“Aye,” Andrew agreed heartily, stopping on Kieran’s other side. “There is much good tae anticipate. Ewan and Violet are expecting their first babe within the next few weeks, or so Alex tells us.”
Alex nodded. “Mother and baby are doing well. The bairn could come at any time. I’ve spoken with the midwife who will be attending the birth, and she seems a most competent woman. Violet will be in good hands.”
Kieran smiled. It was Violet’s impending labor that caused them to choose Kilmeny Hall and its neighboring castle as the place to bring Jamie. Ewan, understandably, refused to travel with his wife so close to giving birth. The Brotherhood had come to him instead. Rafe, the final missing member, would arrive later tonight.
“And even though the birth is near,” Alex said, “Violet is still set on hosting the countess’s annual midsummer festival on the night of the summer solstice. Her twin sisters—Lady Aster and Lady Rose—are visiting friends but should return soon, so at least Violet will have help with the planning of it.”
Kieran motioned for them all to continue walking. He clasped his hands behind his back.
“Along with that—” Andrew turned to Kieran. “—is now a good time tae ask if you’ve made a decision about my offer?”
“Offer?” Alex asked, looking at them both with a question in his eyes.
“Andrew is trying tae pilfer my good looks and endless charisma for his own gain,” Kieran deadpanned.
“When ye have so much tae offer, Kieran, ye need tae share the wealth.” Andrew leaned toward Alex. “Actually, I’ve taken pity on his ugly face and asked him to join me in business. I’ve bought too many ships, and I find myself in need of someone to either captain one or manage the fleet. Kieran won’t make up his mind as tae which he prefers.”
“I dinnae like being beholden tae ye, Andrew,” Kieran said.
“Nae, you’re flirting with me and dashing my hopes. Make up your mind and be done with it, aye.”
“As I keep saying, I’ll make no decision until Jamie is in a place tae help me make it.”
Andrew heaved a mock sigh. “Well, knowing Jamie as I do, I can say that is a wise choice.”
Kieran smiled and then paused, looking back at Kilmeny Castle. The building was a typical Scottish fortress—a five-story tower house with a small forecourt before the front door. No ramparts. No gatehouse. No fenestrations or moat. Not even a grand entrance. Just pure practicality.
But it was this practicality that withstood the passage of time. The simple solidity of the castle walls allowed them to outlast the battering of the ocean winds and the endless ebb and flow of the tides below the cliff.
His love for Jamie felt like this—strong, steadfast, enduring.
He would be her bulwark.
The mooring that held her fast and safe until she was ready to face the storm.
Eilidh watched thethree men walk back toward the castle, her forehead pressed against the glass in the stairwell. The wind whipped their greatcoats behind them and tugged at their hats.
Master MacTavish was easy enough to distinguish, with his loose-limbed walk and innate grace.
The tall, sandy-haired gentleman beside him merely looked . . . striking and imposing. She did not know him.
But the third man—dark-haired and smartly dressed—was definitely familiar. Was he Dr. Alex Whitaker?
She had very few snippets of memory from her trip to the South Pacific. But one of the clearest was a conversation with the doctor.
“How is your hand?” Alex asked, smiling as he crouched down beside where she worked on deck.
She looked down at the bandage wrapped around her palm. “It’s healing.”
“Good. I’m glad of it. Keep it clean.”
Eilidh looked down at her hand now, running her thumb over the thin white scar across her left palm.
How she had been injured, she couldn’t say. All she had was that brief snippet of conversation.
She looked back to the men. Were they part of this ‘Brotherhood’ Master MacTavish had mentioned earlier?
MacTavish chuckled at something the sandy-haired man said, pointing a finger at him. If she opened the window, would she hear his laughter on the wind—
