“Then why leave us?” Alison pressed.
“I don’t want to become the old, unmarried aunt who lives in the top of the tower.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Alison laughed. “You’re bound to marry again. Besides being the sweetest and kindest Douglas sister, you’re the most beautiful.”
What good is beauty if a woman is a cold fish in bed?Margaret winced as she heard William’s voice in her head again. What made it worse was knowing that the words were true. Unlike her sisters, she simply was not a passionate woman.
“I’m afraid there are not many men who want to wed a barren woman who has no property,” Margaret said, “andwhose brothers are banished traitors to the crown.”
“Our brothers’ status is a complication,” Alison admitted, tapping her cheek in thought. “But when you’re ready, you’ll find a worthy man who’s not afraid of the queen’s wrath.”
“My sisters have already wed the only men in Scotland who meet that description,” Margaret said with a smile. “Besides, since I can’t have children, why would I ever want another husband?”
“To warm your bed?” Alison asked with a gleam in her eye.
God save her from that. Margaret had always found her marital duties unpleasant at best, and usually far worse. All the hurt and humiliation she suffered when her husband threw her out and annulled their marriage was outweighed by the relief she felt from knowing she would never have to allow him to touch her again.
She squeezed her sister’s hand as she remembered how, when she was close to death, Alison told her she was finally free of William.
She had come a long way since that terrible night. While she would always be grateful for the love and shelter Alison and her husband gave her in her time of need, Blackadder Castle was also a reminder of the state she had arrived in and the long months of recovery. She had regained her health, but the wounds to her heart—and her pride—still festered.
But she did have her freedom. And now, she would have a home of her own as well.
She did not mind that it would be a humble one, rather than the sort of grand castle she’d always lived in, and she had given up the dream of a kind and loyal husband a long time ago. But she had wanted children with every fiber of her being, and the loss of that hope left a hole in her heart that would never heal.
Still, she was determined to forge a life for herself. A quiet, peaceful life. Aye, it might be lonely at times, but she knew well that there were far worse things than being lonely.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a familiar figure galloping toward them through the village.
“You’d think her witch of a mother would have better control over her,” Alison said with a sigh.
Lizzie, their sixteen-year-old cousin, pulled her horse up and slid off in one smooth motion. She was dressed in a lad’s breeches and had her hair tucked into a cap.
“Don’t tell me ye rode here alone again,” Alison said, using her most severe mother’s tone.
“All right, I won’t tell ye I did,” Lizzie said with a grin.
“’Tis not safe.” Alison was not ready to let it go. “You’re getting too old to pass for a lad.”
“But I had to bring ye the news!” Lizzie said.
Icy fingers of premonition crawled up Margaret’s spine.
“We Douglases are on the rise again!” Lizzie took Margaret’s hands and danced her around in a circle. “Your brothers and my da have returned from exile!”
“What?” Alison asked, catching Lizzie’s arm.
“They’re here in Scotland,” Lizzie said. “Archie has the backing of his brother-in-law, Henry VIII of England, and half the Scottish nobles. All the Douglas lands and titles have been returned to us.”
“The queen agreed to take Archie back?” Margaret asked.
That was hard to believe. The woman had been so angry with Archie that it was rumored she had even asked her brother to seek a petition of divorce on her behalf.
“King Henry demanded she be a good wife and reconcile with Archie.” Lizzie’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “But when Archie approached Holyrood Palace, the queen had the cannon fired on him!”
Archie was always so sure of himself that Margaret could not help being amused, but her smile soon died on her lips, and she exchanged a worried look with Alison.
“I hope Archie has learned from the past,” Alison said, “but I suspect he’s as ambitious as ever.”