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T he oak door closed behind Moira and Ailis as Kevin approached with a parchment. “From the gentlemen,” he murmured, handing it to Ailis.

“Meet us in the glen an hour after supper,” Ailis read aloud. Moira leaned closer, scanning the words.

“We should be discreet about this,” Moira bubbled, a mischievous spark in her eyes.

“We’ll come back here and disguise ourselves after we’ve eaten supper with the three banes of our existence,” Ailis added.

A few hours later, the women escaped the annoying men, claiming they were too tired to keep dancing. When they reached their room, they discussed how to disguise themselves.

Finally, Ailis retrieved two scarves from a wooden chest, draping one over her own hair and handing the other to Moira. They adjusted the fabric to obscure their identities, hoping they would not be recognized on their way to the secret meeting.

“Ready?” Ailis asked as they checked each other’s disguises.

“Something is missing,” Moira observed. She opened the chest and found two long shawls that would hide the pattern of their plaids and make it easy to go about without recognition. They put the shawls over their shoulders, and with their heads down, left the chamber.

“Ready as ever,” Moira replied.

Moira was excited to have some time with Lachlan finally. These few days had passed like a month. It wasn’t enough to be able to see him across the room. She wanted to be able to talk to him and touch him.

It was completely dark outside as Ailis and Moira arrived at the shadowy glen. They spotted Lachlan and Brodie approaching with determined expressions.

“Good eve to ye,” Brodie whispered. “We have urgent matters to discuss.”

Lachlan’s gaze locked on Ailis. “Someone is trying to force us apart. We need to find who incites their relentless pursuit and courtship. There must be someone who is telling them exactly what to do, and I mean to find out who it is.” He shook his head.

“Someone is telling those three suitors they must spend time with ye and make ye fall in love with them.”

Ailis giggled. “They are not the kind of man we would even like, let alone love. They told us that men would never love a woman who could best them at fighting.”

Lachlan chuckled as well. “I can see they are not endearing themselves to ye.” At first, he’d been a little intimidated by Ailis and her knife skills, but now he was simply proud of how good she was at protecting herself.

“Ye are right about that. But time runs short,” she replied. “With only two more days of games and feasts, our chance to uncover these secrets nears its end. Do ye think ye can find out what is happening?”

“We must be vigilant and swift,” Moira continued. “Within tomorrow’s merriment may lie the answers we seek.”

“Be wary,” Lachlan cautioned. “These games bear political weight. Alliances and enmities form beneath festive masks.” He shook his head. “I wish yer father had come, and he could deal with the lairds, as someone who has experience with men of power.”

“With courage, we’ll navigate between duty and desire,” Ailis declared.

Ailis’s heart raced with apprehension and excitement. They had returned to the castle along the shadowy path when Moira, ever independent, disappeared through the entrance while Kevin awaited her.

Lachlan McClain held Ailis’s arm gently but firmly, urging her to stay. As they stood in Moira’s absence, his eyes mirrored unspoken thoughts.

“Stay,” he requested softly.

Ailis remained as Lachlan pulled her close and kissed her passionately.

Time seemed to pause, allowing the intimacy of their connection to sink in.

“I cannae believe how long it’s been since ye’ve touched me.

It had to be months. And they’ve left me ridiculous substitutes who dinnae understand me at all. ”

“I miss ye,” he confessed quietly, reminding her of their separation.

Her heart filled with warmth at his words. “I feel the same, Lachlan. I hate that we are not given a choice in whom we may spend time with,” she admitted. “What would happen if we refused to sit where we are told?”

He shook his head. “I dinnae think it would go well for us. There are definitely more people against our being together here than are for it.”

She sighed. “We need to find some way to communicate every day, as well as talk to Fiona and Alisdair. Even with their room right beside ours, it feels as if I haven’t seen Fiona in a very long time!”

“I’ll think on it,” he whispered. With another quick kiss, he guided her toward the door. “Goodnight, Ailis.”

As Ailis walked through the castle corridors, Kevin spoke to her about Lachlan’s feelings for her. “Lachlan truly cares for ye, like a steadfast oak tree,” he had insisted as they parted ways.

“Thank ye, Kevin,” she replied steadily. “I appreciate yer observation.” She wanted to ask what he’d told Kevin about her, but she knew it would be silly to have the conversation with Kevin instead of Lachlan.

Ailis lay in her chamber, heart racing from Lachlan’s fervent kiss. The memory of his touch filled her dreams with longing and whispered vows. In sleep, she imagined a world where love was not a pawn in power games.

*

The call of the bagpipes woke Ailis the following morning.

She dressed and she and Moira descended the stairs together for breakfast in the great hall.

Lucas, Horas, and Bearnard were already there, their presence an unwelcome burden.

