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The women resumed their ministrations as Emma told them of her encounters with the Scotsman. Gillian listened with interest.

She loved weaving flowers onto the wreaths that would decorate the hall for this evening’s feast. Everything about May Day at Kenshire made her happy, and despite the bleak future that awaited her when they returned home, she was determined to enjoy herself.

“He’s watching you,” Emma said in a hushed tone, as if the men could hear them clear across the courtyard.

She would not look up. She would not look up. She would . . .

And yet she did. “My. . . he’s tall,” she blurted.

She’d thought Geoffrey impressively tall, but Graeme outstripped him. He looked even more handsome in daylight, if possible, but it was his unflinching gaze she noticed now. Directed at her.

Gillian turned to Sara. “So who exactly is he?”

“You never answered my question. Why did you look as if you saw the Monk of Byland’s spirit when you spotted him?”

Should I say such a thing aloud? Will Emma think poorly of me?

“Gillian . . . ,” Sara prodded.

“Please don’t think ill of me,” she said, turning plaintively toward Emma. The other woman looked the picture of innocence with a primrose in her hand.

“I suppose you don’t care what I think of you?” Sara teased.

Gillian turned away from both Emma and Allie, and blurted, “I saw him last eve.”

“That is quite scandalous.” Emma smiled at her.

“Indeed, sister,” Allie agreed.

“I saw him . . . kissing a woman.”

Now she had their attention.

“After you left, in the garden,” she said to Sara. “I heard a noise and, well, I followed it.”

“Let me guess.” Sara tossed a finished wreath into the growing pile. “The noise was our very own Graeme de Sowlis.”

Gillian didn’t recognize the name. Was he English?

“And so you,” Emma continued, “immediately walked away when you came upon them. Giving them privacy to conduct . . . wait, were they just kissing? Or something else?”

“Emma Waryn!” Though Sara admonished her sister-in-law, she looked as if she’d burst into laughter at any moment.

Gillian felt her cheeks grow hotter. “Unlike the two of you, I’ve never even kissed a man,” she said in an undertone.

Sara already knew as much, but Emma was clearly surprised.

“Never? Not so much as a—”

“Not even.” Allie giggled.

When some of the other women who’d gathered in the courtyard looked up from their ministrations, Sara stood from her work. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion somewhere more private.”

Gillian followed, barely resisting the urge to look back at him as they walked from the courtyard.

“I understand the garden is quite lovely this time of year,” Emma said, falling in beside her.

Although Sara made a face at her sister-in-law, Gillian couldn’t help but laugh. She very much liked Emma, who was even less reserved than Sara. She’d never imagined such a thing were possible.