Arsenic and Old Armor (9 page)

Marion started pulling her dress over her
head. He was right; it was still damp. Marion didn’t care,
though.

“
I have no problem with
them.”

“
But my uncle is another
matter, is that it?”

He said nothing.

“
What does it matter if he
pretends to be someone else? Perhaps the rest of us should be a
little more like him. Live in our dreams. Actually be
happy!”

“
I’m telling you that
people are talking about Sir William. They’re beginning to fear
him. He is much louder then he was when you were a wee sprite. Your
uncle is now completely oblivious to the possibility of being
anyone but William Wallace. Sword drawn and calling them ‘bloody
English,’ he’s chased many servants from the tower.”

She shoved her arms into the sleeves. “It
must have been their own fault, then. He was not always so
contentious. When I was there we all knew that, even in his worst
moments Sir William wouldn’t hurt a mouse.”

“
He doesn’t recognize most
people he meets.” He sat up and stretched his legs out before him.
“As fine a place as Fleet Tower is, Marion, there is no servant
left who will stay there after dark. The McCall villagers who work
there refuse to stay at the tower house. They’re all afraid he’ll
murder them while they sleep. Your aunts are forced to take care of
your uncle all on their own.”

“
I cannot believe you’re
telling me this now.”

“
You aunts are not as
strong as they once were. Lady Margaret’s hearing is getting worse.
The same goes for her eyesight. Lady Judith, well…” He reached for
his shirt. “They are a credit to your family, though. Despite their
own troubles, your aunts visit the needy and sick in the village
almost daily. They think nothing of all that work.”

“
I should have been there
to help them.” She started pulling the laces tight. “But that will
be rectified as soon as I get back.”

“
You’ll be staying at
Blackthorn Hall with me.”

“
I think not,” she snapped.
She bent down to put on her stockings and shoes. “My home is Fleet
Tower.”

“
You are my wife, Marion,”
he said, standing up. “You are the new mistress of Blackthorn.
There are new responsibilities that will go along with your
position. You can only visit Fleet Tower. Our son…in time…will
inherit Fleet Tower and Blackthorn, as well. He can decide where
he--”

“
You’ve said yourself that
my aunts have no one. I’ll not leave them alone there. I will be
staying at Fleet Tower.”

“
I wanted to bring this up
later, but since you insist on pressing the issue…” He yanked on
his shirt. “I’ve found a safe place where we can send Sir William.
He shall be well cared for. And your aunts can go back to their
normal life, with cooks and servants and whoever else they want to
make the last years of their lives comfortable.”

“
A safe place like the one
you sent me to?” she asked, looking up at him. He was only a step
away. She felt like striking him.

“
It is a monastery.
Cracketford Abbey. Brother Luke has already spoken to them. They
are known for—”

He didn’t finish, as she delivered a sharp
kick to his shin and walked away.

“
You don’t even know where
you’re going.”

Iain might as well have directed his words
at the rocks or the heather. They certainly were having no effect
on her. Arms swinging at her sides, her dress beginning to steam in
the cold air, Marion marched along the riverbank, trying to ignore
him. Her hair was a tangle of dark curls that swept from side to
side across her back as she walked. Her beautiful face was glowing
from the exertion.

As he strode along with her, it occurred to
him that she’d grown up to be quite a woman.

“
We need to do something
about your temperament,” Iain told her. “We have been married only
a day, and I already feel as battered as old Noah.”

She looked straight ahead, but he could see
the color rise into her cheeks. “You started this.”

“
I had no intention of
saying anything about your family. You wanted to know.”

She stopped and whirled on him. “And you
think I should be happy about seeing my poor, harmless uncle sent
away?”

“
Marion--”

She interrupted before he could explain.
“Perhaps you think that would be a fine wedding present for
me?”

“
Let me—”

“
I’m only surprised that
you didn’t arrange it so that he’d be gone before I arrived at
Fleet Tower.”

“
Listen to me, Marion.” He
put a hand on her shoulder. She shook it off. He took hold of her
shoulders. She was not going to shake him off. “If you’d listen a
moment longer, you would understand that I have
not
made any firm plans about Sir
William. What I told you was that I have found a safe place where
we can send your uncle.
We
can,” he repeated. “You deserve to be a part of
that decision…when we see fit.”

“
You must be daft,” she
shot at him. “You think I would send away my own kin. That shall
never happen.”

“
You’re being hasty. You
have not seen him for a long time.”

“
All the more reason for me
to be more feeling toward him. I am not a heartless brute, like
you. You think he is too much trouble for my aunts. Well, then, I
shall take over his care. Fleet Tower is his home. I’ll do whatever
needs to be done, so that he can remain there.”

“
You speak without having
any idea what you—”

“
And Fleet Tower is my
home, too. So don’t ever think that I shall live at Blackthorn
Hall. That will simply not happen…”

She continued to pour out her anger, and she
was certainly not short on words. Iain let her. She was like a
wounded boar, frantic and bleeding, spinning and charging at
anything that moved around her.

He should have followed his instinct and not
said anything until Marion saw her uncle for herself. There were
times when Iain simply stood in awe when it came to Sir William’s
peculiarities. Before heading to Skye to bring Marion back, Iain
had stopped with Brother Luke at Fleet Tower to pay his respects to
the aunts and tell them of his plans. As he and his men rode from
the courtyard, however, the laird was surprised to see Sir William
on the thatched roof of the stables, decked out in kilt, sword,
chain mail, and blue face paint. As Iain raised his hand in
greeting, William returned the salute—turning, bending over, and
raising his kilt to give them a good long view of his portly,
lily-white arse. Then, they had not even left the McCall farms
behind them when a crofter approached the travelers to complain
that Sir William had shot arrows at his sons from the castle
parapet the day before as the lads tried to deliver cheese to the
kitchens. There were too many stories.

