Under The Kissing Bough: 15 Romantic Holiday Novellas

by Kathryn Le Veque

  “Annalyse, how can you raise her children without a husband?” asked her mother, crying as well.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll manage.” Annalyse drank in the image of her sister with her three babies atop her chest, wanting to remember this sight for as long as she lived.

  “You’ll have a husband . . . you’ve already dreamed about him,” Gabrielle told her, closing her eyes as death was near.

  “Nay, don’t die,” Annalyse cried, leaning close to her sister. “I forgave you, Gabrielle. You don’t need to die as the cursed second twin. Please. You need to live.”

  “Take my children and . . . never tell them the king is their . . . father. Never . . . tell . . . them.” Then Gabrielle died with a smile on her face with her three babies atop her chest and in her arms.

  “Nay, Gabrielle, wake up! Please don’t die.” Annalyse wept bitterly. She leaned over and placed kisses against her sister’s forehead, but it was too late. Gabrielle had left this world forever and Annalyse was now the only twin.

  “What’s all this?” came a male voice from across the room. Annalyse looked up to see King Edward and her father standing in the open doorway with their mouths wide open.

  DESTINY’S KISS

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Your Majesty,” said Annalyse’s mother with a bow of her head and a curtsy. The midwife and Annalyse did the same. Annalyse’s eyes scanned the room, but somehow in the commotion, Ross had disappeared. Her heart sank. She hoped he’d be there to help her through this, but now that Gabrielle had died, she figured he left since there would be no alliance.

  “Ernestine, why wasn’t I notified that Gabrielle was birthing her baby?” asked her father, making his way into the room.

  “Ramsay . . . she’s dead,” said Ernestine bursting into tears.

  “Nay!” he ran to the bed and stopped in his tracks when he noticed the triplets atop Gabrielle’s chest.

  “I want to see my bastard,” said the king, coming to the bedside. Annalyse held her breath as the king looked down to see the three babies atop her dead sister’s chest. “Bid the devil, I am cursed,” he spat.

  “No, you’re not cursed, Your Majesty.” Annalyse’s father shot her a daggered look. “I’m sure these aren’t all your babies.”

  “Don’t lie,” growled the king. “I have eyes and can see they are all newborns. And my precious Gabrielle is dead.” He reached out and ran a loving hand over Gabrielle’s head. A tear dripped down the man’s cheek, but he quickly brushed it away.

  “This is horrible,” said her father, pacing back and forth. The babies all started crying at once and the king did not look happy. “Not only were triplets born on the Feast Day of the Holy Innocents, but my daughter is dead!”

  “Your second-born daughter – the real cursed twin,” spat Annalyse, feeling angry with her father and only managing to make things worse.

  “Lady Gabrielle was a twin?” asked the king, taking a closer look at Annalyse. “Yes, you look just like her. Why was I never told about this?”

  “I assure you, it was only because I knew how superstitious you were,” blurted out her father. “I didn’t see a need to upset you.”

  “I’ve had a second-born twin as my mistress and now I have cursed triplets!” Edward bellowed. “How could that not upset me? I’ve been deceived and I don’t like it!”

  “Nay, I assure you Gabrielle was the first born,” said her father, but the king no longer believed him. King Edward III took one last look at his bastards lying atop his dead mistress’ chest and just shook his head.

  “I will not have this curse upon me. The bastards will only bring me ill luck.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Annalyse’s mother, still at Gabrielle’s side, tears streaming from her eyes.

  “Say your goodbyes to the babies,” spat the king. “I will be back with my henchman because the bastards must die.”

  “Die?” gasped Annalyse. “You’re going to kill them? Nay, you can’t kill innocent children.”

  “They aren’t innocent, they are birthed by a second-born cursed twin and sent by the devil,” growled the king.

  “But they’re your bastards, Sire,” said Ramsay. “Surely you wouldn’t kill three sons of your own blood?” He faked a laugh and Annalyse saw him falling apart but felt no remorse for her father.

