A Year & a Day (12 page)

the exchange became lively. They were amazed at the things Jane knew about herbs, things they had never dreamed of. She pulled betony from her cloth bag. "This is good for belching."

"To start it or to stop it?"

Jane laughed. "To stop it of course, who on earth would want to start belching?" She pulled a leaf-covered branch from her bag. "This is black alder, it gets rid of lice."

They hung on her every word and by the time they returned to Dumfries and followed her into the castle stillroom, their admiration for the young woman was plain for all to see.

Inside Dumfries Castle word had spread like wildfire that Jane Leslie had tended the burned knight and Jane's sisters were pea-green with envy.

******************

Carlisle for a couple of days. Nigel Bruce took de Warenne to one of their tenant sheep farms where Lynx paid for a flock of two hundred black-faced sheep, which he allowed his shepherds to select.

He watched with interest as Ben and Sim culled the animals they wanted from the huge flock, then turned them over to their shaggy-coated black-and-white dogs to herd into a pen.

"Best brand the lambs when ye get them to Dumfries, there's a good deal of raiding that goes on in these parts," Nigel advised.

"By the English?" Lynx asked.

"English my arse! 'Tis the bloody Scots who do the reiving," Nigel informed him.

Lynx de Warenne fixed his shepherds with an icy green stare. "I will hang any man caught lifting Dumfries' sheep, and by the same token a harsh punishment awaits any man of Dumfries who goes out raiding others."

Lynx was disappointed that Robert was away. He had held off approaching Jock Leslie until he saw what his friend's reaction

would be to the proposed handfasting of his steward's daughter. But when he thought it over, Lynx realized that he had already made his decision, so Robert Bruce's reaction was immaterial.

As Lynx de Warenne and Jock Leslie rode back down the Annandale Valley, followed at a fair distance by the two shepherds and the newly acquired flock, he decided to broach the matter that dominated his thoughts.

"Jock, your daughter who is not yet spoken for—would you consider handfasting her to me?"

"Are ye serious, my lord?"

"I've never been more serious in my life. If she conceives, I'll marry her immediately."

"Ye would truly make my daughter Lady de Warenne?" Jock asked doubtfully.

"I would consider it a small price to pay for a son."

"What if her first child is a lass?"

"A son or a daughter—it would make no difference. I'll wed her when she conceives, not when she is delivered."

"That's uncommonly generous, my lord. Are ye not heir to a great earldom?" Jock asked with suspicion.

"The earldom of Surrey," Lynx confirmed.

"How could ma daughter possibly become the Countess of Surrey?" Jock asked, seemingly overwhelmed at the idea.

"By giving me a child," Lynx said simply.

"How soon do ye want the handfastin'?"

"Immediately. The king could send for me at any time. Do we have an agreement?"

"We do, Lord de Warenne."

"Good." A short laugh escaped from between his lips. "All that remains is for your daughter to agree."

"Nay, my lord. I spoke for her when I agreed, as is my right. My daughter Jane will be honored beyond belief. But of course ye will wish to meet her, question her, see if she meets with yer approval."

"Jane?" Lynx tested the name upon his tongue. "She mustn't be forced."

"Forced?" Jock almost choked. "Forced to wed into the nobility and become a countess someday? Her answer will be yes and she'll have naught else to say in the matter."

Lynx grimaced. If he knew aught about women, she would have a hell of a lot to say in the matter!

******************

had once again congregated at Judith's house.

"Don't be a silly fool, Jane. I definitely heard the word
handfasting.
Any of Lord de Warenne's men could take ye without a legal handfasting," Kate pointed out.

"I bet it's one of the Welsh bowmen who wants ye, or do ye think it could be one of the lord's squires?" Mary pressed her. Both sisters were breathless with excitement over what they'd overheard their father tell their grandmother, Megotta.

A picture of Taffy flew into Jane's mind and she recalled how he had flushed when he'd spoken with her. "Oh Lord, I hope and pray not. Megotta promised me I would never have to wed," Jane said wretchedly.

