Love's Ransom

by Kirkwood, Gwen

  ‘Thank you Sam,’ she whispered softly, then looked over his shoulder at the two young men waiting patiently. ‘Can this be Peter? The little boy of my childhood,’ she said, looking at the handsome young man at Sam’s side.

  ‘It is, Mistress Isabella. This is his second visit, although he did not see you before. He and your sister Margaret are to marry when we return to Braidlands.’

  ‘That’s wonderful news,’ Isabella declared. ‘And what news of Mama and my brother Jamie? And who…?’ She gave a puzzled frown as she looked at the other young man.

  ‘This is Charles, your cousin, your Uncle David’s youngest son.’

  ‘Then I am pleased to see you cousin,’ Isabella smiled warmly. ‘You are all most welcome. You must be very tired, and hungry too.

  ‘We shall be glad to rest but we were given refreshments by the men who guard the pass. We rested a wee while but,’ Sam’s eyes twinkled, ‘but Zander was in a hurry to reach home. He did not expect to see you here, in the glen.’ Isabella turned and walked beside him to re-join the others while the two young men followed. ‘He says he has been away more than two years.’

  ‘Yes, he has,’ Isabella nodded. Two years and five months she thought silently.

  ‘He went on a sailing ship to eastern lands so he had not heard of Henry’s death until he reached Braidlands. Your mother showed him the letter Warden Herries brought from you after your husband’s funeral,’ Sam said in a low voice. ‘You were expecting a child. She was afraid the baby would not be born alive after such a shock? The poor lady has fretted for news o’ ye.’

  ‘The baby was small but healthy. Now he is a sturdy boy of twenty months and running everywhere.’ She smiled with pleasure. ‘He resembles my brother and my father, though his hair is a lighter brown and his skin is fairer. Come Sam you must meet him and my darling wee girls. You will not know the difference between them.’

  ‘I am happy for you, Mistress Isabella. Your mother will be very relieved.’

  ‘Has she sent me a letter, Sam? I shall write her a long letter for you take to her, but I hope you can stay for many days and give me all the news of my family,’ she added wistfully. ‘I have longed to see them all so often, especially since Henry died. He was such a gentle person and he knew even more about plants and medicines than dear Mama. She would have loved him like another son.’

  ‘Aye, I’m sure she would. She likes Master Zander too, and so does your brother. They are wishing they could make a road across the marsh to that you might visit, but I fear it is only a dream. When I was a wee laddie your grandfather talked of men who would dig wide ditches one day. He said they would fill with the black peaty water and leave strips of land dry, at least for part of the year. He had travelled across the sea and seen such things, but no man can control the tides. We have tried marking a path across the marsh but the ground shifts and the poles move or sink.’

  ‘But it would be wonderful if we could journey across the marshes and see my mother. She will never see my children.’

  ‘It would be too dangerous to take them over the marshes. Zander would not risk leading his mules across. He has cargo from the ship but he sent a troop of men with mules to travel round by the tracks. His is afraid they might be attacked and robbed but they are well armed.’

  The food had been eaten or packed away and they were all ready to return to Moyenstane Tower by the time Isabella re-joined the children. Sir William and Zander were talking earnestly but Zander turned to her at once.

  ‘I see your two babies are growing into beautiful little girls,’ he said beaming at the twins. Mamie and Nettie stood holding hands and looking shyly at this strange man with the long golden hair and beard. Young as they were even they recognized his likeness to their grandfather, but who was he? Isabella moved to put an arm around each of them.

  ‘This is your Uncle Alexander. Say hello to him Mamie, and you too Nettie.’

  ‘And who is this young man?’ Zander asked.

  ‘He is our brother,’ Mamie said, reaching for Alex’s small hand. She was very motherly and protective.

  ‘Everyone knows that,’ Nettie said. ‘His name is William Alexander Jamie Douglas but we call him Alex.’

  ‘I see…’ Zander said slowly and his blue eyes met Isabella’s grey ones. ‘He is very like you Isabella, though his hair is a few shades lighter I think.’

