Isabella Ellwood was too tense to sleep. Every instinct told her something was wrong. Her brother, Jamie, should have been home from the cattle raid by now. She had not undressed. She had lain on her bed pretending until she knew her three younger sisters were sleeping peacefully. Now she crept down the spiral staircase of the ancient Border Keep which was her home. In the large kitchen, three floors below, the fire had almost burned away. She added wood and some peat. Yesterday she had helped her mother cook a mutton stew, rich with barley and the vegetables and herbs her mother grew in her garden. They had used some of their precious wheat flour to bake fresh bread knowing Jamie and Sam would be ravenous. Darkness had descended hours ago. The pot of stew still hung on the swey, though moved from the fire as hope of their return faded.

‘Please God bring Jamie safely home,’ she muttered half under here breath. Too tense to sit still, she drew her fur lined cloak around her and went outside. The sliver of moon seemed to be playing hide and seek with the clouds, giving glimpses of the empty yard with its high stone walls. The cattle were herded into here for safety when there was warning of a raid. Like her mother, Isabella welcomed the King’s efforts to end the bitter feuding, the stealing, raping and burning which destroyed so many lives, including her father’s. The raids might never cease entirely but there were fewer since wardens had been appointed to mete out justice and oversee the hangings. Tonight there were no cattle in the yard so the heavy gates stood open. She peered around as the clouds drifted away, lighting the world again. Why had Neb Truddle been so eager to have Jamie as their leader when there were men far keener for revenge or adventure? She shivered and stared in vain towards the pastures and the winding muddy tracks. She turned to go inside. Was that the snort of a horse? She spun round. A lone horseman was heading towards Braidlands Keep, but he was coming from the Marshlands! Even from a distance horse and rider looked weary enough to drop. Her heart began to thump. It was not her brother’s slim figure, nor was it Mayblossom, the mare he had owned since she was a foal. It could not be Neb Truddle. He would never have the courage to cross the marshes. As he drew nearer she recognised Sam. Where was her brother? She began to tremble. She wanted to run to meet Sam. Instead she turned and went inside to swing the swey over the fire and heat up the stew. Dear Sam, he would be hungry and tired but he would never willingly leave her brother if he was alive. Her hands shook. If Jamie was dead was it by the hands of the Kerrs, or by the Truddles who were supposed to be his friends and neighbours? Isabella could not deny her suspicions. She had tried to persuade Jamie not to trust Neb Truddle. She went back outside and drew water from the well for the horse and fetched a wooden ladle of oats. In spite of her intentions to wait patiently questions burst from her.

‘What happened, Sam? Is-is Jamie dead?’ She bit back a sob.

‘Aah, Miss Isabella… Neither the Kerrs nor anybody else had stolen cattle from the Truddles. It was all a wicked plan of Neb Truddle’s to get rid o’ Jamie.’

‘They killed Jamie?’ she whispered hoarsely, staring up at Sam.

‘He was wounded, bleeding badly but he was not dead when I left. They took him prisoner. We need to help him…’ His voice shook and he wiped a hand over his brow and slid from his horse. Isabella took the reins.

‘I have drawn water. Your horse needs to eat and drink, and so do you. Tell me while you eat.’ Her voice was hollow. There was a weight like a rock in the pit of her stomach. But an Ellwood does not weep she reminded herself.

Sam followed her up the narrow stone stairs to the first floor. The smell of cooking food made his stomach rumble but he felt too sick at heart to eat with his young master bleeding to death in the hands of the Douglas Clan. Isabella understood but she filled a bowl with the meat and vegetables, and gave Sam a chunk of the fresh bread and a tankard of ale.

‘You must eat, Sam. We need you. Tell me what happened?’

‘Neb Truddle wounded him,’ Sam said bitterly. ‘Now he’s a prisoner of the Douglas men.’

‘Douglas men? B-but Neb Truddle said it was the Kerrs who….’

