The Bride (28 page)

"Thank you for your help," Jamie called after him.

The lass was taking forever, Father Murdock decided almost an hour later. He kept looking up at the bedroom, wondering what she was up to. When Elizabeth came back into the great hall, Father Murdock decided to see what had Jamie so occupied.

She was still in the second bedroom. Two candles had been lit, giving the room a soft glow. Lady Jamie was kneeling in front of the chest. She was just closing the lid when Father Murdock walked inside.

"Did you find anything useful?" the priest asked.

He didn't realize she was crying until she turned to look up at him. "What is it, lass? What's upset you?"

"I'm being foolish," Jamie whispered. "She's dead now and I didn't even know her, Father, yet I'm crying as though she were my very own sister. Will you tell me about Helena?"

"Alec should tell you," Father Murdock said.

"Please, Father," Jamie begged. "I want to know what happened. I'm sure Alec didn't kill her."

"Good Lord, no," the priest agreed. "Where did you hear that talk?"

"In England."

"Helena killed herself, Jamie. She jumped off the ridge above the pasture."

"It couldn't have been an accident? She didn't fall?"

"No, it wasn't an accident. She was seen."

Jamie shook her head. "I don't understand, Father. Was she very unhappy here?"

The priest bowed his head. "She must have been terribly unhappy, Jamie, but she hid her feelings well. We didn't watch out for her the way we should have, I now realize. Both Annie and Edith think she planned to kill herself from the moment she was wed to Alec."

"Does Alec believe this?" Jamie asked.

"I would guess so."

"Her death must have hurt him terribly."

Father Murdock didn't comment on that statement, but he believed she was right. The fact that Alec wouldn't discuss Helena was proof the topic was too tender still.

"Father, why would a woman who is contemplating suicide bother to bring all her cherished possessions to her husband's home? She even packed baby clothes," Jamie continued. "And beautiful linens too. Don't you think that's odd for someone—"

"She wasn't thinking clearly," Father Murdock countered.

Jamie shook her head. "No, Father. I don't think she killed herself. I'm sure it was an accident."

"You have a tender heart, lass, and if it makes you feel better to believe that's how Helena died, then I'll agree with you."

He helped Jamie to her feet. She blew out the candles and walked by the priest's side back down the stairs. "I'll pray for her soul every night, Father," she promised.

A servant came rushing into the hall, spotted Jamie, and called out, "Your sister's here, milady."

Jamie clasped Father Murdock's hand. "It must be Mary calling on me," she explained to the priest. "Will you excuse me, please?"

She was halfway out the door before Father Murdock nodded permission. "I'll bring Mary inside to meet you," she called over her shoulder.

Jamie hurried on outside, a smile of greeting on her face. The minute she caught sight of her sister, however, her smile evaporated. Mary was in tears. Jamie glanced around to see where Daniel was, then realized her sister was all alone.

"How did you ever find your way here, Mary?" she asked after giving her sister a proper hug.

"You're the one who gets lost all the time, Jamie, not me," Mary told her.

"I never get lost," Jamie countered. "Hush your weeping now." She noticed several Kincaid soldiers watching them. "Come, we'll take a nice walk so we may speak in private. You must tell me what has you so upset."

Jamie tugged her sister along the path down to the lower bailey. "Three of Daniel's men showed me the way here," Mary explained when she'd regained her composure. "I lied to them, Jamie. I told them I had Daniel's permission to come calling."

"Oh, Mary, you shouldn't have done that," Jamie said. "Why didn't you just tell Daniel you wanted to see me?"

"You can't tell that man anything," Mary muttered. She lifted the hem of her yellow bliaut and mopped the comers of her eyes. "I hate him, Jamie. I've run away."

"No, you cannot mean what you say."

"Don't sound so horrified, sister. I hate him, I tell you.

He's cruel and mean. When I tell you what happened, I swear you'll hate him, too."

They reached the gap in the wall. Jamie and her sister sat down on the low stone ledge. "All right, Mary, tell me what happened," Jamie instructed. "We're quite alone here."

"It's such an embarrassment," Mary warned. "But you're the only one I dare talk about this to, sister."

"Yes?" Jamie prodded.

"Daniel didn't demand that I give myself to him."

The sentence fell between them. Jamie kept waiting for Mary to say more, and Mary kept waiting for Jamie's reaction.

"Did he give you a reason?"

"He did," Mary answered. "And at first I thought he was being most considerate. He said he would give me time to get to know him."

"That was very considerate of him," Jamie admitted. She frowned, wondering why Alec hadn't shown such compassion with her. Then she remembered Alec didn't have any compassion to show anyone.

Mary burst into fresh tears. "I thought so, as I've told you. Then he told me he was most unhappy with me because I made you protect me when those men attacked us. He actually thought I should have shielded you."

"Why?"

"Because you're the baby."

"Didn't you explain that I was far better trained than you in the skills—"

"I tried to explain but he wouldn't listen to me. And then he insulted me again. I admit I said some rather mean things to him. Still…"

"What did he say?"

"He said I was probably just as cold as a fish, Jamie, that all the Englishwomen are."

"Oh, Mary, it was an unkind thing to say to a new bride."

"That isn't the worse of it, Jamie," Mary mumbled. "When we reached his home, there was a fat, ugly woman waiting for him. She threw herself in Daniel's arms right away. He didn't fight off her advances, either. They kissed each other in front of me. What think you of that?"

"You're right, sister."

"I'm right?"

"You've made me hate him."

