Page 29 of Strachan (Hostage Brides #2)

The weak sun on Cecily’s face warmed her as she strolled around the yard. She had donned her plaid dress of green and gold. It was a little drab, but it was best not to draw Peyton’s attention as she was a little sore from it. Not that she was complaining.

‘Are you well this morning?’ said Peyton with a smile. He was leading two horses.

‘I am very well indeed after what you just did to me,’ she said lightly, for Peyton had continued to earn his forgiveness, once in the dead of night and again at dawn.

He heaved a great sigh. ‘I liked it too, but we must go on a journey.’

‘Where?’

It is a surprise,’ he said. From his tone, it was not a good one.

‘Tell me.’

‘No. You must let me have some secrets.’ Peyton frowned. ‘Though perhaps there have been too many secrets, things we have not shared. Go and dress in your warmest clothes and that fur I gave you that makes you look so very beautiful, and come back to me.’

‘Very well. It will be nice to be out of Fellscarp for a while.’

Sadness crossed Peyton’s face like a cloud. ‘Hurry, my love, and come back to me as soon as may be,’ he said, turning away.

Cecily ran up the stairs two at a time.

***

The ride was quiet and cold, as if the land waited with bated breath for spring under its covering of white frost. Peyton’s demeanour was as stiff as the frozen branches of the trees, but Cecily did not mind. As hours passed, she was just elated to be in the open, looking up at the vast sky, slowly shedding its grey pallor for blue. She delighted in the pale rolling hills instead of the damp, dark walls and grey water of Fellscarp.

Peyton glanced at her now and again with a longing she hoped was affection, but his secrecy was unsettling. They finally came to a path through thick woodland, everything hushed, save for the crunch of their horses’ hooves through frozen puddles. The trees thinned, and Cecily gasped. A fearsome sight lay before her.

‘Where are we?’ she said.

‘Kransmuir. The home of Jasper Glendenning. It is now your sister’s home.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I am bringing you here so that you may see her.’

‘But we cannot be here. It is dangerous. Jasper Glendenning will kill you on sight. He hates you, Peyton.’

‘Aye, most likely he still does, but I don’t think he will kill me this day. I have recently done him a good turn.’

‘And what is that?’

‘I will tell you everything, Cecily, but first, we should announce ourselves, and you should be reunited with Rowenna.’

Cecily’s heart pounded. Her head was muddled. ‘I want to see Rowenna with all my heart, but will he let me see her?’ she cried. ‘Can we trust Jasper?’

‘Aye, a little. But do not trust him with everything. Do not tell him that we are wed.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because that would be dangerous for us, and I need that kept a secret. Swear you will not say anything.’

‘I will do anything that you need me to,’ said Cecily.

‘I am relying on that.’ He leaned over and kissed her.

Peyton kicked his horse forward with a curse. With no time to think, Cecily found herself riding over a bridge spanning a moat and through the dark gates of Kransmuir Fell. It was reputed to be one of the most impregnable strongholds in the West March, and as far as she knew, it was her sister’s prison.

When they announced themselves and entered the castle, it was far grander than Fellscarp, boasting oak-panelled walls, a hall three times the size of Peyton’s, and lavish tapestries everywhere. There was ample comfort, which Cecily had not expected. Part of her was happy that Rowenna had escaped the deprivations of Fallstairs. That part withered when Jasper Glendenning stormed in. The man was a study in belligerence, and he still looked like a vicious brute.

‘What are you doing in my keep?’ he snarled at Peyton and then froze when his gaze met Cecily’s. He looked her over from top to bottom. ‘Where did you find her?’ he said, with a good deal of suppressed rage.

‘She fell into my hands,’ said Peyton.

‘Your hands?’ snarled Jasper, giving her another filthy look.

‘Aye, and you are not very welcoming to someone who just saved your life,’ replied Peyton calmly.

Cecily looked from one to the other in confusion. The two men were staring each other down. Her hands clenched. What was going on?

