground. But for my father’s intervention I think Hugh would have tried.’

‘Your father shows good sense.’

‘He is nothing if not shrewd.’ She shook her head. ‘He knows very well what the consequences would be.’

‘You do not wish for revenge then?’

‘What would be the point?’

‘You might get your dowry back.’

‘It would become blood money.’ She sighed. ‘I have come to regard it as the price of my freedom from that family.’

‘Was your association with them so unpleasant then?’

‘Not at first, but in the end...well, let’s just say I’m glad it’s over.’

‘But surely your late husband would have sided with you, assuming sides were taken.’

‘Alistair was much under the influence of his mother and she was a force to be reckoned with. He had other traits too which were not particularly attractive.’ She smiled wryly. ‘Of course I did not find out until after we were married.’

‘I see.’

For a brief moment her expression suggested that she very much doubted that. Then it was gone. He would have liked to question her further but it was difficult ground and he didn’t want to push things too far and possibly alienate her.

‘Marriage is a gamble,’ she went on. ‘There are winners and losers. I count myself among the former since I was lucky enough to escape.’

‘It’s good that you can take such a positive view of things.’

‘There is no point in taking any other, is there?’

‘Do you not fear leaping from the cooking pot into the fire?’ he asked.

‘It is a risk. I should not like to be burned again.’

Beneath the words he glimpsed her vulnerability and the shadow of a former hurt. It awoke strangely protective emotions in him. He would have liked to offer the appropriate assurances but knew that he wasn’t in a position yet to make any such promises.

‘No one wishes to be burned,’ he replied, ‘and certainly not twice.’

She regarded him curiously. ‘Do you speak from experience?’

‘I too have known disappointment, albeit of a slightly different kind.’ He paused. ‘However, it was years ago and is of no consequence now.’

‘And yet these things shape us, make us who we are.’

‘So they do.’

‘We don’t forget either although we may learn to forgive.’

‘Some things only God can forgive,’ he replied.

‘You are thinking about King William’s destruction of Northumbria.’

‘Amongst others.’

‘He has shown himself to be a brutal tyrant. Perhaps even God will not forgive him.’

‘If there is any justice the bastard will burn in hell for all eternity.’ Ban paused and summoned a smile. ‘But these are sombre topics for conversation, too much so for a woman’s ears.’

‘Do you think a woman should be shielded from the truth?’

‘Women should be protected from unpleasantness as far as possible. Unfortunately it isn’t always possible.’

‘We are stronger than you give us credit for, my lord.’

‘In some things,’ he acknowledged, ‘but I would wager on the power of my sword arm over yours.’

Isabelle caught the gleam in his eye and she laughed. ‘So would I, every time.’

Ban surveyed her appreciatively for laughter lit her face and made what was beautiful even more alluring. A man might feel justly proud to have such a woman at his side, to run his household and bear his children. It created a host of unwonted sensations, not least of which was to have an end to present uncertainty. Of late stability and permanence had become increasingly attractive propositions. He looked forward to the day when he could commit himself, turn his back on war and death and live in peace again. With her he might find the contentment he sought.