Old Magic(58)

I know exactly when the idea hits him. His fingers go all hard, digging into my arm a little, not so that they hurt, but I can tell he isn’t pleased. My heart beats faster. What can he be thinking? Something offensive, I’ll bet. I don’t dare probe his brain, Jillian warned me about this. These people live with magic but in a fearful way, with less understanding. If they think I practise witchcraft, I will most probably be killed.

Then he says, ‘Surely, Jarrod, this exotic creature does not travel with you unchaperoned?’

Jarrod appears completely dumbfounded, not expecting this sudden twist. Damn, we should have prepared an alternative story. Of course I look different to them, with my black hair and unusual almond-shaped eyes. Something we should have realised earlier. Too late now as everyone is waiting for Jarrod to explain. I sense it has to come from him. They wouldn’t accept our ‘sister’ plan now, that’s for sure.

‘Jarrod? Who is this Lady?’

‘She, um,’ Jarrod starts. ‘Her name is Kate – ’

‘Katherine,’ I say quickly as the shortened version isn’t popular yet.

But this is not an explanation and the crowd waits for more. Lord Richard’s fingers tighten around my shoulder, his thoughts diving again. His head swivels to Jarrod’s, looking at him sharply. ‘Tell me you have not stolen Lady Katherine’s innocence and made her your mistress?’ His voice grows louder and the crowd thickens around us. ‘Your father, my dear brother,’ he continues, shaking his head, ‘would stand for none of this if he knew.’

I don’t like what’s happening. In an instant our welcome has turned threatening. I suddenly visualise the dungeons these castles reputedly have – literally window-less holes in the ground. Sure, as everything else around here, I’d like to see them, but my curiosity stops there. Every pair of eyes zeroes in on me. My face is in flames. I urge Jarrod to say something, anything, to get us out of this unfortunate twist.

And so he says, ‘Katherine comes from … an island, far away from here. She … she is …’ He drags in a deep breath. ‘She is my wife.’

A collected relieved sigh escapes from the crowd, and the Lord’s tight hold around my shoulder eases. In fact, he drops his arm and lifts my hand, as if searching for something. When he finds what he’s searching for he holds my hand up high so everyone can see. It’s my ring, the ruby and gold one Jillian gave me, that has everyone’s attention.

‘It’s true then,’ Isabel announces, coming up and giving me a welcoming hug. ‘How lovely, my dear. Come, you must be hungry.’ She glances at my soiled skirts and messy hair. ‘And when you have both eaten, I will arrange hot baths and a comfortable bed.’ Here she glances at her husband, Lord Richard, with one fine eyebrow raised in query. As if by familiar silent communication they agree on something, and Isabel says, ‘We can’t have you sleeping with the servants in the Great Hall, so you two can sleep in the tower room. It hasn’t been used since Lionel wed his young bride.’

A room of our own. This is quite an accomplishment. Other than the Lord and his Lady the rest of these people would normally sleep in the Great Hall on beds of straw. This privacy is just what we need.

Isabel’s glance slides to Jarrod, her voice whisper-soft. ‘It’s their room you see. Your father had it built especially for Eloise as a wedding gift. It’s the room your parents slept in when they lived here, before …’ Her pause is met with an electric silence. The air practically ignites with tension. Even though Jillian warned me sternly against it, I have to do it, just one time. Isabel is hiding something. If I can decipher some of her fears, I might understand the why of it. And why the idea of sleeping in this tower room has suddenly taken on an unsavoury feel. So I probe, very gently, Isabel’s mind. What I feel there shakes me up a bit. This seemingly strong, very in control woman, is scared. Of course, we know from Jarrod’s heritage book that the young bride was kidnapped. But as I understand it, the bride was returned only hours after the event. An unrequited lover’s vengeful prank. But, glancing at the gathered crowd, I see fear in their faces. There is definitely more to this story. Something dark and sinister happened to the young married couple, Jarrod’s supposed ‘parents’. Though it happened possibly twenty or more years ago, it still has the power to affect all those who remember it, even their children. And it happened in the tower room. That much is clear.

A sudden chill hits every one of my senses. The thought of sleeping in this room now gives me the creeps. I withdraw from Isabel’s head, but the fearful sensations remain, too strong to subside.