She again saw the man grinning at the boy as they played along the surf earlier, kicking at the waves when they looked for clams.
“He is a good man,” she said, sounding more wistful than she intended.
“He is.”
She sighed. It was best not to get the boy too attached to a man who’d soon be leaving. “For now, we will keep it to ourselves.”
“Shall we put it with the others?”
Ethne searched the horizon, finding all six of their group busy with other things. It would be awhile before they returned. “We must be quick.”
Giving Finn the lead, she followed the boy into the cave. The narrow opening in the back was hidden completely. When they’d first come to live there, Domelch and Malcolm had been small enough to fit through the passage when Ethne had located it. The strong smell of rotted eggs sent them back out, but it didn’t bother her and Finn. Now only he and she fit, and they slipped through the crack.
This had become their refuge, especially when they were alone and unexpected visitors might plague them. Including Aidan.
Ethne went to the large rock, just the right size for sitting on, and rolled it up against the back wall. The flat side set perfectly alongside the engraving in the wall, an outline of a bearded man carrying an axe, carved by someone from long ago. She motioned to Finn, and he climbed onto the rock to reach his small hand into a crevice that was barely discernible among the natural striations of color throughout the stone. He withdrew a small deerskin pouch and jumped off the rock, the dusty sand rising around him.
He opened the pouch wide, revealing the other coins inside.
“Shall we count them?” He loved to practice his counting, but it wasn’t safe to do so now.
Ethne’s mother had taught both her and Malcolm to count and to read, but he never practiced like she did. Instead, he always asked her to do his reading and counting. Their mother would be greatly disappointed with him.
“We should wait. It will not be so verra long before the pilgrims leave. We’ll have more time then.”
“Even Lachlann?”
She paused. “He has places to go as well.” Finn’s expression turned sad, but she pushed on. “We will count them all then.”
Finn shoved the coin down into the middle of the sack then closed it. With careful precision, he replaced it in the same spot before rolling the stone, all by himself, back to the center of the small chamber. “My silver is safe now.”
Ethne nodded with the same enthusiasm, even while her heart tightened with sadness. Finn was growing quickly. Too quickly. She wasn’t prepared when Finn crumbled into tears and threw himself into her arms, squeezing her in his tight little grasp.
“What is amiss, my little man?”
“I do not like Uradech.”
She patted his back, forcing a light tone. “Whyever not?”
“He pulled me aside earlier and pinched me.”
Ethne’s mouth dropped open. “To what purpose?”
“He told me to sleep alone tonight, or he would pinch me even harder.”
Finn sobbed against her chest. He was exhausted, and things were changing so fast now. For Ethne, too.
“Do not be afraid.” Brave words. She was only able to use them because she ignored the increased pounding of her own heart.
Finn pulled back, his tears halting. “Will Lachlann protect us from Uradech and those mean men on horses?”
The islanders. Dare she offer him false hope? She had no choice. “I believe he will.”
Finn’s relief was immediate, and she was glad she’d chosen to lie to the boy. He didn’t need to know how precarious their situation was. Better he had hope in someone he could see and trust. Even if that man would probably be gone when they would need him most.
Chapter 13
They’d been there only a few days, but catering to Domelch’s need for constant attention was trying Lachlann’s patience—as was the way she ordered Ethne about. They decided to try flattery that third night since it proved to be the most effective way to get her to talk. Ethne, with Uradech following close behind, had taken Finn down to the shore to wash before bed.
