Ella hurried down the tower steps toward the great hall.

Where was Cain?

She had watched him return from the south an hour ago, but he had not come up to his chamber where she had waited with Jamie. Her pacing had become too much to bear, and she’d asked Hannah to stay with Jamie while she left the room.

Dressed in a simple blue petticoat and bodice, she stopped in the archway at the bottom of the steps. Her gaze moved about the great hall that had been filled with Sinclairs the day before. A few tankards and platters sat on the long table that had been moved back into its usual place. Garlands of wilted summer flowers still lay draped around the two iron chandeliers and across the mantel of the cold hearth.

Gideon was the only soul in the room. He had turned cold toward her after his trip to Edinburgh, but she didn’t blame him. She exhaled, her brows lowered, and walked in. Gideon turned from some parchments he was staring down at on the table. His normally superior smile had vanished, and he studied her as she approached. “Lady Ella,” he said, nodding. “Good day.”

She returned the gesture. “Have you seen Cain? I have not spoken to him since we arrived last eve.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he moved closer, his gaze shifting along her face. He tilted his head. “Aye. We returned not too long ago from Dunrobin.”

Her breath hitched, and she forced a deep inhale. “For what reason?”

“To summon Ethan Sutherland and his warriors out to the moor between our lands when the sun is high.”

She swallowed hard. “And what will happen there?”

Gideon crossed his arms. He was as large as his brothers but seemed to keep himself more contained. “That is up to your people. They can witness the union of our two clans as ye and Cain speak vows of marriage before Pastor John, with ye surrendering control of Dunrobin and the Sutherland Clan to our leadership or…” He met her gaze without blinking. “If they do not come to the moor, we will ride on to lay siege to Dunrobin and declare war upon Sutherland Clan.”

Cain had said that was his plan from the start. He was born and raised to conquer lands and people, and he’d never hidden that fact or apologized for it. But she had hoped…

His brother seemed to wait for her to say something. She wet her dry lips, her head held level, and her voice came strong. “Jamie should take his rightful place as chief of Sutherland Clan, the way my mother wished.”

Gideon frowned deeply as if the statement irked him. “He is an untried boy. Cain would never put part of his holdings into the hands of a child.”

“I could stand as regent at Dunrobin and guide Jamie until he comes of age.”