Chapter Twenty Three
Jo raced forward and threw her arms around Thane’s neck, a sob tearing from her throat.
“Yer home!” Toonan’s steward squeezed her so tightly, she could hardly draw breath, but she didn’t care. Her heart swelled with joy and relief. He pulled away just enough to cup her cheeks. “Let me see ye,” he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Are ye real?”
She nodded, her lips pressed tight against the fresh wave of emotion barreling up her throat. Again, he crushed her close. “I never thought I would see ye again.” Then he pulled away slightly, his gaze darting around the room. “Where is Lady Clara?”
The knot tightened in her throat.
Thane’s brows drew together. He gripped her upper arms. “Where is yer mother?”
Josselyn shook her head, her tears flowing freely. “She’s...”
Thane closed his eyes. “Nay,” he whispered and hung his head. Stepping backward, he sat on the edge of her parent’s bed, resting his head in his hands. After several moments, he looked up, his face was slack and his eyes heavy. “How?” he croaked.
Jo sat beside him, taking his hand in hers. “She wasted away.”
Thane clenched his fists. “Damnation,” he cursed, his nostrils flaring.
Then he released a heavy sigh, scrubbing his hand over his face.
At length, he turned to her. In his eyes, Jo glimpsed his anger and sorrow, both clearly vying for domination.
“I’m so very sorry, my lady.” He held out his empty hands, his shoulders slumping.
“For so long, I’ve waited for yer mother’s return.
” He gestured to the dancing flames. “Every night, I’ve lit yer parent’s hearth, praying that she would...
” He shook his head. “I had hoped...” His voice trailed off.
But then he took a deep breath and sat straighter, shifting to angle his body toward Jo.
Taking her hands in his, his eyes brightened.
“But all hope is not lost.” A smile suddenly curved his lips.
“Ye’re here. Toonan’s lady has returned! ”
Toonan’s lady? Her?
In her heart, she’d become Jo, never believing she would ever enter Toonan’s keep again. Since her mother’s passing, not once had it occurred to her that she was now Lady of Clan Fergusson.
Ian came forward then, drawing both their gazes.
Thane’s eyes narrowed on her husband. He stood up. “Who is this man?”
Ian stepped closer, but Thane cut to his left, shielding Jo.
“Ye needn’t worry, Thane,” she said, easing out from behind him and moving to stand at Ian’s side.
“This is Ian.” She met her husband’s gaze and drank in the sight of him.
Never could she have chosen a better man to be laird to her people.
She did not doubt that they would welcome Ian into their hearts when the time was right.
She smiled up into his sky-blue gaze before turning to Thane. “He’s my husband,” she said, proudly.
“Yer husband?” Thane exclaimed. His gaze scanned Ian’s large frame with purpose. “Ye’re a warrior, that much I can see, but who are ye?”
“My father’s family hail from Clan MacVie in the Hebrides, but I grew up in the city of Berwick before it was seized by King Edward.”
“Have ye a title, wealth, position of any kind?”
“As ye’ve said, I’m a warrior, and a fisherman by trade.”
Thane stood silently for a moment, his gaze darting between Jo and Ian.
He raked his hand through his hair. “I will not lie, Lady Josselyn—I had hoped yer marriage would bring wealth and opportunity to our clan, but I’m trying to imagine what yer father would have said.
His first concern would not have been title or riches, or else he never would have refused the Stewart’s proposal for ye to marry his son, despite how advantageous that alliance might have been for Clan Fergusson.
” Thane stopped pacing in front of Ian. “I suppose if Laird Malcom were here right now, he would want to know...are ye a good man?”
“Put yer mind at ease,” Ian said warmly. “I love Lady Josselyn with my whole heart.”
Jo blushed, hearing Ian use her title for the first time.
He pulled her close as he continued, “I vow always to protect her, to cherish her, to raise her high.” He shifted his gaze, locking eyes with her.
“She’s my wife.” Then he turned back to Thane and outstretched his hand.
“I offer my loyalty and my sword to Clan Fergusson.”
With a nod of approval, Thane shook Ian’s hand. “Clan Fergusson is grateful to ye. I am grateful to ye.” Then he turned back to Jo. “I am happy for ye, my lady, but...” A bewildered expression settled on his face. “Where have ye been? Yer warriors have scoured the Highlands looking for ye?”
A sad smile curved her lips. “I’ve been no where near the Highlands.”
“But...” Thane sputtered. “Where else could ye have gone?”
“After ye were defeated and taken by the Stewart, Mother realized that ye had our only coin. Without the resources to travel safely north, she took us south.”
His eyes widened. “Ye’ve been in England?” His nostrils flared, and he puffed out his chest. “Lady Clara took ye where no one would think to look for ye, even me.” His eyes shone with pride.
“Indeed,” Jo said. “She thought of everything. We sold her wedding ring and our clothing and journeyed to Durham. We found a room for rent, bought a loom, and earned our keep.”
