Down in the great entrance hall she found Ada talking with the castle steward, while Nell sat atop one of her ten trunks. To which chamber shall I tell the servants to take your trunks? Ada asked.

Why, the master bedchamber, of course. She glanced at the Douglas steward and said, I am the mistress here.

Ada rolled her eyes heavenward, knowing shed get scant help from that direction.

Tina asked the steward to show her about the castle, and she complimented him on its general upkeep, since she could see that a firmer hand was on the tiller here than at the castle they had just left.

In the kitchens the male chef was having an altercation with Mr. Burque, and it had unfortunately degenerated into personal insults. The thick-tongued Scot had already hurled degenerate, queer, and prancin pansy at the Frenchman, who had a much more subtle revenge in mind. The chefs first assistant was his wife, a dark, plump little woman with rosy cheeks. She couldnt keep her eyes from Mr. Burque. Admittedly he was bonnier than any lass, but the way his eyes had caressed her curves and winked at her over her husbands head indicated clearly he had a taste for the opposite sex. The next time the Frenchman lowered his eyelid, she winked back. A feeling of excitement was bubbling inside of her When Mr. Burque kissed her hand, she went all wobbly inside. Her husband would never suspect her of knocking it off with the pretty laddie.

The steward told Tina the chefs name was Burns, and she hoped it wasnt too apt. Mr. Burns, she said firmly, name-calling will not keep your position secure. Only the quality of the dishes you prepare can do that. The superior chef will naturally hold the position of superiority in the castle kitchens. Instead of frittering your time away hurling epithets, I suggest you channel your energy into the evening meal. If my palate is pleased, who knows? I may even keep you on in the kitchens.

When she walked off, Mr. Burns looked baffled and needed Mrs. Burns to interpret. If she dinna like what ye cook, shell stick it up yer kilt, she told him graphically.

Tina asked the steward to select especially nice rooms for Ada and Nell, then took herself off to the stables. She reprimanded her groom for not checking Indigos shoes before their journey to the borders, but he insisted the mares horseshoes were all firmly intact and showed Tina that it was so. Mildly surprised, she wondered if Ram Douglas had taken her up before him for her sake or for his own, and she smiled her secret smile.

She wandered around the outbuildings, saw the vast dairy-still room, the forge, the men-at-arms quarters built into the thick curtain wall, and the washhouse, where all the castle linens were washed. There were storage sheds for the sheared wool from the thousands of Douglas sheep, and a tannery where cowhides and deerhides were cured before they were shipped away across the Channel.

The afternoon shadows lengthened on what had been a glorious summer day, and she wandered toward the banks of the River Dee which lay to the west of Castle Douglas. She was startled by a man, naked to the waist, standing in the river where a great pool had formed. He turned when he heard her approach, and she saw that it was Ramsay Douglas and that he was fishing. She hoped he didnt think she had followed him or that she had been looking for him. I didnt mean to disturb you, Douglas.

He thought, Ye disturb me whether ye are near or far, and even when I sleepIve begun tae dream of ye. He said, Come, Ill teach ye how tae fish. Tis the most pleasant, soothing thing a man can do.

Im a woman, she said, coming to the very edge of the river.

Ive noticed, he said. Ye likely wouldnt be good at it.

Women dont care for hooking worms and such.

Tina enjoyed doing mens things. It gave her a perverse pleasure. Ill try anything once, she called.

He waded to the bank. More than once, I hope, he said low, and she took his meaning and blushed. Ye can take my rod and sit on the bank. Ill fashion myself another, he said, wading from the water and reaching for his knife. He had soon selected and cut a straight branch, then attached a fine piece of black cord.

Wheres your worm? she asked.

He shook his head. They prefer flies. They come tae the surface of this still pool, where the insects hover over the waters surface, then snapthey jump right out to catch the fly.

He held out the end of the black cord, and she was amazed that his deft fingers had fashioned what looked exactly like a dragonfly. Ill teach ye how to fish.

She shook her head. No, Ill watch you, and once I learn the secret, Ill be as good at it as you.

His dark eyes held hers for a long time Theres a secret to everything Ive always known that, but most people dont Yer a perceptive lass Perhaps we have more in common than we know.

Her cheeks warmed again. Bugger the brute, she thoughthe enjoys keeping me in a perpetual blush.