‘You have my thanks for your warning,’ said Jasper. ‘You were true to your word, which is surprising for a Strachan. What do you want? Have you come to barter for this lass, holding your hand out for a reward?’

Cecil stepped forward. ‘I’ll not be bought by you or anyone.’

Jasper turned on her. ‘Your sister mourns your loss every day,’ he snapped. ‘Do you know how much strife you have caused, running away?’

‘I did not run away.’

‘Oh, aye, you did. You just upped and walked away, leaving all your troubles on Rowenna’s shoulders. And she paid a heavy price for your disloyalty.’

‘Aye, by having to marry you,’ snapped Cecily.

Peyton stepped between them. ‘Cecily did not run away. She was taken.’

‘By who?’ said Jasper.

‘By me.’

Jasper looked ready to explode with rage. A vein throbbed in his temple. ‘Explain yourself, Strachan,’ he growled.

‘All in good time,’ said Peyton. ‘We will talk alone, you and I. But first, I think you should tell your wife that her sister still breathes. You need to put an end to all her worry.’

Jasper shot Cecily another filthy look and then turned and left the hall.

Cecily grabbed Peyton’s arm. ‘What did you mean, you saved his life? Why would you do that? My sister could have been free of him if he died.’

‘From what I’ve seen, she does not want to be free of him.’

‘You’ve seen her? Why did you not tell me?’

He took her hand and squeezed it. ‘I will explain, but first, you must see Rowenna and tell her you are alright.’

‘If that monster lets me see her,’ cried Cecily. ‘He did not seem very keen on the idea. He is probably getting men and arms to cut us down where we stand.’

‘You are not best fond of Jasper, are you?’ said Peyton with a smirk.

‘No. And I am not best fond of you, either, keeping secrets from me,’ she said.

In reply, Peyton grabbed Cecily and kissed her hard. He always did that to stop her from asking questions, and she would have brushed him off, but she was frightened and confused, and his lips on hers were comforting.

Peyton broke away with a smile.

‘You are enjoying this,’ she said.

‘Kissing you. Always.’

‘No, I mean, baiting Jasper.’

‘I can’t deny it.’ He kissed her again, but they were interrupted by the sound of running feet.

Rowenna burst into the hall with Jasper, and Cecily’s knees almost buckled. Her heart thudded in her chest. How was she to face her sister’s anger? How could she ever explain? But Rowenna just ran at her and pulled her into a hug so tight Cecily could barely breathe.

‘Oh, thank God, you are safe,’ sobbed Rowenna. ‘I thought you were dead and I’d never see you again. Oh, Cecily, thank God.’

Tears welled in Cecily’s eyes and flooded down her cheeks. ‘I’m sorry,’ she cried. ‘I never meant to leave you, I swear. Please forgive me, Rowenna.’

‘I love you, Cecily. Nothing to forgive,’ sobbed Rowenna into her hair, and they stood grasping each other for the longest time, just crying out all their pain and longing. When they broke free of each other, the men had gone.

***

‘What do you mean, you took her?’ growled Jasper, pacing Kransmuir’s battlements.

‘I found Cecily in danger and took her to Fellscarp for her own safety,’ said Peyton.

‘What danger?’

‘That is not important now.’

‘Not important, or you don’t want to tell me?’

‘Does it matter? said Peyton.

‘I don’t like people who keep secrets, Strachan.’

‘You have plenty of your own, Glendenning.’

‘You took Cecily and kept that from her sister. Rowenna has been mad with worry. What right did you have to just carry her off like that?’

‘Same right you did to take Rowenna in payment of a debt. Go on. Justify that.’

Jasper looked a little guarded but did not press the matter. ‘I hear the Warden is still sending men out to look for his son, who has not been seen for weeks. Edmund Harclaw disappeared about the same time as Cecily ran off.’

‘So,’ shrugged Peyton.

‘Sir Henry has bullied and threatened folk throughout the West March searching for his son, and he is dangling a reward for information. A man might be tempted. Times are hard.’

