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“Who?”

“Lady Aileen. She saw me with your meal and wanted to know if you were still feeling poorly or making some improvement.”

Fiona sighed. Since her encounter with Aileen yesterday morning, the young woman had been solicitous in her concern, inquiring several times through Alice if she could offer any aid or assistance.

“She has a kind heart,” Fiona exclaimed, guilt closing her throat so tightly she had difficulty swallowing a small piece of cheese.

“Well, Lady Aileen’s not the only one wanting to know how you are faring. The earl has been hounding me, too.”

Fiona washed the dryness from her throat with a long sip of wine, then pushed the food tray away. A longing that was too sharp to endure pierced her chest. It was pointless. Seeing Gavin again would open a wound that was still too raw to heal. She would save herself that anguish at least.

“Tell Lady Aileen that if she wishes, I will join her in the solar with my sewing for an hour this afternoon,” Fiona said.

“Are you certain?”

“No. Yet I realize I can’t hide in here forever. This seems the best compromise.”

Thus, later that afternoon Fiona and Aileen sat together in the airy solar, a respectable distance from the rest of the women, sewing in their laps. Had the situation not been so absurd, Fiona conceded she might have enjoyed herself—a fact that was an even greater puzzlement.

By rights she should dislike this young woman who would become Gavin’s wife. Yet on such very short acquaintance Aileen had managed to make Fiona like her, respect her, fear for her future—and yes, be jealous of her.

It was an intolerable situation, a hopeless predicament that would only end once she was gone. Aileen was her usual talkative self and Fiona was relieved to be spared the burden of having to make conversation. The time passed quickly and, having fulfilled her obligatory visit, Fiona began to gather her sewing items.

Laddie chose that moment to enter the solar. His floppy ears perked up the moment he spied her. With a happy yelp, the dog lumbered across the room, his tail wagging furiously.

“Och!” Aileen’s screech startled them all. “How did that filthy beast get in here?”

“’Tis not a beast,” Fiona said. “’Tis Laddie.”

“The earl allows his hounds the run of the castle?” Aileen asked in astonishment.

“Only the special ones.” Fiona reached into her pocket. She unwrapped the cloth from the soup bone she had Alice pilfer from the kitchen earlier in the morning. Laddie’s eyes brightened. He licked his chops and whimpered, quieting only when Fiona commanded that he sit. As a reward for performing his trick, Fiona tossed the bone at him.

Laddie caught it in midair, then sprawled out at Fiona’s feet and began gnawing at it with great gusto. Aileen leaned over cautiously and glared at him, her brow knit in confusion.

“Back home, our dogs are kept outside.”

“Yes, that is usually the case.”

Aileen drew closer, her expression curious. Laddie growled, pulling his bone closer with his two front paws.

“Laddie! Behave!” Fiona admonished.

“He’s very smart,” Aileen observed, apparently not insulted by the dog’s behavior.

“Laddie was the first friend I made when I came to stay here.”

“One does always appreciate a loyal companion,” Aileen agreed. “We dinnae allow our dogs inside, yet I can see the idea has merit.” Aileen wrinkled her nose. “Though I would have to insist they be clean.”

“Well, Laddie is not fond of a bath, but he’ll sit for one, if rewarded.”

“Hmm. I wonder if that approach would work with some of the earl’s retainers. I confess, Laddie is hardly the most foul-smelling creature in the castle. Thankfully the earl takes pride in a neat and clean appearance, though I’m sorry to say not all of his men follow his example.”

Fiona smiled at the truth of that observation. “Perhaps that is something you can establish.”

“A weekly bath fer his lordship’s men-at-arms?” Aileen’s eyes danced with amusement. “Mother Mary, can ye imagine how that demand would be met? They’d most likely toss me in the loch.”

“It might be worth it if you could pull a few of them in with you.”