  ‘The wee fellow is like your brother Jamie was when he was a wee laddie,’ Sam said .

  Isabella wanted to shout aloud, ‘He is your son, Zander. You left your seed in me when you went away.’ Instead she summoned a smile and said ‘Walter and Anna will be so pleased to see you, Zander. We thought you might never return. Even Father Oliver had begun to despair for your safety. He sent messages with all the merchants who passed through the monastery. None of those who returned had met you, but a few had heard of you.’

  ‘We went to China. There are fortunes to be made for those who travel to the east.’ His eyes shone at the thought of the sights he had seen. He had almost relished the dangers in his misery at being parted from the woman he loved. ‘The ships are at the mercy of the weather but they are quicker than the camel route over land. The risk of being attacked and robbed as merchants pass through strange lands is even greater than being at the mercy of the wind and the sea.’

  ‘I see,’ Isabella said slowly, for she had seen the light of adventure in his eyes. Sir William looked intently from one to the other. He had known from the day Isabella arrived that Zander wanted her. He had seen his disappointment, chagrin even, when he knew she was to marry Henry even though Zander had only known her for the time it had taken to escort her the length of the Long Glen.

  ‘I didn’t know that Henry was dead until I visited your family,’ Zander said softly now.

  ‘He could not wait to return to have news of you all,’ Sam said. ‘We didn’t know if you and the babe had survived the shock of your husband’s death. Your mother is anxious for news too, Mistress Isabella.’

  ‘Alex is twenty months old now. I would have written but there has been no one travelling in the direction of Braidlands since the letter I sent with Warden Herries, after Henry’s funeral. I longed for news too.’

  There was great excitement when they arrived back at Moyenstane Tower with Zander and the travellers. News spread of Zander’s return and the following day Walter brought Anna and her two children down to visit. There was scarcely any time for Zander to see Isabella on her own. She seemed to be continually busy with the children – their children, he reminded himself, or she was supervising in the kitchens.

  ‘I have brought you spices from the east, Isabella. I know how much you liked them when Henry brought some back from the monastery. I will bring them to you in Henry’s medicine room when I have unpacked everything we brought across the Marshlands, but the silk and other materials were too bulky so I must wait for my men to arrive with the mules.

  True to his word he joined her in the medicine room as soon as she was alone. He had brought ginger and cinnamon, vanilla pods and peppers and hot spices she had never seen or tasted before. He had also brought a lovely gold bracelet for Anna and a small silver bracelet for each of the twins.

  ‘Oh Mamie and Nettie will love these,’ Isabella said, her eyes shining.

  ‘And this, my dear Isabella, I have brought only for you,’ he said softly. ‘I knew Henry would not mind, and now I find he is not here. His death is still a shock to me, but you have never been out of my thoughts even though I believed he was alive.’ He drew out a velvet pouch. Inside it there was the most beautiful gold necklace Isabella could ever have imagined with three deep red rubies sparkling like living fire and each was in a golden filigree heart. ‘There is a bracelet to match,’ he said softly, ‘It is of many hearts joined together so it may be wiser for you to put it away for a while in case my uncle wonders why I should bring such gifts for Henry’s wife. I have many more trinkets I long to bestow on you but I know I must wait.’ He could not bring
himself to tell her he had a problem and would need to leave again. Instead he said softly, ‘Turn around and allow me to fasten this around your beautiful white neck, dear Isabella.’ She obeyed and felt his lips gentle against her warm skin as he secured the necklace. She turned to thank him, her eyes bright with love and gratitude. It was inevitable when they were standing so close in the tiny room that their lips should meet in a long sweet kiss. The door was slightly ajar and Lizzie glanced in as she passed. She nodded her grey head with satisfaction at the sight of them locked in each other arms. Maybe happiness would return to chase away the shadows and lighten the young mistress’s steps again now that Zander was back.

