Lady Wildwood’s gaze slid from her daughter’s morose expression to Elgin and Rabbie, both of whom sat swaying on either side of her. The table before them was littered with empty pitchers that had once held whiskey. “Angus is awake.”

Rabbie straightened abruptly at that, as did Elgin.

“Awake?” the cook murmured, his eyes suddenly bright. “He’ll be wantin’ to eat then. I’d best fetch something.” Stumbling to his feet, he hurried toward the kitchen.

Lady Wildwood frowned at Iliana’s complete lack of reaction to the news, then moved forward, holding a hand out. “Come. Angus may not be able to stay awake long, and he seems to have something to tell you. You, too, Rabbie.”

The stablemaster was on his feet at once and following them toward the stairs.

Angus was awake, but terribly pale and frail-looking when Iliana’s mother led her into the room. He took one look at Iliana’s glum expression and struggled to sit up. “What is it? Has the wall fallen?”

“Nay, all is well,” Lady Wildwood soothed, urging him to lay back on the bed.

“All is better than well, me laird.” Rabbie grinned as he hurried to the bedside to tell of what had been done. He waxed enthusiastic about Iliana’s clever use of the rock to crush the barricade and her substitution of stew for the boiling pitch.

Angus listened calmly, his gaze never leaving Iliana’s face. When the man had finished, he asked, “Then what happened?”

Rabbie glanced uncomfortably away. He was not eager to give the bad news and she could not blame him. The responsibility was hers anyway.

Straightening her shoulders, she moved to the side of the bed. “They responded with volleys of arrows. Four of our men were killed, and three injured before I told them to withdraw from the wall.”

“You left the wall unguarded?” Angus looked horrified at the possibility and Iliana quickly shook her head.

“Nay, I stayed to watch their activities.” If he had looked horrified that the wall might have been left unmanned at all, he looked even more so that Iliana herself had insisted on staying there to watch alone. “The men were busy helping to move the dead and injured,” she added quickly as he started to turn a furious gaze on the stablemaster. It was not Rabbie’s fault. He had tried to argue with her, as had everyone else, but she had been stubborn and taken full advantage of the fact that she was now in charge by ordering them off the wall. “’Sides,” she added now, “once I saw what they were up to, I called the men back.”

“Saw? Ye saw? Ye had the stupidity to look over the wall when they were shooting arrows?!”