Three months later

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“He has asked me to marry him. Please tell me you approve of the match.”

Rosamond stared into the wide, blue eyes of her twin sister, still in utter awe that they’d been able to find her and bring her and her wee bairn to Dunstaffnage in so quick a time. Loretta was smiling, joy in her face, and though she sat in a chair across from Rosamond in her solar, she was fairly bouncing out of it.

“Sir Gunnar has asked for your hand?”

A not so subtle flirtation had been growing between the two of them since the arrival of Loretta and her infant son two months prior. Gunnar had been the one sent out to retrieve Loretta and the babe from the abbey where she’d been seeking refuge in the north of England. The task had taken him nearly a month, and when they’d arrived, it was clear a budding romance had already begun. As much distance as Rosamond tried to put between them it didn’t seem to matter. They always found a way to be near each other. Despite how many times Rosamond had told herself she should stop trying to interfere, she couldn’t help it, fearing that her sister was leaping into another frivolous affair that would end just as badly. Well, perhaps not just as badly as she was certain Tierney would not toss her in a remote cave. But still, she had her sister’s reputation to worry over, and it was no secret Gunnar had a way with the lassies.

“Aye, sister,” Loretta squealed, “he has.” She clapped her hands over her mouth, here eyes brimming with tears of joy.

“And you love him.” ’Twas more a statement than a question, though she did question whether or not the feeling was mutual.

“Oh, aye,” Loretta breathed out, jumping from her chair and twirling in a girlish circle. “I do, so very much.”

Rosamond felt like an old curmudgeon as her face wrinkled up in disapproval. It hadn’t been so long ago that she too had fallen in love, and even now when she woke in the morning, she liked to gaze at Tierney, trace the lines of his face and languish in the warm sentiments that flowed through her. “I suppose I will have to consult with Tierney on the matter.” Rosamond knew already that her husband would agree, for he’d approved of the match since the beginning. If Gunnar was serious, than it was indeed a good match for her sister who was already compromised, especially since the warrior was willing to raise the bairn as his own. To have love on top of that made it a perfect match.

“Consult with me about what?” At that precise moment, her husband entered the solar, looking overly masculine and large in the delicate lady’s chamber. Tierney took in the expression on Loretta’s face, which was in strict contrast to Rosamond’s.

But with good reason, she argued with herself once more. Rosamond had watched her sister fall in love with a man before, and it had not turned out well. That Gunnar was proposing marriage made little difference. Even if it should. She only wanted what was best for her sister. And besides keeping Loretta hostage in the castle she wasn’t certain what else to do.

“Ah, ye told her,” Tierney said with a smile in Loretta’s direction. “A good match, do ye not agree, sweetling?” He approached Rosamond, pressing a tender hand to her shoulder. He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Doesna your sister deserve a love as good as ours?”

“She does, but will she get it?” Rosamond asked.

“Aye,” Loretta said, beaming and clasping her sister’s hands. “Gunnar has confessed his love many times.”

Rosamond glanced at Tierney. “And you believe him to be genuine?”

Tierney rolled his eyes. “The man is besotted.”

Rosamond let out a long sigh. She couldn’t be her sister’s keeper forever. And at least if Loretta were to marry Gunnar, she would be close enough to help if her sister needed it. “Then who am I to stand in the way of true love?” Rosamond smiled warmly, determined to be happy about her sister’s choice. She stood and pulled Loretta in for a hug. “After all we’ve been through, after all you’ve gained and lost, you deserve happiness.”

Loretta squeezed her tight. “Thank you, sister. For everything. I will never be able to repay you, but I will try.” She kissed Rosamond on the cheek and then twirled them both in a circle. “Oh, I am so happy already. Gunnar is the perfect gentleman, and he will make James an excellent father. He’s already said he’d raise him as his own, give him his name.”

“That is very chivalrous of him.”

Loretta squealed with happiness again and then bounded from the chamber, no doubt in search of her betrothed.

Tierney put his arm around Rosamond’s shoulders and tugged her into his side. “’Twill be a good thing. Your sister is most… energetic. And Gunnar seems to be lost without her.”

Rosamond chuckled. Energetic was an understatement. Rosamond seemed to have gotten all of the serious parts of their shared blood, and Loretta all of the excitement. “This is true. Perhaps they will balance each other out.”

“I have no doubt.”

She turned in his arms, pressing her head to his chest. His heart beat a steady, calming rhythm. “Just as you balance me.”

“Do I?”

“Aye.”

Tierney bent to kiss her, and she was about to ask him if he could perhaps tell his men to begin their training without him, as she wanted to show him just how much he balanced her, when there was a shout from the walls outside.

Immediately, her husband stiffened and went to the arrow-slit window to peer out.

“The king,” he mused. “We were not expecting him.”

Rosamond sucked in a breath. An unexpected visit from the king was a worrisome thing. After Tierney had completed his mission months before, he’d been given back his castle and lands, along with a missive full of gratitude and an invitation from King Robert to Edinburgh Castle for the following spring. Spring was still many months away, as they’d only now just celebrated Samhain.

