Dating Two Dragons (12 page)

Holding out his hand to help her up she winced in pain. She had cut her arm when falling and the blood was trickling down, making a scarlet river across her white flesh.

Reaching into the folds of his tartan kilt, Lord Selkirk brought out a great white handkerchief; embroidered in blue silk with the initials TS intertwined. As he wrapped it tenderly around her arm she wondered who had so neatly made the stitches –surely not Gertrude Selkirk?

The display of tenderness made her feel embarrassed and she withdrew her arm suddenly, feeling flustered by the sight of this great man tying a handkerchief so delicately around her arm. A wave of tenderness washed over her but she was too young, too inexperienced to know what to do or to say.

He tried to show her kindness but she still seemed to withdraw from him. Had he been a fool to think such a young and attractive woman could love him?

The forthcoming marriage between the two seemed to set them apart rather than bring them together and neither felt comfortable in mentioning the subject. The sound of Henry barking in the distance broke her thoughts and she rushed up to find her noisy companion.

She was glad to have the dog to pet as they both walked back to the house in silence; she talking animatedly to her puppy whilst Thomas followed slightly behind; brooding.

Back at the house Gertrude was waiting at the door; watching out for the return of Thomas. She seemed brighter than when Beatrice had last seen her; two tiny spots of red had appeared on her bloodless cheeks and there was a spark to her eye. On any other woman it might have looked charming; on Gertrude Selkirk it looked almost ghoulish.

Fussing over her brother she took his arm; only for him to shrug it away. His emotions were confused and he was already in a foul temper. Heading into the house and up the stone staircase he left the two women alone together.

Gertrude was no longer smiling and her face was now deathly pale, in stark contrast with the flushed cheeks of Beatrice. She stared harshly at the younger woman: her mouth twitching as if wanting to speak but could not find the words. The little dog let forth a low growl in warning and the woman went back into the house.

Stroking Henry to calm him she waited a few minutes to settle her emotions, before entering the house and going straight to her chamber. At least she had now met Thomas, but what a strange and awkward first meeting for two people who were to share the rest of their life together.

The wedding was going to be a low key affair by even modest standards. The new red and gold colored velvet dress she was to wear had been unwrapped and was now hanging over a screen in her bed chamber. She knew nothing of the arrangements and the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach didn’t bode well.

Feeling restless and not bearing to sit looking at the dress any longer Beatrice decided to explore the house a little; after all one day it would be her home. Stepping out of her bed chamber she looked cautiously around before crossing over the landing to the opposite side. On the wall above one of the doors was a plaque, a coat of arms - crossed swords with what looked like the moon and stars with some sort of creature standing on its hind legs, waving its arms at the golden terrestrial bodies above. Underneath was the inscription
‘ab homine usque ad pecus’
. “Both man and beast”, she spoke the Latin words out slowly. It was a strange phrase. Her own family motto was ‘
cum honore ac virtute’
‘With honour and valor’ and was much more straightforward in meaning. Still man was in part a beast and maybe the motto was just paying homage to that fact. Trying the latch carefully on the door before her, Beatrice pushed against it; taking care that no-one would hear her. Although this time tomorrow she would be mistress of the house, she still felt as though she was an intruder and as such not particularly welcome. She always found herself moving around the house on tiptoe lest she disturbed the occupants; her new family. Opening the door she was shocked to see a sparsely furnished bed chamber, yet hung about the walls, the floor and every available surface were artefacts from nature. Birds feathers hung on the wall; some as large as Eagles and some so tiny that they must have been from a wren’s wing. The skulls of birds and animals were scattered here and there, and bunches of twigs and dried herbs and flowers sat in jars or were scattered across the floor. An ancient book lay open on the table, its pages yellow with age and scrawled with black spidery writing that was barely legible. The origin of the words was foreign to her, probably some long forgotten and ancient language. Gently turning the delicate pages she saw sketches of strange beasts; some half man and half beast in seemingly various stages of transformation. Sketched around the pages in a newer and bolder hand there had been scribbled the symbols of the zodiac and phases of the moon throughout the seasons, each one linked to a stage of the man-beasts progression.

So absorbed was she in the book that she did not notice a dark shadow fall across the book. As she moved to turn the page, a steely hand grabbed at her own, stopping her in the act. It was a woman’s hand.

Gertrude had entered the room as silent as the grave and she had caught Beatrice red handed.

“What are ye doing in my room?” Gertrude’s eyes were hard and blank as they looked at her, unblinking.

Her voice was thin with fear.

“I’m sorry Gertrude, I didn’t know this was your room. I thought I would explore the house and this was the first room I opened. I was intrigued by this book and I wondered what it was for?” The younger woman tried to sound un-phased by her sister in law, yet her hand shook as she moved it down to her side.

Quickly snapping the book closed Gertrude held it close to her breast, eyeing the girl cautiously, wondering how much she had seen and how much she had understood.

Narrowing her cruel eyes she smiled unconvincingly. “These are my private studies and hobbies. I am interested in nature and the healing properties of various plants that is all. I would appreciate it in future if you would stay away from my chamber”. She stared until Beatrice lowered her eyes to the floor. The conversation was over and she moved quickly out of the room.

What would Thomas think of her going through his sister’s possessions? Gertrude would surely tell him and that would only serve to make things even more distant between them.