"It has naught to do with Megotta. It's what Father says that counts," Mary assured her. "They were having a terrible row and Megotta lost the argument. Father was furious with her over refusing to tend the knight who was burned. He told her in no uncertain terms that de Warenne was master of Dumfries now and that his word was law."

Jane wrung her hands in distress. "Oh, may the goddess Brigantia protect me! What if it's Sir Giles? I tended his burn and took away his pain, and out of some sort of gratitude, mayhap he thinks he must repay me by offering for me."

"But Sir Giles is a knight," Kate pointed out. "Surely he wouldn't reach so far beneath himself."

Jane bit her lip. "Of course not, how silly of me."

"Still, he might have fallen under her spell. Jane has strange powers," Mary insisted, unable to keep the jealousy from her voice.

Judith's new babe had fallen asleep at her breast. She put him in his cradle and joined the other women. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Jane. We've all been worried that no man ever offered for ye."

"I don't want a man!" Jane said desperately.

"But it's not what ye want, it's what Lord de Warenne wants. If he handfasts ye to one of his knights, ye'llbe called Lady Jane," Judith pointed out.

Kate and Mary exchanged a look of alarm. "Mayhap when the lord sees her, he'll change his mind," Mary said hopefully, wishing she'd never urged her father to find Jane a husband.

"When he sends for ye, make sure yer hair is plaited neatly away from yer face," Kate advised.

"And wear yer brown woolen dress," Mary insisted.

"Oh no, that will make her look too plain," Judith protested.

Kate and Mary soon overruled Judith. Better by far that their little sister be
plain Jane,
rather than
Lady Jane!

******************

thundercloud and obviously she was talking to no one. She took herself off to her room and slammed the door in protest.

Jock totally ignored his mother-in-law and bade Jane sit with him before the fire. "Ye did a good thing today, Jane, tending the knight's burns. Lord de Warenne wants to speak with ye."

"Tonight?" she asked in great alarm.

"Nay," Jock said laughing. "Tonight he is busy tearing a strip off his young knights fer their irresponsible behavior in his absence. I've never seen a man so grim-faced."

Jane felt relieved. If the lord was angry with his knights, it

was unlikely he would listen to a request for a handfasting. "I heard a rumor Lord de Warenne wanted to see me about a handfasting," Jane said cautiously.

"Christ! Rumors are thicker than ticks on a sheep hereabouts. Yer sisters overheard me telling Megotta, no doubt." He wasn't really angry, he was too excited. He ruffled Jane's hair. "This will mean such good fortune for our family. 'Tis an unlooked for opportunity of a lifetime." He didn't want to spoil the surprise for her. "Go up to the castle in the morning. Lord de Warenne wants to tell ye himself what he and I have agreed to."

Jane's heart sank. "You've already made an agreement? Father, I don't want to get handfasted! I want to use my healing powers as the ancient Celtic priestesses did."

"You sound just like Megotta! I'm sick an' tired of her putting ridiculous ideas in yer head. It is yer duty to obey me, not yer grandmother. Get off to bed!"

Jane did not dare to argue further with him. Megotta must have protested the handfasting and what good had it done? She knew she would have to summon the courage to face Lord de Warenne and make him understand her refusal.

After she undressed, Jane looked down at the lynx touchstone that lay between her naked breasts.

Her pulses raced at the thought of seeing Lord de Warenne in the morning. There was a strange thread that linked their destinies, which excited and troubled her beyond belief. He was easily the most powerful man she had ever encountered. He stirred passionate emotions inside her, the most predominant of which was fear.

Jane knew that tomorrow she would somehow find the courage to defy him. She was going to refuse the handfasting and tell him plainly she wanted no man breathing, not now, not ever! The thought of pitting her will against his made her feel weak all over. But she was going to say no to Lynx de Warenne and enjoy doing so!

*

Early the next morning, however, some of Jane's bravado had fled. She couldn't dispel a feeling of dread at seeing Lord de Warenne because at all of their previous encounters he had become angry with her. Then an idea came to her. As well as making herself unappealing as a candidate for a handfasting with one of the de Warenne men, she would disguise herself in the hope that he wouldn't recognize her.

