AllFreeNovel
Share Us
June 1490
Elborne Castle
Northumberland, England
Katherine furrowed her brow. Just three bags of flour and four of barley. She had been relying upon a decent harvest this year to replenish their supplies following a harsh and overlong winter, but a raid by Scottish reivers during the previous night had laid waste to her hopes. Their crops were flattened, trampled. Barely had the shoots emerged from the cold earth than the damned MacKinnons had seen fit to ruin them.
And, for what? What had these savages gained by condemning the people of Elborne to hunger and misery for the coming year?
At least no lives were lost, unlike the day her brother had been slain. Crops could be replaced. So could sheep.
Katherine bit back a sob, whether of grief or rage she could not truly say. They would manage, somehow. Theymustmanage.
And it was up to her to see that they did. She would speak with Stephen at once. He would have to make sure the fields were replanted, or as much as might be achieved in the short time remaining. If they got started at once, and if the autumn was kind and did not come early, then perhaps…
Katherine hurried up the stairs from the storerooms. She made her way to the kitchens to check the larders there and was relieved to find plenty of butter and cheese. She instructed the cook to make more, as much as he might manage over the summer. She would not be surprised if they were forced to slaughter most of the herd in the colder months, to make up for the lack of bread and vegetables.
What a waste.
Stephen was not in his solar when Katherine went in search of him, nor was he in his chamber. She made her way to the stables to be informed that the marquis was not at Elborne. He had left an hour previously in pursuit of the reivers, along with the captain of his guard and two dozen soldiers.
Her heart lurched. In the few months they had lived together at Elborne keep, she had grown fond of Stephen. He was kind, generous, good-humoured and, most important of all, an excellent commander of men. Elborne was in safe hands.
He had not made any further reference to their proposed union, and neither had she. By mutual but unspoken consent, they were allowing the entire matter to wither on the vine. Perhaps their sovereign would not pursue the issue too vigorously. After all, a king must have many more pressing concerns than the marriage of two of his subjects in the furthest reaches of his domain.
Or she and Stephen might become more reconciled to the match. She had certainly given the matter much careful thought, so maybe he had also. Stephen was handsome enough and still a young man. He would make a perfectly acceptable husband. At twenty and one, she might no longer be considered to be in the first flush of youth and well past the age when a woman of her status should be wed, but she was not exactly ancient. And there were those who had described her as comely, though in fairness, not recently.
She had received no such overtures since the death of her father some six summers ago. John had inherited the title and at once scotched any notion of marrying her off. He required his sister to remain at Elborne to run his household for him, at least until he found himself a marchioness and could install another chatelaine in the role.
Years had passed. Nothing had changed. Katherine had become settled and resigned to remain unwed. She had no complaints, though perhaps the lack of any children of her own was to be regretted. She would have loved to be a mother, but clearly it was not God’s will, so she must accept her lot.
Or must she? If she were prepared to settle for a loveless though perfectly amicable union with Stephen, things would be different. Perhaps, if he were to raise the issue again…
But he would be raising nothing whatsoever if he managed to get himself killed chasing the damned Scots.
Katherine hurried back to the main keep and tried not to wring her hands in despair. It would not do to alarm the servants.
Please, let him return safe. Elborne could not bear to lose another protector. And neither could I.
It was a stroke of genius. Nothing less. Katherine beamed at Stephen when he explained his intentions.
“You mean to compel them to work? To repair the damage they did?”
“Aye. Natural justice, would you not agree? And far more productive than simply slaying the lot of them.”
“Oh, yes.” She had been dumbfounded when she saw the returning soldiers, Stephen at their head, driving a bedraggled procession of Scottish captives over the drawbridge and into their bailey. Taking prisoners was never a sensible tactic, unless they were likely to attract a decent ransom. Otherwise, they were simply useless mouths to feed and required guarding to boot. She had thought Stephen knew better. But when he explained his plan, she could have wept with joy.
Thirty extra labourers would make all the difference. They could now restore their harvest. The people of Elborne would not starve, need not slaughter their precious cattle. But one remaining problem occurred to Katherine. “How do we know that they will not return to wreck our harvest again?”
“We cannot be certain. In fact, they are likely to try. But this time we are forewarned. I shall set additional guards. We will not be caught unawares a second time.”
Katherine was pleased to settle for that, since the alternative would be to send a far more brutal and bloody message to the remaining MacKinnons. There would inevitably be retaliation, and so the senseless spiral of violence would continue. There had been enough pointless killings in these never-ending border skirmishes. Someone needed to demonstrate a degree of common sense, and it might as well start here.
And thus, the matter was settled, or so Katherine thought. She was, therefore, more than a little startled later that evening to see Stephen striding across the hall with a squirming Scottish wench in his arms.
Katherine confronted him at the foot of the stairs to his private apartments. “What is happening, Sir Stephen? Who is this…this girl?
His response was unusually curt. “Please do to concern yourself, Lady Katherine. Now, if you will excuse me…”