  “I’ve been deceived,” said the king again. “You should feel lucky I’m not ordering your head on a platter, Granville. And look at those bastards. They all have the same face and eyes, but each of them has different colored hair. Aye, they are spawns of the devil, not of my blood, and I will never claim them as my own.”

  “But the first-born isn’t cursed,” said her mother, trying to make things better. “Surely, you’ll want to claim at least one of your sons?”

  “Which one is the first-born?” asked the king, sounding for a minute as if he were considering saving at least one of the babies.

  Annalyse’s eyes met with her mother’s and then the midwife’s, but none of them said a word. To save one of the children would be condemning the other two to death. They all knew Rowen was the first-born son, but Annalyse wouldn’t tell him and it didn’t look like her mother or the midwife would, either.

  “Which one is it?” asked the king again, losing patience.

  “I – I’m not sure,” said her mother.

  “I don’t remember, either,” said Annalyse. “It all happened so fast.”

  “Midwife, certainly you’ll know since you delivered them,” spat the king. “Which one is it?”

  Annalyse held her breath, hoping the midwife wouldn’t say a word. But the woman had already declared she would never keep such a secret again.

  “They all were covered with blood and looked the same. I do not know, Sire,” said the midwife keeping her eyes downward.

  Annalyse let out the breath she’d been holding, thinking since Edward didn’t know the answer, he would let them all live rather than to kill off his first-born son. However, the king was not such a generous man.

  “If no one can tell me, then they will all die,” he said.

  “Sire, these are my grandchildren,” said her father. “And I’ve just lost my daughter, as well. Please, don’t do this to me.”

  “They must die or I know they will be trouble and eventually bring a curse upon my head. I can’t have that,” stated Edward. “I’m sorry, but my mind is made up and no one will question my decision. My henchman will return to take the lives of the cursed babies.”

  He headed toward the door and Annalyse’s father ran after him. “Please, Sire, let us have a tankard of ale and discuss this.”

  “There is naught to discuss,” said the king, heading down the corridor with Ramsay following at his heels. “The three bastards will be killed and buried along with their deceiving mother.”

  “Nay!” shouted Annalyse, running to the babies and collecting one in her arms. Her mother and the midwife did the same. “We have to think of something. I promised Gabrielle I’d take care of her babies. I can’t let the king kill them.”

  “You have no choice,” said the midwife rocking a crying baby in her arms. “The king has given an order and none of us can change his command.”

  “I can,” came a female voice from the door. Annalyse spun around to see Queen Philippa standing in the doorway with two of her guards behind her. “Leave me,” the queen told her guards and walked into the room. When she did, she gasped in surprise as Ross walked out from behind the door and closed it.

  “A Scot!” cried the queen. Annalyse knew she had to stop the queen before she called for her guards.

  “It’s all right, he’s a friend,” Annalyse told her, walking to Ross with little Rowen in her arms.

  “This is Ross of Clan Douglas and he is here by our invitation,” she lied.

  “Your Majesty,” said Ross, bowing his head.

  “What were you doing hiding behind the door?” asked the queen, looking as if she’d call for her guards after al
l.

  “I wasna sure if yer husband would take kindly to my alliance with Lord Granville, so I stayed silent and hidden when he entered the room,” said Ross.

  “Your alliance?” asked the queen suspiciously.

  “We are betrothed,” Annalyse said without thinking. She noticed the surprised look on Ross’ face.

  “Actually, that’s no’ exactly right,” said Ross. Annalyse held her breath, hoping he wasn’t going to tell the queen the truth. “Lord Ramsay Granville insisted we get married today and so we did.”

  “Yes, that is true,” said Annalyse, knowing it wasn’t all a lie.

  “On the Feast Day of the Holy Innocents?” asked the queen with a raised brow.

  “It was a mock wedding, but my father insisted we practice,” Annalyse told the queen, as that is what happened.

  “Well, congratulations,” said the queen. “Now, we need to talk about these babies before my husband sends his henchman to the chamber.”