With Megotta's help, she bound her breasts tightly so that her chest looked as if it were almost flat.

"Make it tighter, I want to look thin and scrawny."

"Are ye sure ye can breathe, child?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Oh, whatever will I do with my hair?"

"We'll pull it back and cover it with a linen head cloth."

In the brown woolen dress Jane entered Dumfries Castle and was met by Thomas, the lord's squire. He looked at her curiously, but made no comment about her appearance. He led her to a small chamber off the great hall where Lord de Warenne conducted the castle's business. He bade her wait, disappeared inside for a moment, then came out and motioned for her to enter. Jane lifted her chin, walked into the chamber and heard the door close behind her.

His back to the mantelpiece, Lynx de Warenne stood watching the door. When the young woman entered, disappointment washed over him. "You are Jane Leslie?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord," she said softly, almost overwhelmed by his commanding presence.

Splendor of God, Lynx thought, she was nothing like Jock's other buxom daughters. "How old are you?" he asked brusquely.

"Eighteen, my lord." Jane lowered her eyes.

"I'm almost thirty," he stated baldly. He watched her lashes flutter up in surprise. She's too young, too innocent, and too unwordly, he thought. Then he chided himself. Were these not the qualities a man wanted in the mother of his child? Surely these qualities were preferable to guile, deceit, and wantonness?

Still, he had more or less expected a brood mare, not the unbroken filly standing before him who had perhaps never been ridden.

In Lynx de Warenne's experience women were calculating and manipulative. Was it possible that this girl had led such a sheltered life she was as yet untainted? She seemed to be in awe of him and he assumed it was because he was of noble birth and she was not. Such an advantage would give him the upper hand. She would defer to him in all matters. He would be able to control her with a look or a word.

Lynx looked her over from head to toe. She was certainly a plain little thing. Still, he wasn't looking for a mistress or a roll in the hay; he was in the market for a mate. He plunged forward. "Your father and I have agreed to a handfasting."

Jane gathered all of her courage. "My lord, do I have your permission to speak plainly?"

"Of course."

"I do not know who has asked for me. Perhaps one of your Welsh bowmen because I have healing powers, or perhaps your squire Taffy, who has confused me with an angel of mercy, or even Sir Giles because I took his pain away and he thinks to repay me. But whoever it is, my answer is no. I do not wish to be handfasted to any of them." Jane took a deep breath to stop her knees from shaking. "My lord, you will not force me, will you?"

"Jane, your father has agreed to handfast you to me."

Jane's brows rose in disbelief. "You?"

She gazed up into his green eyes, then allowed her glance to slide over him from his mane of tawny hair, across his impossibly wide shoulders, to his powerfully muscled chest, down to his strong, long legs.

Then her gaze traveled back up his body, rested for a full minute on his firm, unsmiling mouth, and came to rest on his lynx-green eyes.

Jane's fingers closed over her touchstone. Had the goddess Brigantia deserted her? She was so shocked and stunned that suddenly all the pent-up fear she felt for this man began to surge up inside her.

It rushed through her veins, pierced her heart, then

flowed upward into her throat, making it impossible for her to breathe. Jane put a hand to her head as outrage overwhelmed her, dizzying her senses. The dominant figure of Lynx de Warenne blurred, then she swayed toward him as if her will had been snatched away by the invisible hand of Fate.

Nine

Lynx caught her as she swooned. He looked down at her, appalled, adding "delicate" to the list of Jane's shortcomings. Then he looked more closely. There was something familiar about her face. He pulled off the linen head cloth and the bright color of her long hair identified her immediately. Splendor of God, it was the willful young woman who had given him nothing but trouble! But what the devil has she done to her breasts? he wondered, looking at her chest. Lynx ran his hands over her body and instead of soft flesh beneath her dress, he felt something stiff and unyielding. With consternation he guessed that she had bound her beautiful breasts in a deliberate attempt to disguise her lovely figure.