Bond of Passion

by Bertrice Small

  Up early and down in the hall the next morning, he found Jean. “Tell yer lady that we will ride together this morning,” he said to her.

  Jean looked at him, surprised. “Will she not be too fragile?”

  “Nay,” he replied, and the look he gave his sister warned her to ask no questions.

  Jean did as she was bidden, waking Annabella and helping her dress. She saw the lack of blood upon the sheets, and looked to the younger woman, who blushed. It was then that Jean realized her mistress was yet untouched. As to Angus, she said nothing.

  She realized that her brother was giving his bride an opportunity to know him. She remembered the sage advice regarding lovers that the lady Adrienne had given to them all when they were growing up. Only Mary had fled away when such things were discussed.

  And so Angus and Annabella rode out together most mornings. They rode the hills about the castle. They rode the beach along the sea below it. They rode without an escort, for it would have been a foolish man who attempted accosting the Earl of Duin on his own lands. Angus Ferguson wanted to be with his new wife. He wanted to know more about her. Realizing his intent, Annabella spoke freely with him. In doing so, she learned as much about her husband as he learned of her. They were making a good beginning, and becoming friends.

  Matthew was directed to help Annabella become quickly familiar with the household, which was hers to manage. He complied, quite content to have the new lady of Duin take up her womanly duties. Suddenly Annabella found herself conferring with the cook on meals, and directing the maidservants in their duties. One morning, down in the kitchens, she saw a little lass and, recognizing Una, the child who had given her the white heather bouquet on her wedding day, she greeted her.

  Una’s small face lit up at hearing the countess address her by name. She curtsied.

  “What brings you to the kitchens, little one?” Annabella asked.

  “I’ve come to deliver the clean polishing clothes,” Una replied. “My mam is the castle’s laundress, my lady.”

  It was then that Annabella realized she had seen many children toiling in Duin village at one simple task or another. The winter was coming, however, and soon those children would spend most of their days penned up in their family cottages in idleness. It was then that she decided to teach the children at least to write their names. She went to Matthew Ferguson, asking, “Is there anywhere in the village where I might have a place to teach the bairns this winter?”

  “Teach them what?” he inquired of her.

  “To write their names, mayhap to read,” Annabella told him.

  “Why would ye teach cotters’ brats to read and write?” he said. “They have no need of such things. Have you spoken to my brother of your plans, my lady?”

  “I had not thought it necessary to ask him,” Annabella said, irritated by Matthew’s presumption. He might be the steward of Duin, but she was its lady. “However, now that ye have brought it up, let us go and ask Angus what he thinks.”

  He was surprised that she had forced his hand, and had not yielded to his authority as the castle’s steward. “Angus is out seeing that the cattle and sheep are brought safely into the home pastures,” he told her.

  “We shall ask him when he returns then,” Annabella said sweetly.

  Matthew was further astonished when his brother agreed to Annabella’s wish. “There is no work to be done in the winter that cannot give the bairns time to learn. There is no harm in it. Besides, there might be among those bairns one who is clever, and for whom a slight bit of knowledge will prove useful to me eventually. Come the spring, they will return to their regular duties in the fields, helping their elders where they are needed.”

  Matthew offered the lady a tiny uninhabited cottage, its former tenant now deceased. “I’ll have the roof repaired and the place swept out. What else will ye need?”

  “Wood for the fire, stools for the children, and a table and chair for me,” Annabella told him. “And make certain the chimney is open.”

  The clan folk were wary of Annabella’s plans, for while they liked their new mistress, they didn’t understand why she would want to teach their children to read or to write. What good were these skills to simple folk?

  The first day, Annabella came down from the castle to discover the little cottage was overflowing with lads and lasses. She quickly discovered they had come more from curiosity than a desire to learn. Over the next few days, her pupils faded away, until by week’s end she was left with only two: little Una and the blacksmith’s youngest son, a lad called Callum.

  Curious, she asked them, “Why have ye remained when all yer friends have gone off?”

