Free A Rough Wooing by Virginia Henley

before he opened the
door wide and motioned for her to enter. He did not offer her a
seat, but loomed above her, waiting for her to speak.
    Douglas licked dry lips, and cleared her
throat. “I am the one to blame. The day we met, I was deliberately
looking for Beaumont Hall. When I saw your thoroughbreds, I coveted
them, and when I got back to Castle Elliot I told my brothers about
them and urged them to ride into England and steal them.”
    Greystoke remained silent, his dark face a
mask of contempt.
    Douglas swallowed the lump in her throat and
continued. “My brother Jock, who was in Edinburgh with the king,
sent his lieutenant home to tell us that the Queen of England had
died, and that King James was now King of England as well as
Scotland. He warned us that the king was determined to make it all
one country, and we were to bury the quarrels between England and
Scotland.
    “But all the Scots Borderers thought it a
God-sent opportunity to pay the English back for all the raids
they’d carried out in Scotland. The Johnstons and the Maxwells, and
every other Border family planned to ride into England. I told my
brothers they should ride to Beaumont and get their hands on your
thoroughbreds.
    “They didn’t know it, but I too went on the
raid that night. I planned to steal the jeweled pendant that I saw
on your desk. I smashed your library window and was about to climb
in, when I realized that if I took the priceless artefact, you
would guess it was me, and you would realize it was the Elliots who
had taken your thoroughbreds.”
    She glanced up at Greystoke’s face, but it
was closed against her. Douglas swallowed the tears that gathered
in her throat, and continued her confession. “When Cumberland’s men
came and arrested us, my bravado deserted me. When they locked me
in the storeroom here in Carlisle Castle, I was terrified for my
brothers, and afraid for myself. When you rescued me, I realized
you were as chivalrous as your namesake.”
    She raised her lashes and her eyes met his.
“That night there was an unspoken bond between us. Then I betrayed
that bond.” She lowered her lashes. “I am shamed.” She unwrapped
the pendant and held it out to him. “This is yours, my lord.”
    Greystoke took it from her hands. “You also
stole one of my mares.”
    She nodded. “She’s in the stables.” Douglas
bit her lip, then continued, “If you would withdraw the charges
against my brothers, it would save them from hanging.”
    “You come to me as a penitent, begging
favors, thinking to manipulate me all over again. I am not such a
bloody fool, Douglas Elliot. Do you truly think your beauty blinds
me to your treachery?”
    His words pierced her like sharp arrows,
because they were all true. Her heart spoke to her and she admitted
that she had given herself to Greystoke because she had been deeply
attracted to him and cared for him. She took a deep breath, raised
her lashes and told him the truth. “With all my heart I wanted to
stay with you, but that morning all I could think of was finding my
brother Jock to let him know that Gavin and Rob were
prisoners.”
    “There was one other thing you thought
of.” He held up the mirrored pendant.
    Douglas stiffened. She had humbled her pride
and thrown herself on his mercy to no avail. She raised her chin,
and shrugged a shapely shoulder. “Forgive me for taking up your
valuable time, Sir Lancelot.”
    ~~~
    Douglas lay on her bed with her arm thrown
over her eyes. For hours she had tried to find the courage to seek
out Alex Hume, but something inside her recoiled. In the late
afternoon she was distracted from her dilemma by the sound of
bagpipes. The skirling got louder and then she heard a commotion.
She got off the bed and opened the chamber door to investigate. A
castle steward, accompanied by two pipers, was making his way
through every story of the massive keep, heralding that King James
commanded everyone to assemble in the Great Hall.
    Her heart sank. The