Chapter FourLETHAN VALLEY
SEPTEMBER 1585
When Mother spoke them, those words always had an ominous sound. On this occasion, she virtually dragged me to her private chamber and sat me down with a hard thump on the footstool while she lowered herself onto the chair.
'Now listen to me, Jeannie. I had hoped you would be over this silly notion you have for Robert Ferguson.'
Here we go again, I thought. 'It is no silly notion, Mother,' I said while wishing he had made a better show of himself. On our Border, a man who cannot fight is of as much use as a man who cannot ride. 'We are for each other.'
'He is not a man.' Mother was surprisingly patient. 'Look, Jeannie. We have been through all this before, time and time again. I am a bit sick of it now.'
'So am I!' I fought to control my tempe
