Strangely, his talk was lucid, and he knew a great deal about animals and birds. Apparently he spent much time watching them, but Blanche noticed the dogs who inhabited the castle hall, and fought over the scraps, would never take any of the offerings Donald held out to them, waiting out of reach until, growing impatient, he tossed the bones to them, when they would pounce and scuttle away with their prize as fast as they could.
Blanche did her utmost to avoid him, but found it difficult since Donald appeared to be fascinated by her luxuriantly curling dark hair. He had, on the first meeting, stretched out his hand as if to stroke it, being called sharply to order by his father. Blanche took great care never to be alone where he might find her, especially when he took to shambling along after her. Alexander commented sardonically on his devotion to Blanche, much to her annoyance.
'Uncle Bruce must be careful, or our friend will be laying his heart and inheritance at the wrong feet,' he murmured to Blanche one evening as he danced with her.
She glanced up at him in annoyance.
'And no doubt you think I would accept!' she retorted.
'He will inherit a sizeable property, and if you could bear to put up with him for a few years until he is hopelessly insane, you would be in control. If you were clever you could have a son and rule for him.'
'How horrible!' she exclaimed. 'Another poor mad child!'
'Oh, I do not suggest Donald should father it,' he said, laughing at her. 'You could easily avoid his attentions, and choose a mate more to your liking. There would be no lack of candidates for the honour!'
Furious, Blanche broke away from him and went to stand near one of the fires.
He followed, and conversed blandly on innocuous topics to the group about the fire, while Blanche seethed inwardly, waiting only for a chance to escape to her room.
After a time the opportunity came when Fiona indicated she wished to retire, and Blanche left with her. Having helped Fiona into bed she went towards her own room. As she turned a corner she halted abruptly. A door in front of her was open and Donald's voice, rather whining and unmistakable, floated out to her.
'But I prefer the other one, Father.'
Blanche hesitated, wondering whether he would see her if she passed the open door, and heard Bruce reply.
'You cannot have her, my son. But we will persuade your cousin to accept you. There are ways of compromising her so that she will have no alternative. Once she is committed you can have the other girl too, but first we must secure your cousin.'
Blanche turned and ran, heedless of the noise she made, back along the way she had come. Outside Fiona's room, where a guard had been stationed as was customary, she found Alexander talking in low tones to the man.
'I must speak with you,' she gasped, and he looked at her in surprise.
'Come,' he said briefly, leading her into a nearby room. 'Now, what ails you?' he demanded as he guided her to a stool.
Breathlessly she told him what she had heard. To her chagrin he burst out laughing.
'Do you not believe me?'
'It is too ridiculous! Oh, I believe you heard this scheme being hatched, but they could never carry it out. My dear cousin is guarded night and day, and no one can harm her.'
'But you will take extra care, please?' Blanche pleaded.
'Against two crazy fools? I must think his father as deranged as Donald to think such a plan might work.' He laughed again, and Blanche, angry at the thought she might have been too credulous, bade him a frosty farewell and turned to leave the room. She found him beside her, opening the door.
'I will escort you to your room,' he said, and she bridled at the mockery in his voice.
'I need no escort of yours!'
'But I, in the absence of your brother, consider it part of my duty to safeguard the honour as well as the persons of all in my charge,' he responded, laughter in his voice.
Blanche submitted in silence, and merely nodded her thanks when they reached her door. Alexander caught her hand and bowed low over it, kissing it for what Blanche, hot with embarrassment, thought an inordinate length of time.
'So young Donald has some taste,' she heard Alexander say softly after he had released her hand and she was able to escape from him and close her door.
*
Chapter 6
The next few days passed with agonising slowness to Blanche. She watched and waited with apprehension for an attack on Fiona by Bruce and Donald, at the same time being careful to keep as much out of Donald's way as possible. Blanche knew from Fiona that her uncle had again been attempting to persuade her to marry her cousin, pointing out she would be in danger until she did marry, but the cousin himself had not approached her on his own behalf.
'What danger does he mean? Have you told him about the poisoned sweetmeats?'
'No,' Fiona shook her head. 'When I asked what he referred to he mentioned only Patrick's death, suggesting whoever killed him might turn to me next.'
'That does not sound as though he had aught to do with Patrick's death,' Blanche said musingly.
'Unless he is deliberately trying to put me off the scent! I truly know not what to believe!'
Father and son, having received an uncompromising rejection of their proposals from Fiona, which her uncle at last recognised as final, departed. Freed from her self-imposed restrictions, Blanche sought the peace of the terrace, deserted on this early October day, when there was a keen wind sweeping down from the hills. She pulled her fur lined cloak closely about her, gazing across at the forests where already the trees were losing their golden and russet leaves. Her solitude was soon disturbed when Alexander appeared, and as before stood beside her leaning on the wall.
'Are you disappointed?' he queried lazily, and she shot him a glance of annoyance.
'I am relieved they did not make any attempt against Fiona,' she said stiffly. 'That is natural and should be obvious to you!'
