17

“What did you say?” Lynx spoke low, almost silkily, his voice carrying a much greater threat than if he had shouted at her.

Jane stood before him in her chamber in the Master Tower, wishing herself a thousand miles away. “I will not marry you …” the terrible silence dragged out until she felt intimidated enough to add, “just yet.”

De Warenne’s face was set in such a hard expression that it looked as if it had been carved from rock. He walked around her, examining her from all angles. “Is that or is it not my child you are carrying?” he asked bluntly.

“It is, my lord.”

“Did I not handfast you with the understanding that if you quickened with child, I would wed you?” “You did, my lord.”

“I am convinced you will be an excellent mother.” “Thank you, my lord.”

“I am also satisfied you will be an adequate wife.” The word “adequate” stung Jane. “Am I missing something here?” he asked politely. “Yes, my lord.” She had to bend her neck to look up at him. “A handfasting is for a year and a day. A marriage may take place before the year is up, but only if both parties agree to it.”

“You don’t believe I will make you an adequate husband?” he demanded with disbelief.

“Oh yes, yes I do, my lord.”

“Then, splendor of God, what is your objection?”

Jane swallowed hard, He was not a patient man and clearly his was running out. “Adequate may be good enough for you, Lord de Warenne, but it is not good enough for me.”

He stared at her as if she had used an obscenity. For a moment he was so stunned by her reply that he was speechless.

Her insides felt like jelly. At least he’s looking at you for once and not the child, she told herself.

“I am of noble birth, have wealth and lands, am heir to an earldom, and have offered to wed you and someday make you a countess, yet you consider me only adequate!” His brows drew together showing that her words had insulted his pride. “What more do you want from a husband?”

Jane lifted her chin so that her eyes met his. “I want a caring, loving, respectful husband who will share his life with me.”

Lynx de Warenne stared at her in amazement. She had more pride than any noble lady born, and she knew exactly what she wanted.

Jane lowered her gaze and said softly, “I cannot marry you yet. I would like more time, my lord.”

“By all means, Lady Jane, take all the time you need.” He swept her a mocking bow.

Lynx made his way to the room off the great hall. Jock had reported some minor disputes that had arisen between his English knights and the Scots at Dumfries during his long absence and he had decided to hold a court to hear the complaints. Jane had irritated him beyond measure. He was stung by her refusal to marry him immediately. Most women would be overjoyed by an offer of marriage from him. But apparently Jane was so unworldly that wealth and titles meant nothing to her. She seemed to place no importance on the fact that marriage to him would elevate her from the servant class to the ranks of nobility. No doubt that intimidated her and was the reason why she had asked for more time, he told himself.

But deep down Lynx knew that wasn’t true. She wasn’t intimidated at all; rather, she had sounded extremely haughty when she’d declared that adequate wasn’t good enough for her. Reluctantly, Lynx admitted to himself that he knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted him to be a real husband who would share his life with her; she wanted to be loved.

    When he arrived, the chamber off the great hall was filled with complainants, most of whom were Scots. For the most part, the charges were petty. A shepherd claimed de Warenne knights continually rode through his flocks of sheep, scattering them. A groom complained that his knights arrogantly ordered the stable hands about as if they were slaves. At least half a dozen men charged that his knights had slept with their wives. When de Warenne asked if the women had been forced or willing, the Scots became sullen and didn’t seem to think that should matter. “Bloody women!” he muttered under his breath.

Lord de Warenne stood. “Thank you for speaking plainly. Rest assured I will address your grievances immediately. I will do my part to control my knights, and I suggest you do your part to control your wives. Good day.”

He told Thomas to summon every de Warenne knight to the hall. When they were assembled, he gave them a scathing set-down. His method for ruling men was simple: he set extremely high standards and expected his men to reach them.

“Some of the complaints I have received are petty and therefore beneath de Warenne knights. You will refrain from scattering the flocks when you ride out.”

“But there are sheep everywhere, my lord,” Montgomery complained.

“There will soon be a hell of a lot more when the main flocks are brought back from the Uplands. Sheep mean wealth in these borderlands and you’ll be damn glad of mutton on the table in the dead of winter.” He changed the subject. “I’ve had complaints from the stable hands.” He looked grimly into the face of each knight present. “If any man here doesn’t take care of his own horse, he will no longer be a de Warenne knight.” He paused to emphasize his edict.

“And now to the matter that seems to irk the Scots the most. They complain that you are fucking their wives.” One side of Lynx’s mouth twitched. “I won’t ask for a show of hands.”

