by Syme, R. L.
She stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Aedan’s initial shock was evident, but he soon deepened their kiss, angling his head over hers and sending her insides exploding in every direction.
When they parted, the room seemed to spin and she continued to hold on to him for stability. A dozen plans floated through her mind about Elena. Most of them involved the cover of night and secrecy. Some way they could steal her away from Milene and then head for the Highlands.
Aedan kissed the tip of her nose. “I have enough to secure my sister’s freedom and once I’ve done that, I’ll come back here for you and I will go to Berwick after your sister. My presence there will not be suspicious. You will be safe here.”
She pressed her fingers into his chest. “But Aedan. We have to go for Elena now. Before we leave. Once we are both safely away, we can come to your home with you and pay off the debt for your sister.”
He shook his head. “With the soldiers on such high alert, we won’t be safe inside the city. You heard Molnar. The Sheriff won’t make a move until he knows what’s happened to you.”
“He may not make a legal contract, but every moment she’s in that house is a moment she’s in danger.” Anne pulled away. Why didn’t he see the danger? He knew of the Sheriff’s anger.
“We must wait until it’s safe for us.”
“You mean until your sister is safe.”
“No.” He grasped her hand. “Your sister’s safety matters to me, Anne. I would not leave her there if I truly believed her to be in danger for her life.”
Anne crossed her arms and pouted. “So, her virtue and her honor are in danger, but not her life, so by all means, let’s leave her there.” Her tone descended into defeat. She could see he wouldn’t budge on this.
“She will be safe for two more days. That’s all it will take me to ride to my home, deliver the money, and come back for you. Two days.”
Anne looked up at him. His face was so earnest, his emotions so high. She wanted to believe him. She was falling in love with the man. But when it came down to it, that just wasn’t enough.
Chapter Twelve
Aedan left before dawn, taking the opportunity to say goodbye to Anne in private and extract a promise that she would stay with Molnar until he returned. Among other things.
The memory of her kiss fuelled his sprint for home. He could think of little else but discharging his family’s debt and returning to Anne. While her kiss the previous morning had unnerved him, the kiss from the last night had given him a hope he never thought he’d find. It buoyed all his thoughts of the future.
She seemed to be a different woman when she had an ally. Kinder, stronger, rooted. Safe to leave.
Aedan had left Molnar with a few silver coins, his reward for keeping Anne in his home, but the rest were tucked safely into his saddle bag. He’d filled the purse itself with dirt so the coins wouldn’t make noise if jostled, and wrapped the purse in the blood-soaked cloth that had stifled the bleeding in his wound the previous day.
By his count, he had nearly half over what he would need to free his sister, and planned to leave a bit of that money with her, for her safe keeping. She would need to keep it absolutely hidden, lest their father discover it, for it would turn to ash in his hands.
Aedan was glad for the memory of Anne’s kiss as he steeled himself to see his father again. The rolling hills felt like giant waves tossing him around the ocean of the lowlands as he crested each one more quickly than the last.
All too soon, he could see Oakwood Tower creeping toward him across the valley, backdropped by the Shelsough Forest. He followed the river through the open land and, just as the forest began to swallow the river, he stopped to water his horse.
No matter how many times he came back here, it never felt like home. Perhaps it never would. He fished the purse out of his pack and washed the coins in the river, careful to do each one by hand. The sun was just about to set as he dried the last of them and hung the purse from a piece of rope around his neck. He tucked the bulk of it into his tunic for safe keeping.
He wove his way through the thick trees, toward the home of the Baron of Wall. A title that he would gladly sell back to the English crown if it meant he could strip his father of its power.
The house didn’t actually have a wall, or gates. It merely sat atop a small hill just above the river. The castle at Wall, near the Firth of Clyde, that had been his family’s holding, was now occupied by his father’s biggest creditor. A cloth merchant.
