Page 56 of Tempted
He grimaced. She suspected that was how he smiled. “Come wi’ me, lass. There’s summat I want tae show ye” She stood at the entrance to the weapons room and wondered if she dared trust him alone. She went in with him realizing she could never trust any Douglas.
A huge map adorned one wall, and he drew her toward it with pride. A good deal of it, from the border up to the Highlands, was shaded in dark green, which she assumed indicated forests. Angus soon corrected her ignorance. Her eyes widened as she saw that the dark green represented Douglas land. “This will give ye an idea o’ our strength an’ our power. The border counties of Teviotdale and Hawick are ours, as are the county of Angus and the braes of Angus in the Highlands. This castle is here in Lanark County, and our lands stretch from here to the coast, clear across Midlothian and East Lothian.”
“You own everything around Edinburgh for hundreds of miles,” she said, trying to keep awe from her voice.
Archibald grimaced. “Why do ye think the capital was moved frae Stirling tae Edinburgh?” Though the question was rhetorical, she gave an answer. “Because some of the land about Stirling was not controlled by Douglas.”
He winked at her quick grasp of things. “Those two laddies ye just met were Douglas of Kilspendie and Douglas of Longniddy.” His callused fingers traced another line across the map. “Douglas lands stretch from Galloway in the southwest to Mearns in the northeast. We’ve more castles than ye’ve fingers tae count them on—Tantallon, Dunbar, and the castle of Aldbar at Brechin are all garrisoned. Here’s Castle Douglas, our pride and joy, where Loch Dee and the River Dee come together. That’s where the hearts of all Douglas lords are buried.”
“Only their hearts?” she questioned curiously.
“Sometimes that’s all that was left after a particularly bloody battle The first earl directed his heart be placed in a casket an’ buried beneath the altar in the chapel at Castle Douglas. Since then, our device has been the Bleedin’ Heart o’ Douglas It is tradition that we shed our blood fer Scotland” He grimaced again. “We have a reputation fer livin’ turbulent lives”
Valentina touched her finger to Castle Douglas on the map Then her eyes narrowed “This shouldn’t be shaded green. Your map is wrong, my lord”
He drew closer and peered where she pointed. “The other side of the River Dee in Kirkcudbright is Kennedy land,” she asserted.
“Nay, lass. That was part of the price yer father paid Ramsay.”
“Blood of God, then it’s true! My father paid him to take me!”
He responded to the anguish he heard in her voice. “Lassie, there’s no shame in that. Have ye any notion the vast sum Henry Tudor paid King Jamie tae wed Margaret?”
Suddenly her heart filled with pity for the queen. Damn men to lowest hell. Women should not be bartered like chattels!
Archibald looked down at her, cleared his throat, and said, “Ram had tae be dragged kickin’ an’ screamin’ tae this union That’s why he’s bein’ insolent an’ neglectin’ ye today. Lass, I’m countin’ on ye tae bring him tae heel. Since he’s derelict in his duties, I’m filling in fer yer husband.”
“He’s not my husband,” she said quickly.
“That’s soon remedied. He needs legitimate heirs, strong Douglas sons tae inherit all this.” He waved his hand at the map. “I doubt ye’ll ever tame him, but that’s the measure o’ his mettle. He has it in him tae be great. He has leadership qualities that are lacking in ma ain heir. Ram’s sons, with a Firebrand like ye for their dam, will provide the strength Scotland needs for the future.”
She wanted to protest, “I’m not a damned brood mare!” But she wisely held her tongue.
“He’s sown enough wild oats. Oh, I’ve no objection tae him scatterin’ a few bastards aboot. After all, we’ve the best blood in Scotland, an’ most of the clans could do wi’ a drop. Yer no’ the sort o’ woman who would cavil at that, are ye?”
Actually, she was stunned at the frank picture he painted. She shrugged an indifferent shoulder and said faintly, “No, let him scatter away.”
“That’s a wise lass. I’ve no doubt his neglect will end once yer inside the bedcurtains. When he’s had a taste o’ ye, I hope ye make it yer business to spoil his desire fer other women.”
She opened her mouth and closed it again. God Almighty—did he too think her experienced?
“Well, lass, there’s no hope o’ savin’ ye from his black temper, but I’m hopin’ ye’ll match him with a temper o’ yer own.”
It was her turn to grimace. “So I shall,” she promised.
When he returned her to the hall, the shouting and arguing almost deafened her. It seemed all the Douglas men who were titled were wagering with Ramsay about how many alehouses were between here and Glasgow.
“Dungavel, Strathaven, Eaglesham, Coatbridge, Hamilton, and Kilbride,” Cameron said with great authority.
“Ye forgot the one here in the village of Douglas,” Drummond argued He was a Douglas cousin and a captain of one of their ships.
“That’s only seven,” Gavin grumbled. “Hardly worthy of a good crawl.”
Ram’s pewter eyes glittered with recklessness. “There’s ten. Ye’ve forgot Stonehouse and Blackwood. Christ, I’ve done it often enough, I should know.”
“Stonehouse and Blackwood are brothels, not alehouses,” Greysteel Douglas pointed out.
“Are ye complaining, man?”