Peyton ignored the threat. ‘Edmund Harclaw and his father are nought to me and never will be. And I didn’t come here to talk of those English bastards.’

‘So, we are to talk in riddles when we both know the truth about why Cecily ran off.’

‘As if I would ever entrust the truth to you, Glendenning.’

Jasper let it pass. ‘I don’t want to know what happened to Edmund Harclaw. One less English bastard in the Marches is a good thing. Now, what do you really want here, Strachan? You did not come out of any kindness for Rowenna.’

‘I came because of Cecily. She needs to see her sister.’

Jasper narrowed his eyes. ‘Rowenna is safe and well-cared for. She is happy with me, not that I expect either of you to believe that.’

His voice had grown louder. He was on the defensive, so Rowenna must be important to him.

‘Now tell me, Strachan. What is Cecily to you? Is she your whore, friend, a bargaining tool?’

‘She is whatever I want her to be, and be careful when you name her a whore.’

‘I can’t have my wife’s sister held against her will,’ said Jasper, locking eyes.

‘Try taking her from me and see what she says. Cecily is willing, and I’ll no more give her up than you will give up Rowenna.’

Jasper’s face broke into a bitter smile. ‘Oh, don’t tell me you are smitten? That is priceless. As if a beauty like Cecily MacCreadie would ever look upon you favourably.’

Jasper was enjoying his amusement too much for Peyton to tell him that, aye, Cecily MacCreadie looked upon him most favourably, especially when he was inside her eager body, and she was begging him to make her feel good.

‘You’d better not let Griffin Macaulay know you are in love with Cecily,’ said Jasper. ‘He is going around the Marches, declaring that he will soon be allied to you by marriage. Are you still stringing him along, Strachan?’

Now it was Peyton’s turn to be discomforted, and he was sure Jasper could see it. ‘I am, as we agreed.’

‘Why come here when you could have sent a message?’ said Jasper, narrowing his eyes. ‘If you think by bringing Cecily, you will tempt Rowenna away from me, think again.’

‘Are you so insecure in her affections?’

‘No, but my wife is going nowhere. She is staying with me.’

‘You seem a little disconcerted by the possibility of losing her. Could it be that you are smitten?’

Jasper glowered. ‘Are we two lasses to gossip about our affections now? I thought we were to talk of men’s business.’

Peyton laughed and shook his head. ‘I think I have my answer. And I am not hoping to tempt Rowenna away by bringing Cecily. Quite the opposite. I want Cecily to stay here with you.’

‘Hah! You are endlessly surprising. And you might not have noticed, but Cecily MacCreadie is not very fond of me.’

‘You don’t have to like each other. You just need to keep her safe. I need her out of the way.’

‘Why?’

‘I have to pretend to want one of Griffin Macaulay’s daughters. That alliance I am dangling is more important than ever.’

‘Is it? Word has it the Warden has been summoned back to court. So we have a respite from his enmity.’

‘No, we do not, for there is a far greater danger facing us than Sir Henry Harclaw.’

‘Tell me,’ said Jasper.

***

Cecily could scarcely believe how lovely her sister looked. She had expected to find a downtrodden slave of Jasper Glendenning, a woman shamed and humiliated. Instead, she saw a radiant woman with her head held high. Once they finished sobbing in each other’s arms, Rowenna wanted an explanation.

‘Who did you run away with, Cecily?’

Cecily kept her face impassive. ‘I cannot say.’

‘You can tell me the truth. I am your sister.’

‘And the wife of my husband’s enemy.’

‘If they are such enemies, why did Peyton come here and why did he warn us of an ambush?’

‘He did not tell me he had done that.’

‘It seems he does not tell you much,’ said Rowenna.

‘Does your husband tell you much? He bought you, didn’t he, in settlement of our brother’s debt?’

She bit her lip and wrung her hands. ‘Don’t, Cecily. You do not know Jasper. He sent men out looking for you all over the West in March on my account. He is good to me, and I love him with all my heart.’

Cecily’s mouth fell open. ‘No. That cannot be. My God, what have they done to you, Rowenna?’