Iain had hoped that Marion would change her
opinion once she saw her uncle.

She paused for a breath and he seized the
opportunity to put in a few words.

“
I regret I mentioned any
of it. I’ll not speak of this again until we arrive at Fleet
Tower.”

“
You’re almost correct,”
she retorted. “We’ll not speak of this
ever
again.”

Her tone sparked a strong desire in him to
put both his hands around her neck, but he fought back the
urge.

“
You’re in no position to
be making demands, minx,” he said firmly. “If you want something,
then you better be prepared to hear what
I
have to say.”

She crossed her arms against her chest. “I
am in no mood for idle prattle.”

“
Then put yourself in the
mood,” Iain growled as he loomed over her. “I have been patient,
considerate, and more than understanding of your
predicament.”

She responded with an unladylike snort.

“
But I tell you now that my
patience has grown thin. Unless you concede to
one
demand, all of that liberality
is going to come to a halt…as of right now. You are my wife. That
makes you mine now …to do with as I wish. The same goes with your
affairs and with the future of your family. And with anything else
that has to do with you and the McCall clan. I’ll now be making all
the decisions. You’ll have no say in any of it,” he said firmly.
“So if you believe I have been unfeeling and brutish in my
treatment of you since yesterday, from now on, you’ll find me a
hundred times worse. And the same thing applies to my decisions
about your aunts and your uncle. And where I decide they shall
spend the rest of their lives will be my choice. No one else’s.
Understand?”

Men three times her size would have conceded
in the face of his anger. Iain Armstrong was a dangerous man when
riled, and he was now good and riled. Naturally, Marion showed no
such inclination. Cheeks flushed, dark eyes blazing, she met his
stare, arms still crossed against her chest.

“
Do you have anything to
say to that?”

She continued to glare at him.

“
Make your choice…but know
that there are consequences.”

She paused for another moment, and when she
spoke, her tone did not convey a note of concession. “One
demand?”

“
One.”

“
Very well. I will agree to
one, and only
one
, bloody demand. And in return, you will forget all this
other nonsense,” she told him firmly. “I
will
be involved in any decisions
having to do with the future of my family and their
whereabouts.”

Iain gazed intently into her face. It
sounded as if he had won. But had he? He studied her, trying to
decide if he should press her further.

“
One demand,” he repeated.
“And no resistance whatsoever.”

She shrugged. He released her but didn’t
move.

“
Very well,” Iain said.
“This is it. You shall abide by the marriage vow you
took.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You expect me to become
submissive to you?”

“
I don’t entertain much
hope in that regard,” Iain explained. “But I do expect you to
respect me and our marriage and treat our union as
permanent.”

“
And that is
all?”

“
And in that, you will
share my bed and bear me children.”

The color in her cheeks became a few shades
darker.

“
You made a promise to me
back at the priory,” she said in a low voice. “Are you going to
break that promise?”

“
I will not force you to do
anything. It is you who must willingly put an end to the ridiculous
notion that our marriage counts for nothing.”

Her gaze flickered from his face. For the
first time, Iain sensed indecision in her. The devil in him made
him push further. He reached out and took her chin in the palm of
his hand, raising her eyes to his again.

“
And we will consummate our
union before we reach Fleet Tower,” he said.

***

From a bluff looking down over the valley
and the tumbling river, Brother Luke watched the newlyweds. They
appeared to be having a pleasant discussion.

Iain and Marion’s disappearance last night
had been perceived as a very positive step. For both of them to
spend the night away from the camp boded well, in the clergyman’s
opinion. As dawn broke, though, one of the men had found Iain’s
cloak and sword beside the river, and Brother Luke had become
concerned. At first, he feared that the two had been attacked and
taken. Since there was no sign of struggle, though, and no tracks
leaving the riverbank, it was decided that the two had somehow been
swept away by the river. Luke couldn’t see Iain willingly going for
a swim at this time of year.

Luke and the others had been searching since
first light, working their way down the rough terrain along the
river. Leaving most of the men waiting at the riverside, Brother
Luke and two of the Armstrong warriors had climbed a narrow path on
foot to the top of this bluff to get a better view of the
countryside. Their effort had been immediately rewarded; they
spotted Marion and Iain right away. Luke had no luck drawing their
attention; the two of them were too far away.

“
Shall I take their two
horses and go down to them?” Alan, the laird’s most trusted
warrior, finally asked.

Luke looked up at the blue sky. There was a
slight chill in the air, but the weather was still quite good. He
looked down the valley beyond where Iain and Marion stood. No
travelers were visible in any direction that he could see. The
Highlands were so beautiful, and so wild. He spotted, at the base
of one gorse-covered hill, a farmhouse, but there were no sheep or
shaggy red cattle grazing near it. There was no smoke rising from
any hearth. The place appeared deserted.

“
I see no reason to rush,”
he replied with a smile at the men. “Those two might just benefit
from more time alone together. We shall just take our time and
circle around them—you can see where the terrain is less wild—and
see if we can catch up to them by nightfall. By that cottage, I
should think.”

Alan shook his head doubtfully. “But what
about food or weapons or dry clothing?”

“
We’ll be near enough to
respond in case of any real danger. As for the rest of it, they
have obviously survived the night. A few hours more shall only do
them good, my friend. The sustenance they each need right now is
more for the… er, soul than for the body.”