EIGHTEEN
News trickled in slower than the rain leaked in through the thatch above Portia's bed. Oh, she'd moved the bed and set a pot beneath the leak, but it hadn't helped speed up the messengers bringing word to Angus about what had befallen the rest of the Southern Isles.
Befallen was the right word, all right. Most of the isles had fallen, much as Isla had. Islanders were hospitable folk, after all. There were exceptions, of course. Lord Calum had taken umbrage at his envoy's demand to hand over his daughter to be the man's bedwarmer, and slain the man on the spot. Dermot had lost two brothers in the ensuing brawl, but Lord Calum still lived, albeit under the heel of an Alban boot. They'd heard no word about his sister, Bedelia, except that she was being held hostage to Calum's good
