“I didnae ken how much worse it might be,” she rasped.
“I ken.”
“I kept thinking of him there alone.”
“He wasnae alone. He had men with him. And now he is coming here.”
Ava nodded, though tears had begun to well up in her eyes despite herself. She dashed them away with more irritation than grace. “I hate crying.”
“I ken.”
“I hate nae kenning.”
“Trust me, I ken that too.”
For a little while, they sat together in silence. Isobel stayed beside her and did not fill the room with false comfort. Ava breathed more evenly by degrees. Her father was alive, butMacKenna Castle was gone. One grief had made room for another.
Eventually, Isobel spoke. “He has been trying to see ye.”
Ava’s mouth tightened. “I ken.”
“He has brought food twice.”
“That doesnae mend anything.”
“I agree.” Isobel’s voice stayed gentle. “It doesnae.”
Ava rose and began to pace because sitting had become impossible again. The relief over her father had loosened her tongue along with the rest of her. She crossed to the fireplace and back, then to the window and back again.
“The fire isnae the only reason I have been miserable.”
Isobel said nothing. She only waited.
Ava let out a short, angry breath. “I daenae even ken why I expected anything else. He told me from the beginning what he wanted. A wife to fill the place. A body when he required it. Distance everywhere else. I heard him say it with me own ears.” She stopped and looked at her friend. “Then he gave me reasons to think he might mean something different, and the moment I truly needed comfort, he turned into a commander instead.”
“Ava.”
“He did.” Her voice shook now from the strain of finally saying it out loud. “He spoke as if me father nay longer mattered because he had decided he owned the right to protect me. I could hardly breathe because I was afraid. I thought me father was dead in that moment, Isobel, and somehow, he made it into a lesson. I daenae think I can ever forgive him for that.”
The words hung in the air.
Isobel stood and came closer. “Ye werenae wrong to feel hurt.”
Ava let out a mirthless laugh. “That is generous of ye, given that he is yer brother.”
“It is truthful of me, and something tells me that is what ye need at the moment.”
That pulled the corner of Ava’s mouth upward for half a second before it fell again.
Isobel touched her arm. “Ye had a misunderstanding. That is all. Daenae turn this into proof that ye were foolish to hope in the first place.”
“How can I nae?”
“Well, dearie, hope isnae foolishness. Especially here.” She looked around the room as if the whole castle could testify. “The maids like ye. Mrs. Patmore—that woman has made a practice of disliking nearly everyone for twenty years—thinks ye are amusing. The castle has taken to ye already.”
Ava felt something inside her loosen slightly. “Aye, but the castle isnae me husband.”
“Nay,” Isobel agreed. “He is far harder to impress.”
