SITHEAN WAS DEDICATED on Saint Andrew"s Day in the year fifteen hundred and thirty-three. Janet had been home six months. Afterwards there was a feast The Lady of Sithean had taken into her household a cook, a bailiff, a dozen housemaids and kitchenmaids, a laundress and two a.s.sistants, a spit-boy, three byremaids, a head groom, three undergrooms, a head gamekeeper, two a.s.sistant gamekeepers, twenty men-at-arms, their captain, her own personal body servants, two nursemaids for the nursery, and a priest In all she was to be responsible for feeding, clothing, and housing fifty-three souls, not including her own family which now consisted of herself, Charles, Fiona, and their two babies, Patrick and baby Charles. It was not however, considered a large household. on Saint Andrew"s Day in the year fifteen hundred and thirty-three. Janet had been home six months. Afterwards there was a feast The Lady of Sithean had taken into her household a cook, a bailiff, a dozen housemaids and kitchenmaids, a laundress and two a.s.sistants, a spit-boy, three byremaids, a head groom, three undergrooms, a head gamekeeper, two a.s.sistant gamekeepers, twenty men-at-arms, their captain, her own personal body servants, two nursemaids for the nursery, and a priest In all she was to be responsible for feeding, clothing, and housing fifty-three souls, not including her own family which now consisted of herself, Charles, Fiona, and their two babies, Patrick and baby Charles. It was not however, considered a large household.
The celebration was for the family and a few friends. The earl of Glenkirk came with his countess. Ian, and his pretty Jane, who was again with child, came with their five-month-old son, Patrick. He was called "Wee Patrick" to distinguish him from his older cousin, Fiona and Charles" Patrick who would be two in January. Sister Mary Agnes, Janet"s niece had come from her convent near Edinburgh in the company of her friend, Sister Margaret Mary, Colin"s unfortunate daughter. The master of Gray-haven arrived with his two sons-his heir, James, who brought his bride, Jean Gordon, and his younger son, Gilbert who was betrothed to Alice Gordon, Jean"s younger sister.
Gilbert Hay was twenty, and though twelve-year-old Alice Gordon might some day be attractive, she was not of interest to him now. How he occupied his time became obvious several months later when two of Janet"s housemaids confessed to being pregnant, and each tearfully named young Master Gilbert as the culprit "Could he not have kept his cod in his breeches for one night?" she raged at Lord Hay. "Not one girl, but two! Do ye know how hard they are to train? For G.o.d"s sake why did ye betroth a l.u.s.ty c.o.c.k of twenty to a child of twelve? It will be two years before they can marry. In that time h.e.l.l seduce every virgin for fifty miles around and start his own clan!"
That year, Twelfth Night revels at Sithean were particularly merry, for Janet"s younger serving woman, Ruth Browne, was married to Adam"s b.a.s.t.a.r.d son. As Lord Hay bad predicted, Ruth first drove Red Hugh wild, and then she drove him to the altar. Actually it was Hugh"s mother who had turned the trick. Out of the blue she had married a prosperous local farmer who had been recently widowed.
Speaking frankly to her son she told him, "Yell always be welcoome in our home, Hughie; but ye can see how busy I am wi" Geordie"s puir motherless bairns. Cooking and putting up fur this great lot is more work than it was fur just the two of us. I dinna ken why ye dinna wed wi" Lady Janet"s sweet Ruth. She"s a guid girl, and will make ye a guid home. Perhaps my lady will even gie ye a small cottage."
"Och," he replied, "the one we"ve lived in will do for me."
"Nay, my son. Yer grandfather gie us that cottage, but we never owned it When I wed wi" my Geordie, I returned it to yer father. Unless ye wed, yer only home is a barrack."
Red Hugh More thought about that on the long cold ride back to Sithean. All night long he tossed in his chilly, lumpy bed, listening to the snores and moans of his men who were off duty. All the next day he thought of the sweet-faced girl with her soft brown hair and the merry blue eyes that looked so regretful when refusing his bolder advances. By evening he had made up his mind and going to his aunt came bluntly to the point.
"I want to wed wi" Ruth Browne."
"Have ye spoken to her?" Janet inquired.
"Nay. First I wanted yer permission. If ye"ll gie it me, I"ll speak to Mistress Marian, and then wi" her permission, I"ll ask Ruth."
"Very well, Hugh. Ye hae my blessing. Marian, come here." Marian came in from the garderobe where she had been brushing Janet"s gowns. "Hugh seeks yer permission to wed wi" Ruth. I hae given him my blessing, but unless ye truly want him for a son, dinna be influenced by my decision."
Marian eyed the big man. "And what," she demanded acidly, "hae ye to offer my daughter except a dubious name and your fine self? Where will ye live? Ye hae no house. My Ruth is gently reared and wouldna take kindly to being a camp follower."
