“Do you believe me?” Adara asked shocked to learn that Maia’s body had not been found. How could that be? She did not understand. She had thought the woman dead. While the news surprised her what disturbed her the most was that Warrick might not believe her. “I speak the truth.”

“No blood. No sign of an altercation was found,” Warrick said.

“I do not understand.” Adara shook her head. “How could that be?”

“Two explanations. Her friends found her and took her, leaving nothing behind to show they had been there or you freed her to go her way and told a tale to protect yourself.” He felt her sink with a tremble against him and he closed his strong arms tighter around her as he directed his horse toward home.

Adara fell silent as she had done through the years when accused of a falsehood. She had learned it had mattered little to plead her innocence, people believed what they wanted to believe. But this was her husband and it mattered to her what he believed. Silence would do her no good this time.

She looked into his dark eyes. “I admit I am a fool for what I did, but I am no liar, Warrick.”

A tremble continued to run through her, but it was one born of the courage it had taken her to defend herself, and he was pleased that she had chosen strength over fear.

“I agree, wife, you can be foolish, but you are no liar,” Warrick said.

His response brought a smile of relief to her face and eased her quiver.

“I believe her cohorts were probably on your trail and came across her and since they took her body, it leads me to believe she may still have been alive.”

Adara shook her head again. “She was bleeding from her mouth, the knife was deep in her chest, she could barely speak.” She continued shaking her head.

“It was good you did not wait to make sure she was dead. You would have been caught and it would be your body discovered there.”

A shudder ran through Adara and she cuddled closer against her husband.

“Sometimes wounds appear worse than they are and some that appear minor turn deadly. Maia may be alive or she may not be, but we do know that there is a group of people out to see us harm and I expect you to pay heed to that warning, take no chances, and obey my word.” When he was met with silence from Adara, he said, “You need to think on that?”

“What if—”

“There are no what ifs, wife.”

Adara hurried to speak before he could stop her. “What if you are in need of help?”

“You think to come to my rescue?” His tone not only betrayed his shock, but so did his wide eyes.

“Of course, you are my husband.”

She was doing what she felt would be her duty, nothing more. Why did he want more from her?

“I need no rescue, no protecting. You will not put yourself in harm’s way for me,” he ordered.

Adara could not hold her words back. “I cannot give my word on that.”

Warrick looked ready to unleash his anger on her when one of his warriors approached.

“A message from Roark.”

Warrick nodded for the warrior to continue.

“You are needed immediately. It cannot wait.”

“Send Benet to me,” Warrick ordered and when the warrior rode off, he looked to his wife. “My warriors will see you home safely. You are gaining courage, wife, use it wisely.” He kissed her gently. Then motioned to nearby warriors.

Everything happened so fast, Adara barely had a chance to kiss her husband’s cheek and whisper, “Stay safe, husband.” Before she found herself lifted off his horse and placed on a horse with one of Warrick’s older warriors.

“My wife is in your care, Benet, see her home safe,” Warrick ordered.

“You have no worries my lord, my lady will be safe,” Benet assured him.

Adara did not get a chance to watch her husband ride off. Benet turned away from Warrick and rode off with ten of Warrick’s warriors following along with them. As the distance grew between her and her husband, so did the ache in her heart. She missed him already.

Six days. It had been six days since Adara returned to MacVarish keep and six days since Warrick had been gone. He sent word through a messenger, letting her know that his return home would be delayed. He offered no explanation, but she assumed the matter between the two clans was what kept him. Each day she had gone outside and stood in the front of the keep and looked to the distance, hoping to see him leading his warriors home.

She had continued to miss him. How much she missed him stunned her. There seemed to be this ache in her that she simply could not console. Somehow Warrick had become a part of her and she felt a piece of herself missing since he was not there. His absence had her giving thought to the prospect that she had lost her heart to him and was falling in love with him. But how could she know for sure when love was so foreign to her?

She shook her head at her jumbled thoughts. If love was this confusing, how could anyone know if they were truly in love? There was only one thing left for her to do. She would surrender her misgivings to her heart and fate, and leave it in their hands.

Warrick had made no mention of her staying put before he left and she had not expected him to. He was not a man to repeat his warnings and she was not foolish enough to make the same mistake again. Though, she had noticed that wherever she went a guard seemed to be in close proximity. At first, she had worried that he did not trust her and that would be her own fault for what she had done. However, the more thought she had given it the more she had realized he was protecting her should Maia and her crew attempt to harm her.

The only order he had left her with was for her to think on her time with Maia and see what stories she could recall. She had pulled as many as she could from memory and thought on them, eager to share them with her husband upon his return.

