Tamed by a Laird (37 page)

“Who was?”

“Sithee, ’twas t’ York magistrate, withal.”

“So what did Sir Hugh do?”

“They’d built t’ gallows in Whip-ma-Whop-ma Gate, which is how they call t’ street with t’ whipping post and such. And he
were a-singin’ to t’ crowd gathered there, playin’ troubadour as he did wi’ ye. They was a-leadin’ me to t’ rope when up ’e
strolled with ’is lute and said ’e wanted a good look at such a gallous ruffian.”

She chuckled. “I can imagine it. Doubtless, he used someone else’s voice.”

“Aye, sure. Then, as t’ crowd jeered some clumsy jugglers on their boards near t’ gallows, he fetched one of me keepers a
clout with ’is fist, made t’other one’s brains rattle with t’ first one’s club, and never took even a scratch on ’is lute.
Next thing I knew, ’e cut me bindings with a wee dirk from ’is boot and were a-runnin’ me through snickets and ginnels of
which even I ’ad nae ken, though I’d grown up there. Afore I could catch me breath, we was horsed outside t’ wall farthest
from Whip-ma-Whop-ma Gate and a-ridin’ for t’ coast.”

Fascinated, she said, “What are snickets and ginnels?”

“Passageways,” he said. “Sithee, t’ streets in York be called gates, and they be narrow and crowded, so t’ local folk ’ave
their own ways between ’em of which visitors ’ave nae ken. Ye open a wee door, and a snicket or ginnel wends between garden
walls or buildings to t’ next gate. Them what was a-seekin’ me didna ken where we’d gone. They sent word to the city gates,
which they call bars, but we’d changed our look by then and walked out with a flock of shepherds what had drove their sheep
to fleshers in t’ Shambles.”

“Shambles?”

“Aye, fleshers’ row, as ye might say, where they butcher kine and the like.”

Jenny sighed again. Crossing her arms over her breasts and leaning back against the gunwale, she said, “Men always get to
do the best sort of traveling and have all the most exciting adventures.”

“Sakes, mistress, ye could’ve ’ad my part of
that
adventure and a sight more for the askin’! I didna ken t’ laird then, but I knew I owed ’im me life.”

“Why were they going to hang you, Lucas? And why did he save you?”

“T’ hangin’ were over one wee sheep, as ye—” Catching her eye, he grinned and went on. “The savin’ were because he thought
I might ken summat useful to ’im or to Sir Archibald Douglas.”

“And did you?”

“Summat or nowt, I canna say, for I dinna ken. He asked me all manner of questions though, and I’ve served ’im ever since.
He’s got me into some proper scrapes, I can tell ye, but so far, bless ’im, he’s always hauled me out of them, too.”

“And, to think, he looked so stern and upright when I first saw him.”

“Aye, sure, that’d be t’ laird. He could stare t’ devil out of ’ell without breakin’ a sweat, as ye m—” Breaking off, he added
with a chuckle, “Ye’ll do, mistress, ye’ll do. Happen ye’ll be the perfect match for ’im.”

Hugh, walking toward them, saw Jenny eyeing him askance and wondered what he had done to annoy her. When he asked her, she
just shook her head, but Lucas was smiling.

He shot a shrewd look at his man. “Have you been telling tales, Lucas?”

“By, sir, she asked how we met. I couldna tell her we never did, could I?”

“Don’t listen to him, lass. He’s got a keen imagination, does Lucas.”

She gave him a straight look and said, “Do you mean to say I should not believe what he tells me, sir? Is Lucas not trustworthy?”

“I did not say that,” Hugh said. Then, “Why do you look so disappointed?”

Her smile was a teasing mixture of mystery and mischief that made him wish he could pick her up and take her straight to bed.
As the thought crossed his mind, he remembered their exchange in his bedchamber when he had given her permission to smack
him if he ever lied to her.

He returned her smile then but said only, “If you get sleepy, lassie, tell me. The captain said he has blankets and pillows
if you want them.”

“Nay, I don’t want to miss any of this,” she said, indicating the Firth and its forbidding shoreline in one sweeping gesture.
I’m glad the day is clear. Is that a castle in the distance ahead of us?”

“Aye, Caerlaverock, or what’s left of it. It belongs to the Maxwells, and they did the damage themselves to keep the English
from occupying it again. Lord Maxwell wants to rebuild it, but he’ll get little help whilst we still have English occupying
Lochmaben.”

She asked many more questions, clearly enjoying the journey. She did not seem to mind a bit when he served her a meager dinner
of rolls, beef, apples, and ale from a basket that Lucas had ordered packed before they left Annan House.

When the oarsmen finally rowed them into Kirkcud-bright Bay on the turning tide, she seemed fascinated by everything she saw,
eyeing the high cliffs to the west and east, and listening intently to all he could tell her about the place.

When their boat dropped anchor in what seemed to be the middle of the bay, the captain made his way back to Hugh, saying,
“The tide has turned, sir. So we’ll bide here an hour or so until the water is high enough to let us clear the sand bar west
of St. Mary’s Isle in the river channel. Beyond that bar, a vessel our size has draft shallow enough to go upriver for miles.”

“You will dock at Kirkcudbright, will you not?”

“Aye, we’ll beach her on the sand. They’ve a fine shelf beach for our boat.”

When he left them, Hugh explained to Jenny that St. Mary’s Isle was the narrow, densely wooded peninsula jutting into the
bay just ahead of them.

“It looks as if it sits in a sea of sand and mud,” she said.

“Aye, the tides leave it so when they run out, but the incoming tide will soon surround it with water. It will rise to cover
most of yonder cliffs as well,” he said.

“Where is the town?”

“Ahead about four miles,” he said. “You’ll see the kirk tower first, and other towers to the left of it. Those belong to Castle
Mains, where I hope to find Archie.”