He waded out to the middle of the pool and cast his line so that the dragonfly flitted across the surface of the water, then quietly and patiently he did it over and over again Tina turned her back upon him while she removed her shoes and stockings. If he thought she would sit on the riverbank like a ninny, he could think again. She hesitated, but only for a split-second, before she removed her gown entirely. Then she kilted up her petticoat and waded into the river.

Ram glanced up in astonishment when he heard the splash of water. He opened his mouth to comment, but she quickly placed her finger to her lips, demanding silence. She was taking this business of fishing most seriously. He had thought her excessively vain in her elegant gowns, but now he saw Tina Kennedy had another side to her. She was a hoyden, a tomboy, ready for any dare. He could clearly see shed be off and running at any madcap suggestion, and that explained her unearned reputation. He found it difficult to withdraw his eyes from her exquisite undergarments.

The smart gray riding habit had hidden the sauciest scarlet petticoat and corselette, from which the swell of her breasts now rose temptingly.

With difficulty he concentrated upon casting his lure.

The pools dark surface was rippled by the rings of a rising fish; then suddenly a streak of silver flashed from the water, then took off until all his line was used up. I have to play him and try tae get him upstream where the rocks make the water shallow before he slips the hook!

he shouted. Ramsay succeeded in getting the fish to swim up among the stones, but suddenly it was off the line, and he was after it in a flash.

Ill help you, Tina cried, lunging after the silvery creature with gusto. She fell full-length into the water, but the slippery thing slid out of her hands with mercurial magic Ramsay at last captured it, swooped it from the water, and held it aloft triumphantly.

Its a salmon! she cried happily.

Of course its a bloody salmondid ye imagine I was after sticklebacks? When he realized how bedraggled and muddied she was, he apologized. Wed better get ye back tae the castle before ye catch cold Like hell! she cried mutinously. Not until Ive bagged my salmon.

Well, wed better wade down tae that quiet pool beneath the larch trees Yell catch nothing here after floundering about like a demented mermaid Me? What about you, Douglas? she demanded.

I blend into the shadows, while yer hair and deshabille scream so loudly, the only way youll catch anything is by fright!

She smiled a secret smile. She was almost certain she had Black Ram Douglas hooked. All she needed to do now was land him, then before she was finished, shed bone and fillet him.

As the pair of them entered the castle with the two large salmon, both were sober in dress and countenance Only the water streaming from sodden garments beneath her severe gray riding dress, leaving puddles wherever she trod, hinted at any impropriety The great hall at Castle Douglas bulged at the seams.

Every man, woman, and child crowded in to get a glimpse of Lady Valentina Kennedy, who was hand- fasted to their lord. Even the high windowsills were filled with squires and scullions The womens eyes went from her face to her belly to see if hed gotten her with child.

The mens eyes went from her face to her breasts, then undressed her with their eyes Tina, in elegant yellow silk, made quite an entrance, and with head high she walked a direct path to Lord Douglas, who sat on the raised dais, his dark, shoulder- length hair contrasting vividly with the Bleeding Heart of Douglas on the banner behind him Ah, my fine lord, your device is an omen, if you but knew it, she told herself He arose the moment he saw her and came to meet her with all courtesy. As he helped her mount the step and held her carved chair, he murmured, I would apologize that ye must be on display tonight if it werent fer the fact that I know ye relish being center stage.

She smiled sweetly. You enjoy the spot so much, it must gall you to be knocked from your pedestal.

Ye have a fine conceit o yerself, he parried.

She gave him back his own words. Aye, the Scots are like that. Perhaps we have more in common than we know.

When the flagons were filled, he again stood and raised his arms for quiet. He did not use her title, nor even her Kennedy name, but there was not one soul there who did not know exactly who she was. A toast. This is Valentina, my new lady. If she proves as fertile as she is beautiful, I may just keep her.

Angry sparks flew from her golden eyes. She said low, You swine, Douglas! Ill propose my own toast and tell them that if you prove impotent, I may not keep you!

If ye dare stand and say that, I shall strike ye. His words came at her like steel-tipped arrows, and his black eyes blazed their fury.

She stood and lifted her goblet. A toast.

Ramsays jaw clenched like a lump of iron.

This is Douglas, my new lord. If he proves as chivalrous as he is valiant, I may just keep him.

