He was about to announce his presence, when Madelyne spoke again.

"I don't believe it's possible to be flat on your back with more than one man at a time," she admitted.

Adela giggled, Madelyne shrugged, and Duncan, having heard most of Madelyne's dissertation on the ways of the Spartans, rolled his eyes heavenward.

Madelyne had propped the broom against the wall and was now kneeling in front of Adela's chest. "We'll have to empty this if we're going to move it across the room," she said.

"You must finish your story first," Adela insisted. "You do tell the most unusual tales, Madelyne."

Duncan started to interrupt again and then discarded the notion. In truth, his curiosity was caught.

"In Sparta there wasn't any such thing as celibacy. Why, it was considered a crime not to wed. Gangs of unmarried women would take to the streets. They'd search for unmarried men and when they found them, they fell upon them."

"Fell upon them?" Adela asked.

"Aye, they'd fall upon the poor man and beat him to a bloody pulp," she yelled out. Her head had completely disappeared inside the trunk. " 'Tis the truth I'm telling you," Madelyne added.

"What else?" Adela asked.

"Did you know that the young men were locked in a dark room with the women they'd never seen in the light of day and they were supposed to… well, you get my meaning there," she ended.

Madelyne took a breath, sneezed over the dust inside the chest. "Some of the women had babies before ever seeing their husbands' faces." She straightened up then, bumped her head on the lid of the chest, and promptly rubbed the ribbon off her head.

"It sounds horrible, but I'll tell you this. When I think of your brother Duncan, I can imagine his Lady Eleanor might prefer a dark room."

Madelyne made the statement as a jest. Adela let out a gasp of dismay. The little sister had just noticed Duncan was leaning against the door.

Madelyne misunderstood Adela's reaction and was immediately contrite.

"'Tis common talk I've taken up," she announced. " Duncan is your lord, after all, and brother, too, and I've no business teasing you about him. I do apologize."

"I will accept it."

It was Duncan giving her forgiveness. Madelyne was so surprised by his booming voice, she bumped her head again when she turned to look up at him.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, blushing with mortification. She stood up and faced him.

Duncan didn't answer her, he just stood there, making her nervous. Madelyne smoothed the wrinkles from her gown, noticed a large stain right above her waist, and immediately folded her hands in front of it. A lock of hair swayed in front of her left eye, but if she moved her hand to push the hair away, he'd see what a mess she'd made of her gown, wouldn't he?

Madelyne had to remind herself that she was only his captive and he her keeper. What difference did it make if she looked messy or not? She blew the hair out of her vision and struggled to give Duncan a serene look.

She failed miserably, and Duncan, knowing what was in Madelyne's mind, smiled over her failure. It was getting more difficult for her to hide her feelings. That fact pleased him almost as much as her disheveled appearance. She thought he smiled over her sorry-looking gown. Duncan reinforced her belief by giving her a thorough inspection. His gaze moved slowly from the top of her head to the dust on her shoes. His smile widened until the attractive dent was back in the side of his cheek.

"Go up to your room, Madelyne, and stay there until I come for you."

"May I finish this task first?" Madelyne asked, trying to sound humble.

"You may not."

" Duncan, Adela wanted to rearrange her room to look more like…" Lord, she was about to tell him Adela wanted her room to be as cozy as the tower room. He'd find out what she'd done then, and probably pitch a fit.

Madelyne glanced over to look at Adela. The poor girl was clutching her hands together and staring at the floor. "Adela, you have forgotten to give your brother a proper greeting," she instructed her.

"Good day, milord," Adela whispered immediately. She didn't look up at Duncan.

"His name is Duncan. Lord or not, he is your brother." Madelyne turned to Duncan then and glared at him. He'd better not snap at his sister.

Duncan raised an eyebrow when Madelyne frowned at him. When she motioned with a vigorous tilt of her head toward Adela, he shrugged. He didn't have the faintest idea what she was trying to tell him. "Well? Aren't you going to give your sister a greeting, Duncan?" she demanded.

His sigh bounced off the walls. "Are you instructing me?" he asked.

He looked irritated. Madelyne shrugged. "I'll not have you frightening your sister," she said before she could stop herself.

Duncan felt like laughing. It was true then, just as Gilard had praised and Edmond had protested. Timid Madelyne had become Adela's protector. One kitten trying to protect another, except that Madelyne was acting more like a tigress now, he decided. There was blue fire in her eyes, and oh, how she tried to keep her anger hidden from him.

Duncan gave Madelyne a look that told her what he thought of her dictate. Then he turned to his sister and said, "Good morning, Adela. Are you feeling well today?"

Adela nodded and then looked up at her brother and smiled. Duncan nodded, surprised that such a simple greeting could change his sister's manner.

He turned to leave then, determined to get as far away from his fragile little sister as possible before letting Madelyne have a piece of his mind. "Couldn't Madelyne stay here and-"

"Adela, please don't challenge your brother's order," Madelyne interrupted, fearing that Duncan 's patience was near the shouting point. "It wouldn't be honorable," she added with a smile of encouragement.

Madelyne picked up her skirt and hurried after Duncan, calling over her shoulder, "I'm certain he has good reason for his order."

She had to run to catch up with him. "Why do I have to return to the tower?" she asked when she was certain Adela couldn't hear her.

They'd reached the landing when Duncan turned to her. He wanted to shake her teeth loose, but the smear of dirt on the bridge of her nose drew his attention. He used his thumb to wipe the dirt away.

"Your face is covered with dirt, Madelyne. Aye, you're flawed now. Should I throw you out a convenient window, do you suppose?"

It took Madelyne a moment to understand what Duncan was talking about. "The Spartans didn't throw their captives out windows," she answered. "Only ill-formed babies. They were mighty warriors with mean hearts," she added. "They ruled with complete control," Duncan said. His thumb slowly moved to her lower lip. He couldn't stop himself from rubbing his thumb against her mouth. "Without compassion."

Madelyne couldn't seem to move away. She stared up into Duncan 's eyes while she tried to follow their conversation. "Without compassion?"

"Aye,'tis the way a leader should rule."

"It isn't," Madelyne whispered.

Duncan nodded. "The Spartans were invincible."

"See you any Spartans now, Duncan?" Madelyne asked. He shrugged, though he couldn't help but smile over her ridiculous question. "They might have been invincible, but they're all dead now."

Lord, her voice shook. She knew the reason well enough. Duncan was looking at her so intently and pulling her toward him ever so slowly.

He didn't kiss her. It was a disappointment.

Madelyne sighed.

"Madelyne, I'll not deny myself much longer," Duncan whispered. His head was bent, his mouth bare inches away from her own.

"You'll not?" Madelyne asked, sounding breathless again.

"Nay, I'll not," Duncan muttered. He sounded angry now. Madelyne shook her head in confusion.

" Duncan, I would allow you to kiss me now," she told him. "There's no need to deny yourself."