The knights laughed at his acerbic humor.

“I know you think you are irresistible devils and I know the women throw themselves at you, but try to limit yourselves to unmarried females and widows—or learn discretion.”

Lynx beckoned Thomas. “I’d better lay the law down to the men-at-arms. Have them assemble in the bailey.”

Once he was satisfied his rules were understood, Lynx told them to prepare for a hunt. Though there was to be no wedding feast, a two-day hunt was necessary. Moreover, the stags and boars would be at their fattest after the summer months and the game at its most plentiful.

When Marjory learned of the hunt and asked to be included, Lynx gave her a flat “no.” “Jory, I’d appreciate it if you’d occupy your time teaching Jane the ways of a lady. Perhaps it will give her the confidence she needs. I think the idea of becoming Lady de Warenne overwhelms her.”

“I shall endeavor to teach her the things she will need to know,” Jory promised innocently. “How flattering that you want her to be like me.”

“God’s bones, I wouldn’t go that far,” Lynx said dryly.

    Jane was in the middle of having some of her new gowns fitted. Her chamber was awash with vivid colors from garments piled on chairs and the settle. When Marjory arrived, Jane had on an emerald tunic over a pale green underdress. “This is so wasteful. The tunic will be too tight in another month.”

“Why don’t you put two rows of buttons down the sides to allow for expansion?” Jory suggested to the sewing woman. “Jane, buttons are marvelous. They make my gowns fit my body much tighter, but in your case they will make them fit looser.”

“Buttons are expensive,” the Scotswoman said with tight lips.

“If they weren’t, we wouldn’t want them,” Jory said lightly. “Lady Jane must have the very best; Lord de Warenne insists upon it.”

Jane removed the emerald tunic and handed it to the sewing woman who gathered up the garments to carry away with her.

“Lady Jane would like these to be ready tomorrow,” Marjory said firmly as she held open the door for the woman.

“Jory, you are so bold.”

“The bloody woman would dress you in sackcloth if she had her way. You must learn to be assertive with servants, Jane. My brother wants me to teach you to be a lady and the first lesson is to be high-handed with everyone, starting with Lynx.”

“He is infuriated with me.”

“Then you are doing everything right. Provoking your lord isn’t just a pleasure, it’s a duty!” “Jory, you are so bad.”

“I know. When they go off hunting tomorrow, why don’t we go hawking?”

“I’d love to, but hawking is a man’s sport,” Jane said with surprise.

“Not anymore. In England, the ladies have taken such a fancy to falconry, the men complain we are turning the sport frivolous and effeminate. Our smaller hands can manage the jesses and tyrrits easier than theirs.”

“Your brother has forbidden me to ride.”

“Oooh, and you are just shaking in your boots.”

“Jory, he can be extremely intimidating.”

“Darling, he can’t use corporal punishment on you; he won’t maul you.”

“He’ll maul my pride.”

“Yes, he’s very good at that,” Jory admitted. “But to tell the truth, when you refused to wed him, you mauled his.”

“The birds do need exercise,” Jane wavered, “and I’m quite used to handling them, though they can be very cruel and fierce.”

“That’s because they’re females,” Jory pointed out.

“The best raptors are females; I never thought about it before.”

“Lynx always flies a female, and the fiercer his falcon, the more he admires her.”

Jane laughed. “You are teaching me to be bad.”

    Alicia, filled with jealousy and insecurity, laced with a great deal of vindictiveness, recruited Kate Leslie as her maid. Servants never stayed with Alicia for very long because she had the temper of a viper, striking her hapless maids whenever the real target of her rage was unavailable. In selecting Kate, however, she had an ulterior motive, so she treated her fairly well. Since Lynx adamantly refused to discuss the subject of Jane Leslie, Alicia had latched on to her sister, and the girl was proving to be a pipeline of information.

“You have beautiful gowns, Lady Alicia. My sister Jane is having all new clothes made.”

“Really? That seems like an unnecessary expense for my lord with her belly expanding every day.”

“Well, that’s the only reason he handfasted her, so she would breed.” Kate couldn’t disguise her envy.

“Do you know if plans are being made for a wedding?”

“Nay, none that I know of, but my lord did promise to wed her if she conceived.”

That’s the only hold the little slut has on him, Alicia thought. Eliminate the child and you eliminate the wedding!