  Callum immediately spoke up. “My two older brothers already work with our da in the smithy, my lady. They will inherit the forge one day. I have no taste for it, however; nor do I wish to be a soldier. If I can learn to read and write, Pastor Blaine says there are more opportunities open to me. I can go out in the world and earn my bread.”

  Annabella nodded. “’Tis true,” she agreed. “And when ye have learned both reading and writing, I will teach ye yer numbers, Callum Ferguson. Then ye will have three skills to offer a master.” The lad was respectful, and had an intelligent look about him. He could prove useful to Duin if he were capable of learning. She looked to Una.

  The little lass spoke up now that it appeared to be her turn. “I dinna want to follow my mam into the laundry, my lady,” she admitted. “I want to go to Edinburgh and work in a fine shop. If I can read, write, and do my numbers, I can do this.”

  As there were no shops in Duin village, and it was quite unlikely that the lass had ever been farther from her home than a few miles, or even gone past the borders of the earl’s lands, Annabella was curious as to how little Una even knew of shops. “Who has told ye of Edinburgh?” she asked.

  “There is an old peddler who comes to Duin now and again. My mam always gives him a place to sleep. He has told me stories of the town, and of the beautiful shops where folk can purchase wonderful goods from foreign lands. I should rather earn my bread doing that than doing the castle laundry,” Una said, blushing. “I mean no offense, my lady, but I hate the laundry.”

  Annabella suddenly had an idea. Why should she come to the village when she could teach these two bairns more comfortably in the castle? “Would ye both be willing to live in the castle while I teach ye this winter?” she asked them. “I will find places for ye both so ye may earn yer keep, but the snows of winter will not keep ye from yer learning if ye’re at the castle.”

  “Aye!” the two would-be scholars chorused, grinning at her.

  “I shall have Matthew Ferguson speak wi’ yer parents,” Annabella told them.

  Again, Matthew Ferguson was not pleased when the lady of Duin made her simple request. “I must speak wi’ the earl,” he said in almost surly tones.

  “Why is it ye are so against my teaching these two bairns?” Annabella demanded of him. “I’ve freed this wee cot now for some deserving soul. Is that not better?”

  “Are ye wi’ bairn?” Matthew asked her bluntly. “Are these the fancies of a breeding woman?”

  Annabella was astounded by his query. She blushed furiously, a flash of scarlet flooding her pale cheeks. She spoke before she could think. “Nay!”

  “Well, ye should be by now,” Matthew replied. “My brother’s prowess is proven by the two little lasses he has fathered. The mistress he put away before the wedding was wi’ bairn. She will deliver any day, I am told.”

  Annabella was almost speechless with anger now. “I will speak to my husband,” she said in frosty tones.

  “He married ye to gain legitimate heirs,” Matthew persisted heedlessly. “Ye need to do yer duty instead of trying to teach two cotters’ bairns to read and write.”

  “Ye’re dismissed, steward,” Annabella told him. She was near to weeping, and she would be damned if she would allow Matthew Ferguson to see her weep. Then she felt Jean, who had been by her side this whole time, squ
eeze her hand hard. She drew a long, deep breath. “Go!”

  Surprised by her harsh tone, Matthew turned, only to be stopped by his sister’s voice. “Apologize to yer lady, brother, for yer presumption,” Jean told him. “She is gracious, and yer breach of good manners will remain between ye, but I will not hesitate to speak with the earl, our brother, if ye do not tender yer apologies to our mistress immediately. If I tell our mother, ye’ll never hear the end of it, and ye know it.”

  Flushing, for he knew he had overstepped his bounds, Matthew turned and bowed to Annabella. “Ye have my regrets, my lady, for speaking out of turn,” he told her. Then he left the two women.

  Chapter 5

  They watched him hurry from the hall.

  “His apology is almost as gracious as he is,” Jean murmured.

  Annabella laughed weakly. Matthew’s words had unnerved her. “The trouble is that he is right,” she said.

  “A bairn is more easily conceived when two people come together,” Jean replied softly. “Surely ye are more comfortable wi’ him now. It has been two months.”

  “Ye know?” Annabella was embarrassed to learn her secret was revealed.

