Cameron was in the great hall when he saw Mary bolt out of her father’s solar and speak to a messenger. Once she sent him off with a serving lass, she turned back to glare toward her father’s solar, then headed across the great hall. She hadn’t seen him yet—her gaze was on her feet and she muttered under her breath. He intercepted her, concerned about the scowl marring her normally serene face. Mary had complained about her father many times, but when she told him her father’s latest edict, cold fury tightened his belly. The man had gone too far. Her sister’s happiness was too important to Mary to keep her from the wedding—for nothing more than spite. Cameron resolved to get them out of the keep and on the way to Brodie. The sooner, the better.

“Pack yer things,” Cameron told her, fuming. “We’ll leave as soon as ye are ready.”

“Leave? And go to Sutherland?”

She misunderstood his anger. “To Brodie, of course. Ye want to stand with yer sister, aye? Yer father’s wishes in this dinna matter. I am yer husband, and I say we will go. I will see ye happy—with yer sisters in Brodie.”

Mary threw herself into Cameron’s arms. “I kenned there was a reason I married ye.”

He grinned. “Besides my irresistible good looks and my sense of humor?”

“Aye, well, those, too,” she teased, lifting one shoulder.

“My touch?” He trailed his fingertips from her shoulder up her throat and along her jaw.

Mary shivered. “Aye.”

His gaze bored into her. “My kiss?”

Cameron didn't let her answer. He covered her mouth with his lips and made love to her in the only way anyone could while standing up and fully clothed. And in the middle of the great hall, with people passing by. People who applauded and cheered.

Later, when Cameron saw what Mary intended to take with her, he gave up any pretense of leaving the Rose keep quietly. Instead, he carried her belongings to the stable and had the lads there secure them over the back of an even-tempered horse. It would enable them to travel faster than a using a cart. Then he set the lad to saddling his and Mary’s mounts and went to secure an escort to accompany them. Finally, he returned to the keep to collect his few belongings—and his wife.

Mary stood in the center of her chamber, looking about and wringing her hands. Then she propped them on her hips, sighed and muttered, “That must be everything. There’s little enough left in here.”

Cameron chuckled, startling her into whirling to face him.

“Ye big oaf. How do ye move so silently?”

“Years of experience,” he answered with a grin and a kiss. “And the horse carrying yer things would like me to inform ye she’s full up. Ye canna bring one thing more. If ye need aught else, chances are one of yer sisters can supply ye.”

Mary nodded. “Of course.” She hesitated. “I should inform Da…”

“Ye shouldna. If anyone asks, yer maid and the stable lad ken where ye have gone. The healer is here should yer father need her care. Ye can go for a fortnight—or more—without the Rose keep falling into ruin.”

“I’m no’ so certain.”

“Let’s give it a try and see, aye?”

Mary nodded. “We must, or I’ll never see my sisters.” Cameron wrapped her travel cloak around her shoulders and escorted her out of the keep, half expecting someone to stop them, but the others they passed merely smiled and nodded in greeting. They met the healer in the bailey, and Mary told her where they were going.

“Dinna fash,” the healer told her. “We’ll manage, and I’ll keep an eye on yer da.”

Mary squeezed her hand. “Thank ye.”

“Now get ye gone afore yer da finds out and orders the gates closed against ye.”

Cameron was glad to see the notion of being stuck here got Mary moving even faster. They mounted up and headed out, their erstwhile pack-horse tied to his saddle, six Rose warriors riding escort in their wake.

* * *

Mary nearly cried in relief when they left the gates of the Rose keep behind them. She’d felt trapped by her obligations for years, but had never felt physically trapped until today. She didn’t know if her father would have closed the gates against them, but she was perfectly happy not to find out. Instead, she needed to thank Cameron for reminding her she was no longer under her father’s control, and for freeing her from Rose’s walls, even for the short span of a visit to Brodie.

She took a deep breath and smiled at the serious expression Cameron wore as they rode along. She guessed he was on the lookout for trouble. His eyes moved constantly, taking in the woods and countryside around them.

