Ellie sat with her embroidery in her lap, barely paying attention to it. She’d been at Sinclair Keep for two days, and after her initial meeting with Jemina and Laird Sinclair, she only saw fit to leave her chambers to use the privy. The one time she ventured out to explore the castle and grounds, she found herself overwhelmed and retreated to her chambers. There was no way she would be successful in convincing the Laird they did not suit. She could not even muster enough courage to engage with his clan. How would she ever survive in the world on her own? Her mood was sour. Servants had come in and out with drinks and little bites of food, but other than that, she’d been alone in her sitting room.
Perhaps her mother had been right, and this marriage was the best choice for her. Ellie found she was lonely. She didn’t miss her mother—shedidn’t—but she could admit that she missed Evander’s steady mediating. How was he faring without her?
There was a knock at the door, and for one foolish moment, Ellie imagined it was Evander conjured from her own homesick thoughts. She cleared the errant silliness from her mind and said, “Who is it?”
“Me,” Aidam’s cheerful voice echoed. “I havenae seen ye since we got here.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. Of all the visitors…she wouldnotadmit that she was touched that he’d come. Yet there it was. He was arrogant, annoying…and the only person who had paid attention to her so far who wasn’t being paid by the Laird to do it. But she would be damned if she would let him see how grateful she was. “What do ye want?”
“Jemina wants to meet ye. Properly this time,” Aidam replied. “I said I’d accompany her.”
Well, that is certainly a surprise.Intrigued, Ellie climbed to her feet and hurried to open the door. Sure enough, there they were—Aidam, with his hair tied up in a loose tail, and Jemina, who would not meet her eye.
Aidam grinned at her. God above, it was a beautiful grin. Would that he could put a little less smugness into it. “See? One future step-daughter. And for ye, Jemina, one future stepmother, as promised.”
“Aidam,” Ellie warned, but she was surprised as Jemina addressed her cousin in the exact same tone at the exact same time. The two women glanced at each other, and Ellie was thrilled to see the younger girl look away with a smirk.
“Are ye gonnae leave us standing out here all day?” Aidam asked.
Ellie stepped aside and let them enter. She waited until they were both seated before the fireplace before she took her own seat, placing her embroidery aside.
The silence quickly grew, Jemina refused to meet Ellie’s eyes, and Ellie was scared that anything she said would serve more to upset the girl rather than appease her. What was she supposed to do?
“Did ye ever hear the story,” Aidam began. “of the two foxes in the woods?”
“Nay,” Jemina said. “Is now really the time—”
“Once upon a time, there were two foxes,” Aidam interrupted, launching right into the story. Ellie raised an eyebrow but allowed him to continue without comment. “They lived in the same forest, but they didnae trust each other. One day, one of the foxes got caught in a trap. She nibbled at her legs, pulled, growled—everything she could think of, but she couldnae escape. A few days later, the other fox approached.”
“And the other fox saved her, I suppose?” Jemina asked skeptically.
“Och, nae,” Aidam replied, casting his wry, wicked grin in her direction. “The other fox got trapped as well. The two of them ignored each other for days, each struggling with their own traps, neither able tae escape, but they refused tae speak tae one another. Then, one day, when they were near starvation, a handsome raven came down and said, ‘Ye silly foxes. Look at what ye have.’”
Ellie knew this story. And she knew what Aidam was doing.
Lord. How is it that every time I dismiss him, he shows how kind he is?
“Then the two foxes turned tae each other when the raven flew away,” Ellie interjected, continuing the story. Aidam smiled, and Ellie felt herself glowing with an unexpected pride. “And they realized that their traps were opposite one another. If they just worked together…”
“…they could both escape,” Aidam finished.
Ellie met his eyes, and she knew something passed between them.
“We’re nae foxes,” Jemina said, her voice tinged with the uncertainty Ellie felt.
“Nae, but ye’re both trapped,” Aidam said with a shrug. “Ellie by her sadness, and ye by yer false idea of yer inferiority. Why not try to help each other out?”
The two women looked at each other. Ellie raised an eyebrow, and then Jemina gave her a slight nod.
“We can try,” Jemina said.
Ellie smiled. Aidam crossed his arms, a prideful grin taking up residence on the bottom half of his perfect face.Bother.She would have to thank him later.
