19

In the morning Jane awoke alone in her bed. She had not heard Lynx leave. Could she have just dreamed that he’d slept nestled against her? No, his body had left its imprint in the feather bed. Her hand touched the linen sheet, imagining she could still feel his warmth. She wondered why he had come to her. Was he troubled? He hadn’t come to talk, and it certainly wasn’t desire that had brought him to her bed. There was only one answer: his unborn child had drawn him to her.

Jane wished with all her heart it were otherwise, but she decided she wasn’t going to waste her day longing for the impossible. When she was dressed, she made her way to the kitchens, secured a leg of mutton for the lynx, and wrapped it in a linen towel. His wound had almost healed and she hoped that within another week he would be able to hunt for himself.

To avoid being followed by Keith, she did not go near the stables, which was the shortest route to the forest pool, but instead walked across the clearing behind the laundry, toward the trees.

From his chamber window in the Master Tower, Lynx watched Jane as she headed toward the woods. Where the devil was she going and what was she carrying? He had asked her brother Keith to keep an eye on her, but it looked as if she were deliberately avoiding the stables. As Lynx watched her, he knew she was not out for a morning stroll, but had a definite purpose in mind.

He had been mulling over whether to pen a letter to the governor or go to Edinburgh himself, but Jane’s actions now filled his thoughts and he knew his mind would not rest until he discovered what she was up to. Lynx made his way to the laundry, then crossed the clearing and entered the forest at the spot where he had seen Jane disappear. He did not resort to stealth, but strode through the trees knowing instinctively which direction to take. It wasn’t long before he glimpsed her some distance ahead of him. He saw her pause and turn with alarm, ready for flight.

“Jane, hold!” he commanded her. She stopped in her tracks as if rooted to the spot, as he closed the distance between them. The look on her face clearly betrayed the fact that he had caught her at something she didn’t want him to know about and that she wished him a thousand miles away.

“What are you doing?” he asked bluntly.

“What do you mean, ray lord?”

“It’s a simple enough question. What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Her breasts rose and fell with her agitation.

“Clearly, you have come to the forest for some purpose.”

“I have come to gather herbs,” she said, indicating her cloth bag, yet gripping it close as if she would keep the contents from him.

Lynx raised a powerful hand and took the bag from her. He did not know what he expected to find, but it was certainly not a leg of mutton and a pot of ointment. He pulled out the meat. “This is in case you fall hungry while you are gathering your herbs.” He knew her dainty appetite. The suggestion that she would eat a whole leg of mutton was palpably ridiculous.

She opened her mouth to speak.

“Do not lie to me, Jane.” His face and his tone were grim. His first suspicion was that she had come to aid some outlaw or fugitive hiding in the forest. He had her neatly cornered and suddenly he watched her evasiveness turn to anger as she took the offensive.

“It is your fault,” she flared. “You and your careless hunters! I am simply tending an animal I found wounded by an arrow.”

For a moment, Lynx felt badly. He knew how tender-hearted she was with animals and the creatures of the forest. “Jane, in a hunt, it happens. We try for clean kills, but it happens. Where is it?”

“I won’t tell you!” she defied.

He gave her a level look. “You don’t need to tell me. It is near the forest pool. I will go with you.”

“No! No!” she cried with passion. “Go away, leave me alone! You set my brother to spy on me and now you are following me yourself.”

Her reaction was so explosive he immediately knew she wanted to keep her secret from him at all costs. What the hell creature would devour a leg of mutton? “What animal are you feeding?”

He watched her press her lips together and lift her chin in defiance, but he also saw her fingers clutch her touchstone protectively. His eyes widened in disbelief. “Splendor of God, it is that lynx you told me of!” His long strides carried him in the direction of Jane’s forest pool.

She ran after him, knowing his intent. “No, no, please don’t kill him!” But she saw that his hand was already drawing out his dagger. Her concern was all for the lynx and the fury de Warenne directed toward it. She did not even think of the fury he would direct toward her.

