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When he stepped into the Great Hall, Gavin stopped to look about him at the long rows of tables. Most of his own men and many of Athol’s had already settled at the tables, lounging or eating their morning meal.
The Lowlander’s eyes settled on Allan, who was sitting with Edmund and Peter at one of the tables. The older man’s surly expression told him that the steward looked to be the target of Peter’s wit this morning. In a lull between the storms last night, Gavin had asked Joanna about the steward. Why, he’d asked, had Joanna not chosen to seek out the older man’s assistance, rather than going into hiding?
The answer had been all too obvious to Joanna. The mute woman Margaret was Allan’s younger sister, and what chance did a feverish, grieving young woman have of being believed agai
