Border Fire(57)

To ease the boredom and occupy his mind, he often thought of Jenny. Seeing her cry when they took him away had hurt him more than the beating they gave him later. It had also stirred his temper, though, to know that she had witnessed his humiliation. Had they given him any chance to fight back, he did not doubt that he would have given a good account of himself.

He spent a good portion of each slowly passing day sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall opposite the cell door, with his eyes closed, imagining Jenny at Broadhaugh. Doubtless she was making life miserable for Buccleuch, he thought, but perhaps Buccleuch could handle her.

The thought made him smile. He doubted that anyone could handle his Jenny. She was probably wishing right now that she had been born a man-a very powerful man-so that she could lead an army of ten thousand to free him. She also was probably wishing that she had not promised to curb her impulses. She was gey impulsive, was Jenny.   





 

Over the long, lonely hours, various images presented themselves: Jenny with her long, silvery hair hanging free to her waist; Jenny with her hands on her hips, spitting fury at him; Jenny laughing; and Jenny in bed beside him, moaning with pleasure as he stroked her soft and supple body and made love to her. That thought stirred memories of another body, a furry one, stretched along his backside, purring.

"Damnation," he muttered, "I even miss her blasted cat."





Chapter 21


"Wow Christ's curse on my head," he said, "But avenged of Lord Scrope I'll be!"

WHEN JANET ENTERED THE master's hall at Hermitage, Buccleuch was sitting at his table with his estate books spread out before him and his leg propped up just as it had been the last time she had seen him. Lines of pain and worry etched his face, making him look older. "What is it, lass?" he demanded. "What's amiss now?"

"What is amiss, sir, is that I have heard not a word for nigh onto a fortnight, and I could not sit still at Broadhaugh for one minute longer."

"There be naught else for you to do, come what may," he said, scowling.

"Then I will wait here at Hermitage until someone brings news," she said, striving to sound implacable.

His eyes narrowed. "Send your lass upstairs," he said. "Hob, you go down to the great hall with the lads. I'll send for you when I want you."

Hob left without comment, and swallowing hard, Janet nodded to Ardith. When the maid had gone, she braced herself, certain that she was about to experience the full force of Buccleuch's famous temper. Before he spoke, however, the door opened again, and the Laird of Gaudilands strode in.

He nodded at Janet, then said to Buccleuch, "Ha' ye no told her yet?"

Buccleuch's scowl grew even fiercer. "Shut your gob, you fool!"

"Told me what?" Janet demanded, then answered her own question. "You've heard from Queen Elizabeth!"

"I have not," Buccleuch retorted. "Her guts-griped pigeon of an ambassador refuses to write to her, and although our Jamie persuaded the fen-sucked dogfish to write to Scrope, that letter got us no more than my own. Scrope still insists that he's got no one but a notorious reiver locked up at Carlisle. Even were that so, it still touches my honor," he added in a near growl. "The spleeny English have flagrantly violated Border laws upon which we all rely. Worse, they've infringed on my powers and they seem to think that there is naught I can do about it."

Janet bit her lip, forcing herself to keep silent.

A gleam of appreciation lit Buccleuch's eyes. "Speak up, lass," he said. "You've shown courage till now. Don't keep your thoughts to yourself."

Raising her chin, she said frankly, "I was just thinking, sir, that of all those Border laws, inviolability of the truce seems to be the only one to which you and your Borderers pay any heed whatsoever. Yet here you are, behaving much as you would if the sky had fallen."

"Aye, and what if I am?" he retorted. "The whole object of declaring a day of truce is to ensure that those who attend-particularly the witnesses, of course-can travel in peace without risking intimidation, assault, or battery on the way. Moreover, that scrofulous bastard Scrope informed the queen's ambassador that our truce lasts only from sunset the day before to sunset on the meeting day."

"Well, I know that is not what they agreed to at Dayholm, but if there is some question about that in other-"

"There is no question," he roared, adding more mildly, "You have only to think on it, lass. What good would be a truce that ended before most folks had got well away from the ground? 'Tis naught but that distempered malt-worm Scrope spitting lies again through his rotting yellow teeth! He had no business to seize Quin or any other man within my jurisdiction."

