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Post by Raynesleigh on Apr 26, 2012 17:07:55 GMT -5
Colm thought about it for a moment. Having a family, well he had never really thought about it. But here MacLeod was offering him a wife and a child. Granted, the child was MacLeod's by blow but these things were normal for men of his status. Wasn't he himself the by blow of the former MacLeod's now dead brother? "I accept the proposal Laird...I would treat Miss Connelly's child as me own, and treat Miss Connelly as a true wife..." he agreed then bowed his head before taking a sip of his brandy, sitting the cup down again.
"Is that all ye had to speak with me about?" he asked curiously, looking at the man before him. Crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed at him. He had to go train some new recruits and couldn't be detained to much longer. After training he would go pay a call on Jennifer and tell her and speak with her privately. He couldn't force the woman to marry him of course, but he could convince her that marriage would be a good idea. Then again, some women like her had heads as hard as bricks.
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Emma grinned. "Oh yes...lets," she agreed happily. The idea of going horseback riding was a welcome relief from all her lessons. She would be glad for the reprieve. An afternoon without cooking, overseeing the household, cyphering and all the other number of things she didn't know of. She took Catherine's hand and nearly ran from the room with her, moving down to the stables and to the horses. She easily picked one that was a little more spirited. She hadn't ridden since her arrival a week ago but she knew this horse was spirited from what the stable master had told her. She led the mount out and then stroked its neck before smiling as a stable boy began to saddle her.
"A regular saddle please," she said. The boy looked confused but obeyed, retrieving a regular saddle for astride riding. Once the horse was prepared, Emma used a stool before moving so that she sat astride the horse, men's breeches showing underneath the hem of her skirt. She smiled brightly and then glanced at Catherine.
"Sorry...another one of my rather unladylike aspects I think," she grinned then took a deep breath, grabbing the reins and positioning herself better.
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Mary smiled. "I'm fine being a spinster," she said grinning. "It suits me..." Standing, she walked back over to where she was doing the work for a dress and quickly put the pieces aside in a basket and smoothed out her skirt and then looked at the door as it opened and she saw her father. She smiled. "Hello pappa," she greeted kissing his cheek. "I finished most of the work. I'm going to take a walk with Jen. Is that alright."
Her father gave a smile and nod. "Of course. It is good to see you Jennifer," he said nodding and then walked to inspect the work Mary had worked dilligently on before going to work on the dress himself.
----
Brett signed and nodded. He walked after Aoife, just wishing his two days here were over with.
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Post by anjelrocker on Apr 26, 2012 19:07:20 GMT -5
William nodded. "Well, aside from that I have to say that the section that you command is doing very well. I will make sure to give a bonus on an yearly account for the care of Jennifer and her... or your child. This will be between us... people will talk but that is all..." He mention as he dismissed Colm since he understood that he was a busy man being that there were a number of recruits from the farming communities that would need training if there were ever an attack.
Once he was left, William went to the window to look out to the land that he owned from the top of the hill and to the village. It was when he noticed a certain red head and his sister by the stables, he watched for a few moments before turning so he could go back to his desk. He knew that he did the right thing for both himself and Jennifer... his mind thought of some of the more important things that he was to do that afternoon since it would soon be tax time. And within a few months, he would go to court.
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Catherine rode side saddle since that was how she was suppose to and yet, Emma was wearing men's clothing as she stared. "You are so daring, I am impressed." She said as she got onto her horse and looked down the hill. The stream was a few miles away but it was a nice ride. "Since when have you been riding like a man?" She asked with a chuckle but she was not teasing her new friend as she rode at a slow trot waiting for Emma to mount her mare before they could go for a ride.
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It was some time later that Jennifer was walking with Mary as they went by the training area. She knew that her friend had a secret crush on the captain of the guard. However, he was married with a little girl to boot. They had went by the training grounds since they were only little girls and would giggle. At one point, Jennifer had told everyone that she was going to be a knight but alas, that dream had never came true because she was a woman.
"It has been awhile since we walked by here." She mentioned with a small as she looked to the men and then remembered why she stopped. It was because she use to watch Danny before he had died. And that upset her a little since she was going to have a child from another heartbreak.