At the edge of the pool he stopped and looked intently for a spot where an animal might lie concealed. Infallibly, his keen eyes fell on the low-lying branches with their brilliant foliage, and without hesitation, he strode toward them.

“No!” Jane sobbed, dashing ahead of him and flinging herself down in front of the place where the lynx had taken refuge.

His big hand closed about her wrist and he plucked her from the forest floor as easily as if she were a wildflower and thrust her behind him. He tore back the branches with his knife at the ready, then cursed aloud when he found the lair empty, the wild beast gone. Lynx de Warenne’s accusing gaze swung to Jane and she saw the enormity of the risk she had taken through his eyes.

“You care for naught but the child! You are obsessed!” she flung at him, too afraid to retreat into the defensive.

“’Tis a damn good thing somebody has a care for it.” His voice and his eyes were like ice. To stop himself from shaking her until her bones rattled, he ran a frustrated hand through his tawny mane. “You have deliberately put my child in danger’s way, risking its very life, without a thought in your empty head. Does your own child mean nothing to you?”

The cruel and false accusation angered Jane. “I love my child very much, I would never do anything to harm it! Please try to understand that I was in no danger from the lynx. I have the power to communicate with animals and to heal them when they are hurt. I think it is about time you got to know me and recognize my special abilities.”

“Not one more word!” Lynx ground out. He pointed in the direction of the castle. “On your way, lady.”

As Jane hurried through the trees ahead of him, his ominous silence blanketed her. He did not speak again until the walls of Dumfries closed about them. “You are confined to the castle,” he said shortly.

    Alice Bolton had just returned from her daily visit to the stillroom with Kate Leslie, where they had been distilling a new concoction purported to bleach hair. Alicia and her maid saw Jane arrive, almost in tears, with Lynx de Warenne close on her heels. The couple’s body language screamed to all witnessing the scene that they had been fighting, even before they heard Lynx tell Jane she was confined to the castle.

A sly smile of satisfaction curved Alicia’s lips as she watched Jane rush past her to ascend the stairs. “Your sister is upset. Take her some more of my special wine and find out what the trouble is,” she instructed Kate. “We can wash my hair later.” Alicia knew she had allowed this young woman to gain a profound advantage over her and hoped to use the quarrel as leverage. While Lynx was angered with the girl, she would try to lure him back to her bed. Tonight in the haft she would leave her hair uncovered and wear one of Lynx’s favorite gowns.

Kate arrived shortly, obviously out of temper with her sister Jane. “She would barely speak to me, my lady. She puts on fine airs these days, pretending to be better than the rest of us.”

“Did you give her the wine?”

“She set it aside with the other wine I took her. Was there something in it?” Kate whispered suspiciously.

“Of course not,” Alicia lied. “Wine loosens the tongue. I thought it would make her confide in you. Didn’t you even learn what caused the quarrel?”

Kate, wishing to avoid a tongue-lashing, said quickly, “It must have been the child, Lord de Warenne has no personal feelings for my sister.”

Alicia’s lips thinned. “Of course. He has forbidden her to ride and now he has confined her to the castle. The care and attention he bestows upon the child must make her seethe with jealousy, and the brat isn’t even born yet.” If the little bitch would drink the wine, she would abort!

Alicia unpinned her head veil. “Let’s get my hair washed. I must look particularly beautiful tonight.”

Various plans flitted through Alicia’s mind as Kate ministered to her faded locks. Her maid obviously could no longer get Jane to confide in her, but she had her uses. She had free access to her sister’s chambers in the Master Tower, which was an absolute necessity for the scheme that Alicia’s brain had concocted. “I may have a gown that will fit you, Kate. I’m surprised your sister isn’t more generous with you.” In Alicia’s experience, a bribe worked miracles.

