Cain’s gaze flicked across to the arched alcove where the stairs began. Was Ella awake? It was still early, slightly past dawn. He’d walked up the circular tower steps as far as his father’s chamber where he’d stationed a rotating guard last night in case the lass thought she could sneak out. Perhaps, unlike Cain, she had succumbed to sleep immediately and slept deeply all night. He glanced at his brother when he realized Gideon had grown silent.

“She tried to leave only once, before midnight,” Gideon said. “Thomas stopped her.”

Cain frowned, meeting Gideon’s amused gaze. “How?”

“She opened her door, stepped out with her kitten, and took ten st—”

“Ye arse, how did Thomas stop her?”

“Ooooooh,” Gideon said, a broad smile irritating Cain. Unlike Joshua, Gideon was the peacemaker, so his teasing had caught him off guard. “He told her that he was stationed there to make certain she did not leave, and that food would be brought to her in the morning. She turned around, without a word, and climbed back up to the tower chamber.”

“Has anyone brought her food yet?”

“Merida stopped Joshua from taking it up and said she’d take it up after dawn,” Gideon said, his smile thinning out. “I think he has become interested in her.”

“He bloody hell better become disinterested fast,” Cain said, his hand squeezing into a fist.

The rivalry between the oldest and second oldest had always been fierce, with Cain being the one in charge as the firstborn and Joshua being excellent at starting wars. They would always have each other’s backs, though, in and out of battle. Loyalty to one another flowed through their blood.

“I already talked to him,” Gideon said. “The last thing we need is a civil war over a lass.”

“I would win,” Cain said. He always won.

“Speak the devil’s name and ye summon him,” Gideon said under his breath as Joshua strode briskly into the great hall, saw them, and came directly over.

He smiled and nodded to Gideon before meeting Cain’s angry gaze. “Have ye seen the Sutherland lass yet today?” Joshua asked. “She is looking quite lovely in that blue gown Merida found for her. Although I still prefer those tight trousers.”

Cain stood, his chair scraping back across the stone floor. Gideon leaped up, ready to break up what was about to escalate. “Ye were told not to go up to her chamber,” Cain said. He did not need Joshua interfering in his strategy to gain Ella’s trust.

“I have not gone up to her chamber. In fact, I just returned from giving your wedding banns to Pastor John.” Joshua made a show of stepping around Cain to flop down into the chair he’d vacated.

Cain spun on his heel. “And yet ye saw Ella this morn? She has not yet come down.”