She worried less about what lay before them than about the possibility of hearing Rose riders thundering after them from behind. “Do ye think the countryside is still overrun by gallowglass men, this long after ye were wounded?” Mary asked.

“Nay, I dinna. If they were about, we’d have seen some at Rose’s gates long before now, counting on Highland hospitality to force us to feed and shelter them. Likely they’ve gone home to Ireland or settled in with Domnhall at Dingwall or on Islay.”

“Then what are ye looking for?”

“Nothing and everything, lass. ’Tis a habit of long-standing and one that has spared my life many times. Even with our escort along, I willna be lax now, of all times, with ye here.”

The hours passed quickly, and almost before she knew it, the Brodie keep rose before them and they passed through the gates.

“Mary!” Her middle sister Annie’s voice rang out across the bailey as Mary, with Cameron’s help, dismounted and gained her balance. She hadn’t ridden for so long in months, and despite several stops along the way, the pins and needles in her rump, legs and feet told her she needed to get out of the keep more often.

She ignored the discomfort, and with a smile for Cameron in thanks, went to embrace her sister. “Surprise!”

“Da got my missive, then? Yet he is no’ with ye?”

Mary shook her head. “He did, and nay. In fact, he refused to allow me…us…to come, but…”

“Us?” Annie interrupted and peered over Mary’s shoulder. “Ah, Cameron!”

Cameron stepped forward then. “Cameron Sutherland.”

“I ken who ye are…”

“Mary’s…husband,” he added.

Annie whirled, mouth agape, and skewered Mary with her gaze. “Husband?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but turned back to Cameron. “Ye wasted nay time, I see.” She studied him for a moment, grinning.

“The very same, and nay, I didna.”

Annie stepped forward and hugged him. “Catherine and Kenneth will be so pleased with yer news.”

With a bemused glance at Mary, Cameron returned the hug, then released Annie and moved to Mary’s side.

Mary squeezed his hand. “Are they here?”

“Aye, of course,” Annie answered with a grin. “And eager for the kirking, they are. They’ll be even more eager, now ye are here. Come inside. Ye must be tired from yer trip.”

In the Brodie great hall, Annie got them seated while sending for food and drink, her husband, their youngest sister, and Kenneth.

Before long, the hall filled with squeals and laughter as the sisters greeted each other. The men took their ales to seats near the hearth while Mary looked both sisters over.

“I canna believe Da let ye come,” Catherine exclaimed, fairly vibrating with excitement.

“Da didna,” Mary told her as she and her sisters chose seats at one of the dining tables.

“Then how…”

Mary grinned. “Cameron is my husband now. Like both of ye, we handfasted in secret. So Da no longer gets to control…”

Catherine’s shriek echoed off the rafters. She jumped up and ran around the table to Mary, then nearly knocked her off her chair, hugging her.

Annie looked on with a grin.

“Ye are free! I canna believe it!” Catherine exclaimed, dropping onto the chair next to Mary. “Are ye on yer way to Sutherland?”

“Well, no’ entirely free, and nay,” Mary replied and tugged her hair. “Wheesht, Cat. Ye are with child now, aye?” Her sister’s gently rounded middle made that apparent. “Ye must no’ jump around so.”

Annie’s brow drew down. “What do ye mean no’ entirely and nay?”

Mary filled them in on the most recent state of their father’s illness, Seona’s pregnancy, and the fact that he’d confined all the Grants, including his new bride.

“Good heavens, we had nay idea it was that bad,” Annie breathed. “Cameron told us some of this on his way back to ye. And it appears things have only gotten worse. After all these years, Da finally wants a son, marries, and had to pick a…”

“Lamb-headed lass is the term yer sister used,” Cameron announced, coming to join them. He sank into a chair across the table from the sisters. Kenneth and Iain joined him.

Iain signaled for more ale while they settled. “Cameron has filled us in on some of yer news,” Iain added. “Including that someone nearly shot ye in the woods.”

“The arrows missed me,” Mary insisted with a glare at her husband as her sisters paled. “And we canna prove I was the target. It could have been an errant hunter, for all we ken.”

