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“How old are you, Hamish?”
“Eight,” the boy said. “I can walk—I’m old enough to be a man.”
Ignoring the boy’s protests, Devon scooped him up into his arms. With his thin, bony frame, he weighed no more than little Francine. For a moment, he looked like he might struggle, then he relaxed and put his arms round Devon’s neck.
“Where do you live, Hamish?”
“Ma’s cottage is at the foot of the mountain, near the edge of the forest.”
“Can you show me?”
“Aye,” the boy whispered. His head lolled forward, and his body shivered. “Tired…”
The lad needed to be in the warm—and soon, if he were to survive.
Holding his charge firmly in his arms, Devon set off along the path.
At all costs, the boy needed to be kept awake. In Devon’s soldiering days, he’d known grown men to fall asleep on the battlefield in the cold and never wake. What chance did this thin, undernourished child have?
“Tell me about your mother, Hamish.”
“I look after my ma,” the boy said, “and wee Rhona.”
“Is that your sister?”
“Aye. Ma’s not been well since she had Rhona, but I look after them now Da’s gone.”
“When did your father die?”
“Last winter. He died here—on the mountain.”
“I’m sorry,” Devon said. “It must have been hard for you—and your mother.”
“She cries all the time,” the boy replied. “Idon’t cry.”
“Don’t you?”
“No. I have to be the man to take care of Ma and Rhona.”
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Devon asked. “I thought all the children of the estate went to school.”
“I stopped going when I became the man of the family.”
The man! How could this poor child bear such responsibility?
“Did you like school?” he asked.
“Oh yes!” the boy said. “Davie and Jamie never liked it. They’re my friends. But they told me I was a fool for liking school. They always laughed at me when Mrs. McGregor said I was the best in class. They said it was silly to be clever at lessons.”
“They’rethe silly ones,” Devon said. “It’s good to learn. You can do so much more with your life. What did you enjoy at school?”
“I liked numbers, but I loved reading more than anything.”
“Why’s that?”
“A book can take you to a new place, where you can be anything you want.”
“And you have books to read?”
