Once the initial stab of pain had relented, it hadn’t taken Joan long to recognize the woman reputed to be one of the most beautiful in England. They had crossed paths from a distance a few times in the past at court in London when Joan had still been living with the Despensers. Joan had been as surprised as everyone else to hear that Rosalin Clifford had been taken hostage by one of the most notorious and hated Scotsmen in England, the Devil’s Enforcer, Robbie Boyd. But unlike everyone else, Joan knew the truth that Rosalin hadn’t been forced to wed Boyd, she’d wanted to.

So why was Rosalin here? And what, if anything, did it have to do with Alex?

Joan didn’t need to be one of the best spies in England to know that Rosalin meant something to Alex—it had been as clear as day on his face.

What had surprised her was how much that meant to her. She’d been jealous and scared. Scared that she would lose him, scared that he would hold her up against this other woman and wonder what he’d been thinking, scared that she’d allowed herself to get too close, and most of all scared that it might be too late to do anything about it.

She had to try to pull away, while she still could. Focus.

He was waiting for her in the entry hall. The boyish smile that curved his lips when he turned and saw her cut like a knife through her heart. It seemed a taunt of everything she wanted that wasn’t hers even if it seemed to be. It was all pretend. A glass house of illusions that could be shattered at any moment.

She forced herself not to show her hurt. To keep her expression cool and serene. “You wished to see me, my lord?”

He frowned a little at her polite tone. “Aye, I’m afraid I have something I must attend to at my lands in East Lothian. That is the reason Pembroke wished to see me. I should only be gone for a few days, but I must leave first thing tomorrow.”

“I hope it is nothing too serious, my lord.”

“As do I,” he said, although he didn’t sound convinced.

She could not hide all her emotions, it seemed, as her voice came out worried and entreating. “You will be careful?”

He smiled. “I will endeavor to return to you exactly as I have left you.”

She returned his smile, appreciating the attempt at humor even if the idea of him being hurt made all those emotions she was trying to hide stir like a tempest. “Then I will wish you a safe journey, my lord, and see you upon your return.”