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She could see he was worried and hastened to reassure him.

“There was no battle,” she said quickly.

“Sully surrendered because Ridge threatened him should he not. So, de Reyne sent him to the dungeon and then released him when Justine arrived. Ridge said that he had to show Sully that the man couldn’t act against the king, so putting him in the dungeon was a warning.

If there is a next time, I am assuming he will put him back in the dungeons and leave him there. ”

Andrew pondered the situation with Ridge. “It was Ridge who brought you to Edinburgh,” he said. “And now he follows you? He could be watching the door of this chamber at this very moment.”

Josephine knew that was a possibility. “He does seem to keep a close eye on me,” she said.

“But it is strange, Andrew… when he first took me from Torridon, I fought him, and I even tried to bribe him. I told him I would give him money if he would simply tell the king he could not find me. But he refused. He said it gave him no pleasure to abduct me, but he had to because he was simply following orders. It’s as I told you before– Ridge is a decent man.

I believe that he truly wants to help me but does not know how to do it and not violate his oath to the king. ”

He eyed her a moment. “Ridge de Reyne is a powerful knight,” he said. “We know that he keeps his eye on you.”

“It is his duty.”

“It could be more than a duty, Joey.”

It occurred to her what he meant and she was indignant. “I do not care if there is more to it,” she said. “Ridge has been kind to me, at least as kind to me as he can be, but that is all there is to it. I have no interest in him. My only interest is in you.”

Andrew smiled faintly, seeing that he’d offended her. “I know,” he said, reaching up to touch her cheek. “But Ridge may have some manner of fixation on you. You are a beautiful woman, after all. How could he not?”

Josephine was uncomfortable thinking that Ridge might have something other than platonic feelings for her.

“I do not wish to discuss Ridge de Reyne,” she said, looking away. “I only wish to discuss us and what is to come. You have purchased a terrible sword to kill your brother with. When do you intend to do it?”

Andrew kissed her hands once more before standing up and stretching his long body wearily. He noticed food and drink on the table near the hearth and he headed in that direction.

“I am not sure,” he said. “Has anything been said to you about the wedding?”

She watched him pour himself a measure of wine into a fine crystal cup. “Nay,” she said. “The only thing that has been discussed with me is being introduced to the earl. Beyond that, nothing more.”

Andrew drank deeply before answering. “I have been thinking about this,” he said.

“I have thought of little else. It is my assumption that the wedding will be here, at Edinburgh, so that the king can attend. Of course, I do not know this, but that is my assumption. If I attack my brother within the confines of the castle, it is possible that I will be arrested before I can complete my task. If that happens, I will either be killed or put in the dungeons, and you will have to marry my brother. I will not be able to help you.”

Josephine stood up from the bed, making her way to him. “But what of Sully?” she asked. “He can step in if you have been disabled, and…”

He cut her off, looking at her. “Do you really want Sully going up against my brother?” he asked. “Did you see the man today when he arrived?”

Josephine sighed heavily, leaning against the wall next to the table. “Aye,” she said. “I saw the back of him as he passed by. And, nay, I do not want Sully fighting the man. In truth, it is not his battle.”

Andrew poured himself more wine. “Exactly,” he said.

“It is not his battle. It is mine. Therefore, for Sully and Donald and anyone else who wishes to help you, it is not their burden to bear. It is mine. But my thoughts are this– if the wedding is here, you will have to go through with it. For the reasons I mentioned, I will not stop it. But it is my suspicion that my brother will want to return to Haldane immediately to celebrate his wedding at his own castle, meaning he will leave Edinburgh and head home immediately afterwards. I will catch him on the road as soon as he leaves the city. There will be less likelihood that I will be stopped or arrested in that case. I will find him on the road and I will kill him before he can touch you.”

Josephine didn’t like the idea of having to marry the man before Andrew was able to kill him, but she understood somewhat.

“Then I must go through with the wedding if it is here, at Edinburgh?”

“Aye, love.”

She sighed again. “If you believe that is best.”

“I am not sure where there is any other choice, as much as I hate to say it.”