'But I always thought a woman did not care to be proved wrong?' he said teasingly.
'I was not!' she protested. 'I did hear them planning it. Just because they did not for some reason succeed does not prove me wrong. The guard was too effective, mayhap.'
'Do you always have an answer?' was his only reply.
'Do you have to torment me?'
'Torment? I have been led to believe, by the ladies of my acquaintance, that the topic of conversation they most enjoyed was themselves. I but sought to entertain you pleasantly.'
Blanche looked up into his smiling face, for the moment speechless. No doubt he has known many women, he is so handsome, she thought irrelevantly. Then the unwavering gaze with which he was regarding her caused her to blush. Slowly the colour suffused her cheeks and mortified, she turned away.
'Not all of us think of ourselves to the exclusion of other matters,' she said, flinging up her head defiantly. 'Methinks you do not know us as well as you would pretend. I bid you good day.'
She walked quickly away, his low laugh following her, her thoughts whirling, as she devised, too late, answers other than those she had given to his taunts.
Blanche contrived to avoid Alexander as much as possible during the next few days, conscious that he made her feel uncomfortable, but she forgot this when John returned, weary but triumphant from his mission. This time there was no need for secrecy, and Fiona called Blanche and Alexander into her sitting room while John reported on his journey.
'Well?' Fiona demanded when they had gathered about the cheerfully roaring flames. She smiled warmly at John as he leant against a settle beside the fire, staring down at her.
'My lady, my news is not very terrible. I had to travel a great deal, but I think I gained information about the fighting men of the Campbell clan who would support Duncan. I would estimate he can call on about three hundred men in all.'
'Over a hundred more than I have,' Fiona said in concern.
'Agreed, but your men have fought with Montrose. They are more experienced, and having fought together they know their limita
tions and their strengths. Many of Duncan's men are forced into service and would have no stomach for such a venture, unlike your Macdonalds who would be protecting their chieftain. I would expect many of the Campbells to be resentful, preferring to be cultivating their lands. He would have great fear of deserters.'
'You underestimate clan loyalty,' Alexander remarked, but while John's lips tightened, Fiona ignored him.
'Then you do not think we face much danger from him?' she asked hopefully.
'I do not say that. He is a dangerous man. But I doubt he can field a dangerous force against the Macdonalds. I will arrange at once to send men I can trust to watch the borders between your lands and his. If he moves against us we will have adequate warning.'
'And we will be on our guard here for any moves within,' Alexander added. 'I will now hand back my duty as Fiona's protector, Sir John. Fiona, I have not mentioned it earlier, but now your gallant steward is returned I must visit my own home. There is much there that needs my attention. Have I your leave?'
'You scarce need to ask. Truly, Alex, I am most grateful to you for your aid. I have been selfish keeping you here, when your home must call. After your long years of fighting you must be anxious to go there.'
He smiled at her, inclining his head in acknowledgment of her thanks.
'I would not leave you and all I hold dear were it not important, cousin. As it is, I do not intend to remain more than a short while, long enough to put in train certain changes I have in mind.'
Blanche wondered abstractedly what changes these could be, then firmly told herself they were no concern of hers, and listened to the questions the others were asking John. He had obtained a great deal of information and seemed not to have aroused any suspicions. They talked late that night, and on leaving Alexander bent low over Fiona's hand.
'I propose to depart early so I will bid you farewell now, cousin. I shall be gone before you rise. Be careful, do not exert yourself too greatly, for you are still not fully recovered from your illness.'
'Farewell to you, Alex. I will be careful.'
*
John had looked quickly from one to the other while this brief exchange took place, but he could not demand an explanation then. He waited until Blanche left Fiona, and then accompanied her to her apartments.
'What illness is this?' he asked abruptly.
Blanche hesitated, wondering whether Fiona would prefer to tell John herself what had happened, and then, thinking that if he heard it directly from Fiona he might betray his feelings too clearly and embarrass them, she told him all she knew about the suspected poisoning attempt.
'Who else knows the truth?' he demanded brusquely.
'Janet and mother only. The physician may suspect, but we tried to throw the blame on fish we had eaten for supper. I pretended to be slightly indisposed too.'
'What of Alexander? Does he know?'
'Fiona would not tell him. She felt he might challenge Colin.'
'Could she possibly suspect him?'
Blanche looked her astonishment. 'He would not, surely? What could he gain? Colin and his four children stand between him and the chieftainship. He would do better to wed Fiona.'
'Is not that what he intends? Though I cannot see she favours him.'
'I do not think she does,' Blanche agreed thoughtfully. 'I have heard her say she would never marry him, and yet there are many pressures on her to marry. Alexander is a soldier and a strong man who would be able to protect her. There is much to be said for such a marriage,' she concluded firmly, knowing she was herself unconvinced.
John paced up and down restlessly, and Blanche eyed him with compassion. He could not show his love for Fiona, and must watch with complaisance her marriage with another man and, if she chose Alexander, to one he disliked. At last John turned to her.
'Watch over her for me when I cannot be there,' he said simply, and Blanche went to hug him tightly.
