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“Aye.”

“Then she is not simply a guest.” His voice lowered. “She’s tied to the man standing trial.”

Gavan’s gaze flicked briefly towards the house. “She is his sister.”

Colin let out a slow breath. “So I’ll ask plainly. Why is she here?”

Silence stretched a moment too long.

Gavan’s hand flexed at his side. “Because leaving her at Foulis was not an option.”

“That is not an answer.”

“It is the one I have.”

Colin’s brow lifted, not in challenge, but in recognition. “And what do you mean to do with her?”

Gavan exhaled, slow and controlled. “I do not know.” That, at least, was the truth. “She came to this house as a servant,” he went on, his voice tightening slightly. “And yet—” He broke off, frustration flickering beneath the surface. “It does not sit right.”

Colin said nothing.

“Nor,” Gavan continued, more quietly now, “does placing her above it. Not after what has passed. Not after what her family has done.”

“Her brother,” Colin corrected.

Gavan’s gaze hardened. “Her brother forged letters that have set clans at each other’s throats. I will not pretend that carries no weight.”

“And the sister?” Colin asked.

Gavan did not answer at once. “I do not know what she knows,” he said finally. “Or what she believes.” His voice lowered. “Until I do, I will not mistake her for harmless.”

Colin inclined his head slightly. “So she is . . . what? A guest? A prisoner?”

Gavan’s mouth tightened. “Neither.”

Colin’s expression flickered, almost a smile. “That is rarely a stable ground.”

“Nay,” Gavan said. “It is not.” A gust of wind swept through the yard, lifting their cloaks, and carrying the faint scent of smoke from the house.

Colin shifted, his tone sharpening again. “Then you’ll want the men alert.”

Gavan nodded once. “Aye.” He turned his gaze back to the distant rise. “She did not arrive at Foulis unseen.”

Colin went still. “You saw something?”

“Enough.” Gavan’s voice was quiet, certain. “A rider holding back. Watching. Not declaring himself.”

“And you think he followed her here.”

“I think,” Gavan said, “that anyone tied to forged letters and clan unrest is worth following.”

Colin’s expression hardened. “Then we may already be observed.”

“Perhaps.”

“What are your orders?”

Gavan’s gaze sharpened. “Double the watch without making a show of it. No one approaches the house unseen. Rotate the men. Keep movement constant.”