Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Ivar!” His brother’s loud, gravelly voice echoed along the hallway. “What are ye doin’ there, starin’ out the window?” Haldor asked, striding down the hallway towards him.

Ivar’s attention snapped away from the scene outside the window, and he turned to his brother.

“What is it, Haldor?” Ivar asked, concerned. “Ye look serious.”

“I am. Come on, I’ve called an emergency council meeting.”

“What fer?” Ivar asked as he fell into step next to Haldor.

“Men have been spotted around our borders, and it seems we’ve caught a spy. He’s in the dungeons right now”

“Have we now?” Ivar said, surprised. It was usually his job to interrogate suspected spies. “Who’s behind it?”

“I dinnae ken, but I intend tae find out.”

They reached the door to the council chambers, where several of the advisers were gathered waiting for the laird to arrive.

They were just settling into their chairs when Arne arrived. “Right, now we’re all here, I have some interesting news tae share with ye all,” Haldor began.

Ivar leaned back in his chair, half of him listening to Haldor talk, while the other half looked at Arne, wondering how it was that he got to smile and laugh in the sunshine with Catalina and he did not.

“Ivar, will ye go and find Dunstan fer us, please? I think he may be very useful in identifyin’ whoever this is, messing with us,” Haldor commanded.

“Right,” Ivar said, leaving to do as he was bidden.

Dunstan’s another one she likes, he thought to himself as he went to find the man, remembering how close the pair had seemed the other evening. Dunstan had embraced Catalina when she had split the apple. It had caused a knot of anger to form in Ivar’s chest at the time, something which he still could not explain to himself. He knew he had not felt that way when Dunstan had danced with his fiancé, nor whenever he came across his future wife and her handsome, devoted guard deep in conversation.

But seeing Dunstan with Catalina, even seeing Arne, his own brother, with her, was like being kicked in the gut.

After Arne was called away to a council meeting and Thorsten’s nursemaid came to fetch him for his tea, Catalina continued strolling through the gardens. She remembered Anastasia had mentioned going for a walk that afternoon. She thought to join her sister, feeling fairly certain that Ivar would also be at the meeting, and they could have some time to catch up.

She rounded the corner and stopped. Anastasia was standing with Dunstan next to a flower border filled with spring flowers. They were standing close to each other, talking, and Catalina noticed when her sister rubbed her arms as if she were chilly. Immediately Dunstan removed his jacket and draped it gently over Anastasia’s shoulders.

If she was not mistaken, Dunstan’s hands lingered on her sister’s shoulders a little bit longer than they really should. Anastasia pulled the jacket around her with a grateful smile, and Catalina thought her blushes could be seen from the moon. It was a sweet gesture that showed how close the pair were, and she smiled fondly.

She was walking toward them when she saw Ivar hurrying from the other direction down the path.

“Dunstan, man! Haldor wants ye. We have an emergency council meetin’, and we need ye at once,” he called out, reaching the couple just after she did.

“Aye, all right,” Dunstan replied, “I’m comin’.” He turned to Anastasia and said, “I’ll see ye later.”

“Aye, all right,” she answered, suddenly adding, “but Dunstan, what about yer jacket?” She went to take it off, but he stopped her and shook his head.

“Nay, ye keep it on while ye’re outside, else ye’ll catch cold.”

Pleasure lit up Anastasia face as she smiled and said, “Thank ye.”

“Aye, that breeze is getting a wee bit chilly,” Ivar said, to Catalina’s surprise, addressing her directly. “’Tis still only spring, and the temperature can drop pretty quick. If ye stay out here, ye’ll be catchin’ a cold yersel’ if ye dinnae put on more clothes.”

“Pardon? Is that yer way of expressin’ concern fer me welfare?” she asked, facing him, hands on hips.

“What I’m expressin’ is that ye dinnae have enough clothes on, and the ones ye are wearin’ are too light fer this wind. Ye need tae put more on.”

“I think I can decide for mesel’ when I’m cold. I dinnae need?—”

Anastasia interrupted her. “Dunstan’s waiting fer ye, Ivar, but before ye go, I want tae ask ye somethin’.”

