"Yer husband," he said quietly. "You always refer to him as "my husband", or "my lord". Ye never use his Christian name."
"No," she replied. "I don"t"
Their eyes met and then he said, "Yer Charles and my younger son, Gilbert, were close friends at the Abbey School. About a year after Charles came, some epidemic ran through the school Every child there had it in some form, and the good brothers could nae keep up wi" the nursing. Parents were asked to come, but my Ellen had just lost another babe. There was nothing for me to do but pack up and go to nurse Gilly. Charles was also sick, and as Anne was busy at the castle nursing both Ian and Agnes, I cared for both my son and yers. In his delirium Charles spoke Turkish, and having traveled the Mediterranean I understand Turkish."
She sat very quietly, listening to his deep voice.
"There were," he continued, "several things he said that puzzled me. He spoke of "my father, the sultan," his Aunt Zuleika who died in the Tile Court, his brother, Suleiman, and his sister, Nilufer. He talked the most of his mother the bas-kadin. He wept because he must leave his mother and father and perhaps never see them again. He worried constantly that no one must know who he really was, or his mother would die. I have never spoken to anyone, even Charles, of these things."
"I thank ye for that Colin. These things are in the past, and not important."
"I"m a curious man, Janet I want answers to my questions."
"Ye hae not the right my lord Hay."
"But I do," he replied quietly. Sitting down on the tumbled bed, he drew her down beside him, and turned her so she faced him.
"Last night I told you I had waited forty years to bed you, and ye accused me of a number of things, but the fact is, my dear, I spoke the truth. I watched you every moment I could the weeks ye and yer father were at court all those years ago. I was at the age where girls were beginning to interest me greatly, and you particularly interested me. I remembered playing wi" ye several times as a child; but now ye were neither a child, nor a woman; and I was on the brink of manhood. G.o.d"s toenail! Ye were a pert minx the way ye stood up to the king"s cousin! Leslie"s fiery little wench they called you at court for weeks after you left for San Lorenzo. Then came the word that ye were betrothed to the heir of that d.a.m.ned duchy, followed a few months later by word of yer kidnapping. The king offered to make a match for me, but I would hae none of it. I dinna take my first wife until I was twenty-five, and only then to please my father, for he so desperately wanted grandchildren, heirs to Grayhaven.
"My second wife, Euphemia Keith, was a redhead. I think I married her because I imagined she looked like you would have when ye grew up."
"Did she?" Janet asked.
"Nay. Not at all. When Charles and I had become friends, he showed me that exquisite miniature you gave him to remember ye by. Who painted it?"
"Firousi."
"Who was she?"
"My sister-in-captivity."
"Was she beautiful, too?"
"She was exquisite! Far lovelier than I. A tiny silver-blond with eyes the color of turquoise. Firousi was my best and dearest friend."
"And Zuleika?"
Janet laughed. "Yer as persistant as a terrier after a rat"
"Tell me!"
"Nay, Colly. There are others involved. Political implications that ye canna imagine."
"If what I believe to be true really is, then such information in the wrong hands could be very dangerous, my love. I dinna for one minute believe ye were married to a kindly Christian merchant Ye were probably one of a number of wives of some potentate. I imagine Charles is a prince in his own land."
"Charles is a Scot This is his land" she said sharply. "He has spent more of his life here than there. He would be dead now had I not smuggled him out There are malcontents in every land and if it were known that Charles were alive, his brother could be endangered Enough of this, Colly! I will discuss it no more!"
Before he could pursue her further, Marian bustled into the room. "Madame, that woman is back. I canna budge her from the anteroom."
Janet rose and calmly walked across the room to a large hanging near the fireplace. Reaching up she touched a thistle carving on the mantle and pulled the hanging aside. A hidden door was revealed.
"Walk down two flights, my lord Take the door to yer left on the second landing."
He raised her hand to his lips, and turning it quickly kissed the palm. Pushing him through the door, she closed it behind him. Turning to Marian she said, "You may tell the lady Anne that I will receive her now."
43.
AUTUMN DEEPENED, and the trees turned glorious shades of yellow, gold, scarlet, russet, and brown. The crisp, short days turned into long, chill nights. Janet had promised each workman a bushel of white flour and a fattened pig if her house was finished by Saint Margaret"s Eve. It was, and after ma.s.s on Saint Margaret"s Day she personally presented each workman with his bonus. To it she added a gold piece, and the foreman found himself richer by five gold pieces. The master builder was astounded and delighted to find that he, too, was included in the festivities.
His bill, presented with much ceremony, was paid on the spot, and in full. His delight was somewhat tempered when his satisfied client insisted on waiting while he paid off his men. The workmen chuckled with delight for had the Lady Janet not pressed the matter, they might not have been paid. Now their families would be safe over the long winter.
