‘Then I will keep a secret.’ Isabella was beginning to feel bewildered and nervous. Anna smiled in relief. She hated when her father raged at Henry, as he had done often recently. ‘The women are preparing fowls for a feast. Lizzie will save a small cup of blood. I am to hide it in Henry’s bedroom. In the morning you must spill the blood on the linen sheet before you leave the room. Lizzie will show the sheet to my father as proof that Henry has - has done as a husband should. Everyone will believe he has acted as a proper man. Maybe in time, when he knows you better, he may act as a real man,’ she added doubtfully. ‘Will you do this, Isabella? Do you promise not to tell anyone? If my father found out we had deceived him he would whip both of us, and Henry too. He might even put us in the dungeons.’ She shuddered. ‘He is ruthless when people cheat him.’
‘I will do as you say. The secret will be ours.’ Isabella felt closer to Anna then. ‘You love your brother very much, don’t you, Anna?’
‘Yes, as I believe you must love Jamie. Henry never knew our mother. She died soon after he and his twin sister were born. He is very gentle for a boy but everyone loves him. It is since he wanted to become a monk that he makes our father so angry.’
‘Then I shall do my best to protect him from his father’s anger. He reminds me of my young sisters. I think it will not be hard to love him as another brother.’ Anna gave a sigh of relief.
‘The past two days, since Zander carried Jamie to me to nurse and heal his wound, they have been the strangest I can remember,’ she said. ‘Now this is your wedding and we must dress you in the finest clothes I can find. You are as tall as I am but you are more slender.’ She lifted the lid of a second clothes chest and lifted out a beautiful dress in crimson velvet with wide sleeves and a split skirt, held in place by tiny bows. The front panel had been richly embroidered. Please try this one, Isabella and I will call for Maggie to help me take in the seams.’
Isabella gasped. She had never seen such a beautiful dress, even though her mother was an expert with her needle. But her mother tended to favour plainer garments, possibly due to the influence of the nuns who had reared her. Would she have been more lavish if she had been preparing for a daughter’s wedding, Isabella wondered. She glanced up and saw the wistful look on Anna’s face. In that moment she knew Anna had sewn the dress for her own wedding.
‘It is truly beautiful Anna but I fear it would bring me bad luck if I wore the dress which has been so lovingly made in preparation for your own wedding. I am right, am I not?’
‘We-ell yes, but I must dress you in something lovely for this special time, even though it is a marriage neither of you want.’
‘You have a kind and generous heart, Anna, but any other dress will do so long as it is clean.’ Anna thought for a moment then her blue eyes lit up.
‘I have one with laces. It is a little tight for me but it should fit you perfectly if I tie the laces tightly. I will bring it. It will save time too when all the women are so busy preparing food.’
‘I don’t want to cause any trouble.’
‘It is no trouble,’ Anna smiled. ‘I think I shall enjoy having a sister and we must sew together to make you a chest full of clothes when you have none of your own here.’
‘I left everything behind,’ Isabella said tremulously and her eyes filled with tears. ‘When I was ten my father brought me a shiny copper needle case with needles in many sizes. I treasured it. My mother learned to sew at the convent so she is very good. I must tell Jamie to give my small treasures to Marjorie. She is twelve now. If my father had been alive he would have brought back a needle case and some silk for her too.’
‘It is very sad. I love my father,’ Anna said, ‘Lizzie tried so hard but sometimes I longed for a mother to love us and comfort us when we felt sad or lonely. It will be lovely if we are friends, Isabella. When I marry Walter in the spring you must come to visit.’
‘Will you not live here?’ Isabella asked with disappointment.
‘No, but I shall not be far away. The Watchtower was built on the land belonging to Walter’s family so he is building a new stone house close by. If there is any danger from reivers we can move to the top floor of the Watchtower for safety until they have gone.’
‘Do reivers still come here often? Our mother hated the raids and she dreaded when my father had to lead a return raid into England. She prays King James will make peace for everyone, but I fear some men may never want to live in peace whether they live in Scotland or in England.’
