"Well, you should have," Jamie muttered. "In future, I would ask you do keep count. It's the least you could do."

"Why?"

"Because I only have eight shillings left, that's why."

He didn't know what she was talking about. That didn't surprise him, though; he never knew what she was talking about. The color had left her face, reminding him of how much she disliked battles. He guessed she didn't want him killing anyone. That was such an amusing thought that he couldn't help but smile. Hell, he'd probably killed twice that number. The fight had been fierce. He wasn't about to share that information with Jamie, though.

"You're smiling, Alec. Does that mean you were jesting with me?"

"I was," he lied, thinking to ease her frown away.

She gave him a look that suggested she didn't believe him. Then she picked up her skirts and hurried back inside.

"Alec," Gavin said, "what did she think would happen when you caught up with our enemies?"

"I haven't the faintest idea."

Gavin held his grin. "By the way," he said, turning the topic, "Franklin rode ahead to say the clan's on their way home from Gillebrid's holding. They should be here by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Some of Harold's clan is tagging along. They mean to pay their respects."

"The hell they do," Alec barked. "They mean to look at my wife."

"Yes," Gavin replied with a chuckle. "Her beauty is already becoming legend.

There's also the fact that she saved Angus. Anyone with an ache or a pain will be camping on our doorstep."

"How is Angus doing?"

"Docile now."

"What does that mean?"

"He wanted to get back to his duties. Your wife caught him just as he was leaving his cottage. Elizabeth had gone to enlist her aid." Gavin let out a rich laugh before continuing. "I could hear Angus shouting all the way to the castle doors. When I got there-"

"He raised his voice to Jamie?"

"He had good reason," Gavin explained when he saw how angry Alec was getting.

"She'd taken his sword away from him."

Alec raised an eyebrow in reaction to that statement. "He did have reason, then," he admitted with a grin. "What happened next?"

"She never raised her voice to him, but she had him back in bed in minutes."

Alec started toward the stables, his hands clasped behind his back. Gavin walked at his side. "I don't trust any of Harold's men, especially his bastard sons," he said, turning the topic back to their coming visitors.

"The twins?"

"Justin will be a problem," Alec stated. "He's used to taking what he wants."

"You think he'd actually go after another man's wife?"

"He would. The man's fathered more bastard children than England's king."

"With his handsome looks, the women do fall at his feet. It's odd that Philip, though identical in appearance, is so opposite in nature. He's too timid to try anything."

"I don't trust Philip, either," Alec muttered.

Gavin smiled. "You speak like a man who cares for his wife, Alec."

"She's my property," Alec countered. "No one's going to insult her but me."

"She isn't having an easy time of it," Gavin remarked. "The task you gave her has helped, of course, but Edith is making it difficult still. She countermands every order Jamie gives. Annie isn't much better. She won't even speak to Jamie."

Alec didn't answer that remark, for he'd just noticed Jamie rushing down the steps. "Where do you think you're going?" he shouted.

"To visit the blacksmith," Jamie called back. She turned the corner and was soon out of sight.

Alec shook his head. "The daft woman's gone in the wrong direction."

Gavin chuckled. "Alec, she begs me to give her more duties. I can't let her do the heavy work, moving the stones, but I want to give her something-"

"What are you talking about?" Alec asked. "Moving what stones?"

Gavin gave his laird a puzzled look. "The kitchens," he reminded him.

When Alec continued to frown, Gavin explained, "You did give her permission to move the kitchens, didn't you?"

Alec shrugged. "I might have," he admitted. "In a weak moment. Still, it couldn't take her more than an hour to rearrange whatever in God's name she wants rearranged."

"Rearrange?" Gavin repeated in astonishment. God help him, he started laughing.

"What the hell's so amusing, Gavin?" Alec demanded. "Did my wife tell you-"

"Nay, she's doing exactly what you gave her permission to do," Gavin said, nearly choking. "You'll see soon enough, Alec. It might be a pleasant surprise," he added hastily when Alec seemed about to lose his patience. "I wouldn't want to spoil it."

Father Murdock came rushing toward his laird, drawing his full attention. The priest's black cassock was flapping in the wind. "Alec? If it's convenient, I'd like to have a word with you."

Both Alec and Gavin immediately tried to get downwind of the priest. The foul odor radiating from the man made their eyes water. Out of respect, Alec didn't mention his fragrant condition. Gavin, however, wasn't as diplomatic. "Good God, Father Murdock, what have you done to yourself? You smell like pig swill."

The priest wasn't insulted. He laughed and nodded his head. "I do smell foul, my boy, but I'm feeling better than I have in years. Jamie gave me a special paste to put on my chest. She mixed me another potion, too. My cough is near to gone now."

He took a step forward. Alec stood his ground, but Gavin took a hasty step back.

"Now, then, enough about my health and on to my important question," he said, addressing Alec with his gaze. "Your wife has given me all her shillings," he stated as he opened his hands to show the coins. "She wished to buy indulgences.

I didn't have the heart to tell her we don't use coins here."

Alec shook his head. "She worries overmuch about her soul. 'Tis an English inclination if I'm not mistaken."

The priest grinned. "Her soul doesn't concern her at all, Alec."

"Then why?"

"It's your soul that has her worried."

Gavin covered his laughter with a loud cough. "I count seven shillings," he told Alec.

"Eight," Father Murdock corrected. "One, she said, just as a precaution against a faulty memory. I didn't understand what she meant by that remark."

"The woman's daft."

"She's caring," Father Murdock argued. "Now tell me what to do with these coins."

"Put them in the box atop the mantel," Alec suggested with a shrug.

"As you wish," the priest agreed. "Now, while we're on the topic of your dear little wife, I was wondering if you'd give her permission to use one of the empty rooms above the stairs. She asked me to put the question to you, Alec."

"I see no harm in granting this request," Alec answered. "What does she want the room for?"

"Her bedroom."

"Like hell."

"Now, son, no need to get lathered up," Father Murdock soothed. He could see his laird's mood was spoiling as fast as fish left out in the sun too long. He blurted out his next question. "May she go riding on the hillside-staying on Kincaid land, of course? It will give her something to do. I can tell she misses you something fierce when you're away." The last comment softened Alec's expression. "Of course she misses me," he boasted. "All right, Father Murdock.

Tell her she may ride if she has an escort."

"You can't be thinking she'd run away, Alec? She misses her home, but I-"

"Father, the woman can't find her way out of a room with only one door. No, I don't think she'll try to go back to England, but she will certainly get lost.

She has no sense of direction."

"Yes," the priest agreed with a sparkle in his eyes. "She's as flawed as a clear blue sky."

"You contradict yourself," Gavin interjected. "A blue sky isn't flawed."

"To a blind man it is," Murdock answered, staring intently up at Alec. "If your wife is so inferior, I will be happy to see about gaining an annulment."