*
Nearby, Brodie andLachlan dined with Laird Sutherland’s daughters, their laughter filling the air. The two sisters seemed a bit addled to Lachlan, and they enjoyed laughing at their own jests, which were not funny to others. He truly wished he could be with anyone more than these two. They exhausted him.
“Do ye follow us under yer father’s orders?” he asked, his charming tone masking the gravity of his question.
The twin he was speaking with nodded with a distant gaze. “We must follow ye. Our doing so concerns all of the Highlands. It’s our way of keeping the Highlands safe.”
While they probed for more information, the sisters’ vacant expressions revealed their ignorance of any deeper motives. Clearly, their father was using their beauty to hide his intentions. If only they had minds to match their beauty, they might be attractive, but alas, they were clearly lacking in intellect.
Lachlan longed for Ailis, who had a mind and didn’t gawk at him vacuously. She could carry on real conversations about more than simply women’s matters. How could a man marry a woman he couldn’t converse with?
*
Once in theirroom, Moira lamented, “I wish we could choose our own companions. Those three are not to me liking.”
“I feel the same, but if we dinnae spend time with them, we won’t be able to get them to tell us about their alliances.” Ailis shook her head. “I ken they are difficult to be around, but we must continue on as we have been.”
Moira sighed. “Ye are right, but I find the idea of even another minute in their company to be intolerable.”
“And yet, we must tolerate them. At least we have each other. Imagine if they’d separated the two of us.”
All through supper, Ailis tried to get the men to tell them more of their alliance, but they seemed reluctant to tell the sisters anything. “Why would ye not tell us of yer clans’ alliances? Are ye planning an attack on the McAfees or something?” she finally asked.
Bearnard shook his head. “Nay. Me father wants me to marry one of ye, so we canstrengthenour alliance.”
Ailis noted that he didn’t mention his own feelings. Only his father’s. She wasn’t surprised though. She knew they’d been hiding something from her and Moira all along.
*
As the merrimentended that evening, Ailis and her sisters met with Lachlan, Brodie, and Alisdair and Fiona in the same glen as before.
“Lucas tried to steal a kiss today,” Ailis told Lachlan, whose eyes sharpened at the news. “I reminded him that a McAfee woman’s lips are her own.”
“Should I challenge him?” Lachlan offered, half-joking but protective.
Laughing lightly, Ailis replied, “No need. I left him with a lasting reminder.” Her smile hinted at strength. “He knows me feelings very well now.”
Lachlan smiled. “I’m certain ye did. I hope he has a scar.”
“I didn’t bite quite that hard,” Ailis countered with a grin.
Alisdair cleared his throat, commanding their attention. “I met with the lairds today. They were impassive when I mentioned the Sinclairs’ treachery. It was very odd. None spoke for or against them, and they seemed to know what happened all along.”
“Didnae they condemn the Sinclairs’ refuge with our kin?” Fiona asked worriedly.
“Not a word,” Alisdair answered. “It’s as if they expected it or didn’t care. The Sinclairs shelter with us, yet the lairds remain unmoved. Perhaps they dinnae realize that the Sinclairs will become McAfees and fight with us.”
Ailis considered this revelation, her mind racing with potential plots intertwining the clans.
In the silence that followed, they understood that tomorrow would bring more than games and laughter. It held another step in their dance of duty and deceit, another chance to untangle mysteries threatening their clans’ fragile peace.
“Consider this,” Ailis began steadily despite her inner turmoil. “If the lairds showed indifference at the mention of me abduction, they must have already known about it.” Her eyes sought confirmation from the others.
Fiona nodded. “Aye, they knew. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them ordered yer abduction,” she agreed. “Their silence speaks louder than outcry ever could. We’re entwined in a web woven by all present clans. Could ye tell who was leading the others?”
Alisdair shook his head. “Nay. I dinnae believe the leader was in the room. I’m not certain, but I suspect they didn’t know what to say without him.”
The others murmured agreement, resolve etched on their faces as it fortified their keep walls. Now—unravelling alliances and betrayals would require even greater observation.
