“Aye. Too much work and most like too much sun,” she said accusingly, then turned to glare at Laird Dunbar. “Lady Iliana has worked herself like a serf since arriving here. First she was scrubbing, then today she was working in the garden all day, digging and dragging heavy plants. ’Twas a fair bit sunnier than she is used to just now. And more work than she is presently used to as well. Add that to the upset of her father’s death, her worry over her mother since then, as well as the added worry of the trip here and—” She shrugged on a sigh. “I should have warned her to take it easier.”

“I noticed she seemed a mite pale when she arrived here. Scrawny, too.”

“Aye, well, let us lock you up in a windowless tower for near a month, and most oft without food, and we shall see how hale and hearty you look,” Ebba muttered bitterly, resenting what she considered to be a criticism.

“Locked up?” Duncan finally spoke, shocked.

Ebba glanced at him then. “Aye, locked up. ’Tis how Greenweld punished her when he grew tired of her trying to escape to rescue her mother.”

“Greenweld?” Seonaid murmured, not having been privy to all the reasons behind the marriage. All she had been told was that the king wished the wedding, not the reasons why.

“Her stepda,” Duncan told the girl now, bringing a sneer to Ebba’s lips.

“Nay,” she nearly spit the word. “’Tis true Greenweld forced Lady Wildwood to marry him, but the king will soon have it annulled. ’Tis why he sent Iliana to you. To get her away from the man so that he would no longer be able to use her safety against her mother. Now that she is safe, they have no doubt already petitioned for an annulment.”

Sighing, Ebba felt Iliana’s face again and frowned. “I am worried that she has had too much sun. She was ill with it once as a child and has been kept from the sun since. She got a fair bit of it today. She knows better.”

“She most like did not realize how much she was getting,” Cook murmured, moving to join them now that Angus no longer blamed him for her condition. “While ’tis true ’twas sunny, ’twas also chill. She would not have noticed the sun so much.”

Angus frowned. “Aye. She is not used to the ways here. We must remember that. Keep an eye out fer her. Make sure she gets less sun and plenty o’ rest.” He glanced at his son meaningfully as he added that last bit.