Chapter Twenty Nine
With Ramsay in the box seat, driving the horses forward, the coach lumbered toward Toonan.
Inside, Ian sat next to the abbot, and on the opposite bench, Jo sat, flanked by her father on one side and Samuel on the other.
The latter had surrendered to his headache and had fallen asleep on his lady’s shoulder.
As Malcom recounted his story, Jo’s distress became increasingly apparent. But as much as Ian longed to spare her any further suffering, he knew she needed to know the truth.
“How could they have kept ye in a pit all this while!” Tears rushed down her cheeks.
“Thane couldn’t very well lock me in Toonan’s dungeon and expect my presence to go unnoticed.
And the baron didn’t want anyone else to know about the treasure.
Had he brought me to Wharncliffe, he would have faced questions from his men.
” He released a long breath. “They kept me alive, hoping to track ye and yer mother down...” His voice broke.
“They wanted to use ye, to threaten ye, to make me confess where I hid the treasure.”
“Oh, Da! How ye have suffered.”
“My suffering is nothing. ‘Tis what happened to ye and yer mother...” He swallowed hard. “That is my only regret.”
Jo rested her head on her father’s shoulder, and they drove for some time in silence. Then at length Jo sat straight and looked at the abbot. “But why did Thane go after ye when he’d already found the treasure?”
“Ambition,” her father said simply.
The abbot nodded. “My guess is that he hoped to gain recognition from King Edward by handing over the keeper of his stolen treasure and one of the leaders of Scotland’s secret rebellion.”
She nodded, but Ian could tell she still felt unsettled. “What is it, Jo?”
“’Tis just that he was already in possession of a fortune. What more could he have asked for?”
Malcom lifted his shoulders. “Titles, lands, a noble wife—who can truly know the workings of his heart? I will say that as misguided as he was, I do not doubt that he believed he was acting for the good of our people.”
Jo stiffened. “Father, ye cannot mean to forgive Thane?”
Malcom patted her hand gently. “I do hope to one day. I don’t care to be burdened by this hatred for the rest of my life. But if ye’re worried about him being held responsible, ye needn’t be. Thane will be exiled with only the clothes on his back, no horse, no coin.”
She nodded. “’Tis fitting that he’ll be made to struggle like Mama and me.”
“Although, I dare say, he won’t survive half so well as ye did,” her father said, a sad smile curving his lips.
“I’m proud of ye.” He cleared his throat.
“Now, Josselyn, I do have one question. Ye and this young man,” Malcom said, gesturing to Ian who was sitting across from him, “Ye’ve both said that Thane discovered the treasure. Did he truly find it...all of it?”
Ian shook his head. “Nay, he did not.” Leaning forward in his seat, Ian said, “Laird Fergusson, everything I’ve been told about ye over the years, about yer cunning and the fineness of yer character, I now know to be true without the inkling of doubt in my mind.”
Malcom flashed him a curious look. “And who are ye?”
Ian’s hand shot out for the laird to shake. “Ian MacVie. I’m yer...er...daughter’s husband.”
To Ian’s surprise, a weak smile curved Laird Fergusson’s lips. “So, my daughter married a MacVie. She couldn’t have made a better match had I arranged one myself.” He shifted his gaze and smiled warmly at his daughter. “Ye’ve always been a smart lass.”
She laughed and her father chuckled, although his mirth soon deteriorated into a dreadful cough that racked his thin shoulders.
“Rest now, Father. We will soon arrive at Toonan. I’ll make ye well again.
I promise.” Despite the comfort of her words and the confidence of her tone, she flashed Ian a worried look.
He reached over and squeezed her hand encouragingly. “Keep breathing, Jo.”
She took a deep breath. “Keep fighting.”
“I like this new nickname...Jo,” her father said, trying it out, his voice sleepy. “It suits ye, lass.”
Two months later, Toonan’s second harvest was underway, and her laird was on the mend, which meant that Jo and Ian could, at last, make the journey to Colonsay.
