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curl over the coat of arms that was slightly smaller than the other. Brianna had described every facet of the brooch, and not once mentioned the flaw.
    For an instant, Airin envisioned her great grandmother as a young bride, the true brooch pinned to her plaide. It had meant more to her than any other possession. After fifty years of marriage, Duncan Keith died, leaving Brianna with nothing but memories—and the brooch. When, the brooch disappeared a year later, she mourned the loss of this last connection with him.
    Cerdwin released the brooch, pulling Airin from her reverie. "How is it you came so soon from the lowlands and without sending word?" the maid asked.
    Airin tucked the brooch back inside her dress. The metal settled between her breasts, its coolness instantly seeping through the thin shift to her skin. "Coming was just as easy as sending word."
    Cerdwin clucked her tongue. "Fool others, my lady, but not Cerdwin. I weaned ye, and know every thought in that pretty head. You came to spoil your father's marriage plans."
    "And why not? He schemed behind my back." She still hadn't forgiven him.
    The maid straightened. "Sir Deryll Keith fulfilled the marriage condition set by you ."
    Airin gave a grim laugh. "'Tis strange business, Cerdwin."
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    The Pendulum
    by Tarah Scott
    "Aye," the maid's tone softened. "News of the murder has spread halfway around the country."
    Airin lifted a brow. "All before the morning meal?"
    "Never mind," Cerdwin said. "There is a wedding to plan."
    "What need have I of marriage?" she replied bitterly. "I have seen the result of that holy institution."
    "To the devil with your father's title and lands, then?"
    In one fell swoop, the old woman had cut out Airin's heart.
    Four years ago, when Madeline married, Airin told herself their father would now have the son he craved. He never made her feel the deficit of being female, but a woman could not carry on the Keith name, work the land, and continue the legacy that Douglas Keith had built by the sweat of his brow.
    No knight was more respected. Born to a poor baron, he determined to add to his father's meager holdings. At eighteen, he entered David II's service and, at twenty, was knighted for valor on the battlefield. Two years later, Robert II assumed the throne and wasted no time in securing Douglas' allegiance. Robert betrothed Judith McNaught to Douglas. Judith's father, Lord Malcom, the Earl of Arbothnott, sired no sons, and Douglas inherited the earldom at his death. Regret pricked Airin. Neither her grandmother nor mother had produced a son. What if she, like Madeline, couldn't bear even a daughter?
    She faltered, suddenly realizing the meaning of her thoughts. How had she remained ignorant of her inner fears?
    Airin was sixteen, Madeline fifteen, when Jason Bothwell wooed Madeline. Her father protested that Airin should marry first, but she refused to wed simply to satisfy tradition. If she 42

    The Pendulum
    by Tarah Scott
    had insisted that Madeline wait—her knees weakened—would she have discovered the truth before her sister? Might she have saved Madeline a childless marriage? Her conscience, rubbed raw by sleepless nights and the ceaseless churning of her thoughts, gave way. She reached for the wall.
    "Airin! What is it, child?"
    Gnarled, firm hands grasped her shoulder, then slipped around her back, eased her forward three paces, then down onto a nearby bench. Cerdwin pressed Airin's head against her breast.
    "'Tis not so bad," the old woman crooned. "Most men dinna' mistreat their women. Look at your father. No man more adored a wife." She rocked Airin as if she was a child and, for the first time since Madeline's death, Airin did not hold back the tears. "There, there," Cerdwin said into her hair.
    "She was so young," Airin whispered through a sob.
    "A mere eighteen," Cerdwin agreed. "But she is safe in God's bosom."
    Did God welcome sin-tainted man back into his bosom?
    Yes, Airin thought. If the fires of Hell punished