Johnny-Boy immediately moved to pick up his mistress, but Duncan stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Taking his place, he carefully slid his hands beneath her frail body and gently lifted her. Despite his care, Lady Wildwood moaned in pain as Duncan carried her to the cart.

In the few seconds she had before he reached the wagon, Ebba had done her best to arrange a blanket and bag into as comfortable a bed as she could for the woman. Once Lady Wildwood was settled in the wagon, Iliana started to climb aboard, but Duncan caught her back and gestured to the old woman to mount the cart. Iliana frowned unhappily, but resigned herself to not accompanying her mother. There simply wasn’t room for the three of them in the cart.

She made no demur when Duncan led her to his horse, but waited patiently for him to mount the beast, then allowed herself to be lifted before him. She was extremely grateful when he immediately urged his animal to the side of the cart, though, and squeezed his arm to let him know that as they started for the keep.

The hour-long ride out to the clearing became a two-hour trip back as they moved at a crawl to avoid unduly jostling Lady Wildwood. When they finally arrived, Duncan again lifted her mother into his arms. He carried her into the keep and upstairs to their bedchamber, waiting patiently as Iliana and the other two women quickly ripped the soiled linens from the bed, replacing them with fresh ones. Once the chore was finished, Duncan set Lady Wildwood gently down, then quickly found himself nudged away from the bed and ordered from his own chamber as the women set to work.

“I be thinkin ye might want to build those extra rooms ye’ve been planning fer so long.”

Duncan glanced at his father in surprise as they descended the stairs to the great hall. “I thought to leave it ’til I got a bit further along on rebuilding the outer wall. ’Tis no sense in the whole place being in an uproar.”

“Hmmm. Well…I be thinkin’ ye’ll be changing yer mind on that soon enough.”

When his father said no more, Duncan’s frown deepened. “Why would ye be thinkin’ that?”

“Well, now, it seems to me, what with Iliana’s mother so ill, the lass will insist on her stayin’ in yer room. And no doubt she’ll insist on sleepin’ on the floor in there, so she can keep an eye on her mother.”