“Home?” She prayed it was all a coincidence. Perhaps he was a distant cousin to Braden. Perhaps one of the MacDouglases had kidnapped him thinking to use him against one of the other MacAllister clansmen.
Her mind grasped at any explanation other than the most obvious one.
“Aye. “I’m one of their bastards. Me mother told me my da was a MacAllister and I want to go to their castle to meet my family.”
Maggie’s head swam at the confirmation of her worst fear. Braden had a son. One who had been seriously neglected by the looks of him.
In that moment, she wanted to storm into the castle and ring the man’s neck. How dare Braden take no responsibility for his actions!
Oh just you wait, Braden, she thought to herself. I’m going to get you for this.
“And where’s your mother?”
Connor looked away and his eyes turned even angrier than before. “She died two summers back. I was staying with her sister, but she said she don’t want no bastard who can’t do what he’s told. I was thinking since you were here that if I paid you, you’d take me back with you.” He moved forward then, and held his little, frail hand out to show her a glass bead, a shiny rock, and a piece of charred, twisted silver that defied her abilities to identify it. “I know it’s not much, but it’s all I got. If you take me home to them, you can have all of it, and I swear I’ll find work and pay ya proper for putting up with me.”
Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at his extended hand.
How could anyone be so cold as to turn such a dear child out? And it was obvious he was a good lad. In spite of the anger in him, he was being respectful and honest.
Maggie knelt down by him and looked at his offering. “What fine treasure you have there.”
He nodded solemnly as he fingered the glass bead. “This was in me mother’s pin. It fell out and I was going to fix it for her, but she died before I could earn enough money to pay the smith to repair it.”
Next he went to the rock. “This, I took from outside our cottage when I was a little boy and they told me I couldn’t live there anymore.”
And lastly, he touched the silver piece. “That was the ring me father gave me mother. Me uncle tried to melt it down, but I grabbed it out of the fire when he wasn’t looking and hid it.”
He extended his hand to her and offered her all he had in the world.
Swallowing back the tears, Maggie took his hand in both of hers and closed his hand over his payment. “This is far too valuable for me to take.”
He looked confused.
She pulled the plaid shawl off her shoulders and wrapped it around him. “You don’t have to pay me, Connor. I would be honored to take you away from here.”
Happiness flared in his eyes for a full second before suspicion clouded his gaze. “What do you want from me, then?”
“Nothing.”
He scoffed at her. “People don’t do nice things for nothing. They all want something.”
Goodness, but the boy sounded so much like Sin that it gave her chills. Just what had he experienced to make him so distrustful at such a young age?
Reaching up, Maggie brushed a stray lock of ebony hair from his forehead, then cupped his cool cheek. “Not all people are like that.”
Still, he looked suspicious.
Maggie rose, and reached out to take his hand. “Have you eaten anything?”
Connor hesitated before he finally placed his hand in hers. “The women won’t let me eat anything cause I’m a man.”
She tightened her grip on his hand as they walked across the yard. The lad was far from a man, even though he acted as if he were ancient.
Oh, if she ever laid hands on his aunt and uncle, she’d give them both a sound tongue-lashing! How could anyone be so cruel when it was obvious the boy had a good heart?
“Come with me,” she said gently, “and I’ll see you fed.”
Connor stopped dead in his tracks as she led him toward the castle.
