Phillip Duncan’s handsome face twisted in a scowl. “The fiend,” he snarled, the hands resting upon the table curling into fists.

Ysmaine glanced at Quinn before nodding. “Yes. A good word to use.”

“To lie as he did.” He stood, pounding one fist into the other palm. “All in order to lure you to his estate. What sort of man does this?”

“A fiend such as the Marquis.” This came from Phillip’s brother, Jake, who leaned against the wall. “Tis a pity ye were not able to make him pay for his cruelty.”

“Escaping with our lives seemed more important at the time,” Quinn chuckled.

“The full hospitality and protection of the house and the clan are at your disposal,” Phillip assured them. “Anything I can do, please, I need only hear it from ye. In the meantime, I see my wife waiting in the doorway, demanding I allow the two of ye to rest and refresh yourselves.”

“They only just arrived.” Sarah Duncan was an energetic, no-nonsense type of woman who strode into the room and motioned for the two of them to follow her.

“My apologies if I wished to first find out why they graced our threshold,” Phillip grunted, albeit good-naturedly. “If an army of soldiers had followed them, would it not be for the best that I learn of it before you spirited them upstairs?”

Sarah merely shook her head, her long, brown braid swinging to and fro as she did. “My husband,” she muttered with a sly smile. “Come, both of you. Rooms are prepared, along with baths. I suspect you might both be the better for one after riding from Edinburgh.”

She was not wrong. Ysmaine ached from head to foot after four days of riding, and the impressive Duncan manor house had looked something like Heaven when it came into view. For the first time, no matter what Quinn had promised all along the way, she felt truly safe.

And truly comfortable. The bedchamber which Sarah led her to was similar to the one in the castle in France, but entirely more comfortable and pleasant. The windows were open, allowing the sweet, spring air into the room.

There was nothing as sweet as Highland air, Ysmaine was certain, and she would never be foolish enough to leave again.

“Quinn tells me you are a healer,” she murmured to Sarah when the two of them were alone.

“Aye, that is so. It is the reason I met my husband. He kidnapped me.”

Ysmaine burst out laughing. “How similar to my own story.”

“Just so,” Sarah smiled. She rested one hand upon her swollen belly. “And now, I’m well on my way to bearing our second child. Life follows its own rules, it seems.”

“It would seem that way.” Ysmaine sat with a groan of pleasure, sinking into the feather bed. “I was badly wounded on the road to Burghead and became very ill.” She lifted the hem of her kirtle to reveal the thick, pink line left from that hideous wound.

Sarah examined it. “Your healer did good work,” she decided. “I am glad to see it, not simply because you seem like a lovely person, but because you make Quinn very happy. I do not know him well, but I know he is a good man.”

“He is.” Ysmaine blushed.

Sarah motioned to the washtub. “The water is fresh and hot, and you are free to sleep as long as you like. I will have food brought to you as soon as you are ready for it.”

“Thank you.” Ysmaine took her hand. “Thank you so much. Your protection means the world to us both.”

“Thank my husband for that,” she suggested. “And I know I speak for him when I say he is happy to do it.”

“Is there a way I could speak to him alone? I have a bit of business I would like to discuss with him.”

Sarah shrugged. “Certainly. I will let him know you desire a minute of his time.”

It wasn’t until the following afternoon that Ysmaine ventured out of bed, bolstered by a meal served to her in bed, and found Phillip in his study.

He smiled when he noticed her waiting for him. “How are you feeling today?” he asked, waving her in.

“As though I slept more than half a day,” she chuckled, blushing.

“No one deserves it more, from what I’ve heard,” he replied, smiling indulgently. “What can I do for you?”

She cleared her throat, fingering the end of the braid hanging over her shoulder. She could stand up to the Marquis, kill a guard to save the man she loved, but she could not ask this of the Laird without fidgeting.

“I own a parcel of land in Clan Fraser territory,” she began. “It is not much, but my father left it to me upon his death.”

“A woman owning land,” he murmured, nodding. “I am impressed. Your father was a wise man.”