‘We don’t have raids as often as we did when our reivers went over the border and stole English cattle and plundered homes and used their women.’ Anna shuddered. ‘The English reivers came back with even more men then. Sometimes all the women and children had to crowd into the Henry’s room at the top and the men with bows and arrows climbed the ladder to hide behind the turrets on the roof and shoot at the enemy below. That is why all the stairs are narrow and twisting to make it easier to defend each floor. Father still insists a guard must be on duty at the top of each flight of stairs at nights. He distrusts some of the neighbouring clans even more than the English. That is why he couldn’t let your brother escape without a penalty. He is afraid he will get a reputation for getting too lenient.’
‘I see,’ Isabella said thoughtfully. ‘I must tell Jamie about the guards on each floor. We too have narrow winding stairs but we have not had any raids from the English since the year before my father’s death so Jamie has never had guards. I think he will have enemies enough with the Truddles and their relatives when they know he is still alive, but he knows now they cannot be trusted.’
‘I wish all the raids and thieving would stop and let us live in peace,’ Anna said with a sigh, ‘but my father says it has gone on for four hundred years and it will take at least two generations or more before men can live without the thrill of the chase.’
As they talked Anna was laying aside a selection of petticoats and a clean linen chemise as well as a lovely embroidered white nightgown. Lastly she brought another dress in blue silk which laced down the back. Obediently Isabella tried it on and Anna pulled up the lacing, making the bodice fit closely down to the pointed waistline over her stomach. The full sleeves were slashed and embroidered with tiny pearls.
‘Your waist is so small,’ Anna sighed wistfully.
‘But it is so low,’ Isabella gasped, struggling to cover her breasts. Anna giggled.
‘I have brought this embroidered gauze in case you felt it was low and here is the matching cap and slippers embroidered with the same pearls.’
‘Oh, Anna, they are all beautiful. Are you sure you don’t mind me borrowing them for today?’
‘You may keep these for yourself, but I shall lend you my blue velvet cloak. The evening will grow chilly and most of the feasting will be outside. Everyone will want to see the bride of the Douglas Clan’s future master. The men have lit two fires and they are roasting a pig and a sheep in the court yard.’
‘Oh dear. I hope they will not be disappointed when they see me.’
‘They will not. You are beautiful, Isabella.’ Anna giggled again. ‘I know Cousin Zander thinks so. I have seen the way he looks at you. He and my father have an eye for beautiful girls.’ She chuckled at the sight of Isabella’s rising colour. ‘Come we will take these to the chest in the bed chamber you will share with Henry so that you are familiar with it. It is a custom for the women to accompany a new bride and undress her and help her into her night robe ready for her husband, but I shall tell them you have requested only my company because you are a stranger to them and a little shy. They will be disappointed but I shall be able to show you where I have hidden the cup of blood if we are alone.’
‘Thank you. I-I did not know the women would want to –to undress me and put me to bed like a child.’ Her cheeks flushed and Anna smiled.
‘Aah, but they don’t treat you as a child. They make sure you are attractive for your new husband so that he will love you well.’ Isabella stared an
d her colour deepened even more. She wished her mother was here to explain everything. ‘I believe you are as modest as Henry.’ Anna chuckled. ‘I think you will do well together.’ She hoped Zander would be able to protect Henry from some of the more raucous and disorderly men. She did not warn Isabella that it was the custom for the men to accompany the bridegroom to the marital bed with many crude jokes and much advice.
Two women were in the upper chamber and Anna introduced the older woman as Lizzie Buchan.
‘Lizzie is like a mother to Henry and to me. Now she will be like a mother to you too, Isabella, since you have had to leave your own mother behind. You must tell her if there is anything you need.’
‘Thank you.’ Isabella smiled nervously at the old woman with her wrinkled face and the tight white cap which allowed not a single strand of her white hair to escape. She looked around the room. ‘I-I am sure we-we shall be very comfortable.’
‘I dae hope sae,’ Lizzie said fervently and both Anna and Isabella guessed her thoughts were on Henry. ‘He’s a guid man. Be kind tae him lassie and ye’ll no rue the day ye came to Moyenstane. This is your own kist and I put some lavender in it frae the garden.’
‘You have a garden?’ Isabella asked, her eyes bright as she turned to Anna.
