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“Should we both remember it?”
“Aye, we will. I was telling you of my ancestor.”
“The one who needed women and was unfaithful to his wife. Is that an uncommon story?”
“Not in my family, nor in any for that matter, I’ll swear, but where this Casvellyn was different was that, being in love with his wife who was a very fair lady, yet he could fall in love with another who was equally fair. The second lady was a very moral woman and although she greatly desired this Casvellyn he knew he could not have her—save by rape—unless he married her. He was not a man for a quick seduction and that be that. Nay, he liked marriage. He liked the cosy comforts of it. But he wanted more than one wife. So what did he do?” He turned me round, so that we were looking at the turrets of those two towers which faced landward. “There you see our two towers, Ysella’s Tower and the Crows’ Tower.”
“I did not know they all had names.”
“Yes, Seaward you know, and No
“I don’t believe it. It’s not possible. Two wives living in the same castle! Why did they not explore their home?”
“He forbade them to and wives in those days were obedient. He told Ysella that No
“It seems quite incredible.”
“It is the legend and when people used to say, as you do, that it is impossible, my father always replied that with the Casvellyns all things were possible.”
“That is blasphemy.”
“Maybe blasphemy can be truth.”
“And what happened? Did they discover each other?”
“Yes. One day No
“Was she over curious would you say?”
“If she had not ventured into Ysella’s Tower she would not have died.”
“So it was murder.”
“Who can say? I am merely telling you what I have heard.”
“What a wild family you come from.”
“Remember you belong to it now,” he retorted. “And take care.”
Overhead the choughs were circling. I caught a glimpse of red beaks as they flew near.
“I see,” I said, “that this legend is meant to be a warning to wives.”
“Why, yes. We Casvellyns have always found it wise to warn our wives.” His eyes had grown tender again. “It is chill up here,” he went on. “And you are lightly clad. Come. We will go down.”
He put his arm through mine as we descended and although I was still thinking of the story of the two wives I felt happy and at ease.
My mother visited me at Castle Paling. I was so happy to see her, to show the castle, to take her round and tell her the story of the towers.
“You’re happy then, Li
“Life has become so … full,” I said.
She nodded. “So it was all for the best,” she mused. She was very relieved.
She asked me a great deal of questions about my health and it seemed that what I had to tell satisfied her.
It was the end of April and what an April that was with the hedges full of wild flowers and the intermittent rain and sunshine. I would listen for the cry of the birds—the ring-ouzel, the sand-martin and of course the cuckoo. There were many questions to be asked about what was happening at Lyon Court. Edwina’s child was due in June and she was all impatience. Carlos was anxious because they had waited so long. Jacko was courting a girl in Plymouth and it seemed that ere long there would be another wedding. Damask wanted to know why I didn’t come home. And my father was eager to know whether there was any sign that the child I was carrying was a boy.
I laughed, recalling them all. They seemed far away from me now and I was ashamed that I had missed them so little.
My mother mentioned that the Landors had visited Lyon Court again. Business plans were going ahead. Very soon they would be sending out their ships. My father was very busy and that involved everyone else. There was a great deal of activity and it was decided that Plymouth should be their headquarters, as was to be expected.
There was something else she had to tell me. Fe
He had not shown any anger, said my mother, just amazement. “I had to tell him the truth,” she went on. “I knew I could trust him. I could not have him believe you to be perfidious. He was very, very sad. He said you should have told him. He would have understood. I begged of him to forget what had happened if he could. I told him that I had spoken to him in the utmost confidence and that what was done was done. He saw the point of it. You were married now. Oh, Li
“It is better as it is,” I insisted.
“You are happy. You would not have it otherwise.”
She smiled at me, understanding perfectly I knew.
She went on: “Soon after I heard he was to be betrothed to a girl he had known all his life. Her family are neighbours of the Landors. It will be a most suitable union.”
“He quickly consoled himself,” was my comment.
“We should be glad of that,” replied my mother.
I said: “He would face up to the situation calmly, accepting the fact that he and I were not for each other.”
I thought how different he was from Colum and I was glad that everything had turned out as it had. In these short months my emotions had been revolutionized. I could imagine no man my husband but Colum Casvellyn.