Ailis counted in her head, as she wondered how long it would take one of them to say something stupid. She reached ten when Lucas spoke.

“Which of ye shall grace the field this day?” Lucas inquired mockingly.

“Neither,” Moira replied sternly. “On the morrow, ’twill be I who competes in swords.”

Laughter erupted from the men. However, it died as they realized the sisters were serious.

“Ye speak in earnest?” Bearnard asked, eyebrows furrowed. “A lass cannae compete against men with swords. Ye’ll be slaughtered!”

“Aye, we are very serious,” Ailis affirmed with quiet strength. “We are daughters of the McAfee clan, versed in more than what men like ye would call women’s work.”

*

Ailis watched the caber tumble through the air, Brodie’s strength belying its weight. Moira’s voice rang out in support of him, Ailis adding her own cheer as he succeeded.

“Marvelously done!” Ailis exclaimed, feeling pride well up inside her. It was as if all three of the brothers had joined their family when Alisdair had married Fiona, though Lachlan did not feel like a brother to her.

As dusk fell, Ailis entered the great hall dressed elegantly for the dance. “Ailis,” Lucas inquired smoothly while they danced, “why do ye seek the company of the McClain brothers so fervently?”

Horas added his thoughts on alliances. “Ye already have an alliance with the McClains. Wouldn’t it be smart to make an alliance with another clan? It would most certainly help the McAfees.”

Ailis replied, “We are not going to pursue men to fulfill a need for alliances. We are not those women. We are comfortable with the McClain men, and they treat us with respect.”

Bearnard, booming with conviction, passionately stressed the significance of forming alliances in times of turmoil.

Ailis, her mind consumed with thoughts of peace and politics, took a moment before finally speaking from her heart.

“We will not be used as political pawns. We are women who understand our own minds and hearts, and we shall follow them. And we need no advice from the three of ye.” She didn’t say what she wanted to say and tell them all to go away.

A tinge of pride tickled her for that. She grew a little prouder when she realized she hadn’t kicked any of the three.

That was truly something that she would tell her grandchildren someday.

She had not kicked the lairds’ sons who drove her crazy.

*

Ailis and Moira made their way to their chambers. “I believe those men live a thousand years in the past.” Moira shook her head.

“At least two thousand,” Ailis replied. “They make me want to scream. What is so wrong about three strong women?”

Rounding a corner, they encountered Fiona and Alisdair. Drawn together in the hallway, Ailis murmured, “Someone is keeping us from spending time with Lachlan and Brodie. There are suitors following us about.”

Fiona’s eyes narrowed as she assessed the possibilities. “Lachlan and Brodie are working to find who is dictating their moves. The truth is, the suitors dinnae like us any more than we like them,” she added, frustrated yet resolute.

Moira mused, “Who could benefit from such manipulations?”

Alisdair regarded them for a moment, weighing their words, his determined eyes addressing the sisters. “I’ll find a way to speak with me brothers. Together, we’ll expose this unseen force.”

Ailis warned that time was running short, her fingers betraying her calm by trembling slightly. “We only have one more day of games. If we are to discover who is doing this, we must work quickly.”

“Let us waste no more time worrying,” Alisdair replied before disappearing into the shadows to speak with his brothers.

The chamber door closed, enclosing Ailis and Moira in their temporary bedchamber. Ailis sighed wearily.

“Are ye not troubled by this cloak of secrecy?” Ailis quietly asked.

“Troubled? Nay, sister,” Moira replied, unpinning her hair. “For on the morrow, I shall wield a sword with such fervor that no one may dare approach me with devious intent. I plan to best every man here.”

“I love yer confidence, sister,” Ailis chirped, loosening her own braids. “The men will surely get to the bottom of this.”

“’Tis not courage alone that steels me,” Moira continued with a mischievous smile. “Brodie has been aiding me in secret. He has honed me skills with a blade so that when I compete, I shall do so as a warrior of the McAfee.”

Ailis paused, considering her sister’s words. “I’m happy that he has spent time teaching ye more,” she acknowledged. “But we must tread with care.”

“Let them try to defeat us,” Moira declared resolutely. “We are McAfees. We do not bend to whispers in the dark.”

“Aye, we do not,” Ailis concurred softly. She rose to draw the curtains shut against the night’s chill before settling into bed. Beside her, Moira nestled down.

“Goodnight, dear sister,” Moira whispered.

“Goodnight, Moira,” Ailis murmured. Her thoughts lingered on Brodie’s quiet strength and the impending competition. She had every confidence that her sister would win. She had been one of the best before the extra practice. Now she would outshine all the men.

And in that space between wakefulness and sleep, she sensed Lachlan’s kiss. Hopefully, soon, they would be able to spend more time together.