Chattan Bride

Chapter 7 - Part 1

"It's a damned aggravation," Alysandir summed up his response to Thom regarding Isabel's departure.

Thom laughed heartily. "An empty bed makes all glory turn vain."

"That's romantic," he teased. "Learning it from your soft wife or from a weak sword."

"My sword is not weak! That's the trouble with you Alysandir," he complained. "It took me a long while to figure out what it was, but there you have it. Do you think a man must choose between being a warrior and being a good husband?"

"There is something of value I learned from my father, Thom. Love makes a man weak. I sense it with Isabel. The closer I get to her, the weaker my knees become."

"Ha! I warrant that is true. Lady Isabel is quite taking," Thom laughed. "But as for the wisdom of your father," his voice turned gruff, "you would be better off taking counsel from my horse. The man, and I knew him well, was more lucky than wise. No, don't take offense. Ask anyone among us and you will hear the same response. Isabel has only strengthened you thus far. The soldiers sense that she has eased your mind about certain distractions that kept you from them in the past. The merchants are raking in profits and the king's coffers are filling with no burden to the guilds. That anyone has taken to an Englishwoman should speak to her abilities, and that all have taken to her..."

"She's no longer English, she's my wife," he stated. "I know her good qualities very well. Finding her equal would be impossible. She settled so many issues among the staff and the merchants that in her absence, I was driven to distraction the entire first week. But before she returns, I will have order. I cannot worry that once my back is turned she will be fighting off another attempt on her life." He remembered her kiss that night in the great hall. She was the sweetest he had ever tasted, and her supple curves pressed against him forced his thoughts to wander into a soft bed. "She weakens me," he concluded irritably. And now that he had cast off his mistress, he was even more irritable. "Tell me when the body was found," he changed the topic abruptly.

"Ana was found in the borderland two weeks ago. She was seen riding south toward England with a man earlier that day. Some say she did not look happy, but that may be some lingering resentment toward the English. Those who found her say she was tied to the tree beaten and otherwise abused."

"No one among this clan would treat a woman thus. Ana was of the clan Gow, has the new laird been informed?" Alysandir looked angry.

"Aye. Too worried about his own family troubles to care about this."

"And yet the two are inextricably linked. The man who incited Emma to attack Isabel was the same man who fled with Ana."

"Sure of that, are you, Alysandir?"

"Aye. I feel it in my bones."

"Then the Gilbert in question has fled to England," the MacPherson concluded.

"Not fled," he decided, "pursued his prey. King Alexander has demanded my presence for a while. I cannot be detained too long for Isabel's sake. If Gilbert finds her..."

"My guess is that she'll kill him with her bare hands," Thom stated bravely.

"I'd rather kill him with mine," Alysandir said darkly. "I trust you to make the necessary inquiries and learn from where this man has come and why he seeks the death of my wife."

"It would please me very much. How does our king fare?"

"I shall soon see. I expect he will send me to the far north with my soldiers. The clans I must roughly woo to gain obedience, not so with the constant threat of invasion from the north." He was wondering how all thoughts turned back to Isabel and asked Thom, "Did you know that Annie of the Davidson clan was summoned by my wife to help heal her father?" He was smiling into the distance.