  She swooped across the floor with her long, green velvet gown brushing against the rushes. Queen Philippa was a vision of beauty with her dainty, regal features and her dark hair coiled around each ear. She wore jewels around her neck and rings on her fingers. On her head was a crown made of silver and gold.

  “I made a promise to my twin sister that I would raise her babies for her,” admitted Annalyse. “But the king thinks his bastards are cursed and will bring him trouble. He’s ordered them all killed.”

  “So I’ve heard.” Philippa looked over to each of the babies in turn, stretching her neck to see them without getting close to the birthing bed or the blood-stained sheets. Her eyes then settled on Gabrielle and she walked closer to survey her with a wave of sadness covering her face. “I don’t approve of my husband’s mistresses. However, I was friends with Gabrielle. She was my lady-in-waiting and served me well. I will respect her wishes of having you, her twin sister, raise her children.”

  “My name is Lady Annalyse,” she said, with a bow of the head and another curtsy.

  “You look just like Gabrielle,” said the queen. “I will miss her dearly.”

  “My good queen, is there any way you can help us?” asked Annalyse.

  “I’m the queen! Of course, I can help you. I don’t care what Edward thinks, I am not afraid of curses and silly superstitions. I believe no baby should be killed. Edward is acting no better than Herod and I won’t let Gabrielle’s babies die by his hand.”

  “Oh, thank you,” wept Annalyse’s mother.

  “I will also ensure the king does nothing to harm any of your family over this decision, either. But you must take the babies and hide where Edward cannot find you.”

  “He will come after them,” said Annalyse. “How can we outrun a king and his army?”

  “He won’t come after you if he thinks his bastards are dead.”

  “You’re going to lie to your husband?” asked Ernestine.

  “Hasn’t he lied enough to me? Edward’s henchman has done favors for me in the past and I will pay him well to keep the secret. I will tell Edward I oversaw the deaths of the babies and he will think I did it out of jealousy. Lady Annalyse, take the children and hide in the hills. Go across the border to Scotland to raise them where Edward won’t find you.”

  “Across the border? By myself?” Annalyse was horrified even to think of such a thing.

  “I’ll go with you,” offered the midwife. “I’ll help you raise the children. It is the least I can do to make up for keeping a secret I should never have kept.”

  “Thank you, Midwife, but I don’t believe two women and three babies will be safe traveling alone,” Annalyse answered.

  “You’ll have your betrothed with you to protect all of you,” said the queen and Ross stepped forward.

  “Aye. Ye willna be alone, Lady Annalyse, as I will be with ye as well as my brother and two others of my clan as we travel back to Scotland. Ye will come to live with Clan Douglas as my wife, and we will raise yer sister’s babies as our own.”

  “Ross?” asked Annalyse, her eyes darting from him to her mother, then to the midwife and back to him again. “What are you saying?”

  “I ken our marriage was a mock marriage today, Annalyse. But as soon as we get to Scotland, we will be married for real. That is what ye want, isna it?”

  “Why, yes, I suppose so,” she said, feeling a swarm of emotions travel through her. She cuddled the baby to her chest and looked over to her dead sister on the bed and tears escaped her eyes. “Would you really agree to raise the English king’s bastards as your own?”

  “I ken what it means to ye to keep yer promise to yer sister,” he said, putting his hand on Annalyse’s shoulder. “Aye, my lady, I agree. Rowen, Rook, and Reed will be our sons from this day on.”

  “Good, then hurry, as you must leave now,” said the queen. “I will keep my husband distracted while you go to the stables and get a cart for your travels.”

  “Thank you, Queen Philippa,” said Annalyse’s mother, kissing Reed and handing the baby to Ross. “I will tell no one what you’ve done for us this day.”

  “Not even your husband,” the queen warned. “If he knows, it’ll only endanger him if the king ever discovers the truth.”

  The midwife took Rook. Annalyse hugged and kissed her mother goodbye.

  “Thank ye, Yer Highness,” said Ross with a bow to the queen. “Yer kindness is appreciated.”