‘You are with a Strachan. What have they done to you?’ she replied. ‘And you are with him. I never saw you look at a man like that before. It is plain as day you care for him.’

Suddenly, they both burst out laughing. ‘What a fine pair we are falling for a couple of brutes,’ said Cecily.

‘But they are handsome brutes. You have to own it,’ said Rowenna.

‘I never found Jasper handsome, and I told you that.’

‘Ah, ever the fastidious one. Jasper tells me that Peyton Strachan is a bastard.’

‘Aye, and I adore every inch of that bastard. He pleases me greatly – in bed and out.’

Rowenna gasped. ‘You haven’t?’

‘I have, many times,’ said Cecily smugly.

Rowenna shook her head. ‘This cannot be my sister before me. You were always so innocent?’

‘Well, my innocence is long gone. I have had a brutal education in the ways of men, and not by Peyton’s hand. I thank God for him coming upon me in my direst need.’

‘What happened? Why did you go, Cecily?’

‘I had to go because our father was going to marry me off to that old lecher, Wymon Carruthers. But I was already in love with a man I had been meeting on Crichton Moor, or at least, I thought I was.’

‘Was it Edmund Harclaw?’

‘Aye, but you must not tell anyone, not even Jasper. Swear it, Rowenna.’

‘You know I will keep your secrets, Cecily. Haven’t I always? What did this Edmund do to you?’

Cecily held back tears. ‘Oh, I’ve been such a fool. I ran away with a man I loved, hoping for a better life. But he turned out to be a liar and so very cruel. He tried to…he almost….oh, it is too awful to speak aloud. If it wasn’t for Peyton, I would be dishonoured or dead.’

‘And where is Edmund Harclaw now?’

‘It is best you don’t ask that. My life depends on it.’

‘Then I will not ask.’ Rowenna grabbed Cecily’s hand. ‘I know our brother was in league with the Warden’s son. Bran went raiding with him against the Glendennings and the Strachans, and he talked to Edmund about how beautiful you are. I think Edmund came looking for you.’

‘How could Bran do that?’

‘Because he is a fool,’ hissed Rowenna. ‘Jasper found out about it and banished our brother. Bran fled and is now in England, I think.’

‘Good, because I never want to see him again,’ said Cecily. ‘I will not miss his lying, conniving hide, and to be honest, I have scarcely thought of him these last weeks. I only thought of you and how much you must have been worrying. And what of our father?’

‘He throws away his life on drink and dishonour. I visit now and then but can scarcely look him in the eye, for I find him so contemptible. He would have happily sold us to the highest bidder. He constantly bemoans your loss.’

‘He mourns the loss of coin in his pocket from selling me to slimy old Wymon Carruthers.’

‘Aye. Morag does her best with him, but Fallstairs is sliding into absolute ruin.’

Cecily felt nothing. She had already left the past well behind her. ‘I did not know until recently that you had married Jasper,’ she said. ‘I feared for you when I heard.’

Rowenna gave her a beaming smile. ‘There is no need, sister. He is good to me.’

‘But he took you in payment of a debt.’

‘And I am glad he did, for our father was going to sell me to Wymon Carruthers once you ran away, and he did not have you to bargain with. Jasper took a fancy to me, and so here I am.’

‘Damn father’s eyes. So father sold you to Jasper because of me.’

‘Aye, in a way, and it is the only good deed he has ever done in his miserable life. I am happy here. Jasper has given me a place in his heart and home. I truly love him, Cecily. I would die for him.’

Cecily frowned. ‘That cannot be.’

‘I love him to distraction, Cecily,’ said Rowenna, her eyes welling.

‘I feel the same about Peyton,’ sobbed Cecily. They fell together and hugged tightly.

Cecily pulled away first. ‘So does that make us rivals now - a Strachan and a Glendenning?’

‘No. Because we will always be MacCreadie’s at heart, sister, no matter what these men tell us.’

‘How I have missed your stubborn nature, Cecily.’