    Just after sunup, almost two hundred men left for the two-day hunt. Jane watched from her tower window, wondering if she had done the right thing in refusing to marry Lynx. He had not come to her chambers last night, and though he had sat next to her in the hall, he had been polite but aloof. When the mood took him, Lynx de Warenne could be cold and remote. She’d missed the warmth she knew he was capable of showing.

After breakfast, the sewing woman brought all the dresses she had made for Jane. When she received more praise than she had ever heard in her life, the woman was suddenly mollified over the extravagance of the garments.

“Thank you, I never dreamed I would ever have such lovely clothes.”

“An’ why shouldn’t a Scots lass be dressed as pretty as the English?”

When she was alone, Jane couldn’t resist trying on every one of them. Until lately, clothes had meant nothing to her. Now she realized they were one of women’s greatest pleasures. When she tried on the white silk, she was enchanted with her appearance. Nothing she had ever worn contrasted so dramatically with her long red-gold hair. White was sinfully impractical, but it made her feel like a goddess.

Jane was so absorbed in her lovely new clothes, she had no idea that Robert Bruce had ridden in. She finally tore herself from the mirror and hung all of her new garments in the wardrobe. Jane couldn’t resist showing Jory how she looked in the delicate white silk, so she decided to return the gowns Marjory had lent her.

When Jane arrived at Jory’s tower room, she wasn’t there. Jane suddenly remembered the plan to go hawking and concluded Jory was probably at the stables. As she was hanging the gowns in the wardrobe, she heard the deep voice of a man and recognized immediately that it was the Bruce. She also heard Jory’s provocative laugh.

“I’m going to make love to you until Lynx returns,” Robert Bruce declared passionately.

Jane’s jaw dropped open. She quickly climbed into the wardrobe and pulled the door half-closed behind her. She could see the couple plainly in the mirror on the other door of the wardrobe. Jane closed her eyes and prayed that they would soon leave. She could not close her ears, however.

“Where is your sense of honor, sir, to take advantage of me in my brother’s absence?” Jory purred.

“I have no sense of honor, and that enhances all my other senses,” Robert warned intensely.

They stopped talking, but Jane could hear rustling. She opened her eyes and was stunned to see them both naked. She watched, mesmerized as Robert lifted Jory high and let her slide down his body. Then they went wild.

The things the Bruce did to Jory aroused her until she was panting and scratching and biting him. Jory slithered to the floor and Robert mounted her, unleashing all the sexual energy that had been dammed up inside him since they’d last touched.

Jane watched in shocked fascination as he arched and spent himself. But, as if he’d never have enough of the delicate beauty beneath him, he went on his knees, thrust his dark head between her legs, and began making love to her with his mouth. Jane could not believe what she was witnessing. She had a dizzying sense that this couldn’t really be happening.

Marjory began to writhe and cry out her pleasure, becoming so splendidly uninhibited that she arched her mons into his demanding mouth, threading her fingers into his hair to hold him close for the ravishing. Dear God in heaven, would they never be finished? Jane wondered frantically. Finally, Jory screamed and clung to him as if she were about to die. They lay still, catching their breath, looking into each other’s eyes.

Jane heaved a sigh of relief as she saw Robert get to his feet, but her mouth gaped open as she watched him lift Jory in his arms and carry her to the bed. They whispered and murmured love words and endearments so intimate, Jane knew that they had been lovers for some time. They made love so tenderly, it seemed a sacrilege to watch and listen. Lovemaking such as theirs demanded privacy.

Jane crouched in the wardrobe, her emotions so entangled she began to tremble. Marjory draped herself in a sheet as she watched her lover dress. Before he departed, he gave her a swift kiss and murmured, “I’m staying the night.”

Jane had a cramp in her back and could remain still no longer. When she reached behind her to rub it, her elbow hit the wardrobe. Jory flung open the door with a cry of outrage. “My God, what are you doing in there?”

“I wasn’t spying, Jory. I brought back the dresses you lent me, I recognized the Bruce’s voice when he said he was going to make love to you … and I hid.” Jane stepped from the wardrobe looking pale and upset.

“Oh, Jane, Janie … I’ve shocked you!”

Marjory led the trembling girl to the bed. Her mind darted about like quicksilver, trying to recall the things she and Robert had done. Jane was so unworldly and innocent, she must be deeply shocked by the things they’d done. “I’m sorry, Jane, please don’t be upset. I know the things we did must seem wicked to you, but you must understand this is what lovers do.”

