'Gillian, I would like you to meet my brother. Winslow, this is Lady Gillian.'
Winslow bowed. 'Lady Gillian, you are from England?' he asked, frowning.
'Yes, I am from England. 'Tis the truth I cannot and would not change that fact, sir. Does it displease you?'
Winslow surprised her with a quick smile. 'It would depend, milady.'
'Depend on what?'
'My brother.' Without further explanation he dismissed the topic altogether and turned to Brodick. 'You'll see my wife and my boys before you leave? They will be disappointed if you don't.'
'Of course I'll see them.'
'Bring them here, Winslow,' Iain ordered. 'We must celebrate tonight. The children will stay up late.'
'Winslow, do you happen to know if Ramsey's brother, Michael, rides with the laird?' Gillian asked.
If the soldier thought the inquiry was peculiar, he didn't comment on it. 'I don't know, milady, but we will soon find out.' He bowed once again and left the hall.
Judith personally saw to the task of fetching a pitcher of water for her guests.
'Papa, where's Graham?' Alec asked.
'Your brother's with your Uncle Patrick, but he'll be home soon. He's going to be very happy to see you.'
''Cause he missed me?' he asked eagerly.
Iain smiled. 'We all missed you, Alec.'
'Mama missed me the most. She's still shaking something fierce 'cause I surprised her. Look, Papa. She can't even pour the water. Is she gonna cry again?'
Iain laughed. 'Probably,' he answered. 'It's going to take your mother… and me,' he added, 'time to get over this joyous surprise.'
Alec hadn't exaggerated Judith's condition. She had already spilled a good deal of water on the tabletop and thus far hadn't managed to get a single drop into the cup. Her hands were shaking violently and every time she looked at her son, her eyes brimmed with fresh tears.
Iain put his hand on top of his wife's. 'Sit down, love,' he quietly suggested.
She moved her chair close to her husband, collapsed in the seat, and leaned into his side. Iain poured the water for Gillian, but as she reached for the goblet, she noticed how dirty her hands were and quickly hid them in her lap.
Iain put his arm around his wife and hugged her. His attention, however, was centered on Gillian. 'Start at the beginning and tell me how and when you found my son. I want to hear every detail,' he ordered. He paused to pat Alec before adding, 'It's a miracle a five-year-old could survive the falls.'
'Alec's only five years old?' Gillian asked.
'But I'm gonna be seven.'
'Your brother's seven,' Iain reminded him.
'But I'm gonna be seven too.'
Alec scooted off the stool and ran around the table to Gillian. Without asking permission, he climbed onto her lap, pulled her arms around him, and grinned at her.
'You and Alec have become close friends,' Judith remarked, smiling.
'Iain, perhaps you could wait until Alec has gone to bed to hear the details,' Brodick suggested.
'But I get to stay up late 'cause Papa said we have to celebrate,' Alec blurted. 'Didn't you say so, Papa?'
'Yes,' his father agreed.
'You know what, Gillian?' Alec whispered loudly.
She leaned down. 'No, what?'
'When I go to bed, Mama's gonna sit with me until I fall asleep, and my brother sleeps in the same room with me, so maybe I won't have bad dreams and I won't get scared.'
'Perhaps you won't dream at all tonight.'
'But you got to have someone to sleep with too, so you won't get scared 'cause I won't be there.'
'I'll be just fine,' she assured him.
Alec wasn't convinced. 'But what if you do get scared? You got to have someone to wake you up. Maybe you could ask Brodick to sleep with you again like he did before.'
She clapped her hand over his mouth to get him to hush and felt her face burn with mortification. She knew Brodick was watching her, but she didn't dare look at him.
Judith laughed. 'Alec, sweetheart, you're embarrassing Gillian.'
'Mama, you know what Gillian calls me?'
'No, what?'
Giggling, the little boy said, 'Honey bear.'
Iain's gaze went back and forth between Gillian and Brodick. 'Father Laggan's back,' he remarked. 'And there's another, younger priest named Stevens with him.'
'Why are you telling me this?' Brodick asked.
'I just wanted you to know there are two priests available,' Iain explained with a meaningful glance at Gillian.
'I didn't sleep with Brodick,' she blurted out. 'I have no need for a priest.'
'Yes, you did too.'
'Alec, it isn't polite to contradict your elders.'
'But, Mama…'
'Hush, sweetheart.'
Gillian glared at Brodick. He could easily correct this horrid misunderstanding if he would only offer a quick explanation.
He wasn't inclined. He winked at her. 'I didn't know a face could get that red,' he remarked.
'Do explain,' she demanded.
'Explain what?' he asked, feigning innocence.
She turned to Judith. 'We were camping… and it isn't what it sounds like… I did sleep, and when I awakened… they were all there…'
'They? 'Iain asked.
'His soldiers.'
'You slept with his soldiers too?'
She didn't understand that Iain was teasing her. 'No… that is to say, we… slept. That's all that happened, Laird.'
'Stop tormenting her,' Judith ordered. 'Can you not see how distressing this is for her? Gillian doesn't understand the Highlanders' humor. What happened to your arm?' Judith asked then, thinking to turn the subject to a less delicate one. 'I noticed the bandage, and I was curious-'
Alec interrupted his mother. Jumping off Gillian's lap, he cried out, 'Papa, we got to take a walk.'
'Now?'
'Yes, Papa, now.'
'Alec, I want to talk to Brodick and Gillian. I'm anxious to hear how they found you.'
'But, Papa, I got to tell you what I did, and then you're gonna be mad at me. We got to take a walk so I can think about it.'
'Come here, son,' his father ordered, concerned by the anxiety he saw in Alec's eyes.
The little boy dragged his feet and kept his head down as he went to his father. Iain laid his hands on his shoulders and leaned forward.
Alec promptly burst into tears. 'I got real scared, Papa, and I cut Gillian's arm, and then it got all swollen, and Annie had to fix it, and it's all my fault 'cause I hurt a lady, and I'm not ever supposed to hurt ladies, but I got real scared. I didn't like England and I wanted to come home.' Alec threw his arms around his father's neck and began to sob in earnest.
'Alec has been very worried that he would disappoint you, Laird,' Gillian explained. 'He didn't understand that I was trying to help him. He had climbed down with a rope into a gorge, but it was an old rope, and it began to unravel, and he…' She looked to Brodick for help. The task of explaining suddenly became overwhelming and she