  Thirteen

  Isabella wrote long letters for her mother and sisters for Sam to take back with him to Braidlands but it saddened her when the time came to say good-bye. She and Zander rode with them as far as the tunnel through the mountains. Duncan accompanied them and Isabella guessed Sir William had sent him as a chaperon, rather than her protector. It was true that a couple of hours in the isolation of the long glen with only the two of them would have been a great temptation. It took only a certain look from Zander to turn her bones to jelly and make her stomach muscles clench with desire. She knew he felt the same but it seemed impossible to spend any time alone together. Isabella knew this was a good thing, given that she was now a widow but in her heart longed to be with Zander in every possible sense, openly with truth and happiness and unfettered by the guilt of stolen hours. She sensed Zander’s growing frustration, but there was more. He was tense and sometimes brusque, as though there was some secret he could not share.

  ‘I am tempted to use the secret entrance to your chamber,’ he said gruffly one morning when they met by chance. ‘There are things I need to tell you and time is getting short.’

  ‘Please, Zander, don’t do that.’

  ‘Why not? Don’t you love me now you have children, Isabella?’ His blue eyes were a little hurt, reminding her of her toddler son.

  ‘You must know I have never stopped loving you and longing for your arms around me, Zander,’ she whispered urgently. ‘But I am a widow now. If we made another baby we could no longer pretend Henry is the father. Your Uncle might suspect other…’ She broke off as a door creaked. ‘Someone is coming. I must get back to the kitchens.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right,’ Zander sighed. ‘I will walk with you. Even walls have ears around this place, but you are free to marry me now you are a widow. We must not delay. I want you so much, Isabella but I know a baby without marriage would arouse my uncle’s anger and suspicions. When I heard of Henry’s death I told your mother and brother I wanted to marry you and that it has been my desire since the day I first saw you riding from the marshlands like a beautiful wraith.’

  ‘You did?’ Isabella’s eyes shone with love. ‘What did they say?’

  ‘Your mother believes love can conquer all and she wished us happiness and long lives together. Jamie said he had guessed how I felt, even though we barely knew each other. He suspected you felt the same, as though some invisible thread drew us together.’

  ‘I see.’ Isabella blushed. ‘I didn’t know I was so transparent, or that love could strike like lightening from the sky.’

  ‘I shall tell my uncle we want to be married. You have been a widow for more than a year so he can have no reason to refuse.’

  ‘I hope you’re right,’ Isabella said. ‘But Zander? I sense there is something troubling you?’

  ‘Yes,’ he sighed. ‘I need to go away again for a time.’

  ‘You’re going away? Again? Even though…Oh Zander!’

  ‘I shall not stay away one minute longer than I can help, Isabella. I wish I didn’t need to go, but I gave my word.’

  ‘I see,’ Isabella said flatly. She felt her happiness evaporate. What could be so important? Why was he so tense? Did he have a woman in another country? Maybe a child too? She couldn’t blame him if he had. None of them could have known Henry would die so young. She couldn’t bear the thought of Zander being with someone else.

  Zander sensed Isabella’s dejection matched his own at the thought of parting again. He went to find Sir William to tell him he and Isabella wanted to be married without delay.

  ‘You cannot marry Isabella. She is under my protection. I promised Henry. She is my daughter-in-law and the mother of my grandchildren.’

  ‘She is a widow. I love her. I will care for her, and the children.’

  ‘If you loved her you would not leave her. You might drown at sea, or be killed by pirates. You have no right to demand Isabella should marry you. She will remain in my care’

  ‘You want her to yourself!’ Zander accused recklessly. A vague recollection of Henry voicing fears that his father might get Isabella with child if he did not do so himself flew into his head. ‘She is not for you. You are an old man…’

  ‘Quiet!’ Sir William roared. ‘A man is not old at forty six, as you will discover if you live that long.’ He did not deny such thoughts had entered his head. ‘I made promised Henry on his deathbed that she will not marry again.’

