Ethan was halfway up the stairs when a familiar voice greeted him.
“Ethan! At last!”
Lifting his head, Ethan found his sister flying down the stairs toward him.
“Leah!” he laughed in surprise.
He caught her in his arms on the first landing, spinning her in a tight circle. The smell of his sister—shortbread and lavender soap—enveloped him. A surge of memories followed.
Leah’s pail swinging as Ethan skipped after her to milk the dairy cows.
Leah laughing as she cuddled him on her lap, reading to him fromThe Grimm Brother’s Tales.
Leah kissing his cheek and furtively wiping back her tears as she tucked him into Uncle Leith’s carriage for the return trip to Aberdeen.
“I thought ye would never arrive,” she said as Ethan set her down.
“And miss seeing my favorite sister?” he teased. “Not even the threat of Uncle Leith’s disinheritance could have stopped me. But why are ye here? I thought I would need tae ride up the glen tae Laverloch Castle tae see yourself.”
“I will tell all. But first, come.” She tugged on his arm. “Let us see ye tae your bedchamber.”
They had scarcely topped the staircase when another voice greeted them.
“There ye be!”
Ethan grinned as Malcolm walked down the hallway toward them.
His older brother looked like every English stereotype of a Scottish warrior—burly, bearded, taciturn, and intimidating in his great kilt.
The brothers embraced, slapping backs and grunting just enough to express their affection for one another.
“Why are ye both here instead of at home with your spouses?” Ethan asked, looking between his siblings.
Malcolm folded his arms. “Och, Hadley thought ye might need a wee bit of reinforcement given the number of your acolytes in attendance.”
Once again, Ethan noted that since his marriage to Viola Brodure, Malcolm had lost some of his reticence. His brother would never be a chatterbox, but he no longer impersonated a stone statue, either.
“Aye,” Leah nodded, a teasing grin breaking free. “Hadley informed me I needed tae protect your virtue.”
“My virtue?!” Ethan snorted.
She shook a finger at him. “Dinnae mock it. Significant dangers lurk about this house.”
“Aye,” Malcolm agreed. “Ye havenae met the English ladies in attendance. I fear they shall view yourself as a prime specimen of beef tae purchase.”
“Given that ye are notorious for your coos, Malcolm,” Ethan said, “that seems rather apropos.”
Malcolm raked Ethan up and down. “Aye. I can recognize a tantalizing bit of merchandise when I see it.”
Ethan felt the tell-tale burn of a blush climbing his neck.
Leah laughed. “We’ll simply have tae see to it that no one steals ye, Ethan.”
“Or at the very least,” Malcolm added cheerfully, “pays handsomely for your sorry carcass.”
As Leah walked Ethan to his room to freshen up and change out of his traveling attire, he couldn’t help but think of Allie.
How she had admitted to having no friends. How she had lost both her mother and her twin in one gutting blow.
