Alyse said, carefully balancing the pot of hot soup on her lap. “Nonsense,” Aunt Ernesta protested from the opposite seat of the barouche. “Everyone looks forward to visitors. And at the least we might raise the spirits of his sister. Isn’t that true, Richard?”Her cousin turned from gazing at the countryside they passed. “Hm? Yes. I imagine Beth, at least, could use something to distract her from William’s illness.”It was more likely that Richard didn’t want Beth too distracted by William’s illness. Alyse kept her gaze on the jostling soup. It had been just a few days since she’d last seen Phin, but she didn’t know how to describe the tightness in her chest as anything other than anticipation.And considering the rumors traveling across the valley this morning, she couldn’t wait to hear his reaction. Generally she abhorred gossip, but Roesglen had reported it all to the constabulary. How long had Lady Marment been…redesigning the interior of Roesglen Abbey—and why was she apparently doing so in the middle of the night?