‘We have a wee patch near the house,’ Anna said. ‘Henry calls it a garden. Lizzie says Mother planted vegetables and herbs there. Did you have a garden?’
‘Yes. My mother learned to grow herbs and onions and plants for potions and poultices when she was at the convent, and she keeps the bees for honey. We have apples and plums on the trees. I would like to have a garden to tend.’
‘Then we shall tell Henry and Zander and they will make it bigger and safe from wandering animals, especially the pigs. Henry tends the bees so we have plenty of honey. Maybe you will teach me what to do before I become a wife to Walter?’
‘Aye,’tis a pity your ain mother and her sister didna live long enough to teach ye things, lassie,’ Lizzie sighed. Anna hugged her.
‘You’ve always looked after us well, dear Lizzie. Are the women preparing the food?’
‘Aye and Walter has brought his mother to make sure things are ready. Mistress Nixon is telling Eliza what should be done so she is a scowling fit tae turn the milk sour and scolding the wee maids who have come to help.’
‘Oh dear,’ Anna said, ‘I will come down soon and try to smooth things.’
‘Oh aye, and I forgot to say, Zander arrived back with the priest before I came upstairs. Nae doubt he’ll be quaffing ale and eating the best wheat bread.’
‘Father has not given us enough time to prepare,’ Anna said in despair. ‘Dear Isabella, can I leave you here while Lizzie and I go to the kitchens?’ She looked earnestly into Isabella’s eyes. ‘I must go now, or it will be too late.’ Isabella nodded.
‘I shall come back and help you dress.’
‘Would it be possible for me to have a quill and paper so that I may write a letter for Jamie to take to our mother when he leaves?’
‘You really can write a letter? On your own?’ Anna asked in surprise.
‘Of course. Mother taught me and my sisters to read and write. Even wee Mary is learning to form her letters.’
‘Then I will ask Henry to bring you what you need. He is our scribe and he will be delighted to give you everything you want.’
When Anna and the women had gone Isabella sank down onto the heavy oak chest. There were two of them, presumably for herself and Henry. The bed looked very wide and she longed to stretch out on it but it didn’t seem right somehow. She felt a terrible weariness wash over her. She had had no sleep the night before while she waited for Jamie and Sam’s return, and they had left well before dawn to cross the marshes. So much had happened. She couldn’t believe that in a few hours’ time she was to be married to a stranger. She thought of her mother and sisters. They ought to be here with her, but she might never see them again. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of Jamie going home without her. She didn’t hear the footsteps approaching so she was surprised by the light tap on the door and Zander’s entrance.
‘Are they tears I see in those beautiful eyes?’ he asked. His voice was gentle but that made things worse. Isabella tried to brush the tears away but the sympathy in his eyes made them gather faster. He sat down close beside her on the oak chest and turned towards her, drawing the pad of his thumb slowly beneath one eye and then the other.
‘Please don’t cry Isabella. A girl who is brave enough to cross those marshlands by night or day can surely manage a husband, especially one as meek as Henry. I cannot blame my uncle for wanting you to be the mother of his grandchildren, but for the first time in my life I envy Cousin Henry.’
‘You envy him? Being forced into marriage against his will?’ Isabella looked at him in surprise. He saw a lingering tear drop on her thick dark lashes and touched his lips to it in fleeting caress.’
‘It would not be against my will if you were my bride,’ Zander said softly, as though the words were drawn from him. ‘You need not be afraid. Henry is the gentlest of souls. He will not hurt you if he can avoid it, and he is always kind.’
‘I – I am not afraid of Henry,’ she said. ‘I am a little weary and thinking of home, my mother and sisters. I-I c-can’t believe I am to be married without them. I don’t even know what I am supposed to do.’
‘My uncle has not given either of you time to consider.’ There was a faint bitterness in his tone which he could not hide. ‘If it is any consolation Henry is more nervous about being married than you are,’ he added wryly. ‘He asked me to bring writing materials for you and I see he has trusted you with his best quill.’
‘Thank you. I want to write a letter to my mother and sisters for Jamie to take with him when he leaves. Do you think his wound will have healed enough for him to ride?’ she asked anxiously, looking up at him with trusting grey eyes.
