Ella leaned into the warmth that Cain’s body gave off and enjoyed the slow gait of his horse as they rode through the night toward Girnigoe. She could see the torches glowing far off as if they were stars. She sat sidesaddle up against him. “Let me talk to Hannah first,” she said. “She respects you immensely. One cruel word will devastate her.”

“I do not speak cruel words.” The wind blew off the sea, carrying the smell of brine. “And she apparently did not respect me enough to trust my treatment of a prisoner.” A bit of hurt edged his words.

Ella patted his fisted hand that rested on her thigh. “People, without a mission or passion in life, often act unwisely. We should help her find something about which to care. She’s been told to disappear for so long, she hasn’t a reason for existing. Having a reason for living makes one think about consequences before they act.”

He caught a strand of her hair that flicked across her cheek, tucking it behind her ear as he looked down at her. “Ye are very wise, Ella Sutherland.” His knuckle guided her chin toward him so he could stare into her eyes. “What reason do ye have for living that makes ye so?”

A round face, with laughing blue eyes and freckles from the sun, slid instantly into Ella’s mind. She swallowed Jamie’s name. “My people. My home.” The familiar worry that she felt about keeping Jamie a secret was now awash in guilt. She needed to tell Cain about him, about how she strategized to meet with King James and secure Jamie’s future. She opened her mouth, Jamie’s name on her tongue.

Cain let her chin go and looked over her head. “’Twas a terrible home,” he said.

She paused and pressed her lips together. Keep him hidden. Holy Mother Mary, Ella yearned to speak with Kenneth. To what? Ask him if she could break her oath to her mother? Confess that she had fallen into bed with Cain, seduced the enemy, and in so doing had lost her convictions and would not be killing him? She turned forward again. “Not so much now that my father is dead.”

“It can be your home again,” Cain said. “I can rule both clans from Dunrobin.”

His words tightened in her stomach. “Or…” she drew out. “I can continue to rule over my clan at Dunrobin, and you can lead the Sinclairs of Girnigoe.” With Ella still in control of the Sutherland clan, she could pass the chieftainship to another Sutherland chief when the time came.

“I will leave Joshua to run Girnigoe. Or Gideon. Aye, Gideon would be a better steward. Joshua loves war too much.”

She frowned, her head tipping slightly. “Where is Gideon? He did not ride to the battle, and I have not seen him since your oath-taking ceremony.”

“He is riding south beyond Sutherland territory,” he answered.

“Why?”