"Where will we go?"
"To my place, I think, until I can decide what to do with you. There are Grahams on this side of the line, of course."
"Aye, but they are not friends of mine," she said.
He clicked his tongue. "Now, fighting within families is something I don't hold with," he said virtuously.
Sweetly she said, "Tell me again about this cousin of yours."
He chuckled. "Bless you, lass, we dinna fratch. Well, not as you mean, at all events. He will be wroth with me. I carina deny that, but 'tis only because I've put up your brother's back. It's his being a deputy warden, and all, that will put Wat in a stir. He has scruples, does Wat. He seldom shows them, but he does have them. Here now, hold on tight. This is probably the worst ford for twenty miles, and the water flows high and moves fast now that the thaw has begun."
She eyed the swiftly moving river warily. "Is it safe?"
"Oh, aye, my lad will make it. 'Ware the cat, though, because we might all get a wee bit damp, and that water's bound to be cold."
That proved to be an understatement, but Jemmy stayed dry; and not long after they reached the opposite bank, they came to a cottage and the reiver reined in.
Without dismounting, he shouted, "Jess!"
The door opened so quickly that Janet was sure the cottager had not been sleeping. Indeed, he seemed almost to have been awaiting their arrival. He hurried out, saying, "Dinna get down fra' the pony, Rab. Ye'll no be stayin'."
"Now, Jess," the reiver said calmly, "the lass is tired, and so am I. You may not have heard the news, but I ha' been imprisoned these three-"
"Och, do I no ken that? Still, Rab, ye're no t' stay here. Himself said ye're t' ride for Hermitage as fast as your pony's legs'll tak' ye. He'll meet ye there."
"Damnation," the reiver said. "We're for it now, lass, right enough."
Chapter 7
"With fairest words and reason strong, Strove courteously in vain."
"I'M RIGHT SORRY ABOUT this," the reiver said.
"But what's the hurry?" Janet asked. "Surely we can go inside and rest a bit."
"Believe me, I'd stay here if I could," he replied, "but I dare not."
"But you cannot take me to Hermitage! 'Tis the strongest fortress on the Scottish side of the line. 'Tis a prison, what's more."
"Aye, I ken fine that it is," he said. "Still, I must go there, lass. Even Rabbie Redcloak must obey orders from Himself."
"But the master of Hermitage is Buccleuch, and he's a terrible man! Hugh says that as warden of two marches and keeper of Liddesdale he wields his power like a fiery sword! Hugh says it is foolhardy for James to rest so much power in the hands of one man. He says that Buccleuch is nigh as powerful as the King himself."
"Aye, 'tis true," the reiver said with a sigh. "You can see my dilemma, lass. I could leave you here, I suppose, although Jess might balk at the notion and you would not find his hospitality all that you might wish."
Regarding the burly, unkempt Jess with disfavor, Janet barely managed to repress a shudder. "You cannot leave me here," she said firmly. At least, she hoped she sounded firm and that no trace of the shudder had touched her voice. "Since you made the decision to abduct me, Redcloak, you are stuck with me. I just hope Buccleuch believes you when you tell him that this madness was your idea and will not take me for a common doxy who somehow seduced you. Godamercy," she added when another thought struck, "he might even decide to hold me for ransom!"
"Lassie, you've kept your wits about you thus far; dinna lose them now," the reiver said. "I promise you, you've no cause to fear Buccleuch. He'll reserve his wrath for me. If I'm lucky, he'll just be glad to see that I am free. Jess," he added, "d'ye ken aught o' Himself's mind when he said I were to make for Hermitage?"
Jess rolled his eyes. "Hob the Mouse came here," he said. "He tellt me that Himself be of a mind t' raise the Borders did he hear nowt afore Wednesday o' yer safe return or where them bastards was holding ye."
"There, you see, lass? He's just been a wee bit worried about me."
"He said," Jess added glumly, "that he'd give ten pounds t' the man wha' tells him where he can find ye, so he can pin your ears back for ye himself."
"Ah, I see," the reiver said. "We'll be wasting no time then, and I'll see that you get the ten pounds, Jess."
