The Libertine (25 page)

Lennox hung his head. “For a while, I thought that was why you
had gone from Saint Andrews, that you had thought on it and realized.”

“I left because he threatened to punish your people.”

“That is what he is like. You have seen it. He detests my
people, you know he wanted to run us into the ground and have us burned at the
stake. I cannot help that I reacted to that.” He reached out for her.

Chloris pulled away. “But you...you made a fine show of your
talents, in order to get to me, because of him.”

“It is how it started, but soon discovery was the last thing I
wanted, because most of all I wanted you.”

She stared at him, remembering how it had been, her mind going
back to that very first evening when she had asked his assistance. He had
questioned her, and when he saw her with Jean his mind was made up. He had set
out to ruin her in Tamhas’s eyes. That is why he was so driven, why he pursued
her even when she wasn’t sure if she wanted to go ahead with the ancient ritual
he described. “The ritual to increase my fertility, was that even real?”

“Of course it was real.” Dismay filled his expression. His
chest rose and fell rapidly, and he ran his fingers through his hair and cursed
beneath his breath. “What we do cannot and should not be taken for granted. We
can summon the gifts of nature to share with others but we must do it with
respect.”

“I thought you wanted to help me.”

“I did.” Wild-eyed, he rose to his feet, opened his arms out at
his sides and faced his palms upward. He bowed his head, but still he held her
gaze, and his eyes shone with unruly fire. He spoke beneath his breath, strange
words.

The fire she saw in his eyes leaped from his palms, too.

It was so sudden and so powerful that Chloris backed away,
astonished.

When she did, he put an end to it, closing his hands and
extinguishing the fire. “I love you, Chloris. What I showed you there is as
nothing, compared to what flares in me when I am with you.”

And I love you
.

Determinedly, he continued to plead with her. “Please
understand, Chloris. There was some temptation in seducing you because of who
you are, but that became insignificant for me very quickly, I assure you.”

Chloris looked at him with fresh vision. She could not bring
herself to think of being without him, but she saw that his cause had been far
from the pure, nurturing thing that he had described when he spoke of the ways
of his people, in tune with nature and the seasons rather than the Church and
its rules. No, she was torn between what she felt, and what she saw before her—a
man who she did not know well enough.

“Please do not look at me that way,” he begged. “I was in
error, badly so. I had been working for years to make my people accepted, to
avoid the fate that has fallen upon so many of us this last century in the
Lowlands. Your cousin was the worst contender, constantly trying to undo
everything I did to guarantee our acceptance in Saint Andrews. I have told you
what kind of man he is.”

“I know what kind of man he is,” she responded coolly. “What
concerns me is that I do not always know or understand what kind of man you
are.” That hurt him, and it hurt her when she saw the pained look in his eyes.
But it had to be said. “I had not realized you were driven by that. I thought
you wished to help me.”

“I did. I cannot deny that there was some pleasure in thinking
how shocked he would be if he knew I was under his roof and in your bed.”

Chloris reeled. Covering her eyes with her hands she shook her
head. “Please do not say any more.”

“But I must, for that is how it began. I beseech you, Chloris.
It is very far from being that way now. When I asked you to meet me, to be with
me forever, it was because that situation had changed. I love you. That is why I
came here to Edinburgh, to plead for you to leave with me, to plead for your
hand and your heart.”

There was contrition in his expression, and she wanted to
believe him, but it was all too much. “I cannot order my thoughts, please. There
is too much to think on.”

The chime of the clock marking the half hour brought her back
to their surroundings. “I must leave now. I do love you, Lennox, but I need to
let my thoughts settle.”

“Promise me this, for all the precious moments we have shared,
that you will try to forgive my poor judgment.”

Chloris stood there, looking at the desperation in his
expression, and her whole world was spinning. She nodded, then collected her
cloak and forced herself to turn away and walk to the door.

He whispered her name.

When she paused at the door, he said, “I will be waiting for
your response.”

“I know, and I will return and give it to you soon.”

Her legs trembled under her as she went down the stairs. When
she reached the hallway, Jessie emerged.

“You will come with us, yes?”

The question, her smile and the fact that Chloris was quickly
warming to Lennox’s sister, made the tears well. Chloris wiped them away and
looked back up the stairs. “I fear we do not understand each other well
enough.”

Jessie studied her silently for a moment before she responded.
“That will come. It is not easy at first, because the things that draw us
together also conspire to keep us apart. We have to sacrifice part of what we
were to meet in the middle.”

Chloris stared at Jessie. “You are a wise young woman.”

“I know that he loves you.”