"I told you I could," Mary announced. "Well? What am I going to do, I ask you? I'll never find my way back to Papa, and I'm certain Daniel's men won't believe me if I tell them I have their laird's permission to go back to England."

"No, I doubt they'll believe that lie," Jamie agreed.

"I want Papa!"

"I know you do, Mary. I also miss him. Sometimes I want to go home, too."

"Does Alec think you're as cold as a fish?"

Jamie shrugged. "He hasn't said so."

"Does Alec have a leman?"

"What?"

"Does Alec have a mistress?" Mary repeated.

"I don't know," Jamie answered. "Perhaps he does have another woman," she whispered. "Oh, God, Mary, I hadn't thought of that possibility."

"Could I live here with you, Jamie?"

"Are you certain you want to do this?"

Her sister nodded. "Mary, do you know, when we first met our husbands, I thought Daniel was the kinder of the two. He smiled and seemed to have such a cheerful disposition."

"I noticed that, too," Mary said. "Jamie, what if he's right? What if I am as cold as a fish? There are women who can't respond to a man's touch. I think Aunt Ruth was like that. Remember how mean she was to her husband?"

"She was mean to everyone," Jamie interjected.

"I know this is embarrassing for you, but I was wondering…"

"Yes, Mary?"

"Are all men like Daniel, or is Alec more… Oh, I don't know what it is I'm asking. I'm terrified of letting Daniel touch me now, and it's all his fault."

Jamie didn't know how to help Mary, but she was determined to try. "Mary, I must catch Alec before he leaves on his hunt," she blurted out.

"Do you need his permission for me to stay?" Mary asked, her fear obvious. "What if he says no?"

"I don't need his permission," Jamie boasted, trying to make that lie sound true. "It's another matter I must speak to him about. Go and wait in the hall, Mary. Introduce yourself to our priest. His name is Father Murdock. Now, don't frown, sister. You'll like him. He isn't at all like our Father Charles. I'll join you just as soon as I've spoken to Alec. Then we'll finish this discussion, I promise."

Jamie watched her sister leave before she started down the hill. She thought she'd look to the road below to see if Alec and his men had already left.

Her exit as soon as she stepped outside the wall was blocked by a line of soldiers. They filled the wooden planks of the pathway across the moat. She thought they'd dropped out of the sky. They were certainly more formidable than the wall. And damn if she didn't have to look up at every single one of them.

"Why are you blocking my way?" she asked a red-bearded man directly in front of her.

"By order, mistress," the soldier announced.

"Whose order?"

"The Kincaid's."

"I see," Jamie replied, trying to keep her irritation out of her voice. "And has my husband left his fortress yet?"

"Nay," the soldier answered. A smile softened the corners of his eyes. "He's standing right behind you."

She didn't believe him until she turned around and came face to chest with Alec. "You move like a shadow," she muttered when she'd regained her composure.

"Where did you think you were going?" Alec asked.

"I was looking for you. Why did you order your men to block my way?"

"For your safety, of course."

"I'm to be a prisoner while you're gone, then?"

"If you choose to look at it that way," Alec answered.

"Alec, I would like to go riding in the afternoons. If I give you my promise not to run away. Surely—"

"Jamie, I never thought you'd run away," Alec countered, his exasperation most evident.

"Then why?"

"You'd get lost."

"I never get lost."

"Aye, you do."

"If I promise not to get lost?"

He let her see how foolish he thought that question was. Gavin approached his laird, holding the reins of Alec's stallion. Before Jamie could explain her need to talk to him about Mary, he had mounted his steed.

She blocked his path. "Mary's here."

"I saw her."

"I must talk to you about my sister before you leave. It's a very important matter, Alec, else I wouldn't bother you."

"I'm listening, wife. Ask me what you will."

"Oh, no, it must be in private," Jamie explained hurriedly.

"Why?"

Jamie frowned. The obstinate man certainly wasn't making this easy for her. She walked over to his side, touched his leg with her finger, and then said, "Kincaid, I'm asking to speak to you in private. You did tell me you'd give me all I asked for if it was possible. This certainly seems possible enough to me."

She stared at the ground while he made up his mind. She knew she'd won when she heard him sigh, yet still let out a surprised yelp when he reached down and effortlessly lifted her onto his horse. Jamie only had enough time to grab hold of his waist before the stallion was in full gallop. Alec didn't stop until they were well away from the men and the wall.

Jamie took her time smoothing her skirts. They were surrounded by trees. She gave the area a thorough look just to make certain they were all alone. Then she turned her attention to her hands.

Alec's patience was nearly gone when his wife suddenly blurted out, "Why didn't you wait to bed me?"

He hadn't been prepared for that question.

"Alec, Daniel is waiting out of consideration for Mary's feelings. He wants her to get to know him better first. What think you of that?"

"I think he doesn't particularly want to bed her, else he would have by now; that's what I think.

"And I took you because I wanted to," he continued. "You wanted me to, didn't you?"

"Yes," Jamie admitted. "I mean, no, not at first anyway. Look, Alec, it is Mary's problem we have to discuss, not mine."

He ignored her embarrassment. "You liked it."

She gave him the truth, knowing full well his arrogance would get completely out of hand. "I did."

"Look at me."

"I would rather not."

"I would rather you did."

He slowly lifted her chin, forcing her to gaze at his face. Alec saw how she blushed. He couldn't resist leaning down and kissing her wrinkled brow. "Now what has you worried?"

"Did you like it?" she asked.

"You couldn't tell?"

"Daniel says all Englishwomen are as cold as fish," she said with a nod, lest he think she was jesting.