“I thought we’d find him at Threave.”

“We may yet, but if we’re lucky, we’ll find him here. Castle Mains has been the seat of the Lords of Galloway for a century
or two, and ’tis where Archie stays when he is here. Threave is eight or ten miles up the river Dee from here. We’ll borrow
horses at Castle Mains if we have to go on.”

“I
want
to go to Threave, sir,” Jenny said. “I want to know what happens.”

“We’ll see,” he said. But he hoped to keep his word to warn Archie and be on his way again. They would soon be harvesting
the early crops at Thornhill, and although his steward was competent, Hugh wanted to show Jenny his home.

Jenny was annoyed to know that Threave was still a considerable distance away and that they might find Douglas in Kirkcudbright.
Not only did she want to see the castle that Archie the Grim had built as a symbol of Douglas power but she also wanted to
see Gilly, Gawkus, Peg, Cath, and the others.

She was less eager to see the Joculator, because he would doubtless learn that she had deceived him more than he knew. But,
having survived the confrontation at Annan House, which she had dreaded more, she felt less anxiety about telling the Joculator
the truth about herself. And she did want to thank him again for accepting her into his company when he had thought she was
just a kinswoman of Peg’s.

She hoped to watch the oarsmen row their galley onto the beach as the captain had said they would, but they arrived first
at Castle Mains. Located on a promontory that jutted into the river just ahead of them, it clearly guarded the inner harbor,
the town of Kirkcudbright, and the navigable portion of the river beyond it.

The massive stronghold stood right at the river’s edge, so its stone walls, ominous and battlemented, loomed high above the
galley. Not until they rounded the promontory did Jenny see the tall gatehouse, flanked by two buttressed towers.

When the galley, oars up, docked neatly alongside a long wharf that led to the gate, Hugh helped her disembark. Then he helped
Lucas with their baggage, while she watched a party of armed men stride toward them from the gates.

Hugh put a hand on her shoulder a few moments later, startling her, but his touch had the same effect it always did, sensuous
and invigorating, as if he filled her from within, lending her strength and confidence.

His left arm slid around her shoulders as he extended his right to the leader of the approaching men. “Well met, Tam Inglis!”
he said. “I trow you’ll let us in.”

“Aye, sure, my lord, and glad we be to see ye.” He glanced curiously at Jenny and then peered at Lucas. “Be that yon dafty
Lucas Horne?”

“The same,” Hugh said with a grin. “And this is my lady wife, Tam.”

“Lady Thornhill, it be a pleasure to welcome ye to Castle Mains.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “But, properly, I am Lady Easdale.”

“Aye, sure, me lady,” the man said with an uncertain glance at Hugh, whose arm had stiffened where it stretched across her
shoulders. “I ken fine that Himself will be sorry he were no here to welcome ye personally.”

Still smiling but well aware of Hugh’s reaction, Jenny said to Tam, “I expect his lordship must already be at Threave.”

“Nay, Himself were meeting some o’ his visitors at Morton Castle for a day’s hunting. But he means to return on Wednesday
to greet folks who come by sea. Your galley captain may want to take his boat upriver, me lord, for the laird means to have
a water tournament wi’ jousting from galleys. I mean to see that, I can tell ye. But come ye in now. Me lads will help daft
Lucas see to stowing your gear.”

“Mind your long tongue, ye gaumless gawk,” Lucas said with a snort. “If ye be in charge of these fine lads ’ere, happen ye
should set them a better example.”

Tam Inglis chuckled, clapped Lucas on the back, and shook hands again with Hugh. Then, giving rapid orders to his men, he
escorted Hugh and Jenny to the gate.

“Ye’ll take your usual chambers, sir. I’ve nae doots the steward were meaning to assign them otherwise, but he’ll ken fine
that Himself ha’ decreed they be yours whenever ye’ve a mind to use them. Ye’ll have a window, me lady, looking across the
river into Borgue with its grand forest and the Firth beyond it. Sakes, on a fine day, I warrant ye might see to the Irish
Sea from up there.”

Inside the wall, they crossed a graveled courtyard to a massive round keep rising at least five stories from the court to
its crenellated ramparts.

Jenny looked around in awe. The place teemed with men-at-arms, but she and Hugh crossed the yard quickly in the captain’s
wake and entered the keep by way of a timber stair that led to its second-level entrance.

Inside, they crossed a winding stairway in the thickness of the wall, then went up a single stone step into the great hall.

“Is Lady Archibald here?” Hugh asked.

“Nay, sir, she’s a-visiting kinsmen, but Himself means to bring her back wi’ him, and I’m thinking she’ll be gey pleased to
see ye married.”

Tam left them in the hands of Archie’s steward, who informed them that they would be serving supper in an hour and took them
straight up to their chambers.

“This castle is as big as Lochmaben,” Jenny said when they were alone and she discovered that they had a tiny sitting room
and a large bedchamber.

“And we have a proper-sized bed,” Hugh said.

Knowing she was blushing, she said quickly, “But Lucas will be coming—and others, too—with our baggage.”

“Mayhap that is why we have two rooms, Lady Easdale.”

Her blushes forgotten, she eyed him warily. “I am still Easdale of Easdale, sir. Our marriage did not alter that. Are you
vexed?”

“I just wish we had talked about it first,” he said. “You are Janet Douglas now, after all, but ’tis my own fault that we
have not discussed your title.”

Shaking her head at him, but feeling as if she ought to have raised the subject after Sadie had wondered what to call her—and
just as aware that she did not want to argue with him—she went to the tall, narrow window and looked out.

Most of the snow had melted, and the land across the river was green and heavily forested. There were rolling hills in the
distance and she could see other, higher, snow-capped ones to the north. To the south, she could indeed see the Firth.