When Una went outside she hoped that some of the guests had dispersed, but she was disappointed. Lyle had done a sterling job of circulating between them, chatting to everyone and introducing strangers to each other while gently hinting to them that it was time to go. When Lyle saw Una come out he looked relieved.

“You are a fine young man,” Una said warmly, “I should have done this myself but I—”

He held up a hand. “Do not think of it, milady.” He shook his head. “When my sister died I did the same thing, so I have experience.” He smiled at her. “Now, are you going to say goodbye to some people or shall I escort you upstairs? You look very tired and I dare say it has been an emotional day.”

“I will say goodbye to them all at once,” she replied and went to the main staircase. She climbed five steps then Lyle called for silence. “Friends,” she began, “thank you all so much for coming. I know Ruaridh would have appreciated it very much; Davina and I do too. Please feel free to stay as long as you wish but forgive me if I retire. It has been a long few days. Goodbye.” Then she turned and fled up the stairs to her bedroom.

Lyle went into the little parlor to stand in front of the fire. “It’s freezing out there,” he complained.

“Thank you for all your help, Lyle,” Davina said, “I do not know how we could have managed without you—both of you.”

Lyle smiled at her. “Think nothing of it, Davina,” he said, “your mother is a good woman. She will recover from this, not for a long time, I think, but she will. And by the way, you are a good woman too.”

“A good woman that nobody wants!” Davina’s laugh was bitter.

Lyle fought down a white-hot spasm of anger. He hated unfairness in all its forms, and this went beyond unfairness; it was plain cruelty. His answer, he knew, was inadequate in the extreme, but there were no fitting words for a situation like this.

“That will happen in its own good time,” he told her and smiled, cursing himself for being a hypocrite and a liar. What could he do? He hated lying to her, but until he found out what was going on he had no weapons with which to fight. This was his mission solely because he had made it so and that was only because he thought Davina was a worthy enough person to deserve his help.

He had contemplated telling Athol but decided against it. Athol was simply not a person who could keep a secret, so he and his father were tackling the problem by themselves. He was glad to hear that Davina was starting a business of her own; it was a very unusual thing for a woman to do, but it was not completely unknown. Maybe when she was a well-known horse dealer she would be better regarded by the many men who were spurning her now. Until then, he intended to find out who was spreading the scurrilous rumors, and when he did, God help them!

They sat for a long time, talking softly about times gone by and plans for the future. Lyle was full of them. As the oldest and only son, he would inherit all his father’s property, and he hoped to have at least four children including at least one son.

“What does Mary say about your love of children?” Davina asked, smiling at Lyle. “She is the one who has to do all the hard work, after all!”

“She cannot wait to be with child,” he answered warmly, “I am a lucky man, Davina. She is a wonderful woman and I could not ask for better.”

“I am so happy for you, Lyle,” Davina said sincerely, “she is a lovely girl and I am very fond of her. Tell me, what do you think of Maura? She is very beautiful, is she not?”

Lyle shrugged, feigning unconcern. “I concede that, Davina,” he replied, “but beyond that, I know very little about her. I believe she lives in Fort Augustus, does she not?”

“Yes, but Grant wanted the marriage to take place here,” Davina replied, “because he has family here. Her father passed away a while ago and now she has no-one but Annabella.”

Athol stretched and yawned, then looked out of the window. “Time to get back to work!” he announced.

“And me,” Lyle sighed, “with great reluctance!”

“Indeed, I am sorry to see you both go,” Davina replied, “in spite of the occasion, it has been pleasant to sit and talk.”

“We must do it again,” Lyle said fondly, “it has been lovely.”

“And if you need anything,” Athol repeated, “remember, we are both here.”

She nodded. “I will,” she replied, smiling. “Thank you both very much and I hope to see you very soon.” She ushered them out of the room, to discover, to her dismay, that there were still some stragglers in the Great Hall.

Davina’s face must have given her away because the two men looked at each other and nodded. The past three days had been exhausting for both Una and Davina and neither man wanted any more of it to pile itself on top of them. They began to approach the little knots of people and ask them politely to leave, but Maura, one of the very last, turned back to speak to Davina.

“Before I go…” She smiled winningly. “I must tell you how much I admire you. You have organized everything very well under trying circumstances. Now, I have overstayed my welcome and so has Grant, thanks to me. Forgive me. I will send you an invitation to the wedding. Goodbye, Mistress Davina.”

“Goodbye,” Davina replied, smiling. As soon as Maura’s back was turned she allowed the smile to drop from her face. She sighed as Athol and Lyle came back.

“Thank you again.” Her voice was relieved and she hugged them both at once.

"Go to bed,” Athol ordered in a mock-stern voice. Lyle smiled and gave her a little wave then both men walked away, leaving her feeling bereft. She hugged herself. If only Nanny were here! she thought.

“I don’t like that woman,” Lyle said firmly, “that Maura.”

“Why not? You must admit she is very… decorative!” Athol commented, laughing. Lyle did not laugh.

“There’s something sneaky about her,” he replied, “I cannot put my finger on it but I do not trust her.”

“You do not know her!” Athol pointed out. “She may be one of the finest people on God’s earth, for all you know.”

Lyle shook his head. “I feel it,” he said uneasily, “I’m going to have as little to do with her as possible and I advise you to do the same.”

Athol stared at him in annoyance. “I think I will make up my own mind,” he stated firmly, “are you going to the wedding?”

“Yes, but not because I want to,” he said grimly. “Mary wants to go.”

Athol was silent for a moment. “Do you not think,” he said thoughtfully, “that by getting married you are giving up your freedom? It sounds as if Mary tells you what to do most of the time.”

“No,” Lyle replied, laughing. “It may seem like that, but we both give and take. She comes with me to buy livestock and puts up with the wives of all my elderly colleagues. She is the soul of tact and diplomacy. And I am looking forward to taking her in my arms and making love to her, lying with her in our bed with her warm body next to mine. I want to fall asleep with her and wake up beside her in the mornings. I want to have children with her and grow old with her. I love everything about her.”

Athol was incredulous. “But your marriage was arranged, was it not?” he asked.

“It was,” Lyle admitted, “but it soon became a love match. I liked her as soon as I began to talk to her, but it only took a few more weeks before I realized I could not live without her.” He paused. “Athol, have I not told you all this before?”

“In a way,” Athol answered, “but never with such passion. Well, it seems that you are most fortunate, and this is the kind of union I should strive for. But not at the moment!” He added hastily, “I have too much to do first. My parents drop a lot of hints, though.”

Lyle felt a stab of alarm. Could Lyle’s parents have heard the rumors about Davina? Were they deliberately pushing him towards someone else? “About what?” he asked curiously.

“About ‘settling down and doing my duty,” he replied in his father’s gruff, stern voice. “By which he means finding myself a nice girl. He is itching for grandchildren!”

“Mine too!” Lyle laughed. “But they will come soon enough!”

They rode on in silence for a while. It would soon be time for Lyle to turn off the road to go to his own farm. Mary had gone home with her parents, so the last bit of the road was going to be very lonely. When they came to the fork, Lyle turned to grasp Athol’s hand, as they always did when saying farewell.

“I will see you next week, no doubt.” He smiled. “Goodbye, my friend.”

“Goodbye, Lyle.” Athol rode back home, thinking what a wonderful best friend he had, but his mind kept returning to Davina.