  “I will leave the room first and take my guards’ attention,” said the queen. “As soon as I’m down the corridor, you must all hurry to the stable and leave.” The queen left the room and Annalyse’s mother took two cloaks from hooks on the wall and placed them over the midwife’s and Annalyse’s shoulders.

  “Take good care of my daughter and my grandsons,” she said to Ross. “This might be the last I ever see them.”

  “Nay, Mother,” said Annalyse. “I’ll return again someday, I promise.”

  “Come, Annalyse, we must hurry,” said Ross, leading the way to the door.

  “Wait!” Annalyse ran back to her sister, holding the baby securely. She bent down and kissed Gabrielle goodbye, feeling no more pain from her twin. “Goodbye, Gabrielle. I hope you are in a far better place now. I promised you I would raise your sons and keep the truth of who sired them from the boys. That is what I’ll do. I love you, no matter what happened between us, and I forgive you.” She looked up to her mother. “I forgive you all.”

  “Come on, lassie,” said Ross, putting his arm around her and guiding her to the door. Annalyse was leaving for Scotland, now a mother and about to be a bride. Her life was about to change forever. She looked back at her mother who was crying at Gabrielle’s side and realized that she and her twin sister would always be close, even in death. Gabrielle would live on through Rowen, Rook, and Reed - the king’s bastards.

  DESTINY’S KISS

  CHAPTER TEN

  Lowlands, Scotland

  Annalyse stood next to her husband with the baby, Rowen, in her arms, a few days later, looking out over the vast, wide open space occupied by Clan Douglas. She and Ross had married as soon as they’d arrived. Although the clan accepted them, she picked up their fear from seeing the triplets. She’d told the clan the babies belonged to her departed sister but didn’t breathe a word of them being King Edward’s bastards.

  Her marriage to Ross was bittersweet. While she was happy to be out of the abbey and even more elated to be married to such a kind and handsome man, she missed her family dearly – especially her sister.

  “Och, Wife, why dinna ye smile? Ye are married now, lassie. Dinna tell me ye are no’ happy.” Ross held both Rook and Reed in his strong arms and she drank in the glorious sight, since she knew he would make a wonderful father.

  “I am happy, Husband,” she said, testing the word on her tongue, reaching up and giving him a peck on the cheek. “I am just concerned that the clan will think the triplets are a curse. People have been asking a lot of questions about them. You didn’t tell them the
truth, did you?”

  “Of course no’,” said Ross, looking down and smiling at the babies. “They dinna need to ken these are the English king’s bastards. I’ll raise them as our own and train them to fight and be strong warriors.”

  “Oh, Ross! Do you mean you are going to teach them to fight against Edward? Somehow that doesn’t seem right. He is their father.”

  “Nay. I’m their faither now, Annalyse, and ye are their mathair. That’s all they need to ken for now. When the boys are older and the time is right, then mayhap we can tell them the truth about who sired them.”

  “Never,” she said, shaking her head. Then she looked down at little Rowen who started fussing. “We made a promise to my sister and we will keep it. My mother won’t tell a soul and the midwife has agreed to keep the secret as well. Ross, tell me you and your brother and friends who know the truth will keep silent about it, too.”

  He hesitated and, for a mere second, Annalyse got the feeling that he was having second thoughts. She knew he hated King Edward and how hard it would be to raise the king’s bastards as his own. But the boy’s needed this chance. They had to do it for them and also for Gabrielle.

  Ross had done his best to convince his clan the triplets were not cursed. However, he told Annalyse they needed to keep some distance from everyone, so they’d decided to build a cottage on the outskirts of the clan where they would live with the children and the old midwife.

  “The secret is safe and will always be,” said Ross, flashing her a smile that melted her heart and made her feel like everything was going to be all right, even if she had an unsettled feeling in her gut that this was all far from over.

  “Do you think our meeting was by accident or was it possibly meant to be?” she asked her new husband. “After all, everything happened so fast and we’ve yet to get to know each other well. I only hope, someday, we can be in love, too, the way Gabrielle loved King Edward.”