“Whatever do you mean, True?” Elaine sat before the hearth, braiding her hair for bed.
She raised her eyebrows and stared at her. “You know what I mean. I saw the way you reacted to Dylan, and I saw the letter he passed to you.”
“Oh.” Elaine put her hands in her lap, her eyes filling with tears. “What a coil all of this is.”
“Aren’t the Sutherlands on good terms with the MacKintosh? I thought you said your sister married Dylan’s brother.”
“This has nothing to do with clan or kinship.” Elaine joined her to sit on the bed. “Dylan fostered with us until he earned his spurs. We…I…” Elaine stood up, wrung her hands and heaved a loud sigh. “I love him.” Her eyes filled with anguish. “With all my heart, and he loves me. A year past he asked for my hand. Father refused him because Dylan will no’ inherit a title.”
Alethia frowned. “Let me get this straight. Your father is letting Malcolm choose his bride, but you can’t choose your husband? How unfair.”
“Aye, ’tis unfair.” She nodded as she paced. “My dowry includes land, and Dylan has a holding of his own. I would be content being the wife of a laird. My father, of course, seeks an alliance with another earl of his choosing. Since my half sister has already allied our clan to the Sutherlands, he will no’ agree to his only remaining daughter marrying into the same clan. There’s naught to be gained by it. What care I for titles when my heart is already given?”
“What will you do? Are you going to run off to a convent? Surely the irony would not be lost on your father.”
“I dinna know what I will do.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she came to a stop in front of Alethia. “In the missive you saw him slip to me, Dylan asks me to elope with him. I have no’ yet given him my answer. Such an act would surely cause my father to disown me. I dinna think I could bear never seeing my family again. But I canna imagine sharing my life with any other than Dylan.”
“I know how you feel.”
Elaine reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I am sorry, True. ’Tis selfish to tell you of my troubles when you have enough of your own.”
“It’s all right. I wanted to know.” She squeezed back. “I can’t imagine your father would disown you over this. You said yourself he tore Scotia apart for Lydia. He understands what it’s like to be in love.”
“Aye, but Father did his duty first, and duty and honor are foremost in his mind. I dinna know how it is in your land, but here in Scotia, daughters are seen as a commodity. We are traded for political gain, wealth or land.” She shrugged her shoulders. “’Tis the way of things, and I am his only unwed daughter.”
“How soon does Dylan want an answer?”
“His father is in London with mine. I must send my answer by the New Year, a little more than two months hence. If I say to him nay, he says he will be out of my life forever.”
“Men.” Alethia flopped back to lie on the bed. “They cause most of our suffering.”
“Aye.” Elaine joined her. “They break our hearts one way or the other.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Alethia turned to face her.
“You have already, and I am grateful for your sympathy and friendship.” Elaine wiped her eyes and sat up. “I am to sleep. This has been a trying day. Are you coming to bed?”
“I don’t think I can right now. I’m restless.” She went to fetch her woolen cloak. “Maybe a walk in the inner bailey will help.”
“All the attention you attracted today has made my brother edgy. Dinna let him catch you outside the walls,” Elaine warned, “or surely he will tick you off again.”
After seeing to his people’s welfare, Malcolm returned to the keep, looking forward to an ale and a long-overdue conversation with Liam before retiring. He intended to confront his cousin about his strange behavior. He would have answers. As he walked through the inner bailey, his gaze was drawn to a lone figure standing upon the catwalk. He recognized her immediately. True, wrapped in his colors, stared out beyond the curtain wall toward the river. He could tell by the way she held herself that her thoughts were troubled. He turned from his path and climbed the stairs to her side.
“What troubles you, mo cridhe?” Her sigh was loud and laced with melancholy. What else could he do but wrap her in the safety of his arms. “You should be in bed, lass.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” She lifted her head from his shoulder. “How’s Hunter?”