Afew days later, Innes stood at the archway to the Keep, craning her neck as she heard the thundering of hooves drawing closer.
As soon as she saw Arthur’s carriage through the door, a smile broke across her face, and a wave of emotion rushed up suddenly inside her. She had not realized until that moment just how much she had missed her brother, and, when he came out, he rushed to her side to pull her into a fierce embrace.
“Ye should have sent the word before marrying, ye silly girl,” he mumbled against her hair.
She laughed, too happy to see him to think of arguing with him.
He drew back and looked her up and down, checking for injury. She still felt some pain in her ankle from the accident the other day, but it was feeling much better now than it was. She glanced behind her, to Lachlan, who stood in the doorway observing proceedings. She supposed it would have been too much for her to expect that her husband and her brother should get along with no issues after everything that had happened, but she had hoped Lachlan might greet his guests with a little more enthusiasm.
And then Isobel stepped out of the carriage. The picture of a poised lady taking Arthur’s hand as she made her way down the steps and into the courtyard.
“Sister,” she greeted Innes with a tight smile. “You look to have settled in well.”
“Thank you,” Innes replied, deciding to take the offering as a compliment. Lachlan stepped in beside her, hand on the small of her back, a silent reminder that he was there too.
“And Laird Fraser,” Isobel went on, turning her attention to Lachlan. “You seem to have made yerself very comfortable with my husband’s family.”
Her words were undeniably pointed, and Innes stiffened at their harshness. Lachlan, though, did not miss a beat.
“As comfortable as I can amongst enemies,” he responded, flashing her a grin. “Won’t ye come inside? We have dinner on the table for you, and I’m sure ye’re famished after such a long ride.”
Innes wanted to squeeze his arm hard for this comment, but she chose not to. She was glad to see her brother. She was still nervous, though, about how this was going to go. Up until very recently, the Andersons and the Frasers had been in direct competition with each other, and it seemed unlikely that such a thing would be forgotten so soon.
The cooks had outdone themselves. A boar’s head crackling in the middle of the table, which was laden on all sides with bread, ale, and wine. Innes instructed the servants to try to keep things running smoothly, knowing that Isobel would be the first to pick at matters if something did not go entirely to plan.
“So, how was yer journey?” Innes asked brightly, turning her attention to her brother. “Isn’t it beautiful here at this time of the year.”
“The roads are terrible,” Isobel remarked, glancing down at her fingernails as she spoke. “It was a terribly bumpy ride.”
Innes’ grin tightened. Arthur, seeming to sense the tension between his sister and his new wife, leapt in.
“Aye, it’s very beautiful,” he amended. “The heather on the hills is very striking during the season.”
“Heather?” Isobel scoffed. “I cannae fathom being impressed by heather, Arthur. It’s everywhere.”
“Aye, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful,” Innes retorted, suddenly feeling defensive. “And what of the harvest this year, Arthur?” she continued. “It must be nearly time fer the great harvest feast.”
“I suppose you’ll be expecting an invitation?” Isobel remarked.
The way she said it, it was clear that she had no intention of actually offering them such a thing. Innes clasped her hands in her lap, twisting them around in frustration.
“Well, it would certainly be rather odd if my husband and I were not in attendance at such an event.”
“Ye dinnae have to worry about inviting me,” Lachlan cut in.
Arthur turned to him, clear irritation showing on his face.
“You think ye’re too good for us, Fraser?”
“I said nothing of the sort, Anderson,” Lachlan shot back, lifting his ale to his lips and taking a long sip. He was clearly enjoying this little back-and-forth between them, though surely he would have denied such a thing if he had been asked about it outright.
“You knew exactly what you were saying when ye?—”
“Ye took from it what ye would, Anderson,” he responded calmly.
Arthur’s anger only seemed to intensify at how calm he was being. Innes knew from experience that her brother didn’t take well to the feeling of being spoken to as if he was stupid, and Lachlan was tripping him up with ease and leaving him stumbling to try and catch up.
“Lachlan, that’s just like ye,” Isobel remarked. “Never good on yer word, were ye?”