  ‘Henry asked for such a promise?’ Zander asked incredulously. ‘But he could not have known I would return. He would have wanted me to take Isabella as my wife, and care for her children.’ Henry had known how deeply he loved her, and he had been glad. Zander’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the ruthless man who was his father in everything but name, the man who would not acknowledged him because he was not a Douglas.

  ‘All you care about is the name of Douglas!’ he snarled recklessly. ‘Henry did not know Isabella would have a son, but he knew you would do anything to make sure she produced a child bearing the Douglas name. He was afraid you would force Isabella to become your wife.’

  ‘How dare you!’ Sir William’s ruddy face paled. ‘You were not there. You know nothing.’

  ‘But you can’t deny it is what Henry feared? He tried to protect Isabella with his last breath.’

  ‘How should I know what he feared! I promised to protect her and you plan to go away and leave her. She cannot marry you. Get out of my sight! Get out I say.’

  ‘You’re angry because I speak the truth,’ Zander hissed. ‘I must leave because I made a promise. If I had known of Henry’s death I would not have burdened myself with other responsibilities, but I shall make my fortune and when I return I shall not be dependent on you any longer.’

  ‘Money is all you care about. Go then!’ Sir William shouted angrily. ‘Make your fortune! You have caused naught but trouble since the day you were born.’

  ‘You mean since the day I was conceived,’ Zander sneered, ‘and we know who was responsible for that,’ he added, throwing caution to the winds in his anger. ‘I shall return and claim Isabella as my bride with, or without, your consent. If that means fighting you, then I shall fight for the woman I love, and her children. I know many of our men will stand at my side.’

  Neither of them was aware of Lizzie’s indrawn breath as she stood at the bottom of the spiral stairs.

  Zander waited until he could speak to Isabella alone.

  ‘I must leave tomorrow,’ he said without preliminary greetings although they had not seen each other all day. Isabella’s face paled. ‘You are sailing across the sea again? Is –is there someone there you love?’ Zander stared at her.

  ‘Love? Dearest Isabella, you are my only love. I told Sir William I wanted to marry you…’

  ‘You did? Oh Zander that’s wonderful!’ Her eyes shone with love. Zander hesitated for a moment, reluctant to dim her joy but he had to tell her.

  ‘He refused,’ he said harshly. ‘I am leaving because I made a promise, to a dying man and to my partner. I shall make my own fortune and I shall return to claim you as my bride without his permission. Will you, and our children, come with me then, my sweet Isabella?’ he asked gruffly.

  ‘You know I would go with you to the ends of the earth.’

  ‘Mama,’ Alex called plaintively, reminding
her of her duties as a mother.

  ‘He wants me to tell him a story,’ she said softly to Zander. ‘I could never leave our children behind…’

  ‘I shall never ask you to do that, Isabella. They are the reason I cannot take you with me to Holland now. Walter has promised his support, if I need to fight for you.’

  ‘Surely Sir William does not want a quarrel, or to drive us all away?’

  ‘Only me,’ Zander said grimly. ‘But you must not trust him Isabella.’

  ‘He has been kind to me, especially since Henry’s death. Did he give a reason why I cannot marry you? Will he agree when I have been a widow longer?’

  ‘He says he made a promise to Henry on his deathbed. I can’t believe Henry would not have been happy for us to marry. He knew I loved you with all my heart. I may be away for several months. Will you wait for me, Isabella, whatever happens?’

  ‘You know I will,’ she whispered hoarsely and her eyes filled with tears at the thought of parting from him again so soon. ‘Promise you will take care.’

  ‘I shall not journey to the east again.’ His mouth tightened, and Isabella saw the determination she had already seen on the face of her son when he could not have his own way. ‘I promise to return as soon as I can,’ Zander said huskily, ‘in the meantime I want you to take this pouch and hide it safely. Do not tell anyone you have it. If Sir William tries to make you do something against your will, or threatens to harm you, you must take Duncan and Thomas and go to Father Oliver at the monastery. You will be safe there. I shall find you and we shall return to collect our children. Promise me you will do as I ask, Isabella?’