‘I shall make sure he does not leave too soon. We shall give him a good horse to carry him all the way. Anna is applying another salve now. She will give him a draft to help him get a good sleep. He is young and strong. You must not worry.’ He glanced around. ‘I see you have a table but no chair to sit and write. I shall bring you one now.’ A moment later he was gone, leaving the heavy door wide open. Soon he was back, carrying a stout wooden chair from the room below. He put it at the table ready for her. She had set out the paper and ink and laid the quill beside them.
‘Thank you, Zander? Shall I call you Zander? Anna said I should, now that I shall soon be your cousin too.’
‘Yes, yes…,’ he said absently but his eyes were fixed on her face. Her skin had been so soft and smooth beneath his thumb. He knew he ought not to but he could not resist a single kiss before she belonged to his cousin. He bent his head and put his mouth to hers but the touch of her soft lips yielding to his was like a smouldering fire bursting into flames. Isabella did not resist when he drew her into his arms and held her against his broad chest. She felt she could stay there forever but his lips were arousing emotions she had never known before and she clung to him helplessly. Zander was breathing hard when at last he found the will to draw his mouth from hers.
‘Have you ever been kissed before Isabella?’
‘Only by my mother and little sisters. Neb Truddle tried but I kicked his shins so hard he let me go. I did not know a kiss could feel so different – so wonderful…’ Zander realised she was as innocent as a new born lamb in spite of her courage.
‘What a waste,’ he muttered, ‘to marry you to Henry.’ He shook his head as though to clear away a cloud. ‘He will never know how fortunate he is. Now I must leave you to your letter sweet Isabella for it will soon be time for Anna to help you dress.’ He sighed heavily and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Isabella found it difficult to concentrate on her letter. The memory of Zander’s kiss kept coming back to her. He had awakened the strangest, most wonderful feelings and there was an unfamil
iar and pleasurable heat in the pit of her stomach.
Four
Anna led Isabella down two flights of the spiral staircase to a small chapel on the second floor where her wedding to Henry was to take place. It was overflowing with people. The sight of so many men in their fine clothes surprised her. Jamie came to her as soon as she and Anna appeared. He was limping badly but he was dressed in a green and gold doublet with a lace collar and matching cuffs. He had on padded breeches cut into panes and velvet canions to his knee.
‘Where did you get such fine clothes, Jamie?’ she asked.
‘Our host insisted I must borrow them from Alexander or Henry. Alexander’s were too big for me. Henry is nearer my height but these are a little too tight to be comfortable. You will see Alexander is dressed almost identically and Henry looks splendid in dark blue velvet. But you are a truly beautiful, dear sister. How proud our mother would be to see you now, and Marjorie too.’ His voice shook. ‘I have got you into this trouble. I should have listened to your suspicions about the Truddles.’ His mouth tightened making him look much older than his seventeen years and reminding her of their father.
‘Don’t blame yourself Jamie. I insisted Sam bring me. At least we are both alive. Zander assures me your wound is healing well?’
‘It is, thanks to Anna. Are you sure you will be happy here, Isabella?’
‘I cannot say I shall be happy without you and our mother and sisters but I think I shall be content. Anna is kind and generous. I think my life will be satisfactory. I’m sure Henry will not be cruel as Neb Truddle would have been. They are brutal men. I beg you to be careful when you return. Keep Mother and our sisters safe.’
Zander was never far from Henry, giving him support by his presence and Isabella felt a peculiar yearning in the pit of her stomach as she stared at his long muscular thighs. All too soon it seemed the ceremony was over. Her husband did not kiss her but Anna did, and her new father-in-law, William Douglas, who was in jovial mood and ordering a new barrel of brandy to be opened. So, Isabella thought, he might be opposed to raiding and reiving of cattle and sheep now he was a warden, but he was not against trading with the French smugglers who plied the Solway coast with their little ships. She wondered if that was where he got the silks and velvets for Anna to sew. Plates were laden with meat, fish and fowl and often all three and gravy was mopped up with chunks of the whitest bread Isabella had ever tasted, even though her own mother was good at bread making.
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