A murmur rose, and she realized everyone had turned to look at her. She slid a calm smile onto her lips like a mask. Her heart thudded hard, and she exhaled in relief when she saw Cain standing at the end of the aisle. Tall and broad like the perfect Highland warrior, he wore an intense look that was neither happiness nor anger. His bleached shirt stood out white against his tanned skin, his kilt fresh and bright with blue and green and a thin line of red. Her stomach flipped as his mouth relaxed. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it was genuine appreciation. Did he see that she wore his mother’s pearls?

Ella took a step forward when she felt a small tug on her sleeve. “Cain wishes for ye to carry these,” Viola said, shoving a bouquet into her hands. Ella’s stomach leaped. Had Cain gathered thistle for her to carry? But when she looked down at the flowers, their stems wrapped loosely with ribbon, she swallowed back disappointment as the cornflowers and daisies bent haphazardly. There wasn’t a single thistle in the bunch.

Taking a step forward, she saw a small scrap of parchment caught in the ribbon binding the stems.

I have him. Your secret. If you wed the Sinclair or alert anyone, I will slit his throat. We are watching. Descend the secret stairs to save your brother.

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Cain stood beside his three brothers at the front of the crowded great hall, staring down the aisle made up of clansmen and women and children.

They all wanted to witness the end to the feud that had taken so many lives over the last thirty years. Would this union secure it? Either way, he would wed Ella. Then he would work out a strategy for taking Dunrobin and Sutherland lands without bringing down the forces of the crown upon them.

Those gathered knew nothing of Ella’s distrust, because Cain had ordered his brothers to keep Jamie Sutherland a secret for now. He must speak with Kenneth Macleod as soon as possible. Ella’s steward waited in the middle with his men nearby.

Cain looked down the path that was cleared for the bride, and his inhale lodged in his throat. Och. His heart beat a deep thudding in his chest. Ella was the vision of a young queen, bedecked in pearls and silk, her raven-dark curls woven with flowers and ribbon. He knew her form intimately now, the curves and valleys, and it was accentuated by the lines of the rose-colored gown.

“Those are Mother’s pearls,” Gideon whispered to Cain.

“I asked Hannah to give them to her to wear,” Cain said without taking his eyes from Ella.