Davina turned, meeting her gaze. “His faither told him he was weak, didnae he?”
“Aye.” Ailis nodded. “And the laird has spent every day since trying tae prove he isnae.”
Davina drew a trembling breath. “I want tae help him. But I dinnae ken how.”
Ailis squeezed her hand. “Ye’ve already softened him, me lady. More than ye realize. But the rest… he’ll need tae fight inside himself.”
Davina looked down at her fingers, now interlaced with the maid’s warm ones.
“I only wish he’d let me stand with him,” she whispered.
Ailis offered a small, sad smile. “Give him time. That is all ye can dae.”
Davina nodded, though the weight in her chest remained. She leaned back against the cushions, her thoughts drifting once more to Baird’s father’s portrait and to the boy who had grown under that cold, merciless stare.
She would not abandon him to those ghosts. But she was still afraid that they might consume him, and her with him, before she ever had the chance to reach him.
CHAPTER 25
Baird had not slept. He had barely eaten. The walls felt tighter each day, the air heavier. A traitor lived among them, and this was the day that he would find out his name.
He was halfway to the stairs leading to the lower cells when Kenny rounded the corner at a fast clip with a folded slip of parchment gripped in his hand.
“Me laird,” Kenny said, as his breath misted in the cold air. “I’ve got it.”
Baird halted. “Is this what I asked fer?”
Kenny nodded, jaw tight. “Aye. The names of kins listed, as ye said.”
Baird took the parchment and unfolded it. There were four names written in Kenny’s steady hand. He read each onesilently. Each name had a designated role: sister, mother, brother, betrothed.
His jaw set. He did not speak. He did not react. But his heartbeat shifted as pieces began aligning in ways he did not voice aloud yet.
Kenny watched him closely. “It’s all correct, me laird. Verified twice.”
Baird folded the parchment with slow precision and slipped it into his pocket.
“Good,” he said quietly. “Come with me.”
Kenny blinked. “Tae the cells?”
“Aye.” Baird turned, already striding toward the stairwell. “It’s time I spoke tae our guest again.”
The captain fell into step beside him. “What are ye planning?”
“Questions,” he answered with a shrug. “The same as before.”
“And if he still refuses?”
Baird’s voice was calm.
“Then he’ll refuse with more difficulty than he did the last time.”
Kenny exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “He’s already half broken.”
“Then he’ll break the rest of the way,” Baird said, without slowing.
They reached the top of the stairwell. The scent of stone and damp earth drifted upward from below.
