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Geoffrey smiled, his fondness for his wife no less apparent now than it had been on Graeme’s visit five months earlier.

“Both she and my son are well. This celebration . . . I’ll admit, when Sara first approached me with the idea, I thought it appalling. With an increase in raids . . . so much strife. But of course, she was right. This is exactly what we need.”

He wouldn’t ruin the evening with talk of politics, but those raids were the reason he was here. “Perhaps you can spare a moment tomorrow to discuss such issues?”

Geoffrey looked at Clave and then glanced back into the hall. “Of course. Will you come with us—”

“He’s asked for a meal to be sent.” Peter, who stood off to the side waiting, saved him.

“I rode through the night and day,” he explained, not wanting to offend.

Geoffrey’s eyes darkened. “Has something happened?”

Graeme should have realized he would make the connection. No one would go to such trouble for a mere celebration. “Nothing that cannot wait until morning. Go, enjoy your evening.”

The earl was astute. He paused, looked him in the eye, and only then nodded. “Please try to do the same.”

Just as Geoffrey and Clave walked away, a serving girl bounded from the hall and stopped in front of him. The look she gave him, all wide eyes and parted lips, was an invitation. She lowered the tankard in her hands and thrust her chest out, giving him a tantalizing peek at her offerings. She was pretty—as pretty as any of the others—and clearly willing.

Mayhap he should enjoy his evening.

As he walked by, following the steward, who was either oblivious or exceptionally good at his job, Graeme leaned toward her. “Where?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Later. There’s a garden out back, my lord.”

He winked and walked away, following Peter through so many corridors it would be a wonder if he could indeed find the exit, and the garden, later.

* * *

Though Gillian had been coming to Kenshire since she was a child, its splendor continued to delight her, even as an adult. Five years earlier, when she was but ten and eight, she’d been allowed to visit during the annual May Day celebration again. So much had changed since then. The border had become more dangerous, Sara’s father had passed away, and her own family, unbeknownst to most, was now on the brink of destitution.

“Gillian?”

She stood between Sara and Emma as they watched the dancers from the side of the hall. The meal and trestle tables had been cleared, and the first night was proving to be a resounding success. More than one hundred and fifty men and women crowded the hall, which could easily fit a hundred more—which reminded her of one that was missing.

“Neill will not be joining us?” Gillian asked Emma. She’d not yet met the lady’s twin brother, but she’d heard plenty about him of late.

Emma sighed. “Nay. He’s lucky to still be alive, praise every saint who will listen to my pleas.”

“My brother-in-law is indeed making quite a name for himself,” Sara said.

Neither Emma nor Sara seemed pleased by the prospect.

“Everyone is so happy to tell me of his success. ‘Lady Emma, your brother was crowned the tournament champion,’ or ‘Lady Emma, have you heard? Your brother bested last year’s champion.’” She scrunched her nose. “I understand he hones his skills. I’ve been told many, many times the importance of that type of training. But does he need to enter every bloody tournament in England?”

Sara chuckled. “To answer your question,” she said to Gillian, “Neill is doing quite well, though we do miss him.”

As they spoke, Gillian’s father and her sister, Allie, appeared at the opposite end of the hall. He swept the room with his gaze, looking for her, no doubt. She’d tried to get Allie’s attention but failed.

“What is it?” Sara followed Gillian’s gaze and then immediately turned to her sister-in-law. “Emma, will you excuse us? If Lord Lyndwood inquires after his daughter, tell him she is with me, that I needed a private word.”

“Of course,” Emma responded as Sara tugged Gillian away.

“Where are we going?”

“To have a private word.”

But as they made their way through the hall, that feat seemed nearly impossible. People surrounded them on all sides.