Sithean was to be dedicated on November thirtieth, Saint Andrew"s Day. During the next two weeks the house would be furnished and the servants hired. Anne claimed that her sister would have great difficulty hiring servants as the Leslie peasants were lazy and did not want to work. However, this was not the case. The people flocked to Janet, and within a day her servants" hall was full. Lady Leslie was known to be a fair employer who paid the yearly wage on hiring and at Michaelmas thereafter. Her servants" quarters, according to the workmen"s gossip, would be warm and dry for there were fireplaces everywhere.
A week before Janet was due to move into her house she asked her son to visit with her after the dinner hour. The fire burnt high in her bedchamber fireplace. She prepared coffee Turkish fashion for them both.
As they sat and sipped the sweet, thick coffee, Charles said, "You"ve never told me why you came home. You"ve been here six months, and you"ve never said a word to me."
"Thanks to my meddling, your brother took a second wife-Khurrem-the Laughing One." She was the one I had chosen to lure him from Gulbehar. Suleiman, however, seems to have an unfortunate tendency towards monogomy. He simply switched his allegiance from a pa.s.sive kitten to an ambitious tiger cat Khurrem presented your brother with three sons and a daughter. Gulbehar is now exiled to Magnesia where yer nephew, Prince Mustafa, governs for his father. When yer uncle Adam arrived in Istanbul seeking me I took it as a sign and staged my death so I might return home. It had reached the point where either I must go, or I must dispose of Khurrem. Twice in the last year she tried to poison me. Suleiman adores her, and I could not have hurt him. So I chose to come home to Scotland"
"I would have had the girl bowstringed" said Charles grimly.
"Ahhh," smiled Janet "There speaks the Turk! You are yer father"s son, Prince Karim."
"I was only six when ye sent me away, mother, but I forgot nothing. As a child I whispered my memories like a litany in the dark of night Tell me. Are my aunts Firousi and Sarina still alive?"
"Yes. They live with the twins and their families. Sarina is raising her grandson, Suleiman."
"And my father? How did he die? We only heard that the Grand Turk Selim was dead There was much rejoicing and ma.s.ses of thanksgiving until Suleiman showed his teeth and attacked Belgrade."
"He died of the cancer that had been eating at his belly all those years. He was on campaign."
"I"ll pray for him, mother."
"Then there will be two of us. I pray for him him each day." each day."
"And yet ye"ve taken a lover."
For an instant her eyes blazed green fire at him. Then she laughed softly. "Yer shocked aren"t ye, my son? How typically Turkish. Yer Aunt Anne is firmly convinced that the peoples of the East are evil, debauched creatures. How surprised she would be to find them highly moral, even more so than the Scots. Aye, Charles, Lord Hay is my lover, and more than that I willna say. It isna yer business. I do, however, expect ye to be courteous to Colly."
"I like Lord Hay, mother. I always have. I hope that perhaps ye"ll wed wi" him if he asks ye."
"He has already asked."
"Mother!"
"But I refused. I dinna wish to marry anyone. Enough, Charles! I did not ask ye here to discuss me. I am moving into Sithean after it"s dedicated on November thirtieth. I have furnished the entire East Wing for you, Fiona and the children. Since ye"ll inherit it some day, ye might as well hae part of it now. I dinna want ye dependent upon Glenkirk"s hospitality, and I know Fiona hates living in Edinburgh. Rent the house there. It should gie you a nice income."
"Mother! What can I say to you? I dinna even hae to ask Fiona. Thanks to ye, we"ll hae a real home at last!" Then his face fell. "But we canna afford the upkeep."
"Ye shouldna have to, my son. Sithean is mine. Its upkeep and the servants are all my responsibility. Yer brother is having an extremely generous amount deposited yearly wi" the Kiras for my use, and I took all my jewelry wi" me."
He took both her hands in his and kissed them. "Thank you," he said simply.
"Go tell Fiona. And dinna worry for yer privacy. The entire East Wing is yers. The West Wing is mine. I shall speak to you further in the morning." She walked him to the door and kissed him "Good night, my son. Send Marian to me on yer way down."
"You have done a good thing, madame," said Marian when she entered the room a few minutes later. "Sir Charles is floating, so happy he is."
"Come, Marian, ye surely never thought I was building that large stone barn for myself alone."
"It"s a castle fit for n.o.bility, madame."
"Yes, isn"t it," purred Janet "And how will ye accomplish that? No! Don"t tell me. You"ll have an earldom for him before yer through. When you get that look in yer eye-"
Janet laughed, "I want the pale gold silk nightgown and robe. There"s a border moon tonight, and I think. Lord Hay will come."
After helping Janet remove her gown and petticoats, Marian placed a small tub from the garderobe in front of the fireplace, and filling it with warm water from a steaming kettle, added to it several drops of scented oil from a crystal flacon. Janet stood quietly in the tub as her waiting woman sponged her entire body with the fragrant water.