‘Lies it was. All lies.’ Sam shook his head in anger and distress. ‘Jamie was too young to go when your father was alive so he had never been so far north. Neb Truddle led the way.’ He sucked in his mouth. ‘We were riding nearer the back when Truddle changed direction and headed towards a burn. I recognised the Douglas boundary. I told Jamie. He rode to the front to reason with Neb Truddle. He pretended not to hear, or not to heed. He galloped across the burn. Jamie followed, trying to reason with him. Most of the men realised the burn was a boundary. They thought it safer to stick together on this side.’

‘Wh-what happened?’

‘It was a trick. Truddle wanted Jamie to be caught on the Douglas land. I saw the gleam of a blade. Jamie fell from his horse. The Douglas guards were galloping towards them. Truddle jumped on Jamie’s horse and galloped back across the burn with his own horse trailing after them. He called for the men to follow him.’

‘The Douglas men have taken Jamie prisoner?’ Isabella gasped.

‘Aye.’ Sam’s mouth compressed. ‘He was on their land as Truddle intended,’ he said bitterly. ‘The guards must have seen us coming but t
here were only four o’ them. Between us we could have rescued him – or died trying.’

‘How could Neb be so cruel to desert him!’ Isabella pressed her hand to her mouth.

‘I reckon ’tis what he planned. I hid in a clump of trees. Jamie was on the ground surrounded by the Douglas men. I tethered my horse and crept closer. They seemed to think Jamie was a Kerr. They’re sworn enemies. They were going to hang him frae the nearest tree.’

‘Oh no!’ Isabella moaned and clasped her hands to her face.

‘I was about to go forward and tell them they were wrong but when the leader ordered his men to wait. He said he would not hang a wounded man. He was sure something was amiss. Why was there only one man? Where was his horse? He had stolen neither cattle nor sheep. Jamie tried to speak. I think he was bleeding badly, maybe feeling faint. “Ellwood?” the leader repeated. The moon went behind a cloud and I couldna see. I drew my dagger to creep forward but the moon came out again. The man with a mop of silvery-gold curls was binding Jamie’s wound with the sleeve frae his own shirt. “He’s scarcely more than a boy and he has taken nothing of ours.” The other men agreed but they wanted justice. The leader decided they would take him to his uncle. “If he thinks the youth should die I promise you men can hang him from the nearest tree at sunset the day after tomorrow. Until then he is my prisoner.” He lifted Jamie on to his own horse and they rode away.’

‘They’re going to hang Jamie at sunset?’ Isabella repeated in dismay. ‘The day after tomorrow? B-but ’tis already past midnight.’

‘Aye we need help, Little Miss. I hoped…maybe your Lady Mother? I came back across the Marshlands, fast as I dared. Your mother has always known something of the Douglas Clan. Your father promised he would never raid or steal from them after he married her. I – I hoped she might plead for Jamie’s life.’

‘Oh Jamie...’ Isabella swallowed a sob. ‘How can they hang him when he has never stolen anything in his life? Should we offer them coins…’

‘Nay, they’ll not be bribed. They have wealth enough. It was the thrill of a hanging two of the men wanted. Neb Truddle would know that. I reckon he wounded Jamie to make sure he couldna get away in time. He and his father will expect him to be dead by now. They’ll come to gloat in the morning, as they did when they brought news of your father’s death. Now I believe that was probably another devilish trick, but I wasna with him that time.’

‘The Truddles have always coveted Braidlands. Neb’s father expected to be chief of the Ellwood Clan when our father died. Jamie was only fourteen but he has managed well with Uncle David’s help and support. Now they want to destroy Jamie too.’ Isabella agreed bitterly, shuddering as she recalled Neb Truddle’s attempt to molest her when he caught her alone in the field. He had sworn he would make her his wife within a year, and whip her until she did his bidding.

‘There’s no time to lose,’ Sam said wearily. ‘Maybe your mother could plead for Jamie’s life? I ken ’twould be hard for her and we might be too late already, but...’

‘My mother could never manage the journey, Sam. Remember she spent her early life at the convent. My father taught her when they married but she has never been on a horse without him by her side.’ Isabella’s brain whirled. She chewed her lip until she tasted her own blood. ‘No, Sam, my mother is needed here to care for my sisters, but they all need Jamie to protect them. I have to go. I must plead for my brother’s life.’

