by Amanda Scott
Lucas called, “Sir, the fire be a-going, and I’ve cut some long branches, so we can begin our shelters if ye’d like.”
“I must go, but you’ll be warm enough now, I wager,” Hugh said, carefully pushing the blankets off himself and tucking them close to her as he got up.
“Aye,” she murmured, watching as he pulled on his boots and went outside in only a leather jack and breeks, leaving his heavy cloak atop hers.
It occurred to her that since they would seek an annulment, for her to lie with him was improper under any circumstance. Even so, it had seemed natural to let him hold her, and a blessing to share his warmth.
In truth, although Hugh had often annoyed and exasperated her, something deep inside thrilled at the thought of having him even briefly as her husband. She respected him, and she could talk with him. He understood what it was to manage large estates and bear responsibility for others’ lives. He did not regard his estates or hers as mere sources of income. Reid, she suspected, saw Easdale that way and spared not one thought for her or for her people.
She lay a few minutes longer in the warm bed. But now that she was warm, she decided she ought to be up and doing things, helping to keep the fire going if nothing else, while the men dealt with their shelters.
Accordingly, she got up, pulled on her boots, and smoothed the covers on the pallet with Hugh’s cloak atop them. Reassuring herself that the inside of her cloak was dry, she put it on, put up the hood, and went outside. She was surprised to see that although the patches of snow were deeper, much of the ground was still clear.
The men were piling branches near the tent, and she saw another pile beside Lucas’s tent. Lucas had cut fire-wood, so she went to see if the fire needed tending.
It burned merrily, and Lucas had lashed a spit together, ready to put over the flames later. Hugh glanced at her but said nothing about her having come outside. He and Lucas were already arranging the cut branches around and over Hugh’s tent. It seemed to take only minutes and doing Lucas’s took less time.
The two men disappeared into the woods then, returning a short while later with a brace of rabbits. They skinned them, and Lucas fixed them on the spit. Then he stood the spit over the fire.
“Where did you put the food we brought?” Jenny asked him, knowing the women had given them a bag of food before they left.
“ ’Tis in t’ sumpter basket, m’lady,” Lucas said, pointing. “We thought we’d liefer ’ave hot food as well, just now.”
“Those rabbits already smell delicious,” she said as she went to find the sack.
It contained crusty rolls and apples, as well as cold sliced beef. Knowing the men would be hungry and that they would have little use for the food after they reached Annan House, she took it all to a flat rock near the fire.
“We’ll have a feast for our midday meal,” she said.
“Walk with me for a time first, lass,” Hugh said. “I want to see how much snow is flying beyond these woods, and we should come to the end of them a short way from here. We’ll have a look whilst Lucas minds the rabbits.”
She went willingly. Walking would keep her warm.
“Will the minstrels be building shelters, too?” she asked him.
He shrugged. “ ’Tis more likely that their resourceful leader has arranged for them to move into the town hall. I’m hoping this storm will be of short duration, though, so we won’t have to stay overnight.”
She had mixed emotions about that, but when they reached the edge of the woods, the snow seemed to be falling heavily. She saw no sign of the road other than an area that appeared consistently flatter than the surrounding countryside.
“Is it safe to try following a road we can hardly see?” she asked him.
“We’ll wait until it is safe enough. I want to walk a little farther, though. I can’t see much to the west from here, and since the storm is moving eastward…”
“I’m coming with you,” she said when he paused.
“Aye, sure,” he agreed, offering an arm.
Clutching it, she stomped through the snow with him, noting how feathery light it was, and dryer than earlier snows had been. It was already inches deep.
She folded her hands together over his arm, to take advantage of its warmth.
“Cold again?” he asked.
“Not yet,” she said. “You’re warm enough for two.”
He chuckled, and she smiled at the sound. She liked his voice, but even more did she enjoy his laughter. He laughed at the same things she did, and she felt more comfortable with him than she had thought she could feel with anyone.
They walked eastward for a time before he turned and skeptically eyed the dark, forbidding western sky.
“It is going to last a while,” Jenny said.
“Aye, a few hours,” he said. “We may still have time to reach Annan before nightfall, even so. But I think Lucas and I should cut more firewood.”
They returned to find the rabbits ready to take off the spit, and when they had eaten, Hugh told Jenny to go back inside the tent while they cut wood.
The fire was not large, but they had pitched their tents and built their shelters to face it, so she could leave the flap open, snuggle in the blankets, and still watch the men at work. Hugh had not yet put his cloak back on, but when she returned to the tent, Lucas asked her to pass it out to him so he could dry it before the fire.
He had contrived a clever rack for the purpose, and the area where he had built the fire remained relatively dry, the snow piling for the most part in the treetops. She remembered that one reason for the cavelike branch shelters was to protect them if a heavy pile of snow should suddenly fall through the branches overhead.
An hour later, Hugh came to tell her that although the snowfall had eased, it still snowed, so he had decided they would wait at least an hour more to be sure it would not grow worse.
An hour after that, he said it looked as if it might clear before nightfall but not soon enough to travel safely.
