The servants sprang into action, orders moving like water along a dry channel. A guard ran for the yard. A maid darted for the kitchen and nearly slipped on the wet threshold, then caught herself and laughed with nerves.
Davina smiled at the little girl as she rocked her. “Welcome, wee Anna,” she cooed. “Ye chose a stubborn house. It will suit ye fine.”
Kristen looked down at the boy’s dark lashes and felt a purpose settle into her bones. Grief had been a stone she carried without knowing where to set it. Now, she knew she was never meant to put it down. She just had to channel it. Use it to take care of these children.
Lachlan drew nearer and lowered his voice. “We will keep lookin’ for the one who brought them,” he promised. “If there is a trail to follow, I will find it.”
“Aye,” Kristen said. “But if ye do, ye will be kind.”
He nodded. “I will try.”
She glanced out the door. The rain had started at last, a thin fall that made threads across the yard. She held Finn closer, feelinghis warmth seep through her dress. His breath came small and even. He did not know what had been asked of him by the world. He only knew the beat of a heart and the sound of a voice close to his ear.
“Bring in the basket too,” she said, eventually. “And close the door. The cold has had enough of this castle.”
More footmen moved as the door slowly swung shut, signifying the beginning of something Kristen didn’t understand yet.
She kissed the boy’s brow and let her eyes close for a breath. When she opened them, she looked to the place where the road vanished down the hill.
“Neil,” she whispered shakily. “Wherever ye are, look what ye left for me.”
Present Day
“Oh,” Neil muttered, realization sinking in as Kristen finished telling the story.
“Are ye telling me now that the children I have been taking care of for the past two years arenae yers?”
His lips thinned. “If they arenae yers, and they certainly arenae mine—” He swore under his breath. “Alex.”
She lifted her head. “Yer braither? Ye think the bairns are his?”
“I think he is the only answer that fits. I ken when he ran with that girl—they may have started a family. What I didnae ken was that they might nae be able to take care of their bairns.”
“Well, it doesnae matter. One doesnae see two lost children at their doorstep and send them away,” Kristen said. The sheet rustled when she tightened it around her further. “I took them in regardless, and they have been with me ever since.”
“I saw that,” Neil said.
“Children deserve love,” Kristen continued. “And a happy family. Even when adults fail them.” Her voice hitched at the last words, as if she were telling herself something she needed to hear.
Neil wanted to cross the room. He wanted to tilt her chin up and make her look at him so he could see what the five years had done to her. Yet he stayed where he was and took the want like a man holding a hot brand off his skin.
He tried for plain sense. “So they came two years ago?”
“Aye,” she replied. “Close to the feast. The boy spoke for both.”
Silence filled the room for the next minute.
Neil edged a little closer. “Did folks help?”
“Some,” Kristen said. “Murdock, Davina, but Maggie most of all.”
“The dog,” Neil scoffed, almost smiling. “She would have me throat if I took a wrong step.”
“She would try,” Kristen agreed drily. “And I wouldnae stop her.”
“Good.” Neil nodded. “We will find out who dropped them off and why. I will see to it.”
“I have been seeing to it,” Kristen admitted.