‘You, Miss Isabella! Ach I couldna, I wouldna dare, take ye there.’

‘Please, Sam? It is the only way. I have to try. I must explain. You said there is no time to lose.’ In that instant Isabella knew what she had to do to save her beloved brother and protect her family. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, it said in Mama’s bible, so why not a life for a life? Her life for Jamie’s life. Surely that was a fair bargain even among the most lawless of reivers. She could not tell Sam her intention though or he would never take her. They must get there in time. If Jamie died the Truddles would renew their demands. She shuddered. She would never forget Joshua Truddle bringing news of her father’s death. She remembered his hard stare and the speculation as his gaze roamed over her mother and around the room. As a member of the Ellwood Clan on his mother’s side, he had declared he would take care of her and her brood now she had no man of her own. He had moved close and laid a heavy arm around her mother’s trembling shoulders. Isabella had watched her mother shrink away in disgust, but she had been too young to interpret the expression in his eldest son’s eyes. A year later, soon after her fourteenth birthday Neb had caught her alone while she counted the sheep. He had seized her and held her tightly against him, leering down at her, lowering his thick wet lips to hers. Even now the memory made her feel sick.

If Jamie died there would be no one to protect her, or her sisters from Neb Truddle.Isabella shuddered. There were worse things than death. Her mind was made up, but in spite of her resolve she trembled violently and her hands went to her neck. A rope would soon be placed there – if only they could reach Jamie in time. She lifted her head proudly. She would not show fear to any man. She was an Ellwood and proud to be her father’s daughter.

Two

‘Dear Sam
, please eat the rest of your food. Then rest while I...’

‘Ach, Little Miss
, I dinna like it.’ Sam shook his head.

‘Neither do I, but there is no option. There is no one else who can guide me.’ Sam looked at her lovely young face, at her wide grey eyes pleading with him. He nodded reluctantly.

‘It’s even more dangerous in the dark. We’ll leave just before dawn and ’twill be getting lighter by the time we’re half way across the marshes. ’Twould be better if I take your father’s horse. Mine is too weary. Black Lad is getting old but he knows the path across the marshes better’n I do.’ He shook his head. ‘But I shouldna be taking ye.’

‘Sleep
, Sam. You will feel better then.’

In the room above Isabella found her mother’s quill and ink and a sheet of her precious paper. She was thankful now that her mother had insisted she must learn to read and write so well. She explained where she was going, but not what sort of bargain she intended to offer.

Do
not
believe
the
Truddles
.
They
should
not
be
trusted
.
Don’t
tell
them
I
have
gone
with
Sam
to
plead
for
Jamie’s
life
.
Please
pray
to
your
God
,
and
to
my
father’s
God
,
for
Jamie’s
safe
return
,
dearest
Mama
.
If
I
do
not
see
you
again
be
assured
I
am
always
your
ever
loving
daughter
,
Isabella
.

She brushed away her tears at the thought of never seeing her mother again but it was a sacrifice she had to make for all their sakes. Jamie was needed here. Then as an afterthought she added a note.

‘
Do
not
let
Neb
Truddle
be
alone
with
Marjorie
.
I
know
she
is
only
twelve
but
she
is
pretty
and
will
soon
be
a
woman
.
He
tricked
Jamie
and
he
covets
Braidlands
above
all
else
.
He
is
ruthless
.
’

Isabella placed the sheet of paper where her mother would see it when she rose in the morning. She went up to her own chest and took out a clean white apron and cap and cuffs. She added the bone comb she used for combing out the tangles in her long dark hair, then she wrapped everything carefully in a piece of old muslin. She would at least be neat and clean when she presented herself to the head of the Douglass clan. She touched the fine soft wool of her best green dress and sighed. It would be a waste to wear it to travel over the marshes and what did it matter what she wore when she was strung up by the neck. She stifled a sob. One day Marjorie would wear the dress and remember her. She bundled her hair into a net then pulled on her shawl.

The light of the moon was intermittent as it was hidden by banks of clouds then appeared again. She knew Sam was deadly tired but she would be much too late if she travelled round about along miles of tracks with one of Jamie’s other men. She shivered as she recalled how often her father had warned herself and Jamie they must never venture into the green wilderness which could look so inviting yet be so treacherous. The black bogs had been known to suck men and horses to their deaths if they stepped into the peat bogs.