Agreeing, she said bluntly, "What do you mean to do about it?"

"I can tell you what I'd do if I had all my limbs about me," he snapped. "I'd raise two thousand angry Borderers and bring the walls of Carlisle down on that bat-fouling miscreant Scrope's head."

"But you do not have all your limbs about you, sir," she said. "Nor can you ride so far with your bad leg. Have you any deputy who could lead your men?"

"No one with my genius," he replied. "That is not conceit," he added when she raised her eyebrows. "It is plain fact. Our Borderers will not follow just anyone. The only man they might follow as easily as they follow me is Quin. Neither Todrigg nor Gaudilands, nor any other man hereabouts, has our ability or my power. I'll have to think long and hard about this, but I will think of something."   





 

Though she was dying to make a suggestion, Janet held her tongue, and this time he did not command her to speak.

Gaudilands, having stood silently through the exchange, reddened when Buccleuch glowered at him and snarled, "What did you want then, besides to stir coals wi' the lass?"

Visibly gathering dignity, Gaudilands said, "I had no such intent, Wat I merely came to see if ye'd decided what ye mean to do. We carina leave Quin moldering in a cell at Scrope's convenience."

Buccleuch grimaced. Turning to Janet, he said, "You'll be wanting to have a wash, lass. You may stay to dine, but then you must take yourself and that young woman of yours back to Broadhaugh and leave this business to us."

Drawing a deep breath to steady her nerves, she said quietly, "I mean you no disrespect, sir, but Quinton is my husband. I would like to hear your answer to the question that the Laird of Gaudilands just put to you."

"You will not like it," he said. "I made this leg of mine worse by riding here, and they tell me that I must not ride again for at least another fortnight unless I want to risk crippling myself permanently. I don't, so we're forced to wait a bit longer before we can do anything more to help Quin. Still, Scrope will not dare to harm him, and something may happen in the meantime to-"

"What will most likely happen is his untimely demise!" Janet retorted. "You cannot simply leave him there to rot! With respect, sir," she added belatedly.

"Your ‘respect' leaves much to be desired, lass."

"I am a trifle overwrought, perhaps," she admitted.

He cocked his head to one side. "I did not think you even liked Quin much. As I recall, you married him only because I left you little choice."

Feeling a surge of heat in her cheeks, she had all she could do to keep her countenance. "I care for my husband as any wife should, sir. In any event, my feelings are irrelevant to the matter at hand. It would be a dreadful mistake to wait, sir. Surely, you can call upon his Bairns to help. They have offered to do what they can, and they are loyal. I warrant they would not fail you, or him."

"So you care only as any wife should, eh?" He eyed her shrewdly for a long moment, and she found herself wondering if Margaret had confided to him her thoughts on that particular subject.

She did not reply, and after a moment, he said, "The Bairns would certainly follow me, lass. Moreover, lest you fear that I have put my leg above Quin's safety, let me assure you that is not the case. I must consider the injury when I judge the likelihood of a raid's proving successful, however. I dislike feeling helpless, believe me, but under the present circumstances I'd prove more liability than asset, and my Borderers, like Quin's, have better sense than to follow a weak leader."

She could see that it had cost him to admit as much, but she said stubbornly, "I think you could persuade them to follow someone else, sir. If you were to name someone like Gaudilands or Todrigg as your deputy-"

"I told you, lass, neither has my skill," Buccleuch said.

"Unfortunately, that is true," Gaudilands told her. "Neither of us has a knack for keeping rogues like Rabbie's Bairns in order. Recall that many are broken men who are as like to lend their loyalty to an English leader as to a Scot. A successful raid-especially one of the magnitude that you want-would depend on such men agreeing to follow our orders without constantly debating their worth."

"If it please you, sir," Janet said to Buccleuch, "I think I can persuade them. They … they have shown considerable loyalty to me, as well as to Quinton. I think that, for us, they would agree to do whatever you commanded of them, even were you not present to enforce your commands." Realizing belatedly that her words might give offense, she added hastily, "I did not mean to imply that you require my support, or Quinton's, to see your commands obeyed, sir, but-"