'I believe so.'
Father Murdock let out a rich chuckle as he slapped his knee. 'She's going to have a time of it fitting into our way of life. Yet it's going to be a joy for this old man to watch.'
Jamie returned to the priest, handed him two more coins, and asked him why he was smiling.
'I was thinking of all the changes you're going to have to make, lass,' the priest admitted. 'I know it won't be easy on you, but in time you'll come to love this clan as much as I do.'
'Have you considered, Father, that it just might be the clan making all these changes?' Jamie asked, her eyes alight with mischief.
The priest thought she was jesting with him. 'I fear you've set yourself an impossible goal,' he told her with a snort of enjoyment.
'How impossible, do you suppose?' she asked. 'As impossible as eating a giant bear all by myself?'
'Aye, just as impossible.'
'I could do it.'
'How?' the priest asked, falling nicely into her trap.
'One bite at a time.'
Father Murdock slapped his knee again and let out a whoop of laughter, which was followed by a fit of coughing. Jamie hurried to her bedroom area, mixed the foul-smelling salve she'd promised him, and went back to his side. 'You must wait an hour or two for this to settle before you rub it on your chest, Father.'
The priest accepted her offering with a frown. 'It smells like the dead, lass.'
'The smell isn't important, Father. I promise it will help your cough.'
'I believe you, Jamie.'
'Father? Do you think Alec would mind if I had a look upstairs?'
'Of course not, lass. This is your home now.'
'Are the rooms occupied?'
The priest shook his head.
'Then I should be able to move my things up to one of the rooms, shouldn't I?'
'You're wanting to move your… Lass, Alec won't like you leaving him.'
'It's Alec I'm thinking about,' Jamie countered. 'There isn't any privacy down here, Father. I'm sure he'll be much more comfortable in one of the rooms upstairs. You'll put the question to him for me, won't you?'
He couldn't refuse her request. Lady Jamie had the most enchanting smile. 'I'll ask,' he promised.
Father Murdock was content to sit by Angus's side and rest. He was almost asleep when the screech of metal scraping against stone drew his attention. He turned toward the noise and saw Lady Jamie struggling with a large chest. She was pushing the piece of furniture out of the first bedroom at the top of the stairs.
The priest hurried across the hall and up the steps. 'What are you trying to do, Jamie?' he asked.
'I thought I'd use the front bedroom, Father,' Jamie answered. 'It has a nice, wide window.'
'But why are you moving this chest?'
'It takes up too much room,' Jamie interrupted. 'Don't strain yourself, Father.
I'm strong enough to move this by myself.'
The priest ignored her boast and put his back to the chore of getting the trunk into the second room. 'You should have emptied it before you moved it,' he stated as an afterthought.
Jamie shook her head. 'It wouldn't have been right to look inside. It isn't my property, and everyone's entitled to his privacy.'
'The chest belonged to Helena,' Father Murdock announced. 'I suppose you could call it yours now, Jamie.'
Before she could respond to that announcement, the priest turned and started out the door. 'I'd best get back down to Angus. I'm supposed to be watching out for him until Gavin brings Elizabeth back.'
'Thank you for your help,' Jamie called after him.
The lass was taking forever, Father Murdock decided almost an hour later. He kept looking up at the bedroom, wondering what she was up to. When Elizabeth came back into the great hall, Father Murdock decided to see what had Jamie so occupied.
She was still in the second bedroom. Two candles had been lit, giving the room a soft glow. Lady Jamie was kneeling in front of the chest. She was just closing the lid when Father Murdock walked inside.
'Did you find anything useful?' the priest asked.
He didn't realize she was crying until she turned to look up at him. 'What is it, lass? What's upset you?'
'I'm being foolish,' Jamie whispered. 'She's dead now and I didn't even know her, Father, yet I'm crying as though she were my very own sister. Will you tell me about Helena?'
'Alec should tell you,' Father Murdock said.
'Please, Father,' Jamie begged. 'I want to know what happened. I'm sure Alec didn't kill her.'
'Good Lord, no,' the priest agreed. 'Where did you hear that talk?'
'In England.'
'Helena killed herself, Jamie. She jumped off the ridge above the pasture.'
'It couldn't have been an accident? She didn't fall?'
'No, it wasn't an accident. She was seen.'
Jamie shook her head. 'I don't understand, Father. Was she very unhappy here?'
The priest bowed his head. 'She must have been terribly unhappy, Jamie, but she hid her feelings well. We didn't watch out for her the way we should have, I now realize. Both Annie and Edith think she planned to kill herself from the moment she was wed to Alec.'
'Does Alec believe this?' Jamie asked.
'I would guess so.'
'Her death must have hurt him terribly.'
Father Murdock didn't comment on that statement, but he believed she was right.
The fact that Alec wouldn't discuss Helena was proof the topic was too tender still.
'Father, why would a woman who is contemplating suicide bother to bring all her cherished possessions to her husband's home? She even packed baby clothes,'
Jamie continued. 'And beautiful linens too. Don't you think that's odd for someone-'
'She wasn't thinking clearly,' Father Murdock countered.
Jamie shook her head. 'No, Father. I don't think she killed herself. I'm sure it was an accident.'
'You have a tender heart, lass, and if it makes you feel better to believe that's how Helena died, then I'll agree with you.'
He helped Jamie to her feet. She blew out the candles and walked by the priest's side back down the stairs. 'I'll pray for her soul every night, Father,' she promised.
A servant came rushing into the hall, spotted Jamie, and called out, 'Your sister's here, milady.'
Jamie clasped Father Murdock's hand. 'It must be Mary calling on me,' she explained to the priest. 'Will you excuse me, please?'
She was halfway out the door before Father Murdock nodded permission. 'I'll bring Mary inside to meet you,' she called over her shoulder.
Jamie hurried on outside, a smile of greeting on her face. The minute she caught sight of her sister, however, her smile evaporated. Mary was in tears. Jamie glanced around to see where Daniel was, then realized her sister was all alone.
'How did you ever find your way here, Mary?' she asked after giving her sister a proper hug.
'You're the one who gets lost all the time, Jamie, not me,' Mary told her.
'I never get lost,' Jamie countered. 'Hush your weeping now.' She noticed several Kincaid soldiers watching them. 'Come, we'll take a nice walk so we may speak in private. You must tell me what has you so upset.'
Jamie tugged her sister along the path down to the lower bailey. 'Three of Daniel's men showed me the way here,' Mary explained when she'd regained her composure. 'I lied to them, Jamie. I told them I had Daniel's permission to come calling.'
'Oh, Mary, you shouldn't have done that,' Jamie said. 'Why didn't you just tell Daniel you wanted to see me?'
'You can't tell that man anything,' Mary muttered. She lifted the hem of her yellow bliaut and mopped the