Chloris nodded. “And I love him. But I am not like you, I do
not understand your nature and your ways, and I think that puts distance between
us.”

Jessie grasped Chloris’s hands in hers. “But you will. My
lover, he is not one of us, and he is my defender still.”

“I had not realized.” Chloris felt her encouragement.

“It will be that way for you, too. Lennox is fierce in his
affection for you.”

“I need to be sure.”

Jessie studied her and squeezed her hands. “You already
are.”

“Perhaps.” Chloris mustered a smile.

Jessie reached into her pocket and drew out a small wooden
object. She pressed it into Chloris’s palm. “Here, take this. It is a charm that
Lennox crafted for me and it will protect you. If you need him hold it to your
heart. He will know.”

Chloris stared down at the small wooden object. It was roughly
hewn but pretty, and it resembled a wildflower. It made her think of the forest
where they had lain together amongst the spring blossoms. She shook her head,
offering it back. “I cannot take it if it is yours.”

“Take it.” Jessie lifted the flower from Chloris’s hand and
pushed it into the pocket on Chloris’s skirt.

Behind them a door clicked open and a woman stepped into the
hallway.

Jessie reached over and kissed Chloris on the cheek. “It is the
landlady.”

Chloris nodded, understanding.

Jessie saw her on her way.

As she turned the corner of the street, Chloris’s footsteps
slowed. Ahead of her lay her home. She knew too well what that meant. At her
back, the home of her heart, and she knew so little of what might lie ahead if
she took that path.

Her footsteps grew slower still, but each step she took made
her want to turn back, and that’s what she needed to feel. She needed to be
sure. She would return home and collect the few small possessions she had that
belonged to her mother. Then she would go to him and give him her answer.

No matter what had brought them together, he was everything to
her.

I love him. I always will.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Witches?” Gavin Meldrum reacted with astonishment.

“Believe it, for it is true.” Tamhas Keavey observed his friend
closely. He stood in Gavin Meldrum’s study, choosing his words carefully. He
wanted to incite Gavin to action against Fingal, but it was also important that
Tamhas himself came out of this well.

His determination to put an end to Lennox Fingal had only been
strengthened during his journey. After all that had passed, and the hasty ride
flanked by angered townsmen, his deepest desire was that the whole of Edinburgh
was roused to hunt down the master of Somerled. But he was also cautious about
losing Gavin’s respect. If Gavin believed Tamhas had not protected Chloris
during her time in Saint Andrews, their good dealings in commerce might cease to
be.

Gavin frowned. “I can scarcely believe that they run amok in
Saint Andrews, where pilgrims have traveled to worship for hundreds of
years.”

“That is the worst of it, isn’t it? It is shameful. They seek
to overthrow order with their spells and their heathen beliefs.”

“How did it happen, and what has it to do with Chloris?” Gavin
crossed to a wine table and poured out two glasses of claret while Tamhas
related the tale.

“They gathered together as a coven close to Saint Andrews and
under the protection of a wily leader. He gained them respectability, and trade.
Meanwhile they dripped their poison. Sadly, they have influenced many in the
burgh. They sought to be involved in matters of great import, to spread their
wicked messages and their evildoings.”

“They weren’t ousted because of this?”

“Oh, I tried. I led the bailiff to them as soon as I had
gathered evidence against them, but they had run, afraid for their lives, as
well they should be.”

“Good man,” Gavin responded, and held out a glass.

Tamhas accepted the glass Gavin offered and swigged from it
heavily, glad of the fortifier. Then he lowered his voice, lest the men who had
traveled with him overheard what he said. They were waiting in the hallway
outside while Tamhas spoke with Gavin in private. “My understanding is that
Cousin Chloris went to them in order to try to become a more fruitful wife to
you, Gavin.”

He paused, allowing his words to be understood.

Gavin seemed most surprised. “How so?”

“They promised her their magic would make her fertile, and poor
trusting innocent that she is, she believed them.” He shook his head. “I quizzed
her on the matter, and she said there were...rituals...”

Gavin’s expression did not alter, but his eyes flickered. “Do
you know what these ‘rituals’ did to her?”

“I sent her home as soon as I found out she had gone to them
seeking advice.” It was a slight deviation from the truth, but Tamhas had to
manage this situation well. It was Lennox Fingal he wanted Gavin to be asking
about, Fingal he wanted him to hunt down and obliterate.

A tap at the door interrupted their discussion.

A servant entered. “Sire, should I offer the men
refreshment?”

Gavin nodded. As she was about to leave he called her back.
“Where is Mistress Chloris?”

“She went out to pay calls.”

“Did she say where she was going, or when she would
return?”

The girl shook her head.