“Aye, what is it?” he asked, beaming at her in a way that inexplicably riled Catalina ever more.

“I wondered if ye’d take me out ridin’ tomorrow afternoon, tae some of those places ye mentioned.”

“Of course, I’d love tae. We’ll arrange a time at dinner, shall we? We must go now.”

He and Dunstan moved to depart, but as he went, Catalina observed the uneasy look in Dunstan’s eyes and wondered what had caused the change.

Then, she looked at her sister and smiled, linking arms with her. “Well, it looks like it just us now, Sister. Shall we continue walking or are you too cold?” she asked.

“I’m nae cold at all,” Anastasia replied, patting Dunstan’s jacket. “Nae now.”

They walked on a little, slowly dawdling, arm in arm.

“So, how has yer day been so far?” Catalina asked, curious as to why Anastasia was in the garden with Dunstan and not her betrothed.

“Oh, all right.”

“Well, try tae sound a bit more enthusiastic, will ye?”

Anastasia gave a small laugh. “I am. I really am.”

“Are ye all right, Ana? Ye seem a bit subdued. Is somethin’ wrong?” Catalina could sense her sister was not entirely happy. “Is it Ivar? Has he been upsettin’ ye?” It seemed the obvious conclusion to draw.

“Ivar? Nay, nae at all. He’s the perfect gentleman, good company, makes me laugh. Ivar’s a good man, Cat.”

“So, what is it then?”

“Why must somethin’ be wrong? I’m just a wee bit tired is all. It’s been a bit of a mad whirl these last few days, has it nae? There’s so much tae get used tae. I miss Faither and home sometimes, but honestly, I’m quite all right.”

“That’s good tae hear,” Catalina told her, patting her arm, and silently wondering at the strained smile on her sister’s beautiful face as they continued walking down the garden path.

In the council chamber, things were hitting up.

“I’m almost certain from the description that they’re Henry Chisholm’s men,” Dunstan was saying.

“I dinnae think he’d dare try anythin’ with us once the marriage had been announced. What’s he after, d’ye reckon, Dunstan?”

Ivar noticed that Dunstan’s face had gone pale. “Anastasia,” he answered. “I thought the mad bastard would have given up, but it seems he’s nae deterred at all. He’s a wily one, always plottin’ somethin’.”

Ivar was quite shocked. “He wants Anastasia so badly he’s prepared tae take us on?”

“I told ye, the man’s as mad as a box of frogs. He’s caused the deaths of hundreds by startin’ this war with us, and he cares nae a whit how many more die before he’s finished. He cares only fer his own whims,” Dunstan explained bitterly. Ivar stared to understand why the man was so protective of Anastasia.

With the wedding being forced upon him, Ivar knew he had not paid enough attention to the political reasons behind it. But now it began to dawn on him; Anastasia, Catalina, their father, their whole clan, were at real risk of Chisholm taking over.

“Why does he want Anastasia?” he asked, wanting to get things straight in his head.

“Start from the beginnin’, Dunstan, and clarify the matter fer everybody,” Haldor told him.

“Aye, me laird. Sir Henry Chisholm has lands adjoining ours. About a year and a half ago, he came tae see Laird Matheson, and they agreed that Sir Henry should wed his eldest daughter Brenna. An agreement was signed, but a short while later, Brenna caught a fever and died suddenly.”

“Och, that’s rough,” Haldor said solemnly. “Poor family…”

“Aye, it was very hard, on the girls especially. They were all very close. Anyway, Laird Matheson informed Chisholm about Brenna’s death, assuming he understood the marriage contract was null and void. Within days, Chisholm turned up at Matheson’s castle, claimin’ it was nae his fault if his bride had died. The contract still stood, he insisted and demanded that the laird supply him with a replacement”

“Anastasia,” Ivar put in.

“Right.”

A ripple of disapproval ran around the table.

“What an evil bastard,” Arne said with an expression of disgust.

