Ava snorted. “Coward.”
“I’m being careful,” Emma said, though a smile tugged at her lips.
Ava reached for another flower. “And do ye love him?”
Emma watched the petals twist between her sister’s fingers. “I daenae ken what to call it. He frightens me sometimes.”
“Because he’s cruel?” Ava asked.
“Nay,” Emma said. “Because he doesnae let his feelings show. Sometimes I can never tell what he is thinking, and that worries me.”
Ava leaned a shoulder against the window frame. “Maybe that’s the sort of man who will guard ye even from his own ghosts.”
Emma looked out over the courtyard, where the sunlight bathed the grass. “He would try. I ken that much.”
“So ye admit ye’re growing fond of him?” Ava asked, a soft smile on her face.
Emma picked up a loose petal and pinched it in half. “Fondness is a mild word for a hard place.”
Ava laughed under her breath. “Ye make everything sound like a law case.”
“Because everything feels like one,” Emma said. “Two sides, and nay judge but time.”
Ava tipped the vase and rescued a stem that had sunk too low. “What did the grandmaither want, aside from warnin’ ye?”
“Oh, ye ken. Just peace.” Emma shrugged. “She wants to let bygones be bygones.”
“That is a good thing, do ye nae think?”
“Aye.” Emma nodded. “I am surprised she is even taking it this well.”
Ava studied her. “Ye’re nae thinking of running again, are ye?”
“Nay,” Emma said at once. The vehemence in her voice surprised her. “Nay. I said I would stay. ‘Tis of me own volition this time, so I intend to keep me word.”
Ava’s eyes twinkled. “Good.”
The breeze drifted between them for a while, and Emma basked a little in the tranquility before she spoke up again. The silence felt threatening, like it was trying to peer into her innermost thoughts.
“Ye ken he gave me a book the other night?”
Ava’s eyebrows shot up. “A book. How romantic.”
Emma tried not to laugh. “It was kind.”
“What sort of book?” Ava asked.
“Poems. Some of them were nae very appropriate,” Emma admitted.
Ava grinned. “For some reason, that doesnae surprise me.”
Emma nudged her shoulder and rose to her feet. “Well, it surprisedme.I need to go see how the maithers are doing with the preparations. Do ye want to come with me?”
Ava shook her head. “Nay. I think I’ll stay behind for this one.”
“Fine,” Emma responded before walking to the door.
Soon, she stepped out again, her thoughts still tangled with the weight of what Stella’s grandmother had said. The upper corridor was long and dim, lit only by the pale dusk light filtering through the narrow windows. She walked toward the stairs and counted her breaths.