  Jean patted her mistress’s hand. “Aye, I know. There was no blood the morning after yer wedding night. Now, that might have been because ye were nae a virgin after all, but I dinna believe that is the case. But no one else, including my nosy brother, is aware of the private relationship between ye and the earl.”

  Annabella sighed. “Since that night he has not come to my bed. He is kind, yet I fear my lack of beauty is what keeps him from me.”

  “Has he said it?” Jean inquired, although she refused to believe Angus was that cruel or stupid.

  “Nay, he says he would give me time to know him. Still, I suspect my lack does nothing to encourage him,” Annabella mourned. “Have ye not noticed that he has never once called me by my name? He addresses me as madam.”

  “Even in yer bedchamber?” Jean was shocked. What the hell was the matter with Angus? Then she asked, “Have ye ever called him by his name?”

  “Nay! He has not given me permission to do so,” Annabella responded.

  Sweet holy Mother, Jean silently thought. She would have to speak to Angus, or Duin was apt to never have an heir. “My brother is wont to be gentle wi’ ye because he respects yer innocence,” she told Annabella. “Perhaps ye should swallow yer fears and encourage him to do what needs be done.”

  “I don’t think I know how,” Annabella admitted, feeling like a perfect fool. “Do ye like it, Jean, when yer husband . . .” She paused. Did she know of what she spoke?

  “Aye, I do like our bed sport. And really, all ye need to do is kiss the man and caress him to encourage him. He’ll do all the rest.” She chuckled. “Ye do know that the first time will hurt? But after that there is little but pleasure for ye both.”

  “My sister Myrna told me I should lie on my back and open my legs,” Annabella ventured. “When I told the earl that, he laughed.”

  “Well,” Jean allowed, “she is right, in a manner of speaking. There is an opening for yer husband to put his cock into ye. And it is between yer legs, but yer bodies will find the right way to allow him this access. Let Angus lead ye. He will not harm ye. The longer ye put this off, the more terrifying it becomes, and ’tis not. Once ye have made love ye will discover ye want to do it again and again. And if I know my brother, ye will.” She smiled at the younger woman. “The morning after, ye will see how silly all of yer fears have been.”

  “Is it truth?” Annabella asked. She actually felt encouraged by Jean’s speech.

  “’Tis truth,” Jean reassured her. “Tonight invite yer husband into yer chamber, and welcome him into yer bed. Put yer arms about him, kiss him, and let what should happen, happen. And dinna let him leave ye until dawn on the morrow. Duin needs an heir.”

  But to make certain there was no difficulty, Jean sought out her eldest brother before the meal. She found him in his small library. He smiled in welcome as she came into the chamber, closing the door behind her.

  “Sit,” he said gesturing to a chair opposite his by the hearth. “Ye have yer serious face on today, Jeannie,” he teased.

  “It is past time, Angus,” Jean began. “She thinks it is her plain face that keeps ye from her bed, and from consummating yer marriage. I know ye have been patient, but it is past time now. The longer ye both wait to do what needs doing, the more difficult it will become for her. Tonight ye must go naked into her bedchamber. Ye must get into the bed wi’ her and kiss her protests away as ye do what must be done. Duin needs an heir.”

  “I know, I know, but I don’t want her to hate me,” he said. “Can ye imagine having to live wi’ a woman who hates ye?”

  “Ye’re a fool, Angus,” Jean told him. “She admires ye. I watch her as her eyes follow ye in the hall. I suspect for all yer lack of intimacy that Annabella is falling in love wi’ ye. Why do ye think it troubles her so that ye have not made love to her? Annabella knows what is expected of her, but she does feel neglected by ye, brother. And dinna say I told ye, but this morning Matthew accused her of not doing her duty, saying your prowess was proven, given the evidence of yer two bastards, and the one soon due. She was very hurt by his accusation, but ye would have been so proud of her. Every inch yer countess, she gave him no quarter but immediately dismissed him wi’out comment as regally as any queen might have done.”

  “Must I kill Matthew?” Angus growled.