As cheers rolled around the hall, she glanced at him and saw his eyes were narrowed against laughter. He had said she was his new lady. She wondered just how many women had sat here beside him in the past and felt a stab of surely not jealousycontempt for his womanizing. Well, one thing was certain: These arrogant Douglases may not like her, but by God, they would never forget her, and that went double for Hotspur!

When the meat was served, a whole rack of lamb was set before Ramsay for him to carve. It was cooked to a turn, crisp on the outside and pink on the inside, and Tina knew Mr Burns had outdone himself. While she ate, Ram never took his dark eyes from her They lingered on her face, staring boldly into her golden eyes when she raised them to his, then they would drop to her mouth to gaze at her full underlip She felt warm under his close scrutiny His eyes lingered upon her mouth as if he were making love to it, and suddenly she knew what he had meant when he said even kissing had its foreplay.

She knew the roses bloomed and faded in her cheeks He radiated sexual hunger with every glance His eyes dropped still lower, and he indulged in imagining her naked That was a mistake He had been semihard yet comfortable, but now he was hard and throbbing, and he felt his blood beat in his throat and the palms of his hands He picked up his tankard of ale to cool his hands.

Are you quite finished staring? she demanded He shook his head Ill never have enough The light from the torches makes ye all gold and shadow. Yer hair is burnished flame So the wooing has begun, she mused, not a little apprehensive that she had agreed to share his chamber His eyes touched her everywhere intimately, and slowly she realized that a feeling of excitement was growing inside her. His dark glances promised forbidden delights and tempted her to recklessness His blood grew ever warmer from the sight of her, and she knew it She could feel his raw desire reach out to touch her.

Golden devils danced beneath her dark lashes Why do you look at me so intimately? she asked, innocent as an angel.

Im trying to picture what undergarments ye chose to wear beneath the yellow silk You are the most infuriating man Ive ever known I certainly hope so, he said with relish, and a feeling of exultation surged within him that he had taken the prize from beneath Patrick Hamiltons nose. In fact, if Hamilton ever dared touch her, they wouldnt be able to identify him.

He had promised to leave her in peace so she might sleep this first night, yet not for a moment did she believe he would keep that promise.

Ram had made up his mind to take her upstairs as soon as his erection was not quite so evident. Suddenly two men rushed into the hall and raised the alarm. The signal fires are blazing!

Ram Douglas was on his feet instantly, running for his mail shirt and broadsword. He never glanced back.

Chapter 21.

The village of New Abbey, a dozen miles to the east, had been attacked by English borderers, but by the time Douglas and his men arrived, the freebooters had departed. They had stripped every building of anything of value, including the church. They had driven off the animals and even stolen food supplies.

They had killed men, raped women, and set the thatched homes ablaze before moving on.

Another signal beacon glowed on a hill, and Ram knew the English swine were ravaging the village of Kirkbean, four miles away. His anger blazed hotter than any fire.

He left half his men to aid the victims of New Abbey and headed for Kirkbean.

Ram intended to capture some of the raiders alive to learn whence they had come and on whose orders, but he found he was outnumbered three to one after leaving half his men behind. They knew they must slaughter or be slaughtered, and a fierce and bloody battle ensued.

The animals had already been driven off, and Ram knew the number of looters had been even greater. A dozen English lay dead while Douglas men had received only wounds. Rams thigh suffered a long sword gash that was bleeding profusely, but he was almost certain it had not gone deep enough to sever tendon or bone.

The inhabitants of Kirkbean told the border lord that three of their women had been carried off with the cattle. Ram vowed to return them, and he rode hell for leather toward the rocky coast. Again they were too late.

A ship had weighed anchor, and another was fast disappearing into the darkness of Solway Firth toward the shores of England.

Because they had been so hotly pursued, they abandoned the women but not before they had slit their throats. Ramsay, Jock, and Cameron drew rein and dismounted when they came across the bodies of the women. Cameron turned away and vomited into the gorse. Ram pressed a fist to grim lips and closed his eyes. If he hadnt given his promise to return the women, he would have buried them where they lay. It would have been kinder to let them think the women had only been stolen.

Since when do borderers raid by ship? Jock asked Ram.

The whoresons have received their orders from a high authority. Dacreor mayhap King Henry himself. He gazed out to sea in that early hour before dawn and made a decision, then he spoke to his moss-troopers: Tomorrow we man our own ships. Most of ye know how tae crew a vessel, and those who dont will learn in a hell of a hurry.

