Sighing, Iliana tore her eyes away from Duncan to peer questioningly at her maid.

“Your skirt.” The woman gestured and Iliana stood again, twisting her head to peer over one shoulder at the skirt of her gown. There were stains, smudges, and crumbs of food on it just from sitting. There was also a great wet spot on it. Apparently, the bench had not been wholly dry when she had been forced to sit there. From the scent wafting up to her she guessed she had sat in a puddle of ale.

Frowning, she began brushing at it fretfully. Care for clothing had been hammered into her from a very early age. Clothing was often expensive and difficult to replace so far from the city tailors and dressmakers. That being the case, she had never been allowed to run or roll about on the ground with the other children at Wildwood. She had ever been expected to be a little lady and always act with decorum. Her mother would have been appalled at the state of her gown just now.

Ebba knelt to try to aid in removing the marks on her skirt, but it quickly became obvious that it was an impossible task. The skirt was ruined, Iliana realized with dismay.

“Aye. There’s no time like the present.”

Angus Dunbar’s words caught Iliana’s attention, dragging it away from her skirt and to the conversation Lord Rolfe and the bishop were holding with him.

“’Tis true,” Rolfe murmured now. “The sooner we get this business finished, the sooner we can move on to tending to Lady Seonaid’s problem.”

Turning sharply toward his son, Laird Angus glared at him meaningfully until Duncan sighed and murmured, “Me father does not agree that ye go to Sherwell and force ’is hand. He fears the man may agree to the marriage takin’ place.”

Rolfe’s eyebrows rose. “But I thought marriage was what you were hoping to achieve for Lady Seonaid?”

“Not to that stinkin’ sack o’ manure English whelp!” Angus snapped furiously.

“I see.” Rolfe frowned over that, then shook his head helplessly. “I—” he began, only to pause when the bishop leaned forward to murmur something in his ear. Nodding his head with relief, the younger man then turned back to his host and forced a smile. “Mayhap we should leave this worry for now. Once we’ve tended to Lady Iliana and your son, we can discuss what to do about Lady Seonaid and Lord Sherwell.”

There was a moment of tense silence, then Angus nodded grimly. “Aye. I’ll inform the men and send one out to fetch Seonaid.”

“Fetch her? Is she not here?”

“Nay. She’s gone ahuntin’. She’ll not have gone far. ’Twill take no time at all to find her. We can begin the ceremony when she returns.”