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‘Because he’s paid good money to have her, that’s why.’
‘To you?’
‘To my father, Gregor Moncur.’
‘The man who kidnapped, imprisoned and threatened to kill our laird’s son. And why did he do that, take the son of a laird as powerful and vengeful as Duncan Campbell? What grudge do the Moncurs have against us Campbells?
Ross merely shrugged. ‘None as I know of. Maybe he did it on a whim.’
‘You’re lying. Someone put you up to it.’
‘You’d have to ask my father that.’
‘Send him here if he’s man enough to face us, and I can bring Kenna along, and he can hear from her mouth just how much she despises him.’
‘That I can’t do, seeing as he’s rotting in the ground. Dead, these last two weeks. Now I think my sister should hear that news from me, don’t you?’
‘Kenna will not want to see you, and she hates Menzies, so there is nothing for you here.’
‘She doesn’t have to want Menzies. She’ll marry where she’s told to marry, and her betrothal stands before the law, and it is to the law I will go unless she is returned or I get satisfaction from Conall Campbell.’
‘A sword in the guts is all you’ll get, from him or me.’
‘I’ll go to court then and seek justice for my sister.’
‘Do your worst,’ said Rory, ‘for I wouldn’t put a dog in your hands, let alone a helpless young woman.’
‘As you wish, but in the name of decency, at least let me tell her our father is dead.’
***
Kenna made her way to the hall, wondering why she had been summoned in such haste. When she strode in and saw her half-brother standing there with Rory, it was as if all the sunlight was sucked out of the day. Instantly the dread came back, like a black cloak covering her, cold and terrible. Her heart raced for a moment, and then she remembered that she was not alone and helpless anymore. Now she had friends, and she had Conall, who had sworn to keep her safe.
‘Sister,’ he smiled, coming forwards and trying to take her hands in a show of fraternal affection. Kenna didn’t know why he bothered, he fooled no one, and she instantly drew back from him. His hands fell to his sides, and a hard look came over his face.
‘You are to come back to Sgathach Dun with me, Kenna.’
‘No, Ross, never.’ She made her voice as hard as she could and squared her shoulders. He wouldn’t bully her this time.
‘Your betrothed is missing you terribly and eagerly awaits your marriage. Indeed, he insists upon it.’
‘He can insist all he likes, but I am not going back, and I am not marrying that disgusting lecher.’
Ross lowered his voice so that Rory could not hear and hissed, ‘You have to. He has paid for you, far more than you are worth, and if you think I will let that coin slip through my fingers, all for the sake of your defiance, then you are wrong. You will do our father’s bidding and marry, as is your duty as a Moncur.’
‘He has never been any kind of father to me. He has not earned the right to call himself that. Tell Father I am a Moncur and his daughter no longer.’
‘I can’t. He’s dead,’ Ross spat.
Kenna couldn’t quite believe it. Maybe it was a ruse to make her pity him. Yes, that was it. As she struggled to take in the shock of it, Ross carried on talking in a matter of fact voice.
‘That night you left, I don’t know what happened to the old fool, but he rushed down to the dungeon wailing and carrying on like a madman. He wouldn’t believe you had gone until we showed him, and then he ordered us out to find you. ‘Drag her back alive,’ he said, ‘so I can kill her with my own two hands. We left him down there raging and shouting. It was as if he went mad with anger. The servants wouldn’t go and see to him, down there in the dark, for fear of what lurks there, and by morning, when they crept down and found him, he was dead.’
‘But how?’
‘He was sitting up against the wall, his mouth and eyes wide. Rats were gnawing on his toes and his fingers, and his gaze was aimed at the stairwell leading down to that place no one goes for fear of her. Everyone who saw the terrible look on his face says he must have been frightened to death.’
‘How can that be?’
