About this story
Grief cannot bar the gate, boys; watch the glen while English parties range the abbey lands. You step into this one-chapter preview with Edward Glendinning at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. Night settled over a tower protected by English power while sheltering those that power had dispossessed. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
How it opens
After Pinkie, Elspeth Glendinning held the remote tower of Glendearg with two sons and news of her husband's death.
Elspeth GlendinningGrief cannot bar the gate, boys; watch the glen while English parties range the abbey lands.
Halbert, dark-haired and defiant, treasured the sword of the father he intended to avenge.
Call both boys close when scarlet cloak and bright armour appear above a dozen riders in the glen.
Choose
State plainly that Glendearg lacks the means to resist.
Offer food and rest so hospitality governs the meeting.