Where was Chloris? Tamhas wondered if Fingal had got to her
already. Tamhas didn’t say anything, but he and Gavin exchanged glances.

“Alert me as soon as she returns.” Gavin shooed the girl out.
When she shut the door, he returned his attention to Tamhas. “And you believe
they have followed her here?”

“At least one. Perhaps more. Gavin, I fear they may have
attempted to influence her with their evildoings. We need to be rid of them in
order to protect her.”

Gavin’s eyes lit. “Influenced, yes. That would make sense of
it, for she came back different, emboldened.” His eyes narrowed and he glanced
away. “She is no longer the woman that I married.”

This was not the way Tamhas thought Gavin would react. “We must
be rid of this vermin,” Tamhas insisted again. “Then your good wife will return
to you in body and soul.”

Gavin grew silent and thoughtful. He paced up and down his
study. His lips were pressed tightly together, his eyes flickering as he thought
through what had been revealed.

Tamhas wondered what was going through his mind. A plan of
action, he hoped. Gavin had many friends in high places in Edinburgh and could
easily rouse expert witch finders, the ministers, the bailiff, soldiers and
more, people who were willing to hunt this man down.

“We must protect Chloris from them,” he repeated, willing Gavin
to begin the witch hunt.

Gavin paused on his pacing and looked at Tamhas. “I fear we may
be too late for that.”

Tamhas frowned. “I do not understand your meaning.”

“She is a changed woman, Tamhas. It is clear to me now that
they have meddled with her soul.” Gavin’s mood was as self-assured as it was
venomous. “If my wife has been influenced by these witches, and it seems that
she has, then perhaps it would be better if she burned with them!”

Tamhas struggled to maintain his composure, for he was taken
aback by Gavin’s swift and harsh verdict on the situation. Did he really believe
that was just, or did he perhaps see this as a convenient way to get rid of a
wife who was no longer useful to him? Was it because she was barren? Tamhas
worked through his thoughts quickly, trying to find the appropriate thing to
say. He needed to gauge the depth of Gavin’s conviction. “It would be a harsh
thing, to oust her with them, but I suppose you have the burgh to think of. The
capital must be protected.”

Gavin nodded. “The people of Edinburgh will not respect me if
my wife is in league with witches and I spare her.”

Gavin’s eyes were alight, as if he were excited by the uproar
this might cause.

Tamhas wondered if he had judged the situation wrongly. He had
not envisaged Gavin’s fervor, nor his will to determine how involved Chloris had
become. What worried him most of all was that he might be about to lose his most
important agent in commerce. “However you decide to approach this, I will step
behind you.” He paused, stared at Gavin. “The good standing of our friendship
and our business arrangements are foremost in my mind at this time.”

Gavin looked at him with an assessing glance, his eyes shrewd
and calculating. “You did well to come here so quickly, to warn me. I am
indebted to you. You have always made good sense of how things are between us.
If I must sacrifice my wife in order to protect Edinburgh, it will be done.”

He walked over to a bureau against the far wall and opened a
drawer, withdrawing a bundle wrapped in a cloth. He carried it back to Tamhas
and placed it on a nearby table.

When Gavin unwrapped it Tamhas saw that the cloth covered a
pistol.

“Our business arrangement will remain strong if the situation
is dealt with quickly and tidily. If you understand my meaning.” He polished the
pistol with the rag it had been wrapped in, loaded it, and then set it down on
the desk between them. “You have the evidence from Saint Andrews. I will send
for the witch finder general and his men. You must point the finger. If Chloris
attempts to deny it or escape, make sure it does not happen.”

Tamhas stared down at the pistol. He did not need the weapon,
for he had his own, but Gavin’s message was clear. However, Tamhas suddenly
found himself remembering those evenings back at Torquil House, when he had sat
with her and lusted after her, and he wanted to back away and deny this bargain.
He forced himself to be sensible about the matter. Chloris had gone to Fingal.
Chloris had not come to him.

Besides, would it be so great a sacrifice to make if he was
finally rid of Fingal?

There was a part of him that did not want to relinquish his
hold on his cousin, but if it meant he could smite Fingal that way, then perhaps
Gavin was correct in his assumption.

For Gavin it appeared it was the only way. Gavin was set on
it.

It was not the outcome Tamhas had hoped for, but if he had to
sacrifice Cousin Chloris in order to be secure in his commerce, so be it.

* * *

“Mistress Chloris, you are home.” When Mary opened the
front door and took Chloris’s cloak, Mary looked at Chloris with a disturbed
expression in her eyes.

“What is it, Mary?”

“There are strange goings-on. Master Gavin has been asking for
you.”