Jock, Rams first lieutenant, said, Ill round up our wounded back at Kirkbean. Get ye tae Douglas and get that leg cauterized.

Ram shook his head. Ill ride tae Kirkbean first. I promised tae return the women. Are ye all right, Cameron? he asked, wishing hed left his young brother to stay and help the people of New Abbey.

Ada and Tina had sat talking for two hours in the luxurious master bedchamber at Castle Douglas. Ada sewed upon a shift as finespun as a dream. It was the palest sea-foam green, and she told Tina she was going to make her some very saucy garters with red hearts on them. You dont think his lordship will think we are mocking the Bleeding Heart of Douglas, do you?

Tina laughed and shook her head. It matters notRam Douglas has a sense of humor. She embroidered a cream linen shirt with his initial. She had debated whether to use the R or the D and finally settled on the D because she refused to call him by his first name.

Soon Tina began to yawn, and they set aside their embroidery silks. It seems I shall have this fine chamber to myself tonight after all, she mused. Ada gave her a swift glance from beneath her lashes. Did she detect a note of disappointment?

Tina laid a deep purple bedgown across the foot of the bed in case Douglas returned in the middle of the night.

She would cover herself as a defense against those dark, hungry eyes. She slept soundly until a couple of hours past midnight, then she awoke, and when she saw he had not returned, she became restless and dozed only fitfully. A vague feeling nagged at her.

Certainly it was not worry over his safetyit was a nameless feeling of unease. It was dawn before she heard horses and men clatter into the bailey, and she knew she could stay abed no longer. She put the bedgown over her lavender nightrail and slid her feet into her slippers.

She took the torch from its bracket in the passageway and ran down the winding staircase to await his entrance through the massive studded door. When no one entered, she became impatient. She preferred to be in the thick of things, not to stand waiting patiently in the shadows.

She went out into the bailey and began to make her way to the stables, but incredibly, she saw they were all at the forge. Ram had lost enough blood to make him lightheaded. When he dismounted, he swayed on his feet, his weight bringing a throbbing pain up the entire length of his leg. He leaned heavily oh Jocks shoulder until he reached the forge, and Valentina arrived just in time to see two of his men-at-arms lift him onto a workbench. He caught sight of that flaming head in the torchlight and ground out harshly, Get her out of here!

Hold! she cried in alarm. What are you doing to him?

Cameron put a hand to her shoulder. Cauterizing a wound he took. Go back to bed.

Nay, Ill do no such ridiculous thing.

Please, Cameron murmured low, he wont be able tae scream in front of ye when they put the hot iron tae him.

Stop what you do instantly! Bloody barbarians, the lot of you! You there, Jockcarry him up to our chamber.

The bleeding must be stopped, Ram said harshly. Dont interfere in mens affairs.

I will stop the bleeding by stitching the leg, she declared firmly.

You? Ram asked incredulously.

Certes, me!

The corner of his mouth quirked. Ye willna faint at the sight of my blood?

Ha! Celebrate, more like. Fetch him up, she repeated.

She thought it uncivilized that the Douglas had no woman to tend his wounds. She would take perverse pleasure in having him at her needles mercy.

To Ramsay, this was a novelty indeed. That his woman came down in her bedgown to see how he fared and that she offered to tend his wound herself was unbelievable. That she cared about whether that wound and its cauterizing left him scarred was nothing short of a miracle.

Jock and Cameron carried him upstairs, and she swept the lynx cover from the bed and told them to lay him upon the linen sheet. She picked up her scissors and began to cut away his leather breeks. Dont stand there like a clod! she told Cameron. Fetch hot water. He ran to do her bidding, and Jock grinned, Would ye like me tae hold him still for ye, lady?

Ram ground out, I wont be the one tae flinch. Are ye sure yeve guts enough fer this, lass?

A wager, she proposed, that my hand will be steadier than your leg.

Rams eyes narrowed, and he jerked his head toward the door, ordering Jock to depart. Cameron came back with hot water, and Ram said, Go and gloat over some others wound. We wish tae be alone.

His chausses were saturated with blood, and she cut them away along with the leather of his breeks. When she exposed the jagged wound, she blushed that it reached from inside his knee up to his groin. As she washed and cleansed it, he held his leg steady as a rock, and she thought, wait until I stick my needle through your flesh.