‘Yes. I’ve arranged for him to be taken back to the Moncrieffe Lands. His body will be safe from desecration there. And it’s important that we don’t just pretend he didn’t exist. Like it or not, he’s part of our story now.’ He slipped his hand into mine. ‘If he’d seen in you what I see in you, he would have yielded long before.’ I gave him a questioning look. Byron shrugged. ‘You’re a fighter. No matter how bad the going is, you never give up. When things are dark and it seems like there’s no way out, you find the exit. You’re a true warrior, Integrity.’

‘Layoch,’ I whispered. I smiled. ‘That’s my true name.’ Byron’s mouth dropped open slightly. ‘I told you I would trust you.’

His eyes gleamed. ‘I’m Buaidh. It translates as victory.’ He watched me carefully; a shiver ran down my body. ‘I’ve not been victorious yet though.’ He swallowed. Then I realised his hands were shaking.

Alarmed, I stared at him. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’ve heard about this place down near England. I thought maybe we should go and pay it a visit.’

‘Why? Are there problems there? Has there been fighting of some kind?’ I gnawed on my bottom lip. ‘I know there are going to be difficulties but I thought we’d have at least a bit of breathing space first. Surely none of us have got that far down the country yet.’ Something else suddenly occurred to me. ‘It’s not the English, is it? That’s all we need.’

‘It’s not that. And it’s not a problem. It’s just that there’s an old blacksmith’s there which used to be very famous. I remember reading old stories about it in my school history books. Of course, it fell out of use after the Fissure.’

‘A blacksmith?’ I was thoroughly confused. ‘Are you getting some horses?’

‘Uh, no. Bob reminded me about it. It’s called Gretna Green. I know it might not seem like the right time but…’ He scratched his neck. ‘This is harder than I thought it would be. Maybe you think we ought to spend more time together first. But when you know, you know.’

Know what? I was thoroughly confused now. I’d seen Byron in a lot of different situations and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so scared.

From out of nowhere, Bob reappeared. ‘What are you doing?’ he screeched. ‘I’ve already softened her up for you. Just say the words!’

Byron ignored him. Still holding my hands, he got down on one knee and gazed up at me.

My mouth dropped. Hang on a minute…

Thank you so much for reading Last Wish and sticking by Integrity to the end!

I truly hope you enjoyed it. Once you turn the page, Amazon will offer you the opportunity to leave a review. It would mean a huge amount if you could review – any and all feedback is so very, very welcome and hugely important for independent authors like myself.