Jenny received the news calmly. She was in no hurry.
Hugh watched Jenny, not having to ask what she was thinking. He knew she hated the thought of going back, but he had to take her. He had given his word.
When he and Lucas had cut enough wood, Hugh left him to watch the fire and ducked back inside the tent to see how she was doing.
She smiled when he asked. “It is gey cozy in here now,” she said.
“Aye, well, I think the snow will ease again soon,” he said. The truth was he was enjoying himself. He always did when he pitted himself against nature or any other foe. For that matter, he had enjoyed playing troubadour with the minstrels. But he was not looking forward to returning her to Dunwythie, let alone to Reid.
Nonetheless, he reminded himself firmly, he had a duty to keep his word.
“I was thinking,” he said as Jenny scooted over to make room for him on the pallet. “When we get to Annan House, they will have much to say to you—to both of us, come to that. I have no doubt they expected me to return you within a day or two at most—certainly not to take ten days.”
“Aye, for they would expect you to act swiftly,” she agreed. “You have a reputation for getting things done competently, I know.”
“Do you?”
“Aye, sure; Phaeline told me.” Her cheeks flushed then, as she looked away.
“What else did Phaeline say about me?”
Jenny nibbled her lower lip and then grinned at him. “She said that when you make up your mind, you won’t change it. You fold your arms and pretend to listen, but one’s arguments have no more effect on you than drops of water on a stone.”
“That is an absurdity, as I hope I need not tell you.”
“Sakes, sir, I don’t think it an absurdity. You made up your mind to fetch me, and you’ve not turned from that course. Phaeline also said,” she added hastily, “that one cannot push you to do aught you do not want to do, that even if one were to light a fire between your toes, you would stick to yo
ur purpose. She said, too, that you’d pay less heed to your pain than to whether one had built the fire properly.”
His lips twitched, but he said, “I trust you do not believe all Phaeline says.”
“No, sir, I do not. In troth, I have wondered…” She hesitated.
“Wondered what?”
“ ’Tis naught, and I should say no more, for I’m sure I am thinking wishful thoughts. I should be kinder, but I do wish you would not take me back there.”
“I must,” he said gently. “I promised Dunwythie, just as you promised to marry Reid. We must both honor our promises.”
“Well, I wish I did not have to marry Reid,” she said fiercely.
“But you agreed to become betrothed to him, and betrothal is more than a promise,” he said. “ ’Tis a complex, legal agreement involving land issues and other matters that can require long negotiation before the settlements are completed.”
“Well, I don’t like him any better as my betrothed than I did before.”
“If you disliked him so, why did you agree to marry him?” he demanded.
“They gave me no choice!”
“Don’t be daft. You had only to refuse to sign the marriage settlements.”
With a bewildered look, she said, “But I didn’t. I have never signed any document having aught to do with my marriage to Reid Douglas.”
Hugh clamped his lips together, stopping the angry words that threatened to spill from his tongue.
When Hugh looked furious but said nothing, Jenny stared at him. “Why do you not speak? Do you think I am lying again? I swear I am not.”
He shook his head. Then, as if he thought a headshake had not been enough, he muttered, “I ken fine that you are not lying, lass. I must think on this, and if we are going to spend the night here, we must have more hot food.”
With that, he got up and left the tent. Jenny stared after him, her own temper igniting at such treatment. If he were not so big… If Lucas were not also out there…
Then, despite her anger, she smiled. The image of herself running after Hugh, shaking him, and forcing him to speak his thoughts to her was too absurd to sustain.
Still, she wanted to know what she had said to make him so angry, and the only way she could imagine doing that was to ask him. So she pushed off the blankets, put her boots and cloak on again, and went after him.
She found him skinning rabbits with Lucas.
“Mercy, but you caught those quickly,” she said to Hugh.
His lips twitched, but he said only, “Lucas set the traps before and had just collected these two.”
“Fine work, Lucas,” she said with a smile. “Doubtless, you have caught more by now. Mayhap you should go and see.”
He glanced up at her, then looked at Hugh.
“Go, Lucas,” Jenny said firmly. “I would have a word with Sir Hugh.”
“Stay, Lucas,” Hugh said. “We have nowt to discuss, lass. I told you to stay inside where you will keep warm.”
“Did you, sir? I did not hear you say any such thing. I heard naught and saw only your back as you left. If you want Lucas to hear what I will say to you, he must of course stay. However, I should think—”
“I’m goin’,” Lucas said, standing and setting aside his rabbit, neatly skinned.
“Nay, then, you’ll not,” Hugh said curtly. “You will—”
“Master Hugh, I ’ave stuck by ye through many a good day and many a bad ’un, but ye’ll ’ave to deal with your own sorrows now. They be none of my making, nor nowt to do with me. Shout when ye want me, mistress.”
With that, he strode off into the woods.
If Jenny was astonished, Hugh was more so.
“By heaven,” he exclaimed, “I’ll have something to say to that—”
“You already have much to say that you do not say, sir,” Jenny said crisply. “But Lucas is not the one who put you in such a temper.”