“Or the Grants want ye dead and out of the way, the better to take over Rose and expand their own and Albany’s reach,” Iain said, softly. “I disagree with Cameron. I dinna think Domnhall is behind it—proximity and opportunity make a Grant conspiracy much more likely.” He paused when a servant arrived with another pitcher of ale.

Annie asked her for something to eat and sent her away.

“Yer sisters are married into Brodie—or nearly so,” Iain continued when they were again private. “With ye out of the way, and with this Grant lass married to yer da, especially if she gives him a son, Grant will have a strong claim to include Rose in its territory.”

“Ach, but Mary is married into Sutherland—or nearly so,” Cameron argued, with a smile at Mary. He took a sip and turned back to the others. “We handfasted in secret. Likely the new Lady Rose and her clan have no’ heard the news.”

Iain tapped the table top with his knuckles. “So Rose is vulnerable until they do.” He looked grim. “And even after…”

Mary met Cameron’s gaze, open-mouthed. She hadn’t considered that when she agreed to handfast with him.

“Better Rose than Mary,” he growled, taking her hand and kissing the palm, then turning back to Iain. “Despite yer theory, it might no’ be Grant behind this. Domnhall would happily add Rose to his holdings, as well.”

“There’s another factor to consider,” Mary said, her gaze still on Cameron. “Seona and a Grant guard who stayed after her mother returned home have been lovers. They both think the bairn she carries is his, no’ our father’s. Da kens and agrees. He says Seona is too far along in her breeding.”

Annie straightened and shook her head. “Poor Da. Though if the bairn is a lad, she’ll have given Da a son he can claim and raise up as his own. He may no’ care.”

Mary nodded, possibilities and alternatives running wildly through her mind. “A lot hinges on the bairn.”

Iain snorted. “Is it no’ always so?”

The serving girl returned then with a platter loaded with bread, cheese and new apples. Catherine grabbed one of those and took a bite. “Let’s back up,” she said after she swallowed. “All of this is important, but too gloomy, and I’m so happy ye are here I dinna wish to dwell on clan Rose problems right now.” She leaned to the side and hugged Mary yet again. “Ye said ye handfasted. So ye mean to marry, aye?”

Mary traded a smile with Cameron, gratified by his nod.

“We do,” he asserted around a bite of cheese.

“Well, then.” Catherine stood, an infectious grin on her face. “Here at Brodie we have a small kirk, too, and a priest coming, and a wedding planned in a week. Why no’ marry at the same time we do? A double wedding—twice blessed and twice lucky, aye?” Catherine looked to Kenneth. “Ye dinna mind, do ye?”

“Nay, no’ at all,” Kenneth replied, turning a sly grin on Cameron. “I’ll be happy to see Sutherland wedded to yer sister.”

“Nay,” Mary objected, setting aside the bread she’d just picked up and tugging on Catherine’s hand. “’Tis meant to be yer special day!”

“’Twill be even more special to me if we share it,” Catherine avowed as she sank into her seat.

“And ’twill keep ye safe from anything Da might do to keep ye at Rose,” Annie added. “Or to keep ye from Cameron.” She grinned and winked at him.

Cameron grinned back. “It sounds like the perfect solution to me.”

Annie got to her feet. “Then that is what we will do. Come, Mary, let’s get ye and Cameron settled in yer own chamber, then we have preparations to make.”

Heart in her throat, Mary stood and took Cameron’s hand. “Ye are sure?”

Cameron nodded, his gaze steady on hers. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life, Mary, my love. Let’s get married in the kirk.”

* * *

Mary left Cameron with Iain, Kenneth and other Brodie men she didn’t know. He would be content for a while to sit by the hearth in the great hall, drink ale or whisky, and tell the sort of tales men told each other. Some true, some only exaggerated, some totally false. None of that mattered. Only the camaraderie they shared meant anything real and lasting.

She sat on Annie’s bed, Catherine sprawled beside her. Annie took the window seat, looked around her chamber and announced, “This is exactly the way we used to gather in yer chamber at Rose, Mary. Only Catherine was much younger.”

