Jolene opened her mouth to tell him not to, to send him away, but he was already rapping on the door. She told herself not to be so foolish. There was nothing these people could do to her or Reynard here inside Dubheidland and, if she thought the talk was becoming too rough, she would send the boy away then.
The moment Jolene walked into the bedchamber, she decided it would be better if Reynard left, but the child had already hurried over to see what Donald was doing. That man sat at a little table near the fire carving what looked to be a chess piece. He looked dismayed to see both her and Reynard, but the expression quickly faded, and he smiled at the boy. It was the faint smile upon Clyde's darkly handsome face that really worried Jolene, especially as it was matched by the one that curved Barbara's full lips.
"So, ye have finally condescended to visit with your guest,” Barbara said as she sat up on the bed where she had been lounging while Clyde read to her.
"I have a few questions I would like to ask you,” Jolene said as she set the tray on the table, frowning a litle at how quickly Clyde had moved, puttng himself right behind Donald and Reynard.
"About me and Sigimor? About what we once were to each other? What we could be again?"
"I know all I need to know about you two and your past. Sigimor told me."
Barbara chuckled as she donned her shoes. “And ye believed him? He is a mon, child. He lies."
The last of Jolene's concern about Barbara and Sigimor faded. The woman did not even know him. “Sigimor does not lie, m'lady. Not to me and not about you."
"Then what could ye possibly have to say to me?"
"I was curious as to how you knew that Sigimor was married and married to an Englishwoman. Also, how did you learn that such a marriage could be so easily annulled?” She decided that the brief look of surprise upon the woman's face was a compliment of sorts.
"But, I didnae ken it. Did ye nay see my surprise?"
"Nay, but many others did and called it an act. A very good one, but still just an act. You knew it all before you entered through the gates. Tis said that gossip travels very fast around here, but, I think, not that fast. So, how did you know?"
Barbara smiled and reached for the fur-lined cape draped over the end of her bed. “Why, Harold told me, didnae he?"
Jolene stared at the woman, all of her uneasiness, all of her doubts and fears, turning into a hard icy knot in her stomach. There was little joy to be found in this proof of her suspicions. It also explained one reason why this woman had not exerted herself to try and separate her and Sigimor. She had not needed to for Barbara had known that Jolene would soon be gone. The woman had not given up, she had simply been waiting for the impediment to her plans to be removed. Jolene took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
"I wouldnae scream, if I was ye,” Barbara said, pointing toward the men and Reynard as she moved to close the door.
Choking back the scream she had been about to let loose, Jolene looked at the men in horror. Clyde held Reynard close to his body, a gleaming knife held to the child's throat. Donald looked pale, his eyes gleaming with distress, but he made no move to help Reynard. Poor Reynard looked terrified, tears slipping down his cheeks, but he did not struggle and he made no sound.
"You are a mother,” she said to Lady Barbara even as she held Reynard's gaze, trying to give him the strength to remain brave. “How can you allow a small child to be threatened like this?"
"Och, aye, I pushed out two puling little creatures,” said Barbara. “Twas the price I had to pay for a rich husband.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Mayhap if someone held a knife to one of their throats, I might feel a twinge or two, but this one isnae mine, is he. Nay, he is some Sassenach's brat."
"Might I ask what will happen after you hand us over to Harold?"
"I will come back here and console poor Sigimor, the humiliated husband."
"And you expect him to believe that? To believe that I would risk my life and Reynard's by running away whilst the man who wants us dead is still out there?"
"He will when I tell him that ye have fled to join with your other kinsmen, the ones now hunting Harold."
Although she was pleased that her family might well have discovered Harold's crimes and now hunted him, the news also brought a chilling fear. If it was true, she and Reynard were no longer of any use to Harold except as objects of revenge, as someone he could vent his fury on. She had nothing she could bargain with except the small chance that he might consider using them to save his own life. Depending upon how enraged he was over all he had lost, that might not be enough. Worse, Sigimor just might believe the woman.
Jolene quickly pushed that thought aside. Sigimor would come for her, would not believe this woman. If nothing else, he would feel it his duty to make sure that she and Reynard had reached her kinsmen safely. Jolene had to cling to the belief that Sigimor would come to her aid or she knew the fear clawing at her insides would overwhelm her.
"You place too much hope upon Sigimor believing you, especially when you showed him the folly of that ten years ago,” Jolene said, pleased to hear no hint of her fear in her voice. “E'en now he thinks you are lying to him."
"If he does, then why has he allowed us to stay here?"
"Because you have a powerful family and powerful friends. He knows you could cause him a great deal of trouble and you simply are not worth it. But, I begin to think he is wrong. I think you have no more powerful friends or kinsmen. After all, if you did, and you truly wanted Sigimor, you would try and use them to get him for you. Or, get someone richer. You would not be forced to play such demeaning games if you had rich kin to go to."
"Pious fools, the lot of them!” Barbara snapped. “I did as they wanted, married that disgusting old mon and gave him his heir. And what is my reward? Naught! That old fool left me naught! I dinnae e'en have a roof o'er my head. Oh, the old fool left me a wee hovel, a pitiful place surrounded by sheep, and a pittance to survive on. Do my kinsmen help me? Nay! They have called me a whore, an embarrassment, a stain upon their name! They have all closed their doors to me! Oh, they will pay for that, mark my words. Theywillpay."
Jolene forced herself to remain calm as she watched Barbara rant, then fall into a sullen, brooding silence. If Barbara did manage to find some fool to marry her, she would undoubtedly try to use him to avenge her. In some ways, the woman was much like Harold. She obviously did not see that she had brought this all upon herself.
"And the money Harold has promised to pay for the two of ye will certainly help,” Barbara said suddenly and smiled, her anger and dark mood disappearing with a disturbing suddenness.