“What could bring him here before we were to journey to Edinburgh?” she asked, working hard to keep any panic from her voice.

Tierney stiffened, and she could only imagine the worry going through his mind in regards to this unexpected turn of events. In the spring, he was to make his formal show of allegiance to King Robert, but he’d not yet done so, and now with his arrival, she was certain he was harboring anxieties about imprisonment. She pressed her hand gently to the small of his back.

“He must have been in the area.” Rosamond hoped her offer would make him feel better, but the stiffness did not go away. “I will get the brooch.”

Tierney nodded, the muscles in his jaw stiffened. Usually he denied her decision to return it to the king, the fact that he agreed now was only confirmation of his uneasiness.

Before either of them moved, there came a knock at the door.

“My laird.” Gunnar stood in the hallway, also looking pinched about the eyes. “King Robert awaits ye in the great hall.”

Tierney started to leave but Rosamond gripped his elbow. He didn’t stop her, and so they walked down the stairs together, stopping to get the brooch from their chamber where she pinned it to her gown.

Upon entry, King Robert stood in the center of the great hall, seemingly enthralled with Loretta who was smiling and batting her lashes. Upon seeing them, her eyes widened and she beckoned them close. Sir Samuel was also there, equally enamored with her twin sister, and Gunnar’s jealous gaze did not go unnoticed. Loretta grabbed her betrothed’s elbow, seeming without thinking, and then went on to introduce her newfound acquaintance—the king—to her sister.

“My sister, Lady MacDougall.” Loretta leaned close and whispered. “King Robert was under the impression I was you for a moment, sister. He remarked on our beauty.”

Rosamond smiled, though her stomach was twisted into knots, and managed a deep curtsy. “Many thanks. We are honored to have you as a guest, Your Grace.”

The Bruce’s eyes drifted over Rosamond as she curtsied, lingering a moment on the brooch before he turned to Tierney.

“My king.” Tierney pressed his hand to his heart and gave a low bow. “We are honored for ye to join us.”

“I was never able to thank ye personally for what ye did at Dalrigh, Laird MacDougall. And I could not wait until spring to thank ye for once more risking your life, this time at Stirling. We are lucky to have a man like ye to count amongst our friends.”

Tierney bowed once more. “’Tis my duty, and an honor, my king, to serve ye.” He straightened. “Ye have my allegiance, my loyalty and my sword for all the days of my life.”

“To which we pray there are many.” Robert the Bruce’s smile was kind and genuine.

“Can we offer you a drink, Your Highness?” Rosamond asked. “Something to eat?”

“I should like that verra much,” the king replied.

“I will see about getting it done.” Rosamond grabbed her sister’s elbow and all but dragged her back to the kitchen where the servants, who’d been listening in, were already working up a frenzy. She requested they bring out the best wine and uisge-beatha they had, and then returned to the great hall to see that the men had gathered around the hearth, laughing as they shared some anecdote with each other.

Rosamond started to steer her sister toward the cushioned seats in an alcove, when Tierney called them back.

She approached cautiously, prepared to do her part in giving back the king’s prized jewel. Taking the brooch from her gown, she held it out to Robert the Bruce. “This belongs to you. Tierney kept it safe all these years, but wanted to show you his loyalty by returning what was rightfully yours. We meant to do it in the spring.”

The Bruce reached out and closed her fingers back over the brooch. “And now ’tis yours, my lady. A wedding gift to the both of ye.” Then he leaned a little closer and said, “I met your mother once, at a festival when we were both young. She had a beautiful spirit, and I see her in both you and your sister. I am glad to see that a life with de Warenne did not break your spirit. And now, he shall break no one’s.”

Rosamond nodded, having received the news just a few weeks prior that their father had died of an apparent malady of the heart. Tierney had been gravely disappointed at not being able to thrust his sword through her father’s heart, but she managed to calm him saying he’d done just that in spirit by marrying de Warenne’s daughter and saving Loretta and her bairn. By living. By creating a new life in her womb, Tierney had won.

“If anything, we came out of it stronger,” Loretta said, brining Rosamond back to the present.

“As it should be,” the king added. “And I hear that ye, Lady Loretta, will soon join your sister in wedded bliss.”

Bliss. That was what Rosamond felt, day in and day out. Tierney was kind, he was strong. He made her laugh, he made her sing with pleasure. He had his brooding moments, but never for a moment did she doubt his love for her. Never did she doubt she felt just as strongly for him.

“Aye. That is my most fervent wish for her.” Rosamond peeked a glance at Tierney who winked at her. Her heart fluttered and her belly warmed. That simple dip of his eyelid was so much more than a mere gesture, but a promise. A declaration.

Oh, how she loved him.

And how glad she was that he decided to climb up that cliff, and not run away when she brandished a fiery log at him. How glad she was that he’d saved her when she might have gone overboard, and how lucky she was to have fallen in love with him herself.

Wine and uisge-beatha was served, and Tierney raised his cup. “To our king and to Scotland! For freedom and new beginnings.” His eyes locked on hers. “And for love.”