“Oh, Jory,” Jane whispered huskily, “what you have with Robert … that’s what I want with Lynx.”

Jory’s legs turned to water and she sank down on a stool. “Oh, darling, we are mad in love with each other.”

“Yes,” Jane said dreamily.

“A passion like ours is rare. I didn’t have it in my marriage, though I loved my husband,” Jory tried to explain.

“I want Lynx to love me,” Jane said wistfully. “He has never been in love; he told me so himself.” “But he was married.”

“Marriage doesn’t guarantee love, Jane. In fact it is very often the death knell to love. Most married couples merely tolerate each other.”

Jane thought of her brothers’ and sisters’ marriages and knew there was truth in what Marjory said. “I don’t show it, but on the inside, I feel just as passionately about everything as you do.” As she spoke, Jane caressed her baby with loving hands.

“Well, I don’t think it’s hopeless. Lynx already loves his child and is passionately protective of it.”

“Once I have the baby, he won’t notice me anymore.”

Suddenly Jory knew she had to redouble her efforts to make Jane so desirable, Lynx wouldn’t be able to resist her. “You’ll have to learn how to attract a man’s attention. Let him see some of the passion you feel inside. Refuse to be ignored. Think of yourself as the Chatelaine of Dumfries. Put yourself in charge here. Let Lynx see your fine hand in everything.”

Jane smiled. “I’ll storm the castle.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Think of it in terms of a military campaign. You not only want the castle, you want to capture its lord. Don’t settle for anything less than unconditional surrender! You’ll need men to practice on and who better than the Bruces?”

“Are they all here?” Jane blushed to the roots of her hair.

“Robert brought two of his brothers. We’ll recruit them.”

“Jory!” Jane protested.

“Robert will enjoy making Lynx jealous and it will throw the scent off he and I being lovers. It’s a secret you alone share, Jane.”

“I won’t give you away, I promise.”

“Let me get dressed and we’ll meet downstairs. I suggest you save that exquisite white silk for Lynx’s return from the hunt tomorrow eve.”

*   *   *

“Father!” Jane summoned Jock who was on his way to the kitchens.

He looked down at his daughter dressed in brilliant turquoise. “Ye look very grand today, lassie.”

“I need your help. I must learn to be the Chatelaine of Dumfries and I want to do it well, not just adequately. How shall I address you? I cannot call you Jock.”

“Ye will address me as ‘steward’ and I will address ye as ‘Lady Jane.’”

“Very well. Since we are entertaining the Braces, what do you plan on serving for dinner?”

With twinkling eyes he listed what was on the menu, though he did it with every formality.

Jane considered, then made a couple of suggestions of her own, purely for the practice.

“That sounds excellent, Lady Jane.” He bowed and was about to continue to the kitchens when she said, “And, steward, I was not informed when the Braces arrived, as I ought to have been.”

“An oversight on my part, Lady Jane.”

“Please see that it doesn’t happen again.” She looked at him gravely. “Was that all right?”

“Aye. Always use a high-handed tone with servants.”

“That’s what Jory told me, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Lady Marjory has the right of it.”

Jane next sought out her brother Andrew. She briefly explained about her position of chatelaine and told him she would need his help. “The Earl of Carrick and his brothers are our guests, but Dumfries lacks entertainment in the hall. Get a piper for us, but also see if you can find jugglers or acrobats. Elizabeth de Burgh has told me her father’s castle employs strolling minstrels and actors who put on plays in the hall.”

“But the Earl of Ulster owns half of Ireland. He lives like a king in his palatinate.”

“Surely we can do something on a small scale. At least let’s be civilized.”

Andrew stared after his sister in amazement. He’d never realized it before, but there was more to Jane than met the eye!

    When Jane encountered the Bruce, her cheeks suffused with color as his eyes swept over her from head to foot.

“Lady Jane, you are absolutely blooming.” He lifted her fingers to his lips in a gallant gesture. “It looks like we’ll be celebrating a wedding soon.”

“Perhaps not as soon as my lord would like,” Jane said shyly.

“You refused him?” Robert asked incredulously.

“I told him I needed more time.”

Robert threw back his head and laughed. “Lady Jane, I’d like you to meet my brothers Nigel and Alexander.”

“I am delighted to meet you. I am so sorry Lord de Warenne is off hunting.”

“Must be daft in the head to desert such a beautiful lady,” Alexander declared.

“Never fear,” Nigel said, tucking her arm into his. “I’ll take good care of you in Lynx’s absence.”