Before she went down to the hall to dine, Alicia brushed out her hair and adorned herself with the sapphires Lynx had given her long ago. He treated her with casual indifference these days, and she must take this opportunity to change all that. Excitement stirred her blood. She had seen Lynx’s anger, barely controlled, and it aroused her. Alicia shivered as she pictured the battle scars on his naked body. They were the visible proof of the danger he constantly faced.

    When Lynx went to the hall for dinner, he knew Jane would not be there. After a quarrel, it was a woman’s way to keep to herself as if she were the injured party. Well, it would be a good long time before he would ask her to sit with him in the place of honor again. She could dine in her chamber and consider her reckless behavior.

He spotted Thomas and saw that Alicia had engaged his squire in conversation. Lynx was annoyed because there was no way to avoid her. As he approached, he noticed cynically that she wore a favorite sapphire-blue gown with the jewels he had once given her.

“Good evening, Lynx.” Her voice was soft; he knew she was about to ask for something.

“My lord, would you permit me to join you this evening?”

An outright “no” would be too surly, even in his dark mood. He considered fobbing her off with an excuse, but realized he couldn’t be bothered. “Why not?” he said carelessly, taking a seat below the dais and helping Alicia into the chair beside him.

When Thomas poured them wine, Alicia took up her goblet and drank deeply. “Lynx, I want to apologize to you.”

“For what?” he asked bluntly, wise to the soft, cajoling ways of women.

“I’ve been so angry with you. I’ve been completely ignoring you, punishing you for bringing me north. But the truth is, I was terribly spoiled and feeling utterly sorry for myself.”

As he looked at her he thought her so thin, she was almost haggard. Unwittingly, he was comparing her with Jane’s soft, lush figure.

“Now I realize I’ve not been punishing you, Lynx, I’ve been punishing myself. I sorely miss your company, my dearest lord, and beg you to let us still be friends?”

As Lynx watched and listened to her, he realized his desire for his old mistress was a thing of the past. And suddenly Lynx felt sorry for her. How lonely she must be. It was unfair to Alicia to keep her buried here in the borders. “I’m going to Edinburgh shortly—”

Before he could finish, she began begging him. “Oh, Lynx, please take me with you. I promise you won’t regret it!”

His shrewd eyes searched her face. “A woman like you isn’t suited to being buried in the country. You probably hate Dumfries. I can see you would be must happier in Edinburgh.” He put his hand over hers to soften the suggestion he was going to make. Here was his opportunity to get her out of Dumfries permanently. “In Edinburgh Castle, the spacious governor’s residence is very much like court. They are continually entertaining both English and Scots nobles who come to swear fealty. Why don’t I secure you chambers there, or buy you a little house of your own nearby?”

“What a wonderful idea! We can be together whenever you visit the city, which will be often I hope. Thank you so much, darling.”

Lynx removed his hand and picked up his knife. “Keeping you here is unfair to you.” It is also unfair to Jane! It suddenly occurred to him that perhaps Jane Leslie had refused to wed him because he kept a mistress at Dumfries. Alicia was not a permanent part of his life, but Jane did not know that.

When the meal was over, Lynx excused himself. He smiled down at Alicia, grateful that she was not going to cause difficulties. He could afford to be kind now that she realized they could be nothing more than friends. “I’ll let you know later when we’ll be leaving.”

Alicia smiled back. “Yes, later.”

Lynx talked over his proposed journey to Edinburgh with his knights, deciding who would accompany him and who would stay behind. Then he consulted with his steward and finally his squire.

Thomas rubbed his nose. “I’m not sure ye should leave Taffy to look after Lady Jane, my lord. He doesn’t know how to be firm with a lady and lay down the law, at least not with that particular lady.”

“And why is that?” Lynx asked with a frown.

Thomas chuckled. “Because the lad is in love with her.”

His frown deepened. Thomas might find that amusing, but Lynx did not. “Then the job is yours,” he told Thomas. “She’s confined to the castle for her own good.” The thought of being left behind soon wiped the amusement from Thomas’s face.