"It"s outrageous that a woman yer age should look as ye do," muttered Marian wrapping her mistress in a warm towel, and thoroughly drying her. Next she poured a pale green cream from a gold bottle into her hand and ma.s.saged her lady"s skin starting at the soles of her feet, and working upwards to her neck. She then sat Janet at her dressing table and brushed her beautiful hair till it crackled and glistened.
"Stand up, madame."
With a large lamb"s wool puff, she dusted an extra fine scented powder over Janet and rubbed it into the skin with a silk cloth, Marian helped Janet into her nightgown, sheer pale gold silk held up by ribbons at the shoulders, the low bodice covered in a fine lace, and a ribbon at the waist Janet then put on a matching cape edged from neck to hem in a thin band of dark sable. It tied at the throat with a single silk ribbon.
"I don"t know why you bother," said Marian tartly. "He"ll have it off you quick enough."
"Was not my lord Selim the same?"
"Aye. Men are alike that way."
She carried the little tub into the garderobe. Corning back into the bedchamber she said, "I had Ruth put wine, bread and a joint o" mutton in your cupboard. I fancy his lordship will be hungry after his cold ride."
"Where is Ruth?"
"In her bed. Alone. I saw to that! Earlier, however, I caught Red Hugh sniffing about her."
"I wouldna disapprove a match between them, Marian, but I"ve warned him not to seduce her."
"Thank ye, madame. He"s a good lad, but-experienced, and my Ruth is so innocent"
"Dinna worry, my old friend. I love Ruth as my own Nilufer. I"ll let no harm come to her."
"I know, m"lady. Good night now."
"Good night, Marian."
Janet walked to the fireplace, and reaching into a jar on the mantel, drew out a handful of aloes, which she threw on the fire. Standing by the window she gazed into the silver-lit black night The moon rode high. He would come she knew. For over a month now he had been paying her secret visits, entering Glenkirk by a hidden door at the base of this tower. Besides herself and Colin, only Marian and Ruth knew of the door"s existence. She had discovered it when she was a child Feeling a draft she turned. He stood, the tapestry to his back, stripping off his gloves. He tossed them along with his cloak on the wooden settle by the fireplace.
"Jesu, sweetheart it"s cold tonight!" He opened his arms. "Come warm me."
"And be frozen to death? No thank you, m"lord. When ye"ve thawed, I"ll consider yer offer." Walking to the cupboard she took out a decanter and goblet and pouring him some wine, handed it to him. "Are you hungry? Marion has left fresh bread and some mutton."
"Later." He drained the goblet "That gown screams rape. If ye dinna want it ruined, take it off."
Sprawled on the bed he watched her. Her slender fingers undid the ribbon on the cape, which slipped to the floor. She shrugged the ribbons off her shoulders and untied the one at her waist He caught his breath as the gown slid slowly to the floor caressing her ripe b.r.e.a.s.t.s, hips and long legs as it sunk into a ma.s.s around her ankles. She stepped out of it and joined him on the bed. Laying back she looked up at him. "Good evening, my lord Hay."
"Madame." He chuckled, and bending kissed the tip of each breast Instantly they sprang erect "So," he smiled lazily, "that"s how it"s going to be." Standing up he stripped off his clothes.
Hungrily she drew him down, and a few moments later they both lay spent and exhausted. For a while only their breathing broke the stillness. Then Janet said, "Are ye warm now, my lord?"
"Aye, and hungry too." Grinning he stood up and helped himself to the bread and meat in the cupboard.
"Gi" me some wine, Colly." He handed her a cup which she sipped slowly. "I told Charles he might have the East Wing of Sithean. He"s delighted."
"He should bel Yer d.a.m.ned generous, but I"ll feel better knowing that there"s a man in the house."
"Red Hugh is a man. He"ll be living there, too."
"Still after little Ruth, is her "Aye, but he"ll have to wed wi" her to get what he wants. Marian"s daughter is no wanton ready for a quick tumble under a hedge."
"Will he?"
"I think so. What he wants of her no other woman, even a virgin, can gie him. My nephew hasna realized it yet, but he"s in love!"
"And young Ruth," said Colin, "following yer instructions, no doubt, will first drive poor Hugh wild and then drive him to the altar. Yer a wicked la.s.s, my Jan!"
She laughed. "Ye make it sound so odious! I simply want them both happy."
"If yer for them, they will be, my dear. Now if ye would agree to marry me I should be happy, also."
"Colin, my hinny, ye may have my love, my body, my undivided attention-and aye!-even my money! But I"ll nae wed again! It"s extremely pleasant being yer mistress, but "tis even more pleasant being my own mistress."
"I"ll keep asking." His eyes twinkled.
Putting her goblet on the table by the bed she held out her arms to him. He accepted the invitation. They made love tenderly, slowly, each striving to prolong the other"s pleasure, and as the moon began to set, they fell asleep.
44.