  Jean laughed. “Sweet Mary! Do ye care for her then?”

  “She’s my wife, and I will allow no one, even my brother, to disrespect her,” he answered.

  “Oh, my.” Jean chortled. “The handsomest man in the borders is falling in love with his plain-faced bride. I can see, however, that ye’re not ready to admit it, Angus, so I’ll tease ye no more. Don’t bother wi’ our brother. He did apologize. Just make love to Annabella tonight, and get an heir on her.”

  Afterward, as they sat at the high board, Jean noted that both the Earl of Duin and his countess were more silent than talkative, thoughtful and introspective. Would her interference prove fruitful? If it did not, she would have to ask her mother for advice. As was their custom after the evening meal, Annabella and Angus sat at the same game table playing chess. He had discovered, to his pleasure, that she was a skillful player.

  Now, as she moved to capture his bishop, he put a large hand over her small one.

  Annabella looked up, surprised, and met his gaze. “Tonight,” was the only word he spoke. She colored, but said nothing in return. She could hardly refuse him. Shaking his hand off of hers, she took the dark green agate piece.

  With a positively wicked smile, he checked her queen. “That was careless of ye,” he teased her. “Ye’re not paying attention, lass.”

  “Or else ye are playing better tonight, my lord,” she teased back. “But ye’re correct. I do have other things on my mind. I would bring the blacksmith’s youngest lad, Callum, and little Una to live at the castle this winter. Of all my pupils, they are the only ones remaining. Both of them are intelligent. Pastor Blaine told the lad that the ability to read and write would take him far in the world. I’ve begun to teach them their numbers as well.”

  “To what purpose?” the earl wanted to know.

  “The smithy will go to Callum’s two older brothers. He has no interest in it, nor in being a soldier. He’s intelligent, Angus, and if educated could be of use to ye. Ye have ships trading in the New World, and even the East Indies now. Surely a place could be found among yer enterprises for such a lad.”

  “What about the blacksmith?” the earl inquired of her. So she was aware of his shipping endeavors. How much did she know? It wasn’t something he had considered discussing with her. Her place as his wife was to supply Duin with heirs.

  “With two sons already working by his side, Callum will be no loss to the blacksmith,” Annabella told her husband. “Matthew can find a place for him here in the castle so he will e
arn his keep.”

  “And the little lass, Una? She will have her mam’s place one day, won’t she?”

  “She says she doesn’t want it, my lord. The old peddler who visits Duin has told her tales of Edinburgh and of shops,” Annabella explained. “She wants to go to the town one day and work in a shop. She can have a place with me, and be responsible for keeping my clothing fresh and neat. Jean is willing to teach her. And she can take my laundry to her mother and bring it back. I’m sure there’s another lass in the village who would be willing to help the laundress. With both these bairns here in the castle the winter long, I can concentrate on teaching them. I doubt Una will ever get to Edinburgh, although perhaps she will. Or we might help her to open a shop here in the village. It would be a great convenience for our clan folk.”

  Her arguments were well thought out, and he felt a surge of pride to be married to such a clever woman. Then he said, “Ye’ve a thoughtful heart. Aye, ye have my permission to bring these two bairns to the castle. I will speak with my brother, the steward, myself. And I will speak with the smith and the laundress of the opportunity we are giving their bairns.”

  “Thank ye, Angus,” Annabella said. Then she arose from the game table and withdrew from the hall.

  The earl watched her go, his half sister a step behind his countess. Jean was right: It was time for their marriage to be consummated. It was time for them to get on with the important business of getting an heir. For two months now he had courted her, riding out in the mornings with her, walking the beach below the castle with her many afternoons, playing chess with her in the evenings. They had talked and talked. He was surprised by her intellect but decided that it was pleasant to have a wife with whom he might speak on matters other than domestic. And she made him laugh.

  Standing up, he sought out his brother at the other end of the hall with several men-at-arms. Drawing him away, he said, “Annabella has spoken to me of her plans to bring two of the village bairns to the castle. I have approved it, and will speak with the smith and the laundress myself so they understand the honor bestowed on their bairns.”