Ruby rushed into Jo and Ian’s chamber. “Are ye certain ye do not wish me to pack yer trunks?” she asked, her words coming out in a rush.
Jo smiled calmly. “One satchel will suffice.”
“But surely ye need more than that!”
“And who will carry the trunks on board?”
Ruby put her hands on her hips. “Yer husband and Ramsay are as mighty as the Argyle mountains.”
“That doesn’t mean I want them lugging trunks on and off the ship just so I can change for every meal.”
Ruby sat down with a huff in one of the chairs.
“Then what am I to do? Cook already packed yer provisions. Laird Malcom’s bedlinen’s have been changed.
Ye’re as self-sufficient as a nun.” Just then, Ruby, the furry one with yellow eyes, leapt off Jo’s new bed, fashioned to fit her husband’s large frame, and padded over to her maid, nuzzling her furry head into Ruby’s lap.
“I still can’t get over how quickly she took to ye,” Jo said, smiling at both her Rubys.
“She knows her namesake,” Ruby crooned while she scratched the dog’s soft, fluffy neck. Ruby barked her approval, then lapped at the maid’s cheek.
“Remember to mind her while I’m away, and keep her out of the kitchens and away from the fields where the men train. And, of course, do not let her loose in the stables. And—”
“I ken she doesn’t like anyone else accept ye, me, and yer husband.”
“She doesn’t like anyone else, yet” Jo corrected. She crossed to the hearth and reached down, smoothing her hand across Ruby’s furry back. “Give her time, and she’ll come around.”
“To quote something ye once said to me,” Ian said, appearing in the doorway. “Wishful thinking, wife.”
Jo drank in the sight of Ian’s broad shoulders and trim waist. His blue eyes shone with love.
She rushed to his side and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him long and hard.
“If ye remember, husband,” she began when their lips parted, “in the end, I was wrong. Ruby succumbed to yer warmth and charm even before I did.”
Wagging her tail, Ruby padded across the floor and jumped up, her front paws splayed across Ian’s chest. “Don’t fash yerself, lass,” Ian crooned affectionately, burying his fingers in her fur and scratching behind her ears. “I love ye, too.”
After Ruby lumbered down, standing, once more, on all fours, Ian turned to Jo. “The boat is ready. Ramsay is manning the steering rudder. Abbot Matthew is on board. ‘Tis time to say goodbye to yer father.”
“And to me,” Ruby blurted, rushing to Jo’s side.
Jo’s chest hitched as she pulled Ruby close. They embraced each other as if for the last time.
“Remember, lassies, we’re not going to Colonsay forever. ‘Tis only a visit. We’ll return in a month or two.”
Jo took a deep breath, swallowing the knot in her throat.
“I ken. ‘Tis just that my heart isn’t as smart as my head. The last time we said goodbye, we thought it was truly the last time.” She stood straight and thrust her shoulders back.
“But, of course, ye’re right.” Jo shifted her gaze from Ian back to her maid. “This is not goodbye.”
Tears flooded Ruby’s emerald eyes, but she smiled bravely. “Until we meet again.”
Saying goodbye to her father was no easier. She climbed into bed beside him and snuggled up to his chest. Her hand rested on his heart. She savored the steady rhythm. “Ye look stronger everyday, Da.”
“I feel stronger.”
She sat up on her elbow and looked at him. His freshly shaven face boasted a healthy glow. The hollows of his cheeks had begun to fill out. She tapped her finger gently under his eye. “One brown eye.” Then she tapped under the other. “And one blue.”
His eyes crinkled around the edges as a smile spread across his face. “I love my wee lass. Be safe.”
She nodded. “We shall return soon.” She kissed his cheek and scooted off the bed. “I love ye, Da,” she said, then set out across the room.
“Jo!”
She stopped in the doorway and turned back, looking at her father expectantly.
“When ye return, I’ll be even stronger. Mayhap, we can waste some time.”
Tears stung her eyes. “There is nothing I would love more.”