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Glancing over her shoulder when she was leading him to his room, she smiled. "This is your rooms, milord..." She said in a soft voice as she batted her eyelashes before saying in a coy voice. "Perhaps, I could warm your bed tonight..." The cleavage in her bust was showing as she said this.
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Post by Raynesleigh on Apr 26, 2012 19:54:18 GMT -5
Colm gave a nod and then sighed as he left the room and went toward the training yards so he could get started. As he approached, he was shocked to see that Mary Tailor and Jennifer were close by. He would still have to talk to her later. Walking into the training yard, he saw a few of the men horsing around and he frowned. "Milton! Ruarke! What in the bloodin' hell are ye two doin'?" he demanded grabbing a wooden sword and shoving them apart with the point. "Grab a sword, do yer drills with the shield and sword," he ordered, prodding the both of them. He shook his head and then got them all in order with partners to show them how to use the shield. He thought a good piece of equipment and a good weapon against the enemy. It was both armor and destroyer. He quickly showed the men the moves neccessary then bid them to practice before nodding to MacNab. Then he looked back at the two women and smiled, walking over to the pair.
"Hello you lasses," he greeted then gave a smile. "Miss Mary, Miss Jennifer."
"Colm," Mary said simply, her eyes moving from him to the men practicing. She sighed and looked back to Colm. "New recruits?" she asked curiously.
"Aye from the farms..." he said then smirked before looking at Jennifer. "Miss Jennifer...I was hoping ye and I could have a bit of a talk when I am finished with my men. Perchance me cabin or yers..?" he asked. "Merely fer a talk..." he said, hoping she got the hint. He didn't want to spill it out plainly before another person. This was, after all, a private matter.
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"I was taught this way by the old stablemaster back home..." She urged her horse forward. "Old Tom his name was. He showed me everything I ken now...How to ride a horse, archery...I learned swords from a friend of Robert's who thought I should know something since I was neglected of education so. Of course, I honed my skill practicing on my own. I used to get...locked up in my room and when that happened, I would use a stick or something and practice for hours...It's the only way I stayed sane..."
Sighing, she glanced at Catherine, keeping up with her as they started out of the stables and on a trodden path, leading out toward the hillside. "I hated it there. I think that I have had more fun here in the past week then I have since I was brought to my uncle's home. Pardon my language but my cousin Belle is a true bitch. And I see how your brother thinks of her. If only he knew the truth about her...." She bit her bottom lip. "Catherine...if I tell you something...will you tell your brother?" she asked softly.
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Brett looked at her and shook his head. "Milady I fear I am far to weary for such a thing. And truth be told, I have no need of a woman to warm my bed this night...." he said. Nor any other while I'm living in this fooking hell hole, he aded to himself mentally. "Thank you for your assistance," he mused then walked past her once they were to his rooms. He shut the door in her face and latched it with the wooden bar. Thankfully an old castle. The only way the bitch would be able to come into his presence tonight was if she broke down the door. Taking off his cloak, he suddenly and fervently wished he was back with Catherine. But as soon as he took her to court, he meant to make her his. By any means possible.
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Post by anjelrocker on Apr 26, 2012 21:47:21 GMT -5
Colm MacGregor never bothered with her, although they had growth up in the same village and she remembered that he had fought with Danny before they had gone off to fight the MacLean's almost five years before. Colm had lived as did her brother but there were many including her love that had not come back. "Ye are wantin' to talk with me?" She said with a wary look in her aquamarine eyes as she glanced at Mary for a moment. "I suppose but I don't see why it can not be done outside one of our cabins... I will be outside my cabin." She might be the trollop of the village but she would not be seen going into a hut or letting a man into her own hut for the reason that gossip was already that she was the Laird's whore... why not be the whore of the village.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, she smiled at Colm to be polite hoping that he did not think he could get a bit of the action that he was most likely thinking of. "Well, the two of us should be on our way... good luck with the new recruits." Jenn said in a silky voice as she had Mary's arm on her arm as she looked over her shoulder.
"What do you think he wants to talk to me about?" She asked her dearest friend as she was feeling beside herself with whatever meaning he meant by being alone. "I still have so much dying of the wool by market day..." The sheperds would bring the fleece from their herds and she would have it cleaned, which was not her job since she had people to do that but... she would do the selling and paying of the wages on her little business.
