Davina had chosen that moment to eavesdrop. Ailis heard her gasp at the name of their enemies.
“Ailis, I pray ye leave that subject,” she warned.
Ailis took in a breath and let it out before saying a word. Even that did not help curb the anger she felt.
“And I pray ye to stop interfering.”
Iain stopped any further exchanges when he stood between them. He asked her father’s leave to go before stepping back.
“I would speak to ye,” her father said, rising as well. “Come now.”
Though the words were spoken in an easy manner, they were an order and Iain nodded. She glanced over and saw Breac and another of his men rise, too. Strange that. Fear flooded her and she worried that her father had some ominous fate planned for Iain. She reached out and took his hand, pulling him back to her.
“Have a care, Iain,” she whispered. “If ye still wish to talk,” she said and then paused. At his nod, she continued, “I will await ye in yer chamber.”
Watching as the four men made their way out of the hall, Ailis was surprised when Davina slid across and sat in the chair at her side. Their usual practice was to go their own way once the meal was done.
“Is it wise to speak of the MacLeans with this stranger, Ailis?” Davina asked. “With tensions so high and the recent conflict so fresh?”
The MacKinnons and the MacLeans, and the MacLeods for that matter, all claimed different and changing portions of the Isle of Mull. Lands and cattle, moved from owner to owner every year, it seemed. The MacKinnons had lost their lands to the south and had been pushed to almost the very northern edge of Mull in the most recent feuding. And, the alliances with the king shifted at a furious pace, one clan or another in his good graces or outlawed as they met or refused his demands.
“Iain but asked a question, Davina. I answered him.”
“But ye swore never to speakhisname,” she said in a softer voice and tone. “Yet ye told this stranger. Was that wise?”
“I promised him honesty and so I answered his question.”
“Honesty?” Davina leaned back against the chair. “Why would ye promise him such a thing? Ye dinna ken him. Ye dinna owe him.”
“He walked in seeking the hospitality of our hall, a refuge from the storm, and found himself in the middle of … a clan war of sorts. He will leave with a full stomach and a few nights’ rest and some coin if my father is feeling generous. But not the bride he has been promised. The least he deserves from me is honesty, Davina.”
Davina smiled now. Ailis recognized that smug, satisfied smile from their years as friends. It signified a task gone well or a prank enjoyed.
“So ye will marry Sir Duncan then?” Davina asked.
“I wish to marry no one,” Ailis admitted aloud. “I have no heart in me for a husband.”
Davina reached over and covered Ailis’ hand. She leaned forward and pressed against Ailis the way they used to when sharing secrets or plotting some mischief.
“Lachlan is gone, Lis,” Davina whispered. “Ye must go on with yer life.” The tears burned in her eyes. “Ye have lost so much in such a short time, but ye canna live in the past forever.”
This was the first time that Davina had advised her on any matter since she’d married Ailis’ father. The longing for such comradery shook Ailis to her bones. Ailis missed Davina almost as much as she missed Lachlan and her mother.
“I ken ye dinna understand why I accepted the offer of marriage to yer father, but ‘twas not done to hurt ye or tarnish the memory of Lady Elisabet. I had so few choices to make a good marriage, Lis. Yer father—”
“Was a good match?” she asked. The bitterness couldn’t be held in after all. It burned in her gut like the fire that consumed Lachlan had. Hot. Strong. Corrosive.
“Aye, a better match than a lowly MacNab cousin could have or should have hoped for. Ye ken that. Ye kenned my circumstances.” Davina shrugged. “More than that, Lis, he makes me happy.”
“He is old enough—” she began.
“To be my father? Aye, he is that. I grieve for yer losses, Lis, but I refuse to beg forgiveness for seeking and finding my own happiness.”
Davina didn’t wait on her response. Truly, what could she say? As she watched in silence, Davina rose and stepped away from the table. Before she left, she leaned back down to Ailis.
“And, no matter what ye might think, I never once broke a confidence of yers. I havena told yer father anything about our time as friends.” She left the table, followed by a servant and the steward.
The other servants, who had clearly understood the private nature of the conversation between the lady of the keep and the chieftain’s daughter, now returned to clean up the dishes, plates and cups from the table. As she walked to Iain’s chamber, her thoughts turned back to Davina’s words. She could admit to herself that she had feared the exact thing that Davina denied, that she’d revealed private knowledge to Ailis’ father in the intimacy of their marriage.