“We all were,” Mary replied, tousling her youngest sister’s hair. “But Cat hasn’t changed her habits.”

“None of us has,” Catherine objected, “Annie is still over there where she can hear herself think—or so she says. Ye used to sit on the bed because it was yers. And I lay beside ye for the comfort. Ye and Annie may remember our maman, but I dinna. Ye are as close to a mother as I ever had.”

“I’m sorry for that,” Mary told her. “I did the best I could.”

“Ye have naught to be sorry for,” Annie interrupted. “Ye raised us and ye helped us find our happiness, even in the face of Da’s disapproval. We owe ye a lot, Mary. And we mean to help ye find yer own happiness any way we can.”

“Like getting ye married in the kirk, so Da canna gainsay ye,” Catherine put in. “I canna wait!”

Mary gave her an indulgent smile. The youngest sister, Catherine had matured, but despite what she’d been through with their father and Kenneth, her soon-to-be husband, her childish exuberance had not deserted her entirely. It still made itself known now and again.

Mary turned her gaze to Annie. If Mary was eldest and most responsible, Annie was next in age and in sense of responsibility. She also had excellent organizational skills, and seemed to be the perfect foil for her husband’s more artistic and creative leanings. Annie kept Iain grounded.

And what did she do for Cameron? Were they too much alike, both duty-bound to their respective clans? Or had they managed to turn the urge to each other—not that Cameron was an obligation to her, or she to him, but that they were as strongly bound to each other. “Ye both seem so well matched, perfect complements to the men ye chose. I once thought I was, too, but Dougal didn’t have the patience to wait for me, or the stomach to take on Da.” She told them about Dougal's disastrous recent visit, and how he left.

“Cameron is no’ Dougal. He is a good man,” Catherine announced, sitting up. “Ye canna do better.”

“I can tell ye he impressed Iain, and ye ken how seldom anyone manages to do that,” Annie revealed.

“He knew trouble was coming and warned me to get out of St. Andrews,” Catherine added. “Then when Kenneth and I left, he joined up with us, though he had no obligation to travel with us or protect me. Ye must give him credit for keeping us safe.”

“I do. I have,” Mary replied. “’Tis no’ that there’s anything wrong with him. My doubts have more to do with me. I worry about our father and how he’ll fare if I’m gone from Rose. How the clan will fare without me…”

“They will manage,” Annie assured her. “Ye have trained them well.”

“Ye ken Cameron has some interesting friends, aye?” Catherine interjected. “Like the man who gave us horses to cross the Highland mountains. Ye will never be bored around Cameron.”

“But will he tire of me?” Mary shook her head. “I told him I thought he confused gratitude for his care with feelings for me. He says no’, but I sometimes wonder…”

“Nay, Mary,” Catherine said and put an arm around her. “I spent a lot of time with Cam, talking to him, watching him…”

“Ye mean ye took yer gaze from Kenneth?” Annie needled.

“Once in a while,” Catherine replied with a smirk. “Cameron is a very good looking man, ye ken. And kind. There’s a lot more to Cameron Sutherland under his charming surface. Anyway, I ken him well enough to be certain about the way he looks at ye, Mary. He loves ye. ’Twas no’ gratitude driving him to return to ye from Sutherland, to stay with ye, and to stand up to Da alongside ye. The man is in love. With ye.”

“I never thought it would happen again—though I suppose this is really the first time.”

“Well, it has,” Annie assured her. “First or second does no’ matter. I see the same thing Catherine sees. Ye’d best accept the strong, handsome, powerful man who loves ye. Enjoy it. Ye love him, too, or ye would if ye’d let yerself. Stop worrying about Rose and Da. Let Cameron take ye off to Sutherland. Time away from Rose will do ye good, and might force Da to see what a poor bargain he made with Lady Grant in wedding her lamb-headed daughter.”

Mary didn’t share her sister’s optimism. “None of that will matter if Seona gives him a son.”

“Let’s hope she does, then,” Annie said. “That way, he’ll get what he wants, and ye will finally be free of Rose.”

Would she? Or would she always feel like there was more she could do, more she should do, to improve it?