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Slowly her mare to a trot, Catherine looked over to Emma for a moment and blinked. "Well, I promise if he does not ask me about it..." She was a terrible liar and would always have to talk her way around the question. "Is it something to do with your cousin? I never got to met her... but, Will thought the world of her... he talked about you before, said something about us trying to be friends since we are around the same age..." This all happened when she was only twelve.
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Aoife was livid as she glared at the door and knew that she was going to have to go on to the next plan as she knew what she was going to do. A little of the witch's brew into his wine and Lord Cauldwell was going to be hers...
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Post by Raynesleigh on Apr 26, 2012 23:20:05 GMT -5
Mary frowned. "Beats me...I always liked Colm...so I don't think it's anything sinister. He goes to the brothel in Dingwall every now and again...never once has he asked a woman to his bed here in MacLeod lands....Maybe..." She trailed off. "Perhaps the Laird appointed him as yer husband?" she suggested with a shrug. "He's a nice enough man. Won't ever hurt ye on purpose I s'pose. That is, if it's the Laird's choice for ye. I like to think that the Laird cares about you enough not to see ye get hurt..."
Which was true. Alistair MacLeod was a good man...and Mary guessed his reasons for not marrying were his own. She remembered the gossip about him loving an English lass. Even before Jen had started her affair with him. But all was said and done now and there was nothing to do for it. "He's respectable and from what Sir MacNab is saying, he will be vice captain of the guard in the coming months. So he is quite a catch. The lasses in the village are always flocking to him. Makin' fools outta themselves," she grinned. "It's funny to watch..." she smirked. "Everything will work out Jen. Me mum used to say God ne're put to much upon us that we couldnae handle..."
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Emma nodded. "It's about her..." she bit her bottom lip. "My cousin...was lover to Robert Bedford, long before your brother ever came into the picture. She only let him court her because...well....She wanted to be a very rich and very titled woman. Robert knew that he was next in line to your brother's title, even if he was the bastard brother..." she trailed off for a moment. "So...he and Belle conspired to get Will caught in their little game. Poor Will...I didn't know it at the time but Belle was the bait. As soon as he was close, Robert and Belle both sent forth written testimonies condemning him of treason. With King Henry out of the picture, it was easily done..." She shook her head. "I overheard them talking about it after your brother was arrested. I confronted them. Me...a little twelve year old thing....I wanted to hurt Robert and Belle for what they had done. Will was the only person besides the two or three servants I was close to, that treated me kindly. Belle was after his money and title the whole time...she never wanted him. She used him....and he fantasizes and thinks about his precious Belle...I am almost afraid to ruin the image of her for him. I get the feeling he would be angry with me if I did..."
"I doubt," Emma said after a moment. "I doubt very much that he will ever ask you anything about Belle or Robert..."
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Post by anjelrocker on Apr 27, 2012 8:06:54 GMT -5
It's not that she thought that Colm was up to anything sinister, it was that she was having a hard time trusting some men... she was a young unmarried woman who lived alone. Her brother had his own cabin not far from hers since he was setting up to court one of the lasses in a neighbouring village. "Ye think that he would appoint a husband fer me... the bastard." She muttered the last apart as she was frowning. Jennifer had a feeling that was exactly what Colm was going to talk to her about, she knew he was a nice enough man from having lived in the same village for her entire life. "And Colm is only obeying orders." The man was a soldier in that respect. Allistair had said that he would have her taken care of, was this how he was going to do it. Have her wed a man who wanted nothing to do with her? It certainly was not unheard of but, she did not want to be a charity case...
"Mary, I didna ken what I am going ta do... I mean, I like ta think the Laird doesnae want to see me hurt if that is what Colm wants to talk to me about." She mentioned as she walked feeling worried and unsure about the present situation. "Oh god, another reason for the other lasses of the village to think I am a witch..." Jennifer was feeling very negative for the moment, however... she wanted to think of the babe in her wound and there was the fact that she had pride. Looking at her friend, she wanted to take her mind of the subject. "Has Sir MacNab come around the shop for new tunics?" She teased knowing her friend liked the slightly older man who had to be about thirty now. He had certainly never been a terribly handsome man but, he was kind to Mary and she could see why her friend liked Ian MacNab.