'Of course, for I love her too.'
John smiled a brief acknowledgment and then left her, but Blanche could not sleep for hours that night, wondering what the outcome for them all would be.
The next few days, with Alexander away, were oddly dull. Blanche admitted to herself that, angry as her occasional clashes with him had made her at the time, she missed the stimulation of his presence.
Fiona had now completely recovered from her illness, and was once more busy with the affairs of her inheritance. She frequently rode out, saying she wanted to make the most of the autumn before winter closed its icy grip on the Highlands.
One morning, when it promised to be a warm and sunny day, she called Blanche and said she had a yearning to go hunting.
'I have arranged a small party, Blanche. Change into your habit, and we will have some fine sport.'
'Is John coming?' Blanche asked, for he normally insisted on accompanying them when they rode out.
'No, he has gone to see about a fight there was last night, amongst some of the clansmen, over disputed land, I think. There are several unclaimed crofts, and whenever one person wishes to occupy some deserted patch, you can be sure at least two others will say they have a prior claim, and it is the best of the land available.'
'Alexander said to take care,' Blanche reminded her.
'Oh, what of it? He has no right to order me about, none whatsoever. Besides, I do not intend to go far, or away from my own lands. Shall we ride along the Bishop's valley?'
Blanche was tempted. She loved this particular valley, with its narrow entrance opening through a high gorge in the hills, once defended by the castle of a bishop. Inside the valley widened into a bowl-shaped depression, not deep, but with no easy access apart from the gorge at one end and a narrow path beside a small but fast running river at the far end, through a further range of hills. In the floor of the valley the river wound peacefully through forest land and there was an abundance of deer.
'I think we ought to remain nearer home,' she said doubtfully.
'It may be the last time we can reach it before the snow comes and cuts it off completely,' Fiona said persuasively. 'Do let us go today.'
Blanche felt compelled to protest, but Fiona was determined, seeming especially to resent the advice Alexander had proffered before his departure. Suppressing her worry that neither John nor Alexander could accompany them, Blanche had to content herself with the sight of a dozen sturdy men, mostly nearby landowners, but with a couple of the richer townsmen too, that made up the party.
They rode off gaily, Fiona in the lead, and Blanche found herself riding beside one of the younger men she had known for some time. He was gallantly attentive, and she could read the admiration in his eyes, but although she smiled at him she rather bleakly thought to herself that she did not feel any more warmly towards him than to anyone else. John had told her a few days earlier that Roger Grant, the man to whom he was hoping to marry her, had written he would come to Scotland in the following spring, and he was sure all could be arranged so that the wedding could take place within a short time. If all went as planned Blanche would be returning to England with him the following summer. This would be the last autumn she would have in Scotland.
Blanche wondered now, as she replied lightly to her companion's compliments, whether she would ever love a man. So far she had known nothing of that emotion, and although she knew she would be expected to love this man who would become her husband, she could not help longing to experience something akin to the feelings she saw that John had for Fiona, hopeless though they seemed of fulfilment.
They rode for the valley, a few miles away from the castle, and Blanche shivered involuntarily as they passed in single file along the path through the gorge. On the one side was a steep drop to the silvery river, foaming as it rushed below along its narrow, rock-strewn bed. On the other a sheer rock face was surmounted by the ruined but still imposing castle of the long dead bishop. No attackers could have forced that entrance, for the defenders could have pushed them down into the deadly river with ease, simply by
casting rocks from above.
Once through the gorge, however, the river was gentle and inviting, with mossy banks bordering its still, deep, dark pools, and the bright shallows where the water sparkled and gurgled, wending its merry way. The trees were mixed firs and oaks, and there were many enchanting glades that Blanche wanted to stop and explore.
They hunted for a couple of hours with little success, and then halted in one of the glades beside the river to eat the food they had brought with them. It was warm for the time of year, here in the sheltered valley, and the beauty of the scene attracted them more than the chase for some time, so that they lingered beside the river. At length, with a regretful sigh, Fiona made a move to leave.
'We must return, I fear, for it grows dark early. We can make another cast as we go back down the valley, and mayhap 'twill be more successful than earlier.'
They agreed, and the men began to saddle up the horses which had been tethered under the shade of the trees, when suddenly the sound of riders thrusting through the forest was heard. Before anyone could do more than utter a startled exclamation, they found themselves surrounded by at least twice as many horsemen, brandishing dirks and guns threateningly.
'Drop your guns and you will receive no hurt,' Fiona's men were ordered brusquely by a man who rode slightly in front of the rest of the band.
There was no alternative, since they were covered with pistols and had been utterly unprepared. The leader of the band of men smiled grimly to see his orders obeyed, then leapt from his horse, throwing the reins to another man.
'My lady chieftain,' he said, approaching Fiona. 'I intend you no harm if you do not resist. I have orders to conduct you to my master who wishes to talk with you on a matter that closely concerns you both.'
'And who might that be?' Fiona demanded angrily. 'I have no wish to talk with one who conveys his requests in such an unmannerly way!'
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