Iliana saw the change that came over her husband then and knew that his cousin did not have long for this world. She offered up a quick prayer for his soul even as Allistair raised his sword and charged Duncan. This time, Duncan did not meet the blow; instead he stood perfectly still until the man was nearly upon him, then stepped to the side and thrust his sword straight for his heart. Allistair let out a small grunt as he was impaled, peered into his cousin’s face, opened his mouth as if to say something, then dropped to his knees. He swayed there briefly, then collapsed to the ground, his sword crashing to the dirt beside him.

Iliana turned away from the dead man and glanced at her husband. His face was a mask of anguish. Her mind turned to all the others who had loved the man; Angus, Seonaid, Aelfread. “What will you tell them?”

“Nothing,” Duncan murmured grimly. “’Twould just sadden them to learn of his perfidy. They loved him dearly. I shall merely tell them that he died in battle.”

Iliana nodded solemnly at that, then moved to step out of the tent, breathing deep the fresh air.

As she glanced back, she saw Duncan take one last look at the face of his cousin. Then he took a blanket from the cot in the corner of the tent and covered him gently with it before stepping out to join his wife.

Chapter Twenty-two

“Oh, my lady! Yer safe! How did you escape?”

Letting the keep door close behind her, Iliana smiled wearily at Ebba, as she, Gertie, Janna, and Elgin all crowded around her. “Duncan,” she answered. “He and the men returned with the Innes and the king’s men. Greenweld’s men gave up quickly.”

“And Greenweld himself?” Gertie asked anxiously.

Iliana grimaced at the memory of her last sight of the man. He had been lying dead in the clearing.

She and Duncan had joined the party outside the cave just moments before a furious Greenweld led his men out into the clearing. The frustration of finding the passage firmly sealed and returning to the clearing only to discover himself surrounded had seemed to push the man over the edge. With an enraged roar, he had raised his sword and charged forth. His men had not followed. Dropping their weapons, they had stood calmly by and watched as their leader singlehandedly tried to take on three armies. He died quickly.

“There will be no need for an annulment. Mother is a widow once again,” Iliana assured the old servant solemnly. Her brows drew down on her forehead, her gaze sweeping the great hall as she suddenly realized that the one person who was most affected by her news was not present to hear it. “Where is my mother?”

“Oh.”

“Well.”

Iliana’s eyes narrowed on Ebba and Janna as the two women exchanged glances of mingled guilt and alarm.