“He is here?”

“In his study.”

Chloris did not want to go in there again, but it seemed that
she must. Perhaps he had come to his senses and was about to let her go, which
would be a mercy. Then the sound of men’s voices reached Chloris from beyond the
stairs, where the scullery was. As Mary had indicated, something was amiss.

She knocked on the door and entered the study. When she saw who
was in there with Gavin, she was staggered beyond belief.

Tamhas stared at her with a frown. The boots he wore were
muddied. His clothes were dirty and he wore no hat or wig. He looked as if he
had traveled hard and arrived here recently, as if he had not even had time to
refresh himself.

The implications rushed in on her fast. Tamhas must have
followed Lennox. There was no other conceivable reason for his hasty arrival so
soon after Lennox. Chloris felt dizzy, suddenly sick to the gut. Tamhas had
become so obsessed with Lennox that he had followed him here. What had he said
to Gavin?

“Ah, and here she is.” Gavin looked at her from hooded eyes. He
pressed his lips together as if he were containing a smile.

“You know what this is about, I wager,” Tamhas snapped at
her.

Chloris held her head high. “No, I do not. Would you care to
enlighten me?”

Tamhas looked enraged by that and he strode over to her,
stepping between her and Gavin. When he glowered at her there was a warning in
his eyes. “I know that Lennox Fingal has come here, and you would do well to
reveal his whereabouts and quickly, lest you get dragged down to hell with
him.”

Chloris glared back at him. He could rant at her all he wanted,
but she was not about to reveal Lennox’s whereabouts.

“Speak out, Chloris,” Tamhas urged when she did not respond.
“Your husband has already summoned the witch finder general.”

A rushing sound filled her ears and her mouth went dry, her
heart hammering in her chest. The witch finder? Visions of what they might do if
they found Lennox or Jessie filled her thoughts. It could not happen. She would
not let them harm her lover or his sister. The very thought that they might get
their hands on either one of them made her want to warn him and send him on his
way. It was her fault that they had come here. She had to stand between them and
their persecutors, there was no question about that. Chloris vowed she would
because she loved him and it pained her deeply to think that he’d come here for
her and put himself in such danger.

From behind Tamhas Gavin emerged, approaching her. “Tamhas has
told me what happened to you in Saint Andrews. Now I understand why those
dreadful changes I discovered in my wife have occurred. You’ve been consorting
with witches, you have been subject to their evil ways.” He looked her over with
disgust. “I will hand you over to the witch finder general without a qualm, for
I would rather forfeit my wife in order to have your soul redeemed.”

Chloris fought the mad urge to laugh. How well this had played
into his hands, she realized. He did not want her to leave him, for that would
show him up, but he could play the martyr in front of the whole burgh if it
suited him. People would talk about his brave sacrifice and his position would
be maintained. “You can do what you want with me. I will never reveal his
whereabouts.”

“So it is true, you are in league with a witch.” Gavin
scrutinized her calmly. “Well, the witch finder will get the information from
you. They have some canny tools for the task.” He flashed her a brief smile.
“Once he puts his thumbscrews on you, you will plead for mercy. When you get
none, you will tell him everything he needs to know and then you will sign the
confession with your bloodied and broken hand.”

How he relished the prospect.

“I will die before I reveal anything,” she replied.

Gavin inclined his head. “Your choice.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Tamhas interjected, and raised his hands in
a gesture of disbelief. “You cannot sacrifice yourself for one of the Devil’s
slaves. How could you even think this way?”

“They have stolen her soul,” Gavin said, apparently
delighted.

Chloris decided she hated him. She had never before hated
anybody, but now she did.

“I told you to come back here for your own safety,” Tamhas
continued. “I warned you to stay away from them.”

To her surprise, Tamhas looked aggrieved and disappointed.
Could it be that her cousin cared more for her survival than did her husband?
The reasons for that were manifold, but still it surprised her. It was ironic
that she found out her value to them both now. Chloris felt strangely as if she
wasn’t really there, as if she were looking in on this room from far away. She
wished it were so.

She looked away from their arrogant, aggressive faces in
disgust.

It was then that she saw Gavin’s pistol had been set out on a
table and prepared for use. It was a fine French weapon he had bought several
years earlier. She had only seen him use it once and that was on a game hunt,
but she knew he would not bring it out now if he did not believe it would be
needed.

Shocked that a weapon had been prepared, her blood began to
boil. She turned to Tamhas. “You promised me you would leave the people of
Somerled alone, and yet you have pursued their master here.”

Tamhas lifted his brows. “He’s clearly set on having you, and I
could not let you fall into the hands of such a blackguard.”