All his mother’s books, the treasures of her long-noble family who could, at one time, trace their lineage back to the kings of old, had been sold along with the castle, to cover his father’s debts years ago. After his poor mother passed, they all thought the creditors would be assuaged.
But it was Randall Donne who wasn’t assuaged.
Even his own daughter—thankfully, Aedan’s only sibling—had been sold to Merwin MacGaugh, to cover the baron’s credit. If the baron could have found someone to take Aedan off his hands for a price, he likely would have sold him as well.
The one consolation of his disfigurement was that it saved him from marrying some fat, rich, old Englishwoman in order to secure more capital for his father to gamble away.
The banns had been posted for Merwin MacGaugh to marry Brighde, and Aedan had only a few days left to pay the debt and reclaim his sister’s honor. If he could manage it, Aedan wanted to find a place for her. To secure her safety as well, as he might never have a chance to come home again.
He wished he had the authority to just call off the wedding, but Merwin insisted on payment. Thankfully, Aedan had been able to strike a deal with the man where, if he could come up with the money to pay the debt, his sister would be free.
There were no guards at the doors and by the time Aedan had stabled his horse, the light from the hearth fire was the only visible light.
He stormed into the dusky house. “Father. Brighde.” He waited and there was no answer. “Tilde?” Even the housekeeper didn’t answer. The fire in the hall was low and nearly cold. He found the tinder box and put two more logs on it, hoping to stoke some heat into the place as well as some visibility.
The library, dining hall, sitting room… all were empty. Aedan stalked out back to the kitchen, which was on the opposite side of the house from the stable. Again, he found the remains of a fire, but no Tilde. No other servants.
He doused the fire in the kitchen stove and went back inside. This time, he wen straight for his father’s bedroom.
The door was unlocked and the room dark. While Aedan heard snoring coming from somewhere deep in the space, what he recognized the most was the smell of ale and rotgut that often accompanied Randall having passed out in his bed after losing every penny he had to his name.
Aedan walked to the bed, leaving the door open for light, and got just close enough to see his father, still clothed, splayed on untouched covers, heaving his breath in and out. Even his shoes were still on.
A tray of what looked like bread and milk sat on a table not far from the bed. His drunken stomach likely couldn’t handle much of anything else. His own stomach turned and he left his father to his stench and his sleep.
If there was a God, Randall would die in his own filth that very evening. Or it would have happened years ago.
Aedan burst into the adjacent dark, half-cold room to find at least a fire burning. Near the fire sat the old maid Tilde, wrapped in several layers and mumbling in her sleep.
There was someone in the bed, though Aedan couldn’t quite make out the shape. It looked too big to be his sister. She couldn’t have grown this much in the short six months he’d been gone. No, it had been longer than that now, hadn’t it? Nearly a year.
The banns had been posted for a year, to give the opportunity to pay off the debt, which was really what Merwin wanted. He didn’t really want Brighde.
He closed the door and the figure in the bed startled awake. The covers flew back and the long, s
lender face of his sister gaped at him, all her features wide with fright.
She threw off her blankets and ran to him, and he realized why he’d thought her not Brighde. Her stomach protruded nearly a foot in front of her body.
If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, his baby sister was just about to give birth.
*****
Merwin MacGaugh was nearly as fat and as old as Randall Donne. Aedan hadn’t seen the man for nearly a year, but when he opened his door the next morning to see the man leering at him, Aedan remembered why he’d hated him.
He had the orangey, stringy hair that all the MacGaughs had and a round face with an extra chin. Even dressed for travel, he looked like he should be sitting on a chair somewhere, passing out edicts like a lazy monarch.
With a grunt, Merwin shouldered his way into the Donne house. “I wondered if I might see you, boy. Word is, there’s a scarred man working for that new Sheriff in Berwick.”
Aedan offered MacGaugh a seat at the table and motioned to a cowering Tilde, who cowered in the corner. None of them felt at ease around a cruel man like MacGaugh. None except Aedan.
