not thinking. I did not even see Rothesay or Alex Stewart until you silenced me. As it was, I am not sure but that Rothesay may have guessed I’d made the whole thing up. Do you truly believe it would not have been better just to admit it and apologize to him.”
“I am, lass. This all amuses him now, which renders him harmless. But he is a powerful man and gey reckless. To learn that ye’d lied to him would soon lead him to imagine that others were laughing at him, which would lead next to a sense of deep offense. To offend the powerful is unwise at any time, lassie, and best to avoid.”
“What did Granddad tell him?”
“Only that it never paid to rush a woman. He said he’d learned that lesson in his youth from your grandame, and he assured Rothesay that putting off the ceremony until morning would make ye gey happier and thus serve us all better.”
Glancing at Fin, she saw him frown and waited for him to explain why. He said nothing, however, and she accepted his lead by bidding her father and grandfather goodnight. Then she let Fin escort her to her chamber.
“Ailvie will be in there,” she said as they neared her door. “Grandame said that she would send her up, and I’m sure she must have done so by now.”
“Come here then,” he said, pulling her close and tilting her chin so that he could kiss her again.
She leaned into him as he did, savoring the warmth of his hard body against hers as well as his kisses. After a long and pleasant time, she said, “What made you frown so when Granddad told us what he had said to Rothesay?”
Without hesitation, he said, “Rothesay thinks only in terms of women making him happy, never in terms of considering any woman’s wishes. He may still ask me some pointed questions about all this. You are not to worry, though. I have managed to work with and for him these past years without incurring much of his wrath. I was just thinking about what he might ask and how I might answer him.”
“He can be gey charming,” Catriona said with a rueful smile.
“Aye, and he does trade on that charm, too. But your Ailvie will hear us if we keep talking out here, sweetheart, and this is no place for such a conversation. So, kiss me again, and then it’s bed for you.”
She obeyed, although there was much more that she would have liked to discuss with him. When he reached to open the door, she said, “I am glad that James and Morag are going to see her family, for she has missed them. But I do wish that they were not traveling with us. I want to know more about you, Fin of the Battles, and such a journey without them would give us more time to talk.”
“Aye, but we’ll find time for talking,” he said, lightly pinching her earlobe. Then, after one more kiss, he said, “Get thee in, sweetheart, and sleep.”
“I do not think you can command me yet,” she said. “I am not yet your wife.”
“True. Now go.”
She went.
Stirling Castle
The Duke of Albany was reviewing accounts with his steward when a minion announced Sir Martin Redmyre. Signing to the steward to leave and telling Redmyre to take a seat, he waited until the door had shut and said, “You have learned more.”
“Aye, my lord duke. My man heard two days ago that the Mackintosh was apparently in daily expectation of visitors at Rothiemurchus Castle. It lies—”
“I don’t care where it lies, Martin. Who are these visitors?”
“Comyn called them ‘grand lairds,’ sir. Three of them, his kinsman said.”
“Three?”
“Aye, and Davy did meet with your nephew Alex Stewart in Perth, and with Shaw MacGillivray, who is now Laird of Rothiemurchus and good-son to the Mackintosh. No one seems to know the third one, but I’d guess it must be Donald.”
“So would I if I could imagine how Donald could cross the entire western Highlands from the Isles to get to Clan Chattan country. But if Davy allies with Alex… I’ll want to think about that. How long do they mean to be there?”
“I don’t know, but my man promises that the Comyns have devised a plan to keep them where they are long enough for us to get there. However, if you are thinking of sending someone at once to catch them conspiring together, whoever you send may meet with