Again, Jenny was floored. She should have recognized her too, and yet she’d been blind to it. She swallowed as her mind worked back to the very moment she’d met Toran. Had he known that she was acquainted with his mother? Did he purposefully keep that connection a secret? He must have… “Why did ye not say anything?”
Her mother shrugged. “If he’d not yet divulged the information… I wasna sure how much he knew of his mother’s involvement…or what happened to her.”
Jenny’s heart did a flip at the horrific memory. God, part of her hoped that Toran wasn’t fully aware of the brutality of his mother’s death. That was something one did not recover from. “I’m not sure how much he knows either.” Jenny squeezed her mother’s hands. “Promise me, Mama. If Boyd comes, ye’ll stay away from him. Ye’ll protect Isla. I canna lose ye, the way Moire was lost to us, and he shouldna have to bear another of his kin being executed by that bastard.”
Lady Mackintosh nodded, swiping at the tears falling freely. “Of course. But promise me ye’ll no’ make yourself a sacrifice? I still remember when…” Her voice grew choked, and Jenny knew well the memory that had to be plaguing her mother’s mind. Her mother’s dearest friend, Moire, had sacrificed herself for Lady Mackintosh’s safety, and the pain and brutality of that loss had never faded.
Knowing that Moire had been Toran’s mother changed so much… Every interaction Jenny and Toran had now held so much more meaning. And made her question his motives too—and wonder why exactly he was here.
Jenny pulled her mother back in for a hug, unable to face her, because she knew the request her mother made was not one she could necessarily honor. “I will no’ be lost to ye, I promise.” And that was probably the worst lie of them all, for she could promise no such thing. But she could wish it, hope for it, pray for it, keep her mother believing.
“Your da would be so proud,” her mother whispered, patting Jenny’s hair. “Now, enough of these tears.” She drew in a ragged breath, swiped at her eyes one more time, and then stood, her back ramrod straight, her expression determined. “We’ve work to do.”
“We?”
“Aye. There’s easily twice as many socks left to knit as Isla and I did last week. We canna make less socks for Hamish’s lot than we did for our own men. There is also training. Ye may be training men, but I can spend an hour a day training the women who work in the keep to protect themselves.”
Jenny stood and grinned, excited to have her mother on her side. If only she had told her sooner, perhaps the past two years would not have been so steeped in misery. Alas, she could not go back in time, and to dwell on the past would put a damper on their bright future. “Isla will be so pleased to help ye. And I can gather the rest of the women for ye as well. See that the kitchens make ye all a hearty meal.”
“And welcome Toran in to dine with us this evening.” Lady Mackintosh winked at Jenny.
“Mama?” Jenny narrowed her eyes.
“I saw the way he was looking at ye in the courtyard. The lad is enamored.”
Jenny shook her head. “Mama, I’ve no time for flirtations. I’ve a country that needs mending and a prince I’ve devoted my life to.”
“Everyone has time for flirtation, love. Do ye nay recall the love between your grandda and grandma? The love I had for your father? Love is what keeps us on the right path when violence and horrors threaten to undo us.”
She had a good point there. The idea of having someone to lean on, some way to escape danger if only for a minute was more than appealing—it made her heart ache. But how could she possibly?
Jenny thought back to those moments in the ruins where he’d held her close, worshiping her mouth—how the world had melted, how the redcoats had been the furthest thing from her mind. How when she’d finally been able to sleep it had been deep, a kind of rest she’d not reached in years. When she’d woken and seen Toran close by, she’d been filled not with heart palpitations and panic like she normally was but with a sense of calm and purpose.
“Ye may be right, Mama.”
“Invite him.”
* * *
Toran waited until Simon left the barracks before sneaking