Josephine was feeling sad and afraid. She moved away from the wall, heading back over to the bed.

“I cannot believe that I will have to marry the man, but I understand why I must,” she said, throwing herself on the mattress.

“So many people are at Edinburgh to help me but, in truth, no one can. The king has made this betrothal, and no one can break it. No one can stop the wedding from happening. If you try, they will arrest or even kill you. If Sully tries, he has Torridon to lose. I would not let Donald or even Nicholas help– they could not survive in a fight against your brother. Everyone is here to help me, but everyone is helpless. All they can do is watch while I am forced into a death sentence.”

Andrew heard the defeat in her voice, the same defeat he heard the night before.

“I know you are scared, love,” he said. “I am scared, also. Mayhap, it would be better to steal you out of Edinburgh during the night and flee to France or Spain. But the truth is that my brother would still be alive, and my mother would be unavenged. I am sorry if my sense of vengeance is affecting my decisions, but I have lived with it for so long. I know that if we were to flee and never return, it would eat at me until I returned to finish what I had always intended to do. I cannot have that vengeance stand between us, Joey. I am afraid if I do not kill my brother as I have always planned, then that is exactly what would happen.”

Josephine looked at him. “I know you have a strong sense of duty, of what you must do,” she said. “I would never ask you not to fulfill your vow and I would never ask you to change. I trust you in that you will do what is right, for both of us.”

He needed to hear of her faith in him. It was as important to him as eating and breathing. Now that they were approaching a crucial point in all of this, it was important that they had complete trust between them. Quietly, he went to sit next to her, taking her hands in his once more.

“Mayhap I cannot give up my sense of vengeance for you, but there is something I will do for you,” he said quietly.

“Once we are married, I intend to give up my mercenary ways. I will turn the army over to Thane, and you and I will live at Haldane and raise our children. I would rather stay with you, as your husband, than fight a thousand wars for a million marks of gold. You are what is most important to me, Josephine de Carron. I will spend the rest of my life proving it.”

Josephine smiled at the sweet declaration.

“As you are what is most important to me, too,” she said.

“I will not continue my warring ways after we are married, either. There is no need. I will leave Torridon to Sully and Justine, and find great satisfaction in simply being the wife of Andrew d’Vant. ”

He leaned forward, capturing her sweet lips in his. “It will be a good life, I swear it.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and his big arms went about her. “And I cannot wait to live it, with you,” she murmured, her face in his neck. “You are my sun and my moon, Andrew. Never forget that.”

He held her against him, thinking he’d never heard such sweet words. He was about to tell her that when her door rattled as if someone were trying the latch. The door was bolted, so they were not able to enter. As Andrew and Josephine froze, someone knocked on the door.

“My lady?” It was Madelaine. “My lady, will ye open the door?”

Josephine sighed sharply. “It is my maid,” she whispered. “If I do not open the door, she will tell the king. You had better leave.”

Andrew was already standing up, pulling her with him.

He kissed her swiftly. “I will see you tomorrow at this time,” he said, rushing towards the window.

But he was also shaking his finger at her.

“Do not come looking for me. If you need to get word to me, send Sully since he seems to be able to move about freely now.”

She nodded, anxiously watching him climb onto the windowsill. “I will,” she said. “Be careful!”

“I love you.”

“And I love you.”

He blew her a kiss and climbed from the window.

As Josephine went to open the door and let Madelaine in, Andrew made his way down the wall, jumping to the ground for the last several feet.

Hitting the dirt, he dashed back to the garden to hide and to make sure he wasn’t followed.

For a big man, he moved very swiftly, disappearing into the darkness like a wraith.

But he wasn’t alone in the garden. He figured that out quickly.

There was something over to his left in the garden, flush against the wall, that had his attention.

It was completely in the shadows, but he could see an outline and it didn’t take him long to figure out that it was a man hiding deep in the shadows.

Even if Andrew was without his sword, he wasn’t without his dirk, and he unsheathed it from his cozy nook in the top of his boot. If the shadow figure moved against him, he was ready.