‘And I have missed your kindness and strength, Rowenna.’

A good while later, when Peyton returned to the hall, his face was grave. He took Cecily to one side. ‘I am leaving now, but you can stay if that is what you want. You don’t have to come back with me.’

‘You are not leaving without me,’ she hissed.

‘You have to be sure, Cecily. Kransmuir is grand and has every comfort.’

‘But it does not have you, Peyton.’

‘It might be safer for you here.’

‘I don’t care, and I will not let you leave me here. Is that why you were so serious on the way here, because you thought I might want to leave you?’

He frowned. ‘Aye, I was worried I might lose you. Are you sure you want to stay with me, Cecily?’

She nodded. ‘I have never been more sure of anything. Take me home, Peyton.’

‘We are leaving,’ shouted Peyton at Jasper. ‘And Cecily will be allowed to visit her sister whenever she wants. Are we agreed?’

Jasper scowled and nodded.

‘And you are welcome at Fellscarp, Rowenna,’ said Peyton with a smile, which she returned.

Jasper snorted a curse in the background. The two men glowered at each other, and then Peyton took Cecily’s hand and rushed her out of the hall. As they rode away, Peyton’s anger was clear in his clenched jaw, heavy silence, and the fire in his eyes.

‘Why did we have to leave so soon?’ Is it because of Jasper? Rowenna says he has been good to her and that she loves him. She is not held against her will.’

‘That is good.’

‘Is it the dispute over that land at Liddesdale then?’

‘Aye, that is part of it.’

It certainly wasn’t all of it, judging by the snarl in Peyton’s voice.

Cecily rolled her eyes. ‘And what is the other part?’ He did not answer, and then it was clear. ‘Honestly, Peyton, not this jealousy again. I do not like Jasper and never will, but I will tolerate him if he makes my sister happy.’

‘No. I could see you didn’t like him.’

‘Peyton, I want no more secrets between us. Tell me what troubles you.’

He pulled up his horse, and his face was bleak. He said, ‘Danger stalks me, Cecily, and if you are with me, you have a target on your back.’

‘What danger. Tell me?’

‘I do not know if it is real or just a phantom from my past, but I have felt its breath on my neck these last weeks, and Jasper just confirmed that I am right to be worried. Do you remember me telling you about Elene Strachan, the old laird’s daughter?’

‘Aye.’

‘Well, I thought she was in England, married off to a lord. But she is not, and her husband is dead. I think she has returned to the West March. Jasper thinks he might have seen her in Threave marketplace a while back. I was hoping I was wrong, but now that I have spoken with him, I am sure she is back.’

‘Peyton, why would she be a danger? She is but one woman.’

He rounded on her. ‘Elene Strachan is a viper. She is the worst person I have ever known – vicious, murderous, vengeful. And she can twist men to serve her desires.’

‘How can she do that?’

‘She is incredibly beautiful. Elene has looks that can take your breath away. Her sweet smile, sparkling eyes, charm and elegance are all a mask so that you do not see the evil beneath until it is too late. I think she has come back seeking vengeance.’

There was a haunted look in Peyton’s eyes, a desperate hurt that Cecily could not bear any more than the jealousy rising in her chest.

‘How can I help, Peyton?’ she said.

‘You need not worry about it. I will deal with Elene.’

‘Let me fight this danger with you.’

‘It is a fight, you will lose. Elene has been the master of us all in the past. You will stay clear of it. I must have you safe, Cecily.’

‘You insult me when you keep things from me and hide me away as though I were a bairn.’

‘You are my wife, Cecily, and I must protect you,’ he said.

‘Whatever worries you have, they are mine, too. I have broad shoulders. I worry more when you do not tell me what is happening.’

‘Enough!’ he bellowed. ‘We will speak of her no more.’

Cecily was cowed. It was as if a stranger rode beside her. What evil could Elene possess that would make Peyton so angry? Had she once stolen his heart for him to hate her so much? Whatever the truth was, her husband had unfinished business with beautiful, vengeful Elene Strachan.