Sam was right, Black Lad appeared to be sure footed as he led the way, while Beauty, her own beloved mare, seemed content to follow close behind. A white mist stretched before them like an endless ghostly sea. Isabella thought it would go on forever, but Sam assured her it would save many hours by crossing the marsh.

‘If we have the right direction high hills will rise out of the mist before us.’

‘What a silent world it is,’ Isabella remarked,

‘Aye, ye’ll not meet strangers travelling this way,’ Sam agreed. Then, almost as though to defy his words there was a terrible screech. An owl flew low, barely skimming Isabella’s head. She never knew whether it was her own shocked reaction or the scream of a small animal as the owl caught its prey that made Beauty stumble. Isabella believed she and her mare were going to sink into the black oozing mud.

‘Pull her back! Back, back!’ Sam shouted. He slid from his own horse, bidding Dark Lad stand still, although he too was trembling in fear. Sam grasped Beauty’s bridle, guiding her slowly backwards a step at a time until her offside legs were on firm ground again. Only then did Isabella realise she had been holding her breath. She heard Sam’s sigh of relief. In the faint lights she saw his face was deathly white and glistening with sweat.

‘Ye spoke too soon of the silence, Miss Isabella. I thank the Gods ye’re safe.

‘I-I’m sorry. The screech of the owl startled me. I-I must have jerked Beauty’s bridle.’

‘It was noise enough to frighten the devil. Ye’re a brave lassie. Your father would have been proud o’ ye.’

‘I hope he would,’ she whispered under her breath, thinking of what she planned to do. ‘Please God get us there before they hang Jamie,’ she prayed silently.

‘I reckon we’re half way across the marsh now but the path is harder to follow at this side. Look for a ridge of hills. We need to cross them. Your father had a friend called Latimer who owned the glen. They met when they were both staying at a monastery for several weeks as young men to be educated. Master Latimer did not have good health. We heard the Douglas Clan took over the land after he died.’

Dawn was breaking and Isabella gave a huge sigh of relief when Sam drew Black Lad to a halt on firmer ground. He waited for her to reach his side. In front of them the land rose steeply.

‘It’s beautiful,’ breathed Isabella, ‘Truly lovely…’ She watched the sky change to pink, purple, blue and gold and a myriad shades in between as the sun began to rise over the peak of the hills. She blinked rapidly. It was terrible to think she would not live to see another dawn. How much worse if Jamie’s young life had already been cut short, she reminded herself sternly. She lifted her head proudly and vowed she would never let any man see her fear.

‘We must hurry,’ she said, turning to look at Sam’s weary face and drooping shoulders. ‘Do you think they will keep their word and wait until sunset?’

‘I don’t know Little Miss. The leader seemed a man of his word and the others obeyed him.’ He frowned, considering his next words and a matter that had been troubling him. ‘Jamie’s wound was bleeding badly. He might have died from loss of blood, or poison from the dagger. I pray to God I have not brought ye into danger without reason Miss Isabella. Would you wait for me here while I go on alone to see what I can find out?’

‘No! No Sam. It’s not your fault if we have come on the wings of a wild goose. I have to go on. I can’t believe Jamie can be dead. I would feel it here.’ She clasped a hand to her heart. ‘We cannot falter now.’

‘Very weel.’ Sam saw the determination on her young face. He knew how much she loved her brother, how close they had always been. ‘There should be a path leading to the top of the hill and down the other side,’ Sam said. ‘I havena travelled up it myself but your father told me he always kept to the winding path to cross the boundary. Down the other side he said there was the most green and fertile glen he had ever seen. We need to travel all the way along the bottom of the glen to reach Moyenstane Tower.’

‘Moyenstane Tower? Is that the home of the Chief of the Douglas Clan?’

‘Aye, but they have a watch tower high on the hill above it. I’ve no doot they’ll see us coming once we’re over the hill. There’ll be no turning back,’ he added, giving her another chance to wait for him.

‘We go on, together.’

