“I am overjoyed for you, Snow,” James said when they entered the Great Hall, then laughed softly. “Though, I never would have expected it to be the Lord of Fire you fell in love with or he you.”

“I know. It’s strange, and yet it feels so right.”

“That’s all that matters,” James said and patted her arm. “Remember, though, I’m always here if you need me.”

Thaw’s barking was heard before he was seen and when the pup spotted James he made a mad dash for him, his tailing wagging like crazy.

James leaned down to greet the pup.

“Oh, m’lady, tongues are wagging furiously with that body being drained of blood last night,” Nettle said, hurrying into the Great Hall, her cloak dusted with snow.

James stood straight, his eyes wide. “Body? Blood drained? What goes on here?”

Nettle gasped. “I’m sorry, m’lady, I didn’t see him there.”

“Learn to hold that tongue, woman,” Rannock ordered, appearing behind her. “No need upsetting Lady Snow with gossip.”

“It’s not gossip. It’s truth,” Nettle argued. “And Lady Snow has the right to know.”

“What gossip? What truth? What body? What blood?” James asked, anxious to know what was going on.

“That’s not for you to decide, Nettle,” Rannock said.

“What isn’t for Nettle to decide,” Tarass asked, entering the Great Hall.

James hurried to speak up before anyone else could. “What is this about a body and drained blood? This does not bode well with the other problem you face.”

“What other problem?” Rannock asked.

“There’s another problem, m’lady,” Nettle whispered to Snow, having stepped closer to her, though Nettle’s whisper wasn’t much of a whisper.

“That does not concern you,” Rannock said.

“Anything that concerns, Lady Snow, concerns me,” Nettle argued.

“Enough! I’ll hear no more about it,” Tarass snapped. “If I wish you to know, you will be told.” He turned to James. “This is best discussed in private.” He leaned down and whispered in his wife’s ear. “I suppose there’s no point in telling you to wait here.”

Snow whispered back, “Not if you don’t want me to disobey you again.”

She caught his muffled oath as he straightened and took her arm, and she smiled.

Snow sat after entering the solar again and Thaw planted himself next to her leg. She reached down to pet him while her husband wasted no time in detailing what had happened last night.

“Good Lord,” James said when he was done. “This is terrible and bodes worse than I thought for you both. When Polwarth learns of this, and he will learn of this—wagging tongues spreading news fast—he will claim it some barbaric ritual to prove Tarass practices a heathen belief and have further proof to invalidate your marriage.”

Snow’s stomach churned with worry. Her brother was right. This did not bode well for them at all.