“Ye’ve been living as a commoner?”
She nodded.
Thane’s lips settled in a grim line. He shook his head. “Had I been stronger, faster with a sword, I might have spared ye and Lady Clara these hardships.”
“Ye did yer best to protect us, Thane.” She took his hand. “I am just so grateful that ye’re alive. I thought I lost ye, too.” Jo took a deep breath. “What happened to ye? After they took ye.”
Thane expelled a long breath and raked his hand through his thinning hair.
“The Stewart released me when yer father surrendered. It was part of his terms.” He lifted his shoulders.
“And I’ve done what I could to keep the clan going while we watched for yer return.
” Thane’s face broke into a smile. “And here ye are, but why did ye take the hidden passage? Why did ye not come through the gate? Yer people will celebrate yer return!”
“I’ve not returned,” she said softly. “Not yet anyway.”
Thane cocked his brow at her. “What do ye mean? Ye’re here before my very eyes.”
“I made a promise to my mother.”
Thane shook his head furiously. “But yer people need ye!”
Jo reached out and gently took Thane’s hand. “My parents have been taken from me. The only thing I can do now to honor their memory, is to keep my promises.”
Thane’s shoulders slumped. “Then why have ye come?”
“I’ve a promise to keep.”
“But ye just said yer mother told ye to keep away.”
“Not to my mother. The promise I keep is to my father. I promised him that I would remember.”
Thane’s brow furrowed the instant before his eyes flashed wide. “The treasure,” he said knowingly.
She nodded.
“Did yer father tell ye where it was hidden before we left?”
“Nay,” she answered.
“Then it had to be yer mother. Lady Clara told ye,” he said, his words coming out in a rush.
“Nay,” Jo answered. “I never knew why we fled. Mama only told me that we had to hide, that we had to conceal ourselves. She instructed me to keep my head down, to never look anyone in the eye, but she never told me who might be after us. I learned about the treasure only days ago from a great friend to my father, the Abbot Matthew of Haddington Abbey. He told me that men have hunted for us, believing that we knew where to find it.”
Thane nodded grimly. “Yer mother was right to hide away. I’m certain that bands of men have scoured Scotland, searching for ye both, although I knew the futility of their hunt.
Yer father spoke of the treasure to only a few trusted confidants, but he told me, in no uncertain terms, on the very day he was arrested that no man knew where the treasure was hidden. ”
A slight smile curved Jo’s lips. “I am no man.”
Thane’s eyes flashed wide. “Then ye do know, but...but how—if yer father did not say or yer mother, how could ye possible know?”
Jo was about to say that her father had, indeed, told her, but then she faltered. She did not truly know. “I’m not certain, but I do believe my father tried to tell me. It was something he said to me when he bid me goodbye. I think he was giving me a clue.”
“Where do we begin?” Thane asked eagerly.
“We need to get to my chambers without being seen.”
“All right. ‘Tis near supper; everyone should be in the Great Hall, even Samuel.”
“Ruby’s brother?”
“Aye, he aspires to be a clerk for the keep, and so I agreed to train him. Now, he’s always at my heels, but no matter. Follow me. I will ensure no one sees ye.”
Jo followed Thane, but then paused. She took hold of Ian’s hand for strength, dreading what she was about to ask. “Did ye see my father when he was taken?”
Thane expelled a slow breath, then shook his head.
“When I was released, yer father was already gone, but Captain William stood witness.” Thane reached out and squeezed her other hand.
“They arrested yer father hours after ye, and yer mother and I left. He was shown the respect due his station. They did not hurt him, nor were his hands bound. He was not permitted his sword, but he was given his own horse to ride and was allowed to carry his shield bearing the Fergusson crest through Toonan’s gate.
” Thane expelled a long breath and closed his eyes.
In a weak voice, he continued. “A missive came reporting that he was executed. I’m sorry, my lady. ”
Ian’s arms came around her as she crumpled. There had been a part of her that clung to hope—the part of her that would always remain a wee lass who saw her father as an unbreakable mountain, always strong, always there, always protective. The certainty of his passing cut so deeply.
“Yer father and yer mother’s legacies live on in ye,” Thane soothed. “Now, that ye’ve returned—”
She lifted her face from Ian’s shoulder and swiped at her tears. “Remember, Thane, I’ve not returned, but I hope to one day. I want nothing more than to care for my people.”
Thane’s eyes shone. “Yer words give my heart great joy. I will be patient for that day.”
Ian cupped her cheek, drawing her gaze. “We don’t need to do this. We can return to Haddington.”
She shook her head, clearing away her tears. “While we still draw breath,” she reminded him.
Ian nodded and turned to Thane. “Will ye take us to her chamber?”
“Of course,” Thane said and crossed the room. He cracked open her parent’s door and peered out before signaling the corridor was empty and for Jo and Ian to follow.