She also had found her thoughts occupied with what Maia had said about Adara’s frequent moves. She still could not fathom what the woman had tried to imply. No one wanted her, so she was given to someone else. She remembered crying when she had first been given to another family. And Aubrey did as well, the young lass she had believed was her sister. To find out she had not been, that she had had no family, hurt even now after all this time. Having thought it had been something she had done that had caused her to be given away, she had worked extra hard at the next home. But it had never been a home and she had not been there long. So she had gone from place to place, no one wanting her.

She smiled and placed her hand on her stomach. Now she had a home and soon a family.

He killed his first wife.

A shiver ran through her and her smile faded. She did not want to believe Maia or the tales, but she also did not want to be foolish. Somehow she could not fathom Warrick doing such a thing. Though, what if he had? Could there be good reason for it? She wanted to find out what she could about Warrick’s wife’s death. But if no one spoke of it as Espy had said, then how could she learn anything about it? She debated asking Warrick, but fear held her tongue. Whether it was fear of what she would learn or how he would react, she was not certain, but it was enough for her to say nothing.

Something did happen during Warrick’s absence that she had not expected. She found that solitude did not hold the appeal it once did. She preferred being with others, talking with them, learning more things about the running of the keep, and even digging in the kitchen garden’s soil and discussing future plantings with Emona the cook.

She had discovered that being with others, two or three people at the most, kept her fear at a distance. Any more would trigger her fear, not that it still did not rush over her unexpectedly at times, but somehow she had gained the courage to force it to retreat.

Her growing ease had an added benefit. The clan greeted her with more smiles and the women stopped to speak with her, ask her how she was feeling and how the bairn was doing. And they shared encouraging stories of delivering their own bairns.

She had been pleased when Langdon once again joined her on her walks through the village, just before dusk. He shared funny stories of when he was young and a hardy lad and often had her laughing. She found herself sharing a few stories of her own and he brought tears to her eyes when after learning of her rock collection being taken away from her, he gave her a rock with a design, given by nature, on it one day. They were not easy to find and that he had purposely searched for it for her had warmed her heart. She had hugged him and it had brought tears to his eyes.

For the first time since her arrival here, she felt it truly was her home, that she truly had a family, and she was more determined than ever to see to her duties and well-being of the clan.

A strong chill in the air made it feel more like winter than autumn and with that chill holding the last few days, Adara had made sure to take stock of the food supplies. She had been happy to see how well Emona had stocked the keep for the coming winter. The storage sheds also overflowed with salted and dried meats as well as various root plants.

She smiled on her way back to the keep. With the sheds and the keep stocked so well, it could mean only one thing… Warrick planned on remaining here throughout the winter. She was glad of that, since she would have no other but Espy deliver her bairn.

Adara went straight to the fire burning in the large fireplace, in the Great Hall, to warm herself, holding her hands out to the heat before rubbing them together.

Warrick would warm her.

Memories of their night at Cyra’s brought heat to her cheeks. That was the other thing she missed, making love with her husband. Truth be told, she wondered if she liked it more than she should. What was it that Maia had said to her one day? She did not recall the manner in how the subject had come up only the words that had stuck with her.

Do not be prudish with your husband in bed. Enjoy it as much as he does and you will know pleasure. The women of my birth home are just as strong as the men.

She had not been prudish with Warrick, to her astonishment. She had allowed herself to enjoy him and she had known indescribable pleasure. One thing Maia had been right about.

Adara dropped her arms to her sides and stared at the flames as if they had suddenly revealed something to her as Maia’s words repeated in her head.

The women of my birth home.

Scotland was not Maia’s native home. Where had she been born?

Adara tucked the information away, reminding herself to tell Warrick about it.

“A hot brew to warm you, my lady.”

Adara jumped with a start, her hand going to her chest as she turned to Wynn.

“Forgive me, my lady. I did not mean to startle you,” Wynn said.

“Busy thoughts keep my mind far too occupied,” Adara said and gratefully accepted the tankard Wynn handed to her.

“Your mum was often lost in her thoughts.”

“You knew my mum?” Adara asked, wondering why this was the first she had heard of it. But would it have been different had she not kept so much to herself? She had barely spoken to anyone upon her arrival here and she certainly had not encouraged anyone to speak with her. And look what locking herself away had done to her.

A sadness filled Wynn’s aged eyes. “Your mum spent three weeks here before taking her leave.”

“I did not know that. Uncle Owen made no mention of the length of her stay here.”