“Bring us some wine, Tilde. And wake my sister.”
“Your sister.” MacGaugh creaked and cracked as he sat on the long bench across from Aedan. Every move brought a new whiff of foul stench. “It’s been a year to the day since we posted the banns.” He popped his knuckles. “Are you going to pay me, or do I have a new wife?”
Aedan placed the purse with the carefully counted 100 pieces of silver onto the table in front of him. “I have the money. But I’m going to extract a promise from you, first.”
“You can try.” The old man laughed and rocked back and forth in his chair. Aedan stared at him for a moment, then joined in the laughter.
He made a move like he might slap the table, but instead, he unsheathed the dagger that stayed under his arm guard and held it to the man’s neck. MacGaugh stopped laughing.
“If you kill me, they’ll have your hide, boy. No one is quite as easy to find as a man with scars like yours.”
“I’m not going to kill you.” Aedan leaned over the table and narrowed his vision. “I am going to require a promise.” He sheathed the dagger and pushed the purse into the other man’s reach. “Here is my father’s debt, with the agreed interest.”
Merwin fondled his neck with a defiant look. Tilde appeared in the door with two cups and Aedan motioned her forward. She stepped just barely within reach of the old man before putting the cups on the table and scurrying for the door.
“Wake my sister,” Aedan called after her, but she did not stop.
The fat man picked up his purse and dumped the coins onto the table. One by one, he counted them, re-placing them in the purse as he did.
“This is the price we agreed on.” Merwin pulled out a cloth and wiped his face. “I’ll take down the banns myself. Too skinny for my taste, that one. Nothing to get ahold of.”
Aedan nearly crossed himself at that. Knowing the man wasn’t interested in Brighde solidified the choice he knew he had to make. Instead, he took a swig of the too-sweet wine his father preferred and slammed the cup down on the table.
“Now. To my business.” Aedan pulled a few more of the silver coins from his pocket. “I am going to pay you an additional sum, and you’re going to make me a promise.”
Molnar scratched his chin and eyed the silver coins. In a business like cloth that was largely barter-trade, silver was a rarity. Silver was the making of a rich man.
“I’m listening.”
Aedan plunked the silver coins down one at a time. “I’m going to pay you an additional ten pieces of silver and in return, you are going to promise me that you will never extend debt to my father again.”
Merwin glowered at him. “You know Randall is in debt to everyone in the county. How do you think that my refusal will mean an end to his… unfortunate disposition?”
“You are the one who guarantees him to the others. If you stop, he will have no one to extend him any mercy.” Aedan’s teeth ground together and the memory of his pregnant sister sprang into his mind. “And Brighde will no longer be available for him to sell.”
With a pudgy hand, Merwin grasped one of the wine cups and slurped the swill down in one gulp. “Ha. That was a laugh. Your sister thought by whoring herself around, she could get me to nullify the contracts.” He slurped the last of the dregs from his cup. “She underestimated my commitment to revenge.”
“And you’ve seen it. My father is disgraced and penniless. I have promised my sister’s hand to a foreigner who will not require a bride price of us…”
“And you have sold your soul to the English devil to finance all of it, haven’t you, boy?” Merwin leaned his hulk across the table until he was nearly in Aedan’s face.
“You’re not worth the price of your sword.”
In a flash, Aedan had drawn his sword and held one edge to Merwin’s neck. His stunned eyes searched the room for a weapon and found none. They were completely alive with fear.
“But you have heard of my sword, haven’t you? And that’s the real reason why you’re going to keep this promise. Because if you do not, and I hear that you have not, I will be back for you.”
Aedan moved the sword up and down, in quick movements, against Merwin’s chest, as though preparing to saw off his head. “I’ll still pay you the 10%, but it’s this image I want you to keep in your mind when you find yourself wanting to say yes to my imbecile father. You’re going to see me in your memory, and remember the icy kiss of this blade on your neck, and you’re going to say no.”
