The stained glass window was larger and more vivid than any she had ever seen before. There were images of the twelve apostles, and she stopped before each one and said a prayer for her brothers. Finally she sat down on a hinged seat, known as a misericorde, and gave herself up to a higher power.
God helps him who helps himself.The words came to her as clearly as if someone spoke them aloud. Douglas searched inside herself for an answer to her family’s dilemma.
A solution did not come, but she vowed before God and his Apostles that she would be willing to do anything to gain her brothers’ freedom.
~~~
In the late afternoon, Douglas made her way back to the castle with reluctant steps. If sentence had been passed on her brothers she was reluctant to hear it, but she knew she had no choice. By the number of men streaming from the Great Hall, she knew today’s Court must be over. She saw Jock and hurried to his side.
Jock looked down at her and shook his head. “They weren’t brought before the Court today, so it will likely be tomorrow.” He saw the relief in her eyes. “I had a chance to talk with Gavin and Rob at dawn today. The young fools told me they ignored my warning about reiving. You deceived me, Douglas. You led me to believe they were falsely accused and arrested.”
“They didn’t find Greystoke’s thoroughbreds at Castle Elliot!” she cried.
“Nevertheless, they were the ones who lifted the horses. Tomorrow, Greystoke will be in Court, and when he brings the charges, it will be up to the king to decide their guilt or innocence. I shall have little say in the matter.”
Tears flooded her eyes, as guilt washed over her. “I’m so sorry, Jock. Will you escort me upstairs to my chamber? I don’t feel safe walking alone.”
“Come on, my wee lass. Why don’t you have a lie down? Yer pale as a ghost.”
Douglas did lie on her bed, but she was far too restless to stay there for long. She got up and began to pace, as her thoughts chased themselves in ever-defeating circles.I’ll go to Alex Hume and beg him to ask his brother to have a word with the king. His Majesty will listen to his Treasurer and will mayhap take his advice.She tried to push aside the price she would have to pay.In the cathedral I vowed I would do anything. I mustn’t be a coward.
She took up the brush she had brought with her from Langley and began to brush her hair. She knew a female must look her best if she wanted a favor from a male. As she stroked the brush through her long tresses, a measure of calm descended. Douglas gathered her courage and formed a far different plan. She unpinned the priceless antique pendant from inside her gown, and wrapped it with care. Then she sought the castle chamberlain and asked him to direct her to the chamber of the man who held her brother’s fate in his hands.
~~~
Douglas knocked on the door and when it was opened she asked, “May I come in, my lord?”
Lance Greystoke’s dark face looked as hard as granite. He stood immobile for a full minute before he opened the door wide and motioned for her to enter. He did not offer her a seat, but loomed above her, waiting for her to speak.
Douglas licked dry lips, and cleared her throat. “I am the one to blame. The day we met, I was deliberately looking for Beaumont Hall. When I saw your thoroughbreds, I coveted them, and when I got back to Castle Elliot I told my brothers about them and urged them to ride into England and steal them.”
Greystoke remained silent, his dark face a mask of contempt.
Douglas swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. “My brother Jock, who was in Edinburgh with the king, sent his lieutenant home to tell us that the Queen of England had died, and that King James was now King of England as well as Scotland. He warned us that the king was determined to make it all one country, and we were to bury the quarrels between England and Scotland.
“But all the Scots Borderers thought it a God-sent opportunity to pay the English back for all the raids they’d carried out in Scotland. The Johnstons and the Maxwells, and every other Border family planned to ride into England. I told my brothers they should ride to Beaumont and get their hands on your thoroughbreds.
“They didn’t know it, but I too went on the raid that night. I planned to steal the jeweled pendant that I saw on your desk. I smashed your library window and was about to climb in, when I realized that if I took the priceless artefact, you would guess it was me, and you would realize it was the Elliots who had taken your thoroughbreds.”
She glanced up at Greystoke’s face, but it was closed against her. Douglas swallowed the tears that gathered in her throat, and continued her confession. “When Cumberland’s men came and arrested us, my bravado deserted me. When they locked me in the storeroom here in Carlisle Castle, I was terrified for my brothers, and afraid for myself. When you rescued me, I realized you were as chivalrous as your namesake.”
She raised her lashes and her eyes met his. “That night there was an unspoken bond between us. Then I betrayed that bond.” She lowered her lashes. “I am shamed.” She unwrapped the pendant and held it out to him. “This is yours, my lord.”
Greystoke took it from her hands. “You also stole one of my mares.”
She nodded. “She’s in the stables.” Douglas bit her lip, then continued, “If you would withdraw the charges against my brothers, it would save them from hanging.”
“You come to me as a penitent, begging favors, thinking to manipulate me all over again. I am not such a bloody fool, Douglas Elliot. Do you truly think your beauty blinds me to your treachery?”
His words pierced her like sharp arrows, because they were all true. Her heart spoke to her and she admitted that she had given herself to Greystoke because she had been deeply attracted to him and cared for him. She took a deep breath, raised her lashes and told him the truth. “With all my heart I wanted to stay with you, but that morning all I could think of was finding my brother Jock to let him know that Gavin and Rob were prisoners.”
“There wasoneother thing you thought of.” He held up the mirrored pendant.
Douglas stiffened. She had humbled her pride and thrown herself on his mercy to no avail. She raised her chin, and shrugged a shapely shoulder. “Forgive me for taking up your valuable time, Sir Lancelot.”
~~~
Douglas lay on her bed with her arm thrown over her eyes. For hours she had tried to find the courage to seek out Alex Hume, but something inside her recoiled. In the late afternoon she was distracted from her dilemma by the sound of bagpipes. The skirling got louder and then she heard a commotion. She got off the bed and opened the chamber door to investigate. A castle steward, accompanied by two pipers, was making his way through every story of the massive keep, heralding that King James commanded everyone to assemble in the Great Hall.