“Your uncle did everything he could to discourage her from taking you to the wilds of the far north. He believed it no place for a young bairn, which was why he begged your mum to leave you with him. At least until she got settled and could see for herself you would be safe.” Wynn gave a slight shake of her head. “Your mum would not be parted from you. She was courageous and fierce in protecting you.”

Like I am with my bairn, Adara thought, her hand patting her stomach.

“Uncle Owen spoke about my mum, his sister, who he loved dearly, but he did not say much about my da. Can you tell me anything about him?” Adara asked, curious about the father she had never met.

“He was a quiet man, a crofter, and protective of your mum.”

“Why would a crofter go so far north in the Highlands?” Adara asked, like her uncle Owen, she never truly understood why her parents had chosen to settle there. A crofter would know it was not good farming land and there was an emptiness to the area that only the hardy could endure. She also could not help but wonder how different life would have been if her parents had not made that choice.

“I would not know, my lady,” Wynn said, “but it is good you have come home and have a husband who will look after you as your da did with your mum. I will get you more brew.” She turned and walked off.

Adara wondered over her rushed words and her hasty departure. It was as if she was reluctant to discuss it any further. She gave a slight shake of her head. Why had she never considered that the servants would know more about her mum and da, then her uncle Owen did? She knew from experience that most believed servants had no ears or eyes and certainly no tongue, but often they knew more about the family than the family itself. Adara had a feeling that Wynn might know more than she was saying.

Her suspicions were confirmed when a servant returned with the brew and not Wynn. Did Wynn think Adara would ask more questions about her parents and so she avoided returning to the Great Hall? Why, though, would Wynn be reluctant to speak about Adara’s parents?

Could Wynn know a secret about her parents?

She would discuss this with Warrick when he returned. Or should she? Warrick would demand Wynn tell him all she knew of Adara’s parents. What if Adara was wrong as she had been with Maia? Her suspicions could cause Wynn harm. She would hold her tongue on this until she learned more.

The bairn moved inside her and she smiled as she patted her stomach. “We have not walked enough?” As if he heard her, he moved again. “We will go see how the kitchen garden comes along, then we rest.” The bairn moved again as if agreeing and Adara laughed softly.

Another week passed and Adara was beginning to wonder if Warrick would ever return. In that time, she had questioned Wynn now and again about her mum. Simple questions, ones that would not frighten her off. What color eyes did her mum have? Was she petite like me?

Those questions were always answered with a smile. “You are a mirror image of your mum. One look and your uncle Owen knew you were his sister’s daughter.”

Wynn was, however, brief in her response when Adara asked, “Was my mum fearful like me?”

“We all fear something.”

If that was so, what had her mum feared and why?

Adara kept herself busy and made a point of talking to people. She was pleasantly surprised to know that the clan did think well of her and was concerned for her well-being. The one question she was repeatedly asked was if Warrick would take up permanent residence here at MacVarish keep. She was honest with them and told them she did not know, that he had made no mention of it. The question itself always raised fear in her. The thought of returning to Warrick’s castle and the dungeons beneath where she had suffered frightened her beyond belief. She would much rather remain at MacVarish keep and close to her friend Espy.

“My lady.”

Adara turned to see Langdon approach her. He was smiling and held something in his hand.

“Burchard and I found this while we cleared the earth to extend the kitchen garden as you requested.” He held a stone out to her.

Adara took it. It was a triangle shape, cleaned of all dirt and imprinted on it was what looked like an insect of sorts. “This is wonderful, Langdon. I am going to have to dig with you and Burchard one day.”

“We can dig. You can watch, my lady.”

“I will not be deprived of the fun of finding more stones to add to the two you have generously found for me,” she said with a smile.

“It is fun. I find myself looking more closely at stones now, in hopes of finding ones with designs on them.”

“Then I will join you in the hunt,” Adara said with a sense of excitement.

“As you wish, my lady,” Langdon said with a nod. “A sharp chill fills the air. You should seek the warmth of the keep.”

“My thoughts exactly and thank you for the gift,” she said and tucked it in the cuff of her sleeve for safe keeping. She gave Langdon a smile and a wave as they parted ways and she kept a tempered pace to the keep.

She was not alarmed when the bell tolled once, announcing an expected arrival. She had learned from wagging tongues that a troop from one of the warring clans would arrive here and camp on the outskirts of the village. Why they did so, no one knew, but all assumed it had something to do with an agreement between the two opposing clans.

She stopped and watched their slow approach, Warrick’s men keeping close watch on them. The air having chilled considerably and tired from a busy day, Adara continued her pace to the keep, intending to rest when suddenly a battle cry ripped through the air.

The clan was under attack.