Iliana pulled back slightly to meet her gaze, and her mother smiled slightly as she continued, “And I was right.”

Iliana blinked in surprise at that. “But you and Lord Angus were—”

“I find myself attracted to him, ’tis true.” She smiled gently, her gaze drifting as if she saw him in her mind’s eye. “He is handsome and strong. A bit rough around the edges, mayhap, but I think I can help him to soften those.”

Now Iliana was completely confused. “But you just said—” she broke off when her mother gave a laugh and a self-deprecating wave of one hand.

“I am not saying this well. ’Tis true that I will never love again as I loved your father. He was my first love, a good and strong yet gentle man who treated me with more care and respect than I could ever have hoped. And for quite awhile after he died I thought he had taken my heart with him. But that just is not so. I am still alive. I still have feelings. Angus made me realize that.”

Iliana sighed and sat back, contemplating her hands briefly before glancing up to ask, “You love him?”

Her gaze drifted off again as she considered the question, then she shrugged. “I do not know. I am not yet sure. But I do believe I shall greatly enjoy finding out.”

Iliana blinked at that, then slowly relaxed. “I love you, Mother,” she murmured, leaning forward to hug her. Her father was beyond her now, and the most important thing for Iliana was that her mother should not suffer.

A knock at the door drew mother and daughter apart.

“Enter!” They called in unison, then shared a smile as Gertie entered, leading a small army of servants. The first two struggled under the weight of a tub. Those who followed bore pail after pail of water, some steaming hot, some not.

Reaching out to clasp her mother’s hand and give it a quick squeeze, Iliana smiled and moved toward the door. “I shall leave you to your bath and see you at dinner. I needs must arrange for my own bath to be brought up.”

“’Tis already done,” Gertie murmured, making Iliana slow and glance back as she reached the door.

“What?”

“A bath awaits you in the new room at the end of the hall,” she was informed.

“Oh.” Her surprise faded slowly and she smiled and shrugged, “Laird Angus must have ordered it. How thoughtful.” She glanced at her mother teasingly as she opened the door. “It would seem he has fewer rough edges than you thought, Mother.”

Iliana caught only a glimpse of the smile that accompanied the woman’s answering blush as she closed the door behind her. She was still smiling when she turned to walk down the hall and found herself facing an oddly nervous Laird Angus.

Eyebrows rising slightly, she nodded at the older man. “My lord.”