Bedazzled

husband.

'She must go up to A-Cuil where she will nae be seen once her condition becomes too obvious, and that will be soon. We will make some excuse for her absence. That she is in Edinburgh, perhaps, visiting family. When the bairn is born we will foster it out to some cotter's wife. Nae at Glenkirk, but perhaps at Sithean or Greyhaven. India is nae to be told where the bairn is. If the birth is hard, we will tell her that the bairn died, and that will be an end of it. Then we will seek a match for her. It is the only solution.'

'Ahh, Jemmie,' his wife said, 'you make it all sound so simple, but there are factors you have not considered. How do we explain the loss of India's maidenhead to this new husband? And how will you get my daughter to give up her child so easily? My father drugged my mother so that he might take her from me, and she never forgot it. India loved her husband. She will never let you take her child from her!'

'She will hae nae choice, Jasmine,' he said.

'If you do this thing, I will never forgive you!' the duchess of Glenkirk threatened her husband angrily.

'I do what is best for India,' he countered. 'If ye hae let me make a match for her in the first place, instead of allowing the lass to run wild, we would hae nae of this trouble, Jasmine. Now I will do what I know is best for our daughter!'

***

'What am I to do?' Jasmine despaired to her mother-in-law.

'Do not allow this situation to divide your house,' Gat advised wisely. 'I know you love your daughter, but you and Jemmie love one another, too. India has made her own fate, and now must deal with it herself. You cannot protect her forever, my dear.'

'You agree with Jemmie?'

'Nay, I do not, but I know my son well enough, and so should you, Jasmine. You surely understand you cannot push him in a direction he does not choose to go. To get him where you will have him, you must draw him first down this path, and then the other, until you reach the destination that you wanted all along, and he is none the wiser.' She laughed. 'He is as stubborn as I was in my youth, and as heedless of the consequences of his actions as was his father, God assoil his soul. Jemmie is not an easy man, Jasmine. I know that, and so do you. Do not let your daughter and her problem blind you to the fact that you love your husband. India will recover from her broken heart sooner than later, marry and leave you and Jemmie. You do not want an estrangement between yourselves when that time comes.'

'But India's child. What will become of that child if it is fostered out, and we do not know where?' Cat fretted.

'Just make certain you know where the bairn is,' Cat said. 'Do what you must, but learn where that child is. Then visit the cotter's wife who has it, and make certain she knows of your interest in the child and its well-being. It is the best you can do. Later you can educate it if it is a lad, and even tell of its heritage. If it is a lass, then educate her and see she has a respectable match one day. But never allow Jemmie to know of your interest, or your involvement.'

'And India?'

'Tell her only one day when she is happy again so that her broken heart may be completely mended,' Cat replied.

'I wish you would stay with us,' Jasmine said, teary-eyed.

Her mother-in-law laughed heartily. 'Nay, my dear, I far prefer the quiet life I now lead in Rome and Naples. I am not used to all this agitation, aggravation, and uproar any longer. Adventures aplenty I had in my youth, but now I simply enjoy sitting in my gardens, or watching the sea, or dining with friends, or reading and writing letters from family and friends. India is your problem, and while I was happy to help where I could, I shall be delighted to depart for Aberdeen tomorrow, and then home to Villa Mia, which with luck. I shall reach by February.' She patted Jasmine's hand comfortingly. 'You are a clever woman, Jasmine, but you have allowed your mind to stifle here in the safety of Glenkirk. Use your wits to help India now!'

***

Lady Stewart-Hepburn departed the following morning, her coach rumbling over the drawbridge of the castle and down the hill to the high road. Ten days later, a message arrived from Calais to say her voyage had been uneventful, and she would write from her daughter's chateau outside of Paris before she departed for Rome.

The weather was getting colder, and the rains icy and more frequent. One morning as India lay abed, her father came to her. They had managed to exist without shouting at each other in the time since Cat's departure, but neither spoke to each other unless it was necessary.

'Are ye well?' he asked her gruffly.

'Well enough,' she replied.

'You're leaving Glenkirk, India,' he told her. 'I'll hae no gossip about yer big belly, and if ye remain any longer, we'll nae be able to disguise it. Ye hae to go.'

To his surprise, she agreed, saying, 'Aye. If Fortune is to have a decent husband, there can be no scandal about me.'

'I'm glad ye understand,' he said, relaxing his stern attitude just a little. 'I'm happy to see ye thinking of yer sister before yerself, India. I'm nae angry wi ye anymore, lassie, but I must do what is best for ye now.' He reached out to pat her hand, noting it was cold.

'Where am I to go, Papa?' she queried him. 'To Edinburgh wi Great- uncle Adam and his Fiona? Or to Queen's Malvern? None come there now except in the summertime when my brother is in residence.'

'Ye're going up to A-Cuil, India. Meggie will go wi ye, and Red Hugh's younger brother, Diarmid,' the duke of Glenkirk told India.

'I'll freeze to death in that place!' India said. 'Are you attempting to kill me then, Papa?'

'The house is stone,' he said, 'and there's a good fireplace in the main room, and yer bedchamber as well. Ye'll nae freeze, but ye'll be isolated, and yer shame well concealed. Nae one will know of the bairn. Diarmid will light a signal fire when yer time hae come, and yer mother will come to ye then.'

'What will happen to my child?' India asked bluntly.

'We'll worry about the bairn when it's safely born,' he soothed her, then put an arm about her. 'Lassie, lassie, I just want to protect ye. Ye're my daughter, and I hae only wanted what's best for ye.'

India suddenly began to cry. 'Ohh, Papa, I am so unhappy! I loved him, Papa! I loved Caynan Reis! I should be in El Sinut, in the palace with Baba Hassan and the lady Azura, happily sharing the joy of our child with us.' She looked up at him. 'Papa, I don't even know what has happened to him! They said he was killed in the rebellion. What has happened to the ladies of the harem? To Baba Hassan and Azura? I should have been with them! If I had been, then maybe this would not have happened. Azura always said I was the stable influence in Caynan Reis's life.'

The arm about her tightened, and then the duke said, 'If ye hae been wi them, India, ye might hae been killed, or, worse, shipped off to some other man's harem, or sold on the block. Thank God ye are home safe wi yer mother and me than wi that rebel!'

'You don't understand, Papa! My husband was not a traitor,' she explained, her face tear-streaked. 'The janissaries were plotting against the sultan, and it was my husband who warned the valideh, and her son of the plot. He took a great chance, but he did it for us and our children. The valideh was certain to reward him for his loyalty, and he was going to ask for autonomy for El Sinut. The people of