Page 99 of Hold Fast

“Aye. She tried to save my mother. When she— when she died, Una was living in the keep and got a job for me in the kitchen.”

“And your father?”

“I dinnae ken him at all,” he said, dropping his head in shame. Ewan exchanged a concerned look with Fergus, who nodded.

“What’s your name, lad?” Ewan asked, coming to one knee in front of the boy.

“Ian, m’laird,” he replied.

Ewan smiled. “That was my father’s name. ’Tis a good name, lad. A strong name. You have proven yourself worthy of it. You were verra brave to try to help us find Una.”

Young Ian’s face lifted, his mouth open in surprise.

“She was kind to me, m’laird. She was kind to all of us. And I couldnae—” His voice broke.

Ewan placed a reassuring hand on the boy’s shoulder, feeling every inch of his heart aching. Ian leaned into that touch, his small body nearly sagging with relief. Ewan squeezed the bony shoulder. “Well, young Ian. What do you think we should do next?”

Fergus gently pushed the boy on the shoulder. “You’ve yet to tell him the most important part, lad.”

Taking a deep breath that puffed up his tiny chest, Ian said, “There is a secret passage. Lots of rooms have hidden doors that go to it, but it ends in a cave by the water.” His words tumbled faster and faster in his excitement. “I can take you there. I’ve been all through it. I found it by mistake one night in the kitchen.”

Ewan looked to David, who smiled widely, before turning back to the boy. “This passage wouldnae happen to lead to the laird’s chamber, now would it?”

Ian nodded briskly, and Ewan clapped the lad on the shoulder.

“Have you any other family, Ian?”

“Nay, m’laird,” Ian answered gravely.

“Would you like to come with us when this is all done, Ian? I’ll see to it that you learn a trade, or I’ll raise ye for the guard if that’s more to your liking. You’ll be welcome among the MacDonalds.” He paused a moment before adding, “You’ll be a hero.”

Ian’s eyes went wide, and he smiled, displaying several missing teeth.

“Now then, Ian. Can you take us to this cave?”

Ian turned quickly and made to charge across the clearing when Ewan caught his arm and pulled him back.

“Nae yet, lad,” he chuckled. “We must wait for full dark.”

Ewan began to hope as he scarcely had allowed himself all day. As his men filled the woods around the clearing and the sun set, Ewan and David walked about and issued orders. Only a small group would go to the cave. The rest would stay behind, ready for a fight, should one break out, with watches spaced between the clearing and the cave should reinforcements be needed.

Ewan was not one to murder a man in his bed, but he’d take Cameron however he could find him.

CHAPTER46

Evening fell, and Una sat in a chair by the fire, knitting with the wool and needles Maddie had brought for her. Her finished supper tray sat beside her on the table. Her back ached fiercely, and she tried in vain to unclench her jaw as she speared the knitting needles through the yarn. The repetitive motion usually soothed her but not tonight. She could not shake the deep feeling of unease that hovered about her.

There had been a commotion in the bailey a few hours prior. Laird Cameron had returned, but, ever the cat, he had not yet summoned her. He always had been one to toy with his prey before dispatching it, and while Una was reasonably sure that thatparticularfate didn’t await her—yet—she also couldn’t begin to imagine why he wanted her here.

Someone pounded on the door, and the sudden boom of sound in the quiet space made Una jump and toss her knitting away. Whoever it was, it was not Maddie. Gripping the arms of her chair, she called, “Who is there?”

“Blair.”

Una closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her hands rested on the large swell of her belly, and, as if feeling her touch, the baby kicked her right palm.

She rose and unbarred the door. Blair’s huge frame filled the doorway, and he ducked his head as he entered the chamber. His thick hair was tied back with a leather strip, a few loose strands framing his face. Blair was a handsome man, albeit severe-looking, and the dark hair on his face, coupled with the dark hair on his head, made the Cameron blue eyes all the more striking and bright. But where Malcolm’s eyes always glittered with what Una knew to be malice, Blair’s eyes always looked sad, as if they had seen a thousand years go by and grown weary of the show.

He looked side to side before slipping into the room and standing with his back against the door. “What the hell were you doing at the MacDonalds’?” he snarled in a whisper. “You told me you were going to the Stewarts.”