Tongue-tied, poor Hugh stood silently shuffling his feet Janet knowing the next move was up to her, spoke up.
"I will, for a wedding present to Hugh, build a small house in my new village of Crannog. They shall also have rooms here in my house for the times when they must remain here. As a wedding gift to Ruth, dear Marian, I will gie her her dowry." She turned to Hugh. "Your bride comes well dowered, nephew. Besides all her clothing, linens, pots, and kitchenware, she has eighty-five gold pieces; her jewelry which consists of a pearl necklace and one of blue Persian lapis; a pair each of pearl, garnet Persian lapis, and plain gold earrings; and two gold bracelets. And, Hugh, my brother has promised me that ye"ll be legally recognized-without the right of inheritance, of course-and from now on, ye"ll be known as Hugh More-Leslie. Now, if ye are both satisfied and in agreement I think we should see if Ruth will hae ye."
"If she won"t I will," chuckled Marian. "Ye hae my blessing too, my son; but treat my daughter well, or ye"ll regret it"
Hugh was dismissed to find his prospective bride. With the privilege granted old retainers, Marian sat down on the settle opposite her mistress. The fire blazed merrily.
"Eighty-five gold pieces," she said. "It took me a moment madame, but I think I"ve figured it out Forty years I shared yer captivity. My husband, Alan, may G.o.d absolve him, spent twenty-two years before his death a slave to my lord Selim. Our only child was born into captivity, and is now twenty-three. Do not these figures add up to eighty-five?"
Janet smiled. "It was not for nothing that ye helped Alan wi" my lord"s accounts. Yes. Yer deduction is quite correct I wanted Ruth to have money in her own right and so the marriage contract shall read This way my nephew must behave himself lest his wife cut him off!"
"Only you would think of that, madame."
At that moment Hugh More-Leslie was pouring out his heart to Ruth. After hesitating just long enough to make him believe that she might refuse him, Ruth accepted his proposal The wedding was set for Twelfth Night.
The wedding day dawned fair with a bright sun that sparkled on the new snow. The religious ceremony was held in Sithean"s Chapel of Saint Anne, with the castle chaplain, Father Paul, officiating. Sir Charles Leslie gave the bride away. Afterwards Janet gave the newlyweds a small feast in her own hall in the West Wing.
It was a small celebration, but a merry one, and it ended in great hilarity with the putting to bed of the bride and the groom. Since it was winter the newlyweds" house could not be started until spring, so they were for the present making their home in the castle.
Janet Marian, Jean, Fiona and Jane hustled the bride from the hall to the nuptial chamber. There they divested the happy girl of her wedding finery, put her into a prettily embroidered soft wool nightgown, brushed her long hair, and helped her into the bed They were none too soon, for the door opened, and a laughing Charles, Ian, and Adam pushed a grinning Hugh into the room.
"We all wish ye joy," said Janet quietly, herding the rest of the guests out before any ribald comments could embarra.s.s Ruth. "Good night, my dear children."
The following morning the mothers of both the bride and the groom paid the newlyweds an early morning visit Several minutes later from the bedchamber window the bedsheet-with its b.l.o.o.d.y virgin stain-flew proudly in the winter wind.
With the festivities of New Years, Twelfth Night and the wedding over, things settled down. Janet in defiance of her cla.s.s status, had bought a large herd of sheep and intended raising them as a cash crop.
The winter was bitterly cold, with blowing snows. Had Lady Leslie not been popular with the peasants she might not have obtained the best shepherds in the area to care for her flock, but she did; and unlike others who lost over half their new lambs, she retained three quarters of hers.
"Why," she asked Marian one sunny May morning, "do those innocent little creatures gamboling down in the meadow choose to be born during the worst of winter?"
"Because they"re stupid, madame! There"s no other reason for it," she snapped.
The sheep might be stupid, but the lady of Sithean was wise. Her business flourished. After shearing, the wool was washed, dried, combed and carded by the men and women in Janet"s village of Crannog which had sprung up on the lake sh.o.r.e opposite the castle. The process was repeated to make the wool extra-fine. It was then dyed with special dyes made up by Janet herself. The formulas for these dyes were known to her alone. She was a.s.sisted by Dumb Jock, Glenkirk"s former slavey, whom she had rescued. It was his job to set the dyes. Jock might be voiceless, but he was neither deaf nor unintelligent He also had a fine sense of humor and chuckled to himself when he heard pleasing comments on the clarity of the wool"s color. He wondered what people would say if they knew the dyes were set with sheep"s urine.
After dying, the wool was spun and then woven by Janet"s own people. There was no mill; instead each family of weavers had its own loom in a separate room off its cottage. This was done to keep the cloth from being stained by either food, smoke, or beat The shorter bits of wool were used to make felt; the longer strands were woven into a soft, extra-fine woolen cloth which was discreetly brokered by the Kira family in Edinburgh.