‘Let us pray they see there are only two of us. We do not come to raid or reive.’ His concern for her was obvious and Isabella wanted to hug him.

‘Whatever happens you must not blame yourself, Sam. I was determined to come but I could not have crossed the marsh alone.’

It was a steep track up the hill side and several times they had to dismount and lead the horses where the path had washed away with heavy rain. At last they reached the top and Isabella didn’t think she had ever seen anything so beautiful as the view which spread before them. Amidst the green of the grassy glen a burn sparkled like molten silver in the morning sunlight, bubbling over rocks and into wider pools, then narrowing again into little water falls. In two of the fields there were flocks of sheep and at the end nearer to Moyenstane Tower they could see several horses and a herd of cattle grazing peacefully.

Negotiating the path downhill, although not as steep, or as dangerous as the ascent took all their concentration. They were almost at the bottom before Isabella realised they had been watched.

‘The two men waiting for us will be the guard,’ Sam said quietly. ‘The tallest is the man who bound Jamie’s wound.’ Isabella looked up and her startled gaze met an equally startled pair of the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

‘What have we here then?’ the man asked in a deep amused voice. ‘A woman? Have you come to steal our cattle too?’

‘Of course not!’ Isabella answered more sharply than she had intended. The man quirked a quizzical eyebrow.

‘Then what, I wonder, brings you over the hilltop to our glen. Neither visitors who come in peace, nor thieves who want to steel out sheep and cattle risk coming that way. Have you lost your way?’

‘We wish to speak to the Warden or the – the chief of the Douglas Clan. Are you the chief?’

‘No. I am Alexander Latimer and this,’ he turned towards his dark haired companion, ‘is Walter Nixon. My uncle, Sir William Douglas, is the warden in this area. He is also chief of the Douglas Clan.’

‘Then it is he we must see without delay.’

‘I see. And you are?’ He looked at Isabella’s wide grey eyes. They were beautiful, fringed by dark curling lashes but he thought he saw desperation in their gold flecked depths. Her business with his uncle must be urgent for her to undertake a journey over the hills. There was a vast stretch of marshland beyond the hill to the south. Surely she and her silent companion would not have risked crossing the marshlands? The same thought had crossed the mind of his companion.

‘Well, Zander, here is a young woman with enough spirit to match even yours if she has ventured over that hill.’ He looked sharply at Sam. ‘Speak up, man. What possessed you to bring a beautiful young woman on such a perilous journey? Few men would cross the marshes, even less a girl.’

‘Do not blame Sam,’ Isabella said swiftly. ‘He did not want to bring me. I needed his guidance and he is the only one I can trust. He is loyal to my family.’

‘It is true,’ Sam agreed, ‘I did not want to bring Miss Isabella but time is short. You hold my young master, Jamie Ellwood, as a prisoner. Miss Isabella is his sister. She insisted on coming herself to plead for his life.’

‘I see!’ Alexander whistled. ‘So the youth was telling the truth.’

‘Of course my brother would tell the truth. We are Ellwoods,’ she said, lifting her small chin higher. Then, ‘Jamie is still alive?’ Her voice quivered with anxiety.

‘He was still alive last night but I could get no sense from him. My cousin, Anna, is caring for him. She says it is the fever making him gabble. She has cleaned and dressed his wound. She stayed with him all night, plying him with the infusions her brother concocts from the bark of the willow tree. Anna says it has lessened the fever but he was too weak to answer questions at dawn. He must answer to my uncle before sunset.’ Sunset! The time to hang. Isabella trembled but took a deep breath.

‘I am grateful to your cousin. Our mother uses the willow bark infusion to calm pain and fever. Will you tell her please? Can I see Jamie now? Then will you take me to see your chief?’

Alexander eyed her with reluctant respect. Although she was simply dressed she acted like a lady used to giving commands. She didn’t seem to accept, that both she and her brother, as well as their loyal servant, were prisoners here now.

‘Very well.’ He took hold of her horse’s bridle and nodded at his companion to do the same with Sam. ‘Do you carry a weapon?’

‘Only my hunting knife,’ Sam said and drew it from his leather scabbard.

BOOK: Love's Ransom

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