“Aedan!” Brighde’s voice sounded from behind him. She had pulled her hair into a wimple, and Tilde had dressed her in a fine, pink gown with black netting on her long sleeves. The netting also hung down the front of the dress, making her stomach appear smaller.
Merwin took the opportunity to step away from the sword and wiped his neck over and over with the cloth he’d produced earlier, as though afraid blood would show up unannounced.
“Brighde. I wanted you to be the witness to my contract with Merwin MacGaugh.” Aedan kept his sword out and pointed at the fat man. His sister came up behind him and put a dainty hand on his shoulder.
“I will witness it.”
“Merwin MacGaugh. I’m paying you ten pieces of silver to cease from this day any guarantees of credit for my father, Randall Donne, resident of Oakwood Tower. However, because of my father’s lack of a profession, either my sister or myself will continue to supply him with his necessities. But absolutely no credit for no reason.”
Merwin nodded nervously.
“And I want you to pass this along to his other friends.” Aedan’s jaw tightened and his heart thumped. He’d been longing to say these words for so long. “His children will no longer be responsible for his debts. If you can’t take it out of his hide, it won’t be paid. His daughter is the property of another man.”
Aedan picked up the purse and scooped the last ten coins inside. He pulled the strings tight and threw it at the lug. “The treasury is closed.”
Tilde opened the door as the man waddled outside and slammed it closed behind him. Brighde let out a scream that sounded exultant and exhausted, all at once. She took hold of his hands, attempting to dance with him, but Aedan couldn’t stop looking at the closed door.
This was it. Wasn’t it? The day he’d been waiting for. His sister was free from the threat of marriage to that fool. His father wouldn’t be able to rack up more debt and get his son to pay it off.
Why didn’t he feel more relieved?
When he wouldn’t dance with her, Brighde moved over to Tilde and the two of them did a quick-step jig, holding hands and spinning each other around the room.
“Stop,” Aedan ordered. “Don’t wake Father.”
This was the one sticky wicket. Aedan, while fully vested with the powers of a first son, was not yet vested with the power his father could command.
“Now, I must know abo
ut this young man, Brighde.”
“Honestly, Aedan, I wasn’t lying. I don’t even know who the father was.” She allowed Tilde to bring her back to the table and sat on the bench. “I’m not protecting anyone. Once I realized that Merwin MacGaugh might relinquish his rights to me if he thought I was carrying another man’s child…” She lowered her gaze. It hadn’t been a pretty thought for any of them, what they would do to escape the boundaries of their father’s reign.
“You don’t have to say it.” Aedan sheathed his sword. “But if there is no father, then I just lied to Merwin MacGaugh.”
“Why must we discuss this all now?” Brighde made a move to stand. “Let Tilde and I make you some breakfast. We can discuss it all when Father wakes.”
Aedan put two hands on her shoulders. “No. I mean to be gone before Father wakes.”
“And where are you going this time?” Brighde crossed her arms, resting them on her protruding belly.
“That’s just it. I hadn’t meant to return this time.”
Both Tilde and Brighde stared at him with wide mouths. “Not return?” his sister asked. “But, where will you go?”
Aedan knew he was going to have to tell the story of he and Anne, and of Anne and Elena. But more than that, he knew he needed to protect these two women, somehow. Tilde would be simple because she still had family in the area, and they would be happy to take her in. But his uncertainty about how to liberate his sister clouded all thoughts of the future.
“It is a long story.” Aedan took a seat next to his sister. “I had planned to leave you here with money. But I can see that Father has no plans to change. He probably has more debt even now than he did before.”
“I’ve managed to do enough needlework to keep us in the black lately. Once news of my pregnancy spread, the creditors were slower to offer him anything.”
“That’s good, at least.” Aedan put a hand on his sister’s stomach and bowed his head to his hand. “Your resourcefulness does you credit, Brighde.”