The Kiras were her one link with the past Through them her allowance from Istanbul flowed, and through them she received letters from her dearest friend, Esther Kira. These letters were the source of her greatest pleasure and her greatest pain.
Janet had been home one year when a Kira courier brought her a letter from Esther. Seated in the bay of her private anteroom, Marian and Ruth with her, she opened the large packet She began to read aloud.
Beloved madame.
As I now judge it safe to write, I send this message to you by the hand of my nephew, Aaron. It is carried on his person at all times, and in the event the ship shoud be attacked by any of Khair ad-Din Pasha"s friendly ships, or the equally friendly ships of the Christian nations between here and Leith, he is to destroy the letter immediately. Should yon be reading these words, however, then praise be to G.o.d or Allah, or Yahweh, or whoever!
The seated women laughed, and then Janet continued.
Your son has mourned you greatly. Removing yourself from his sphere has truly made you dead to him. Khurrem has, of course, taken advantage of this. You had not been gone a week when we received word that old Shah Ismail"s son, Prince Tahmasp, had broken the truce made so many years ago with Sultan Selim. The prince captured Bitlis, and his hors.e.m.e.n were seen at Baghdad.
Sultan Suleiman sent Ibrahim Pasha to put down this rebellion. This was done at Khurrem"s suggestion. At first I did not understand the reasoning behind it, but as I have watched carefully over the months I now know with certainty that she is out to destroy Ibrahim. You were wrong, madame, to a.s.sume her only ambition lay within the barem. She would rule the empire, but not subtly as you did, but openly and boldly. With Gulbehar and Cyra Hafise gone, only Ibrahim Pasha and Prince Mustafa stand in her way, and I fear for them both. She managed to have Iskander Chelebi sent with Ibrahim Pasha to quell the rebellion.
"G.o.d in heaven," whispered Janet "That accursed treasurer-and Ibrahim"s greatest rival for Suleiman"s ear!"
"Read on, madame," begged Marian.
Janet continued.
Ibrahim was ordered to press straight on to Baghdad Instead he turned into the mountains around Lake Van near Bitlis, and resecured the frontier posts. Then he pushed his troops across the mountains towards Tabriz where Prince Tahmasp reigns.
Janet nodded approvingly. "He thinks like Selim," she said.
However, messengers returning to the sultan said that the Ibrahim had gone mad with power, and claimed he alone won the victories which the Ottoman sultan could no longer achieve. They even showed Suleiman an order signed by Ibrahim as "Serasker Sultan." Khurrem showed it to me, and I marveled that Ibrahim should be so bold. She is quite pleased with me, and I am in her favor. It seems to be important to her that I am her friend. I think she feels that because you and I were such confidantes, I give her a measure of respectability. Cyra Hafise may be dead for over a year, but Khurrem is still afraid of her.
The signature, by the way, was an excellent forgery. I never realized how truly talented Iskander Chelebi really was. Such reports, however false, distressed the sultan, and he left Khurrem to join Ibrahim.
Baghdad is again secure, and Iskander Chelebi, having been caught skimming off monies from the army supplies fund and dealing secretly with the Persians to defeat our sultan, has been executed. Not, however, before trying to implicate Ibrahim He claims they were in the scheme together and also that Ibrahim bought a.s.sa.s.sins to kill Suleiman. Had Ibrahim and Suleiman not been practically raised together-. Nevertheless I fear for the vizier.
I have warned him through your daughter, his wife, but his ego will not allow him to take Khurrem seriously. This could be a tragic mistake in view of something I have heard.
The slavegirl who tends Khurrem"s hair is a Jewess. When I found this out, I begged Khurrem"s permission to buy the girl"s freedom She allowed it on the condition that the girl personally train another slave-girl in her technique of hairdressing. Sarai, for that is the girl"s name, is doing so. However, she is very grateful to me for obtaining her freedom and giving her a position in my house.
Recently she told me Khurrem has boasted openly that the sultan is going to marry her. I have heard nothing of this though I"ve increased my visits to the Eski Serai. It is, of course, absurd! And now, dear lady, before I close I ask you to remember me to my good friend Marian, and her daughter, Ruth. May your G.o.d keep you all safe.
I am your faithful friend.
Esther Kira.
The three women sat silently for a few minutes. Then Janet burst into a string of oaths. When she had finished she stood up, shook her skirts, and asked, "Has the messenger from the Kiras begun his return journey yet?"
"Nay," replied a white-faced Ruth.
"He isna to leave until I have written a message which he will carry to Edinburgh for me. In fact since it is late, he is to stay the night and start out at first light This will gie me time to compose something sensible. Go and tell him, Ruth."
"Yes, m"lady," said Ruth supping from the room.