Although, it would never come to be since he was wed with a kind hearted woman and had a six year old daughter named Abigail unless he became a widower and that was a terrible thought.
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Catherine knew that Emma was right about that as she nodded her head and said in an honest voice. "You need to tell him that..." She had met Bedford being they were half siblings and he had taken over William's title when he had been 'dead'. It had been a surprise that day when Bedford had visited the convent where she had been placed after Will's arrest and the same day she had been rescued by William and taken to Scotland.
"You can't allow him to be in love with such a bitch that conspired with Bedford for the downfall of his life... Emma, you need to tell him this. What do you have to lose?" She asked. "After all, letting him think she is some sort of angel is cruel in a way... No?"
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Post by Raynesleigh on Apr 29, 2012 17:34:57 GMT -5
Mary flushed. "Oh Jen I wish ye wouldnae tease me about him...it's terrible. He is such a good man...and I can't have him. He's happy with his wife and daughter...and I am happy for him..." She shook her head. "I think he suspects how I feel about him, but he doesnae say anything. It's awful terrible feeling something for a mon ye can never ken and love..." she sighed. "I s'pose ye and me have that in common.." She frowned then looked down. "Its alright though. He is happy and that's as much as I can hope for for him."
Mary sighed, realizing that they were walking toward Jennifer's cabin that was toward the outskirts of the village. The same place Jen had grown up. Walking to the cabin, Mary opened the door and entered with her. "Perhaps you can find happinness with Colm. If that is Laird MacLeod's idea of a husband for ye..."
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Emma sighed. "Perhaps...I never thought of it like that...Even if he might not believe me...I...I s'pose it's for the best," she agreed.
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Later that evening, Colm found himself pacing. He knew Jennifer. Of course he did. The village around Tulloch was made up of one hundred or so people so everyone knew everyone in this small place. He had grown up only a couple of houses down from her and the two of them had been acquaintences as a child but she had been the little sister of his friend. Not a friend himself. But he knew of her.
He was doing this as a favor but he was also old enough that he should of married already and had a child or two. Hell. He was only three years away from being thirty. Clearing his throat, he sipped at his coffee and sank down on a stool at his table, trying to keep himself from being worked into a frenzy. After finishing his coffee, he steeled himself then walked out of his home and down to her home less than a quarter mile from his home and then knocked, drawing away and waiting.
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Emma sat alone in the library of the castle, busy trying to read the paper set before her before giving up. She had asked William to meet her alone so they could talk without having servants or kin listening to them. She was going to follow Cat's advice and tell him about Belle. She stood up slowly and walked around to the lute and then to the sheets of music beside it. Cat had been practicing earlier and Emma had been singing. Ballad of Patrick Spence. It was one she had learned as a child. Hearing the door, she turned and smiled. She had dressed down in one of the gowns she had managed to make and wore a white blouse under a green kirtle, her curling dark red hair loose and flowing down her back. "Will," she greeted, once the door was shut.
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Post by anjelrocker on Apr 29, 2012 19:53:29 GMT -5
She was folding some of the newest fabric that would be delivered to Tailor's shop, Jennifer had kept some of it for herself so that she could try and make her own gowns since being taught by her friend. It was after the time when the farmer's had brought the fleece from their herds to her, she was the only one who was keeping father's business from going under and it was what she used to tade for food and other needed things that she survived on. She had a few small tokens from Danny as well as Allistair but, she knew there would be the day that she would have to trade those if she were to have this baby. It was at that moment when there was a know at the door and she glanced at the candle, she would need to go without light or trade for some more. Or rather, make some.
Standing up, she went to her door to open it knowing that it was her expected guest. "Good evening, Colm..." She said to him, feeling curious on what this was all about. It made her feel nervous, "I have a feeling I know what you are here for and I want to say that you didnae have to wed me because of whatever the Laird said. I am doing quite well m'self." Taking a breathe, Jennifer went on. "And I have no need a husband, especially one that is being unfairly forced to marry the supposed village whore." She said seriously before continuing before he could get a word in edge wise. "Unless you actually think I have taken up shop as the village whore... sad for you but I am not and will never take that profession. I am sure there are a few in Inverness to go to..."