"I thank ye for that, Rabbie. Watch weel the noo. I've a sword and a pistol for ye, so ye willna lose your head to some deevilish thief."
The reiver grinned at him. "I thank ye for the weapons, Jess. I've felt naked without my own. Have you perchance got a bit of food to spare for us, as well?"
"Aye, my sister's inside puttin' up a bit for ye, and I've got a pony ye can tak' for the lass if ye like. Hold on a bit, and I'll fetch the lot out." He turned away, then turned back with a frown to say apologetically to Janet, "I must crave pardon, mistress, for I dinna possess a sidesaddle."
"I do not require one," she told him with a smile. "A simple cross-saddle will serve me well if you have one that I may use."
"I'm glad that you can ride astride, lass," the reiver said when Jess had gone to fetch the horse and saddle. "Many ladies do not, but I never thought to ask. If you'd required a sidesaddle, we'd have had to travel much more slowly, and as it is, it will take us the best part of the day to reach Hermitage. I've never yet understood how women can be comfortable riding sideways, any road."
"Women just have better balance than men, that's all," she replied sweetly.
Hugh would have scoffed, might even have snapped at her to hold her foolish tongue; but, to her surprise, the reiver grinned and said, "I never thought of that possibility. In truth, though, any saddle of Jess's is bound to be shabby, and not as comfortable as what you're used to. You might use that second cloak of yours to cushion it, and I'll be glad to put you up. You needn't worry that Jess will see more than he should. Your skirts are full enough to keep you decent."
"I am accustomed to riding astride," she said. "I have done so since childhood and sometimes even wear my brother's cast-off breeches beneath my skirts for extra comfort. I had no mother or father to tell me that I should not, you see, and Hugh was often away."
"I think I begin to see how you grew to be as you are," he said thoughtfully, "but we'll not discuss what I think of such an upbringing. At present I am just grateful that my own weary lad need carry the two of us no longer."
She did not know whether to be glad or sorry about that. She had rather enjoyed feeling his arms around her, and now that she could see his features clearly in the early gray dawn light, she saw that he was better looking than any reiver had a right to be.
He wore no helmet, and his shaggy hair and beard were darker than she had imagined them. His eyes were light brown or hazel. She would need more light to discern their exact color. When he walked, he did so with lithe, powerful grace, and in the saddle he sat tall and moved with his horse as if he had been born riding. She took care not to stare, however, having no wish to betray thoughts that were wholly inappropriate to their different stations in life.
When Jess returned leading a plump little gray mare, she made no objection when the reiver lifted her to its saddle. She required no assistance to arrange her skirts or her cloak, but she did not disdain his help when he held the reins while she did so and offered to fold Hugh's cloak to provide a cushion for Jemmy Whiskers.
The little mare did not seem to mind her skirts much, but the process tested its manners and the cat's patience. Remembering what the Brackengill stable lad had said about half-broken Scottish ponies, she wondered if the mare had been raised in England. Trading horses across the line was illegal, but that did not stop the practice. Nor did it stop the reivers from doing their own sort of horse-trading.
The sun was rising through a light mist as they rode over the first hill and beyond sight of the cottage. The day promised to be warmer than the previous one.
"How will you get the mare back to Jess?" Janet asked, breaking the silence.
The reiver shrugged. "One of my lads will see that she gets back to him," he said. A moment later, as he led the way down the other side of the hill, he added, "We'll head north for a bit. The Liddel flows as much from the north as from the east, you know, and it would not do for us to run into your brother and his men before we reach Hermitage."
She nodded, although she had not really known which way the Liddel flowed. She had never been on the Scottish side of the line before, and she was a little surprised that it looked much the same as Cumberland. For some reason she had expected it to be different, but the hills bore the same melting patchwork of snow, and in many places, the same stiff brown grass poked through. In south-facing hollows, bits of green grass were starting to show, just as they were in similar hollows in England. Most seemed to have survived the freeze the night before, but it was still too early to count them as harbingers of spring on either side of the line.
The mist soon disappeared, leaving a bright blue sky, and the air, though crisp, held warmth that had been lacking for months. Janet knew, however, that the higher temperatures could vanish overnight and that more snow might blanket the hills before spring spread true warmth through the Borders.