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“Something terrible? Allie, the something terrible would have been you married to that man.”

“Father told me everything. How desperate he was to save Lyndwood. The awful lies he told on the last Day of Truce.”

Gillian turned from her sister, not wanting to hear it. How could she have been so blind?

A goshawk swooped down in the distance. And though Gillian couldn’t see it from here, of course, she could easily imagine the bird’s red eyes and white eyebrows were perpetually set in a fierce expression.

Like her father. To be admired but also feared.

She turned back to Allie. “You did this for Father?”

Gillian understood her motives well. She’d spent a lifetime trying to please the man. To prove to him that women could be strong.

“And for you,” Allie said. “I knew you’d have no hope of convincing Father to change his mind. And I guessed at your plan too. The implications . . . Gillian, don’t you see? I could not let you do that to your husband. Your new clan. To everyone who has a stake in this fight for peace at the border. Even Father.”

“What do you mean?”

“Father had been making some very poor decisions—”

She gave her sister a sharp glance. “Such as your betrothal?”

“But I do believe they tore him apart,” she continued. “You should see him, Gill. He is not the strong man we know. Mother says she has never seen him this unhappy. He is still the man who wants peace, who loves the borderlands. Who loves us.”

“He loves Lyndwood more.”

Allie shrugged. “Perhaps. Or perhaps he sees Lyndwood as a part of us, necessary for our family’s happiness.”

“You still haven’t told me how you came to be here.”

Allie reached for her hands and squeezed them.

“He is ruined, Gill. Father, I mean. When we received word of Covington’s demise, the look on his face . . .”

Of course, no wedding meant no dowry.

“Oh, Allie.”

“I begged him to let me tell you in person. Of course he said no—”

“You came without his permission?” Her sister had been bold in the past, certainly more so than Gillian herself, but to come to Scotland—

“Nay, of course not. The guards would never have accompanied me without his approval. ’Tis just as I’m saying. I begged and begged . . . I wanted to see you. To get away from it all for just a bit. And he actually said yes. Can you imagine it? The same man who would not allow us to visit the market without a contingent of men large enough to withstand a siege. But he agreed. ’Tis what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

Her poor sister. She’d been through so much. Gillian let go of her hands and embraced her, not wanting to let go. She could feel Allie’s heart beating against her own. Her sister was here. And safe. And would not be wed to Covington.

There would be time enough later to consider her parents and what this meant for them. For now, she just wanted to be with Allie.

And to tell her husband that they would be having a guest.

A very extended stay if I have anything to say about it.

29

Graeme had purposefully given Gillian and her sister space, and had instead spent the afternoon with Fiona, who was eager to get out of bed. Though she claimed to feel better, he was taking no chances and had ordered her to rest. That order, and the fact that he was her chief, was the only thing keeping her abed.

He returned to his chamber and changed his clothing to prepare for dinner, waiting for Gillian.

She did not come.