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“Aye, wife?”

He pulled Clara to him by the hand, and the happy couple looked at Emma as if she were about to do something foolish. Just the opposite, in fact.

“Lady Emma,” Alex said in the exact same tone her brothers used when they intended to order her about.

“Alex Kerr,” she countered. “I am a grown woman who is well aware that Garrick Clave is neither available nor desirable. As such, you’ve nothing to fear.”

All three of them turned to the open door when a loud cough announced the presence of the very man Emma had spent two weeks trying to forget.

Sod it, as Catrina would say.

“My ladies,” Garrick said. “Pardon the intrusion, but I was told I could find you here.”

Clara and Alex began talking at once, but Emma simply stood there, attempting to breathe normally—or at least pretending that she could. He was much more handsome than she remembered.

Emma managed to gather herself enough to follow Garrick and Clara out of the room.

Alex, who’d hung back, whispered to her, “I know that look, Emma.”

She made a face. “Of course you do,” she shot back. “’Tis the same look you gave Clara, and she gave you in return, when you thought no one was looking at Kenshire. And though I can’t very well see my own expression, I’d imagine ’tis very much at odds with my insistence that Garrick means no more to me than the stones beneath our feet.”

Mayhap it was due to Alex and Clara’s strong bond, but Emma found it easy to confide in him. Talking with Alex was just as comfortable as talking with her brothers. Nay, more so, for he was not quite as protective of her.

“Emma, stop.”

She did, allowing the earl to be led away by her friend.

“I’ve been thinking about Sowlis.”

“You and Clara seem to think an awful lot about him. ’Tis something you have in—”

“Marry him.”

“What?”

She would not have been more surprised if Alex had dropped a war hammer on her toes.

“He is a good man. I’ve known him for years.”

“Aye, because your sister was to wed him. And everyone seems to forget the man didn’t exactly—”

“He and Catrina were friends. Toren refused the match because he’s a stubborn arse. But it’s a good thing he did. Both he and my sister will now admit they were never truly in love. They were merely accustomed to the idea of their match. And Graeme . . .” He looked toward the hall and then back at her. “A more honorable man does not exist. He might be pressured to marry a Scottish lass, but—”

“Alex, this is madness.”

“Nay, it is not. I know you want independence. And that no potential husband compares to your brothers—”

“My brothers?”

“’Tis why you’ve denied so many, is it not?”

“Alex Kerr—”

“I don’t blame you. Though I despised them once, I do not any longer. Just the opposite, in fact. But Garrick Clave is not for you. And if there’s any truth to what he says about Graeme—”

“He was just warning me away.”

“And he did so for a reason. If there is interest there, Graeme is powerful enough not to need permission. Clan Scott will accept you. It’s a good match, one your brothers will condone. Think on it. Spend some time with him to see if you will suit.”