At least they would be eating together that night, and she hoped that it would give her chance to get to know Thomas a little better; at least it would give her the chance to explain. Going back to her own chamber she lay on the bed and closed her eyes. After a sleep she felt a little better and tidying her hair ventured out of her room and down the stone staircase to the dining room. A great fire had been lit in the grate and two places had been set for dinner, a large candelabra set down on the table to provide light. Despite the size of the room it would be an intimate supper and the first time she would spend any quality time alone with her husband to be. Her heart started to beat a little faster as she thought of him, even though their first interaction was awkward, he was quite handsome. Something about the way he looked at her caused her body to quiver in anticipation. Her eyes sparkled in the candlelight as she waited for him.

On hearing footsteps sounding up the hallway she sat up ready to greet him but was disappointed when Gertrude opened the door and sat down at the table.

Sensing the girl’s disappointment she smiled cruelly.

"My brother is eating in his rooms this evening and doesn't want to be disturbed."

Beatrice shifted uneasily in her seat. She hadn't expected to be sharing her supper with Gertrude; the woman did not make her feel welcome and she could feel herself shrink away from her.

"I was hoping that we would be able to talk about the wedding?"

"My brother is a man of few words. I will tell ye everything ye need to know". She stared coldly at the girl.
"Well?"

"I would rather discuss the matter with Lord Selkirk. After all he is to be my future husband"
Gertrude leaned over the table and gave a low, cruel laugh.

"Don't get the wrong impression my dear. My brother has no feelings for ye. This is a marriage in name only; a marriage of convenience. The match has meant that now the two clans are at peace my brother will be able to open up trading routes to the South, he will become a rich man, or should I say an even richer man."

Shocked by the statement and the coldness of the delivery, Beatrice could feel the tears start to prick in her eyes. Seeing the girls’ unease the woman sat back in her chair to gloat.

"Poor Lady Ceri. You don't really think that a great man like Lord Selkirk could love you, do you? You are not of our kind and you are a fool if you think you can be, you, will be Lady Selkirk in name only and will see very little of Thomas. He is a busy and powerful man and after your alliance will become even more so."

Rising form the table Beatrice rushed from the room. She could not bear to spend a moment longer listening to such hurtful things from such a heartless woman.

Once back in her chamber Beatrice flung herself onto the bed, crying into her pillow. The little dog on seeing his mistress so upset jumped onto the pillows and nuzzled his wet nose into her ear.

"Oh Henry" she sobbed, pressing him close to her breast "You're the only friend I have in the whole world".

Hungry and overtired she slept fitfully that night –her dreams dark and full of bad omens. Crows and rooks watched her with blank, steely eyes as she walked down a long corridor until she could no longer stand it and started to run, setting the birds to the air in their pursuit of her; the wing beats thudding behind her to the rhythm of her own heart.

Waking suddenly she let out a small cry of anguish. The dream had been so real and her heart was still pounding from the chase. She was troubled that she did not see her brother in her nightly musings –he usually appeared in her time of need. Her window was open and the curtain was flapping in the breeze; a light tap tap against the glass like the sound of the flapping wings –the noise must have broken through into her dreams. Puzzled Beatrice crossed to the window, she was sure she hadn’t opened it last night and wondered if someone had entered her room whilst she was asleep. It was still dark and the moon now full was at its peak in the sky directly in front of her window. All was quiet except for the wind softly caressing the trees. As she turned to go back to bed she glimpsed a shadow out of the corner of her eye and turned back to look. The moonlight was almost as bright as the sunlight, and the whole countryside lit up with a soft glow; making the landscape almost magical.

There it was again, near a clump of Hawthorne bushes; a dark shape scurrying across the land. She thought back to that first night and the imagined man/beast she had seen in the hall. What if it hadn’t been imagined? She had seen similar images in the books in Gertrude’s chamber and the strange motto on the Selkirk Crest. Surely they couldn’t be totally unrelated? The shadow seemed to move again and this time it wasn’t a shadow but the outline of some beast, some animal prowling the walls and getting closer to the main door. The beast let out a low howl that pierced the night.

There was a noise from below and Beatrice pulled back from the window, not wanting to be seen. She could hear the main door being opened and a figure stepped out. It was Gertrude, and although she did not like the woman, she was Thomas’s sister and did not want to see her harmed. Before she could shout out Gertrude had moved towards the beast and seemed to be talking softly with it. Her words were too low and quiet for the girl to hear but the beast seemed to listen for very soon both had disappeared inside the house.

Feeling herself trembling she stepped away from the window. What sort of black magic was this that Gertrude was talking to wild animals? She thought of the strange and ancient books in her room but it still didn’t make sense. A loud growling sound came from below the stairs followed by a whispered “Hush” as two pairs of footsteps could be heard treading up the stone steps; one the light trip of Gertrude and the other a soft and lumbering shuffle. Beatrice was seized with fear; what if Gertrude should catch her awake? The little dog; already sensing something was wrong started cowering in the corner of the room.

Slipping quickly and quietly into bed Beatrice motioned for the dog to join her and just as it settled, she heard the latch turn on her door.

With her eyes closed she could sense the light of a candle shine above her face. Beatrice held her breath lest her beating heart give her away, trying to keep as still as possible.

At last the light dimmed and she heard the door close shut.

The next day she woke late. Having been disturbed so late in the night she had finally fallen into a deep sleep, hunger and fear having depleted all of her energy.

She was awoken by a brusque knock at the door as Gertrude entered without waiting for a reply and stood at the bottom of the bed. Beatrice sat up quickly, wondering what on earth could be the matter.