“Your father is the Laird of Kielder, is he not?” she prompted, gently.
“Aye. He has responsibility for a great deal of land and a great many lives within it.” Callum scratched at his bushy beard. “And I am his only heir.”
Mirrie sat silently for a moment, digesting this. “You are returning to Scotland?” She tried hard to keep her voice level.
“Not yet. But I believe that time may come.”
“Does Frida know?” she whispered.
Callum nodded. “We keep no secrets from one another.” He sat forward with a display of fortitude. “Methinks I spoke of this too gravely. ’Tis not all bad. Our countries have known an uneasy peace since the Bruce’s death.”
“But much is still unknown about the intentions of the young king.” Mirrie twisted her hands together, thinking of the innocent baby upstairs along with Flora and Christopher, the babe’s two young siblings.
Callum inclined his head. “I can see your worries, Mirrie. And I can see the sense in them. But you forget one thing.” His tone grew jocular.
“And what is that?” Mirrie smiled in return.
“I am brother-in-law to Tristan de Neville. England’s greatest knight. Scotland’s greatest ally.” Callum sat back in his chair with a chuckle.
“Ah, yes. How could I forget?” Mirrie made a show of tidying her hair until she had her face better under control.
I can ne’er escape Tristan. His name and memory dog my heels.
“As to your wish to take a greater role in the life of Ember Hall, I can only thank you with the greatest sincerity. You have always been a hard worker; ’twas one of the first things I noticed about you.”
They shared a smile, both remembering Callum’s first visit to Ember Hall when he masqueraded as a knight under Tristan’s command—when in fact, his orders had come from Robert the Bruce himself.
Much had changed since then. But Frida and Callum had loved each other passionately, undeniably, from their very first meeting. Loved each other despite all the challenges they faced. And that love, ultimately, had triumphed over all.
Their story was not Mirrie and Tristan’s story.
Mirrie took a breath. “I should like to take on more responsibility with the land. Mayhap with bringing in the harvest.”
Callum looked at her closely. “’Tis hard, physical work. There is much you can do away from the harvest.”
“I need to do something new and different,” she interrupted. She crossed her arms and tried to project strength and resolve. “Do not ask me why.”
“Very well,” he nodded slowly, his long fingers drumming on the arm of his chair. “But allow me to say this, Mirrie?” His voice gentled.
She looked away from him. “What is it?”
“Should your wishes ever change.” He shrugged his muscular shoulders. “Should you decide, perchance, that your happiness lies elsewhere than Ember Hall, you must give me your word that you will grasp that future with both hands.”
A weary smile tugged at her lips. “That is most unlikely.”
“Sir Callum Baine claiming the hand of Lady Frida de Neville was most unlikely,” Callum pointed out. “We none of us know what the good Lord has in store for us. All I ask is that you do notfeel beholden to us here. Whatever happens in Kielder, we shall manage.”
She straightened her shoulders and met his concerned gaze. “You have my word.”
“That is all I ask.” He stood up and clasped her shoulder in a brotherly gesture. “We have all missed you, Mirrie.”
She patted his hand, her eyes clouding with tears. “As I have missed all of you.”
And I shall never leave you again,she vowed.
*
Tristan had scarcelynoticed the decorations for the midsummer ball being set up, but he seemed unable to escape them now. Whenever he walked down the main staircase, the wild flowers strewn about the marble pillars in the hall made his fists clench in frustration.