Janet began pacing the room, "How could a son of mine and my lord Selim"s be such a soft fool? Charles only spent six years of his life in Turkey, and yet when I told him of Khurrem"s treachery towards me, he said he would hae bowstringed her! He is more the Grand Turk than his father"s firstborn. No Ottoman since Osman has formally married a wife. He shames the memory of all the women who hae borne Ottoman heirs, including me, Firousi, Sarina and Zuleika! I will not allow it! That she dared to even hint at such a thing! G.o.d curse the day I saw her sewing in my daughter"s house and rescued her from certain obscurity!"
"There is nothing you can do, my lady. The kadin Khurrem now has the upper hand," said Marian harshly. "You are dead in Ottoman Turkey."
"Not while there is a breath in my body," said Janet fiercely. "Bring me paper and ink at once! Then leave me to write my letter. No one is to come in here until I"ve finished, and I call. No one! Should my lord Hay arrive you are to tell him I see no one, even him, till this is finished. If he attempts to gain entry, call out the guard!"
"Yes, madame," said Marian setting the writing case in her lady"s hands.
The door closed behind her, and for several minutes Janet sat quietly gazing at the paper before her. Then she picked up the sharpened quill, and began.
My dear Esther.
Your letter has distressed me greatly as you have undoubtedly judged by the speed of my reply. I am enclosing a separate message for my son, which I ask you to read before delivering.
I set you a hard task, my friend. To obtain a totally private moment with my protocol-proud son. I am sending some small gifts peculiar to our country which you may tell him come from Lord Leslie, the Scots envoy who visited him last year. I shall, when this matter is settled, write more fully about my own life. So you and my sisters do not fret, however, I tell you that I am well, in fact, thriving.
I also have happy news. Dearest Ruth was married in early January to my own captain of the guards, and is already expecting a child to be born in mid-autumn. I close now safe in the knowledge that you will not fail me.
CH, Sultan Valideh.
Janet laid her message to Esther Kira aside, and taking up a second sheet of parchment began a second letter.
My son.
Word has reached me that Khurrem boasts openly in the harem that you will marry her. Should this be true, and I cannot believe it, I tell you that I forbid it! How dare you shame the memory of Cyra Hafise?! And that of every kadin who has borne her lord a son, including poor Gulbehar, who is mother to your own heir, Mustafa. Or is he to be set aside when you do this terrible thing? No sultan since Osman has found it necessary to formalize his relationship with a woman. Perhaps you have forgotten that in my great love for you I allowed you to keep a woman who twice tried to poison me; and then I departed from your life so there might be peace in your house. I have given up everything for you. My name. My final resting place beside your father. My home, my friends, my children, my grandchildren. And my position. I expected no reward for my great sacrifice, but to be shamed in such a manner is more than I can bear. If you do this foolish thing, my death will be on your conscience.
CH, Sultan Valideh.
Reading over the letters, Janet smiled, and sealing first with her tugra the missive to Suleiman, she placed it inside the message to Esther Kira, and sealed that with the Leslie seal. Taking a third sheet of parchment, she wrote to the head of the House of Kira in Edinburgh.
This message is to go by the absolute fastest route possible. It is imperative it reach Istanbul quickly. My personal thanks to Aaron Kira for his efforts on my behalf.
Janet Leslie.
"Marian, come to me!"
The door opened "Has the messenger been fed?"
"Aye, madame"
"His horse properly cared for?"
"Aye, madame."
"Bring him to me."
"At once, madame."
A few minutes later a young boy knelt before her. His hair was black, his eyes dark and luminous.
"Your name, lad?"
"Aaron Kira, my lady."
"Ye are Esther"s nephew? Yes! I see the family resemblance now. I dinna think ye so young. Ye hae done me a great service, laddie, and I am going to ask ye do me another. At first light ye will come and receive from me an important message packet that must go back to Edinburgh. Ye must ride like the wind, Aaron Kira, for there is no time to be lost Ye will be told the posting places ye may change horses at by my captain, Hugh More-Leslie."
The boy looked up at her, his eyes shining. "I will reach Edinburgh before the wind my lady."
She laughed. "How old are ye, Aaron Kira?"
"Fourteen, my lady."
"I thought so. Once I had four sons, and as I remember fourteen is a wonderfully confident age."
"Where are your sons now?" asked the boy.
"Two are dead, and one lives here wi" me."
"And the fourth?"
"He is very far away, laddie." She gently patted his head. "Off wi" ye, boy. If you ride for the Lady of Sithean at dawn, ye must be well rested. Be sure cook feeds ye before ye go, and gies ye something for the road. Here are some coins which will buy ye whatever else ye need."
He caught her hand, and pressing it to his forehead Eastern fashion backed from the room "Esther would be so proud of him, wouldn"t she, Marian?"
"Aye. He"s a fine lad. Och! I"m forgetting! Lord Hay is here. I"ve put him in the small dining room wi" some supper before him"