Honoria waved Isla’s concern aside. “I shall determine that beforehand.”
“What about the man after him? It’s too dangerous!”
“I told you, he will give up long before we go.”
“You are not being reasonable,” Isla complained. “You want to go to Edinburgh so badly you are acting recklessly.”
Honoria pursed her lips.
Shewouldgo to Edinburgh. Fate had given her a sign—a way—and she would not squander it.
Besides, Lash wouldn’t be caught unawares again. The bounder would be unable to ambush him a second time. There was no true danger.
Isla huffed. “Do you honestly believe Hugh will allow any of this?”
“Och, what a smashing notion,” she declared with the clap of her hands. “All three of us can make the journey!”
Itwasa better idea. A safer one, too.
“That will never happen. Hugh is under strict orders from Adair.”
“Aye, I keep forgetting our little brother has something to prove.”
“Do not sound so sarcastic, heis but aman. He does have something to prove; they always do.”
“Speaking of our dear brother, where is he? I have not seen much of him.”
“He is frolicking with one of the dairymaids, no doubt.”
“Shocking,” Honoria said. “You should come with me, Isla.’Tis unfair that our brothers get to frolic to their heart’s content while we are locked away in a castle. We deserve to experience some of the world before we perish in the name of spinsterhood.”
“It will not come to that.”
“Are you certain? I for one don’t wish to be married to a man Adair chooses—I shall die of boredom if he has his way!”
“It will hardly be as bad as that.”
Honoria raised her brow.
“Fine, it shall be worse.”
“I’d rather not turn into a prune while waiting for Adair to find pompous lords for us to marry. Let us seek our own destiny.”
“I have given thought to follow my own path,” Isla answered with a sigh. “But look where that got me—heartbroken. Perhaps we ought to follow the rules for once.”
“Rules are meant for breaking.”
“The very purpose of them is the opp—”
“Lawd! You sound like Kieran,” Honoria interrupted her sister. “Will you join me or not?”
“I do not wish to intrude upon your journey.”
“Honestly, have some sense of adventure. Sometimes there are no second chances,” Honoria gave her sister a pointed look. “Sometimes there is only the present, and if you don’t take the chance, if you do not seize the moment, it is lost forever. Are you prepared to lose a chance at some freedom?”
Isla inhaled a deep breath. There was nothing insignificant about the pause. Her sister had been through heartache, almost to the point of never recovering.
Then, suddenly, she gave a curt nod. “Very well, if you convince the stranger with the syrupy voice to escort you to Edinburgh, I will come along.”