Pausing for a moment, she crossed her arms and waited allowing him to speak as she waited, tapping her foot impatiently.
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He had been wondering what Emma was wanting to speak to him alone at this time in the evening. It was a quiet night but there were still torches lighting the corridor, and a few candles in the library as he said. "Lady Emma?" He said as if to ask what she was wanting that evening.
He went over to sit at his desk, it was covered in papers that he had works on before. "Is there something the matter?" He questioned curiously.
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Post by Raynesleigh on Apr 30, 2012 13:45:05 GMT -5
Colm looked at her. "I'm not here to warm your bed....and I had a discussion with Laird MacLeod yes. That conversation was about ye and yer situation. Jennifer..he was right enough to offer marrige. If ye dinnae marry, then the people whispering about ye now, well, it'll grow worse. Ye may nay care about it but...when yer son or lass gets older...weel.... Take it from me. It hurts to be called a bastard and a whoreson and to hear your mother be called a slut, bitch and whore..." He took a deep breath. "My mum was lover to the MacLeod before this one. Nearly twenty nine years ago...He was already married when I came to be...he would have her wed to another man...to give his child a proper name but...my mother. She refused the offer. Both of us suffered for it." Colm looked at her earnestly.
After a momen, he cleared his throat and continued. "Listen Jen. I just...If I can prevent a child from feeling as I did as a lad and to have a beautiful and good wife on my arm...then wy not marry. We get along well enough. I don't mind your past. Yer no whore. A real one would ne're admit it to herself. If ye wish, we never have to share the same bed if ye dinnae wish too. Marriage prevents ye from being ostrasized and gives yer child a faighting chance at life without being called those names."
He took her hand, kissing her fingers. "I will treat ye well and yer babe...If we marry it would be our babe. I would trate the bairn as though I had planted it in yer belly meself. It would be my son or my daughter as well as yers. Tis about time I settled down anyway. I am nearing thirty. I would be a good husband Jennifer Connelly," he swore.
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Emma looked at him as he entered and sat and then bit her bottom lip. "I...I wanted to speak with you about Belle..." She trailed off and then sank down. Before she could stop herself or overthink it, she was explaining everything. Bedford conpiring with her cousin, the trap they had set for him. When she finished, she looked down. "I could understand if you do not believe me...but I do not tell lies. Ever. I never saw a need for them. I did not know until after you were arrested. Otherwise, I would have warned you long before the men came to arrest you."
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Post by anjelrocker on Apr 30, 2012 18:28:33 GMT -5
She remembered when they were young for a moment, she must have been only four or five when her mother had muttered something about him after her older brother had been playing with him. It had been able his 'whore' of a mother. The flashback of memory made her blink as he was kissing her fingers and the stubborn look in her eyes seemed to fade. She could see herself becoming accustom to life with Colm, it was not what she had wanted and yet... perhaps in time she would come to love Colm. "I forgot about that... everyone was unkind to yer Mum... even my own." Jennifer said to him as she looked down and thought about her child and how it would feel never knowing a father figure. "Alright..." She said quietly as she was watching Colm.
"I will marry ye but I didnae want ye thinkin that I will be a perfect little wife to ye. I will try, I didnae want a marriage where ye hate me in the end." She said honestly. "I believe in being true to the one ye wed... even if it is the good of this child... I will be a wife to ye..." Jennifer sighed as she said. "Would ye like to come in for something to drink, Colm?" She asked him as she gently took her hand back from him with a smile.
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He did not really know what to think, he did not want to believe that his sweet Belle would have betrayed him like that. And yet, by the look of her face... the anxious tension that he felt that she was telling the truth. "The woman that I loved sold me out so she could be with my bastard half brother." He said quietly as he stood up and went to get his good scotch to drink so he could think of this.
It was odd but it was as if he knew but had been blinded by Belle's beauty. "Don't worry, I believe you and I thank you for telling me." He said as he sipped at his drink but said nothing more. There was nothing left to say since he was brooding. Glancing up at her, he watched her. "I don't think I wanted to know because I knew how cruel Belle was but I was blinded." He managed to say. "I was a fool... always was the fool..." He muttered more to himself then to her.
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