De Warenne retired to his chamber to pen a note to Robert Bruce. While he was away in Edinburgh, he would feel better if the Bruce kept a weather eye on Dumfries. Lynx sanded the letter and pressed his ring into the wax seal. As he began to unfasten his doublet, a low knock came on the outer door. Assuming it was Thomas, he bade him enter. “I have a note for …” His words trailed away as Alicia appeared in the archway. God grant me patience! “Alicia, why are you here?” “You invited me.”

“Invited you?” His voice rose with incredulity, carrying to the chamber below.

“Oh, not in words … you invited me with your eyes.”

He stared at her in disbelief as she began to remove her bedgown.

Below, Jane heard the sound of a woman’s voice, though she could not make out the words she spoke. Extremely curious, she climbed the steps that led up to Lord de Warenne’s chambers and listened at the door.

“Tonight, I could see that you wanted me as much as I wanted you. The way you looked at me, undressing me with those passionate green eyes. That’s why I wore your favorite gown and the sapphires you gave me.”

A wave of guilt swept over Lynx as he realized his desire for this woman was long dead. It was all in her imagination. How could he get rid of her without destroying her vanity? The moment he rejected her, she would start a screaming match. “Alicia,” he began, firmly closing her bedgown, “I want you to go back to your own chamber. We’ve been together long enough for you to know I like to be the aggressor. When I want you, I will come to your bed.”

“I understand, darling; walls have ears.”

He walked her across the room with a firm hand at her back and opened the door, determined to be rid of her.

Below, Jane sat on the stairs, staring blindly into the darkness. Don’t you dare to cry! she told herself. It doesn’t matter to me that she wore his favorite gown or that he bought her jewels, she told herself fiercely. Instead of tears, she felt anger rise up inside her until she was ready to explode. He’s taking her to Edinburgh! she thought furiously. You care more for your mistress than you care for me. Damn you to hellfire, Lynx de Warenne!

Jane crept down the stairs quietly. With shaking hands she lit a candle, and her eyes fell on the flagons of wine. With trembling fingers she reached for a cup.

    Buoyed with confidence, Alicia lit the candles in her chamber and turned down the covers on the bed. She knew that Lynx hated it whenever she sought him out in his own chamber and she hadn’t been foolish enough to do it often. But tonight she just hadn’t been able to help herself. He had not come to her in so long, she feared that he was tiring of her.

Alicia poured a cup of wine and assured herself that she had done the right thing. Now that she had let him know how she felt, he would come to her bed again. The minutes ticked by and stretched into an hour. Her confidence began to slip.

She poured herself another cup of wine and began to pace the chamber. Why was he not eager for her company? It was because of the little slut he had handfasted. Because he had planted his seed in her belly, she was becoming the most important thing in his life. The penny royal Alicia had put in the wine could not work if the stupid girl did not drink the wine!

After another hour dragged by, Alicia realized Lynx de Warenne was not coming. Why would any man turn down a sexual overture? It made no sense to her. She had swallowed her pride and gone to him and this humiliation was her reward! She rushed to the mirror to examine her appearance. She opened her bedgown to reassure herself that she was still as slim and attractive as ever. Her own belly was concave, not swollen and distended like Jane Leslie’s. Then it fully dawned on her that it wasn’t the girl who was her rival, it was the child!

But everything would be all right. Lynx was taking her to Edinburgh. Alicia clung to that thought like a drowning woman clutching at a straw. Then suddenly, she could deny the truth no longer. He was taking her to Edinburgh in order to get rid of her. That was the reason why the couple had been fighting this morning! Jane Leslie had demanded that Lynx get his mistress out of Dumfries!

Alicia flung the cup at the mirror, denting its polished surface. It was time to change her plan. Planting seeds of suspicion might be just as effective as actually aborting the child. She had held off too long. She who hesitates is lost!