Her lips curved. “How refreshing.”
Duncan felt something sharp and wholly unreasonable tug at his ribs.
Iain caught the look on Duncan’s face and nearly choked on his amusement.
“I leave the domestic tyranny tae him,” he added easily.
Elaina laughed then with a melodious sound, and Duncan’s irritation deepened at the sight of it being drawn out by someone who was decidedly not him.
He leaned forward, attempting to reclaim the conversation. “Ye’ll find I’m very reasonable.”
Elaina did not look at him. “So, I’ve heard, but am yet tae see.”
Instead, she turned to Iain. “And daes he often rescue stranded healers and place them under armed supervision?”
“Nay,” Iain replied cheerfully. “That’s a new development. I’m still taking notes.”
Duncan clenched his jaw, schooling his expression into neutrality. He told himself it was foolish and childish, even just to resent her easy smile directed at another man. Iain, of all people.
Still, he did not miss the way she avoided his gaze entirely, nor the deliberate way she angled her body away from him. Annoyance simmered, controlled but present.
He took a measured sip of wine and sternly reminded himself that he was laird first, man second. And that whatever game she was playing, he would not be the one to lose his composure.
He drew a slow breath, tamping down the irritation, and shifted the conversation onto safer ground, one that belonged to her work, not their friction.
“Did ye find everything ye needed in the kitchen?” he asked evenly. “From the old healer’s stores?”
She did not look at him.
Instead, she turned to Iain again. “Enough tae manage fer now. Though I would like tae add a few things tae the collection. Fresh herbs are always preferable.”
Iain nodded, immediately engaged. “There’s a stretch of woods east of the lake,” he explained. “Good ground, sheltered. Ye’ll find yarrow, meadowsweet, and likely valerian if ye look near the stream. But ye should be careful?—”
Elaina’s gaze flicked sharply as she looked straight at Duncan. “That’s quite all right,” she said sweetly. “I have armed guards following me every step.”
The words landed like a thrown dagger. Iain glanced between them, catching the tension at once, but he knew better than to smirk. Duncan merely inclined his head, accepting the blow without flinching.
“An excellent precaution,” Duncan replied mildly.
She rose then, pushing her chair back. She had eaten only a few bites, Duncan noted, which was enough to quiet hunger, not enough to soften her temper.
“Good night,” she said crisply, her gaze returning to Iain. “Thank ye fer the conversation.”
“Any time,” Iain replied, clearly amused. “I hope the woods are kind tae ye.”
She nodded once, then turned and left the hall without another glance Duncan’s way. The door closed behind her with far less force than earlier, but the act was no less final.
Duncan watched the empty space she left behind. His mind was already working.
The war between them had only just begun.
CHAPTER NINE
The scream tore him from sleep like a blade.
Duncan was out of bed before thought caught up with instinct. He could feel his heart hammering and his breath sharp in his chest. The sound echoed again, but it was broken now, collapsing into sobs, and recognition struck him hard.
Elaina.