“Aye, the man wants killin’.” Ivar said, angry on behalf of the girls. The thought of the gentle Anastasia in the clutches of such a maniac repulsed him.

“Of course, Laird Matheson saw he’d badly misjudged the nature of his prospective son-in-law, and he had nay intention of giving Anastasia to him to wed. And since then, Chisholm has given us nay peace. He started the war with us, tryin’ tae wear the laird down and make him give up Anastasia. The war’s just about crippled us. That was why Anastasia’s faither appealed tae The Bruce fer soldiers.”

Dunstan turned to look at Ivar and added, “It was then that the king decided the best way to protect Anastasia and secure the future of the clan was this marriage between ye and her.”

“So, Anastasia will be protected, but what about Catalina? Is she nae worthy of the same protection as her sister?” Ivar asked, drawing attention from everyone. “Why are ye all lookin’ at me like that? Can ye nae see that just because she’s the youngest daughter, it doesnae mean she’s safe at all.”

“The way Laird Matheson sees it, if the eldest is married, Chisholm will have nae interest in Catalina since he’ll receive naethin’ fer her.”

“Huh, naethin’ but a spirited and beautiful bride,” Ivar said out loud without thinking. Every face in the room turned to him, each one etched with varying degrees of bewilderment. He felt a sharp kick in his leg under the table and saw Arne frowning at him as if telling him to shut up.

“I have tae go,” Ivar suddenly announced as the implications of what he had just said about Catalina in front of the of the whole council sank in. He felt very uneasy and wanted to get away. “I’ll interview the prisoner later.”

“All right, let’s adjourn the meetin’ for the time bein’,” Haldor said, frowning worriedly after Ivar as he stormed out. He then hurried out of the room with Arne after their brother. They caught up with him halfway down the hallway. They grabbed him by the arms and steered him roughly into Haldor’s study. Haldor kicked the door shut behind them.

“What was all that about?” he asked, scrutinizing Ivar with his shrewd blue eyes. Ivar said nothing, while Arne just stood staring at him with a questioning look on his face, as if he could not quite believe what Ivar had said in the council chamber.

“Ivar, explain yersel’,” Haldor ordered sternly. “What did ye mean by that back there?”

“What did I say? I’ve forgotten,” Ivar hedged, trying to make out he did not know what they were talking about.

“Ye ken very well. It was about Catalina making, what was it? ‘A spirited and beautiful bride’.” Ivar cringed as Arne repeated his exact words.

“Well, what did ye mean by blurtin’ that out in front of everyone when ye’re betrothed tae her sister?” Haldor demanded. “Come on, speak up!”

Ivar shrugged helplessly. “I dinnae ken why I said that. It just came out.”

Silence fell between the brothers. He saw Haldor and Arne exchange glances. Then, Haldor cleared his throat, looked Ivar in the eye and said, “Look, if ye’re nae happy about marryin’ Anastasia, ye shouldnae go through with it, lad, the king be damned.”

“I cannae dae that, nae now ’tis all arranged. I’ve said I’ll go through with it,

and I will,” Ivar said, feeling like he was suffocating. “I’ll go and see the prisoner now.” He pushed his way past his brothers and abruptly left the room.

He stalked down the hallway, heading to the castle dungeons. His head was full of what had just happened. Where had that stuff come from, about Catalina making ‘a spirited and beautiful bride’? As he walked along, it suddenly occurred to him that he no longer felt any anger towards Catalina. More than that, he could definitely not claim to be indifferent to her.

He stepped out into the main courtyard and spotted a red dress moving some distance away. His heart thudded in his chest; it was Catalina. He stopped at once, looking at her as she wandered across the grass, the book in her hand but seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

He shook his head and muttered seeing she had not followed his advice and put on some more clothes to keep out of the cold. As if to endorse his concern for her, he saw her shiver. He decided that if she would not do as he suggested and insisted on staying outside so inadequately dressed, she needed his coat to avoid getting cold. He figured he would not need it in the dungeons anyway.

On a mission, he changed direction and headed towards her, telling himself he was only doing it because it was the right thing to do.