“Indeed,” she agreed. “And as Quinn explained last night, on our arrival, his half-brother is in need of assistance in paying his debt. He owes quite a lot.”

“Aye,” Phillip grunted.

“You… are a powerful man, who likely knows powerful people. At least, people in a position to assist me. I wish to sell the land in order to give the proceeds to Quinn, that he might use it to free his brother.”

Phillip’s mouth fell open. “Truly? That is a very generous thing to do.”

“We are betrothed,” she smiled, all but overcome with shyness. “I believe it would make a suitable wedding gift. All Quinn ever wished was to free Lennox, and I told him I would do everything possible to assist him. This is all I can do.”

He smiled. “You are a good match. I believe the two of you will be quite happy together.”

“I believe you may be right,” she smiled.

“I would be glad to have my solicitors broker a sale on your behalf,” he assured her. “And yes, I believe Quinn would be overjoyed to free his brother.”

Then, with a smile, he said, “You may wish to find your betrothed. I spoke with him earlier, and I believe you ought to hear what it was we discussed.”

She walked out into the hall, where a little girl she recognized as Sarah and Phillip’s daughter ran about, laughing at the curly-haired little boy who followed her. Sean, his name was. They were cousins, she knew, the boy being the son of Jake and his wife, Heather. He adored his older cousin and wished to be wherever she was, even though he’d only just learned to walk and found it a bit of a challenge.

It warmed Ysmaine’s heart that they could grow up together, along with the twin girls born to another pair who lived within the household. Maccay and Alis were their parents, the girls a pair of feisty, shrieking things who were less than a year older than young Sean.

So many people. A large, happy, loving household full of the sounds of joyous laughter. The sort of place Ysmaine had always longed to make her home.

Not that she expected for them to remain in the manor house once the matter of her property was settled. Quinn did not wish to settle down so easily, and she respected that.

She merely wished she knew where they would make a home.

She stepped outside, admiring the towering Grampian mountains which dominated so much of the view from the door of the house. The darkness in which they had arrived had not allowed for a clear look at them.

They took her breath away. Yet another thing she would never have been able to enjoy in France.

Quinn was with a few of the men, down on the field where soldiers trained. She recognized the limping man as Jake, who she knew was in charge of the Duncan soldiers. It appeared as though they were discussing strategy, as though Quinn were assisting him.

Would that he could make a life of doing so.

She could only hope.

Quinn smiled when he noticed her approach, and Jake waved him on.

“Good afternoon.” He grinned, kissing her cheek.

“I cannot believe I slept so long. I’m embarrassed.”

“Ye have no reason to be, lass.” He took her arm, leading her down to the lake beyond the manor house. It was as still as a pane of glass, reflecting a deep, blue sky full of puffy clouds.

“What a beautiful place,” she breathed, relishing the pine on the air.

“The perfect place in which to rest and recover after what you’ve been through,” he observed. “As close to paradise as I have ever found, if ye must know.”

She smiled. “I can understand that.” She glanced over her shoulder, toward the house. “Phillip told me you spoke with him this morning, and suggested it was something I might wish to hear about. What is it?”

He winced. “Always one to make such announcements on a man’s behalf,” he muttered. “He ought not to have mentioned it.”

“What was it all about?” She stopped, turning to face him. The mountains sat behind him, providing the ideal background to his handsome face. A face she loved so well.

He sighed, then, shook his head. “I asked if we might be wed here. If he would oppose my sending for the others, back at the Anderson house. He said he would enjoy hosting all of them for our celebration.”

She squealed with delight, throwing her arms about his neck. “That would be wonderful!”

“It suits ye, then?”

“Of course! To have everyone who matters to you, here with us? I cannot imagine a better way to begin our lives together.”

And she could not. She wished to know the people who mattered to him. She wished to be part of his life, for the rest of his life.

“What is it the two of you discussed?” he asked, releasing her after a long time spent in each other’s arms.

She smiled. “Wedding gifts.”