“Jenny, wait now, lass—”
“What concerns me is what I must have said to put you in such a fury. I had been thinking how easily I could talk with you. Then, with a single statement, I got a look as near rage as I have seen on any man’s face before you walked off without explanation. That will not do, sir. You would not tolerate it had I done it, nor will I tolerate such treatment from you. If I said aught that I should not have said, pray—”
“Sakes, lass, I’m not angry with you!”
“Then who or what has put you out so?”
He grimaced. “It is not so easy to explain,” he said, clearly making an effort to speak quietly. Glancing in the direction Lucas had taken, he sighed.
“It cannot have been Lucas,” she said.
“Whisst now,” he said. “I wish you would go back inside that tent.”
“I warrant you do, but unless you mean to pick me up and carry me there, you will not get your wish. So, talk to me, Hugo,” she added softly. “Explain.”
It was the first time she had called him Hugo in private, but it felt comfortable to do so, and right.
“I should not discuss the matter with you at all, let alone explain why I feel as I do,” he said. “It is wrong to meddle in another man’s affairs.”
She frowned, thinking back to what she had said before he stalked out. “ ’Tis the marriage settlements, then. That I did not sign any made you angry. Moreover, you had just said that I should not have signed them if I did not want to marry Reid.”
“Let be, lass. Do as I bid you now, and get back inside.”
“Nay, then, I won’t.”
When he moved to stand, she said, “Stay where you are, sir. You cannot come the husband over me only to force my obedience. You say you will not meddle in another man’s affairs. But whose business is it if not mine and my husband’s?”
Chapter 14
Relaxing, Hugh shook his head at Jenny, but her argument impressed him.
Although she was naïve in some ways, her habit of command was clear. He had not seen her reveal it so deliberately before, but he had a sense now of having committed a wrong for which he ought hastily to apologize.
He suppressed the impulse, saying instead, “Jenny, I cannot expect you to understand my dilemma. Still, I hope you will believe that I’ve been wrestling with my conscience since I left the tent. Sithee, lass, you are Dunwythie’s ward, you are under age, and I gave the man my word that I would find you and restore you to him. Moreover, because you are his ward, he does have certain rights. And, as he has been managing your affairs, this tangle we’re in is his business.”
“I do not see that such details have aught to do with the matter at hand, sir. You are legally my husband, are you not?”
“Aye, for the nonce, but—”
“Never mind the nonce, Hugo. If you are legally my husband, then you replace my guardian, do you not? A woman cannot have both, can she?”
“In certain circumstances, such as when the husband is also a minor—”
“Good sakes, but you put me out of patience, sir. You are not a minor. At present, you are my husband, however little you like it and for whatever time you remain so. As my husband, you have a duty to protect me, do you not?”
“I do,” he said, his voice gentler, his expression softening.
“Then I ask you, what would you, as my lord husband, say to me and to my uncle about my not having signed those marriage settlements?”
He hesitated, although he knew exactly what he’d like to say to Dunwythie for treating her so badly.
“Tell me, sir, or by heaven, I shall begin to throw things!”
Her hands were on her hips, her beautiful golden eyes flashed, and both dimples showed, deep and enticing.
He stood up. “Jenny, love,” he said, “if you ever throw anything at me, I’ll put you across my knee and see that you don’t so much as think of doing so again.”
She stared at him, clearly surprised, as the endearment echoed back to him.
“Jenny, I should not—”
“Tell me
what you would say, Hugo,” she said softly, standing her ground.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “You say I should simply act as your husband, but it is not simple at all. You know it is not. We do not even know if ours is a legal marriage, but whether it is or not, we’ve agreed that it must be annulled. Dunwythie will then resume his position as your guardian until you marry Reid.”
“But if I have signed nothing—”
“You are still betrothed, lass, and that betrothal still predates our marriage, so your uncle has the right to annul it. Moreover, I doubt that Phaeline will allow him to do aught else. Or Reid, come to that. As your betrothed, he also has rights.”
“Do I have none?”
“Aye, you do,” he said, resting his hands gently on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. “Did they truly say nowt to you about any settlements?”
“Phaeline said only that after I was married, Reid would take over the management of my estates. She said that that is a husband’s right.”
“In most instances, it is,” he said. “But you are a baroness in your own right, and although you are still legally a minor, any sensible magistrate would consider you old enough to know your own mind, not just now but also when your father died. Even without such a decision, your uncle had a duty to explain any agreement he made on your behalf. That would include anything having to do with your estates, and certainly any marriage settlements. Not only must you understand them, but you must swear an oath that you do, before witnesses, when you sign them.”
“But I didn’t do any of that! I never even saw them. I do know that my father said I would remain Easdale of Easdale after I married, but Reid certainly did not understand that. He said he would become Easdale of Easdale.”
“Did he?” Hugh frowned.
“I expect he just did not understand about the title,” she said.
“Or they inserted some such agreement into the settlements.”
“Mercy, can they do that?”
“They can put anything they like into them. That is why the law requires them to explain the settlements to you and you to agree to them by signing them. I think we will have more to discuss with your uncle now than just your… your adventure.”