“There was little fight left in them by then,” Father Brian said. “Between retching and the fire, they fled like rabbits.”
“Dina and I poisoned their ale,” Sìleas said in a quiet voice.
“Clever lasses,” his father said, beaming at her.
While the others continued sharing stories, Ian pulled Sìleas against his chest and closed his eyes.Praise be to God he had found her.
His eyes flew open at the sound of boots on the wooden planks of the drawbridge. He pushed Sìleas behind him and drew his claymore just before a dozen men poured through the gate.
“It’s Gòrdan,” Sìleas said.
Ian relaxed his stance when he saw that it was, indeed, Gòrdan, and he was leading a group of MacDonald men.
“We’ve taken Knock Castle!” his father greeted them, raising his sword to the sky.
The men took in the smoldering keep and the bailey yard empty of MacKinnons and lowered their weapons. To a man, they looked disappointed.
“I could only gather a dozen men quickly,” Gòrdan said, as he approached them.
“I’m grateful to ye for coming,” Ian said and saw the pain in Gòrdan’s eyes when they flicked to Sìleas.
Gòrdan turned away and fixed his gaze on the smoke billowing out of the open doors of the keep. “I thought ye would need help, but I can see ye didn’t.”
“I do need your help,” Ian said.
Gòrdan turned back. “Good. What would ye have me do?”
“It’s near dark, so we’ll have to stay here overnight,” Ian said. “But in the morning, I must see my family home and get Connor to the gathering. Can ye hold the castle for me for a time?”
“Aye. The guardhouse hasn’t been touched by the fire, so we can sleep there,” Gòrdan said. “I’ll send one man to the gathering tomorrow night to speak for all the men here.” His gaze roved over the smoldering keep again. “With so much stone, the keep won’t burn long. We’ll save what we can, but I suspect there won’t be much.”
Ian thought of all the bad memories Sìleas had of this castle, which was to be their home. He didn’t want to keep a single stick of furniture, sheet, or floorboard.
“Let the men have anything they can salvage,” he said. “Sìleas and I will start anew.”
From the way Sìleas squeezed his hand, he knew he had made the right decision.
“Are ye all right, lass?” his father asked her.
While Sìleas talked with his father and Niall, Ian drew Gòrdan away for a private word.
“There’s another favor I’d ask of ye,” he said in a low voice.
Gòrdan looked at the ground and kicked at the dirt with the toe of his boot. “Ye know I owe ye after what my mother did.”
“Can ye take care of Dina after we leave in the morning?” When Gòrdan’s head snapped up, Ian added, “Just until I can find someone else to take her in.”
“Is she your mistress?” Gòrdan hissed, his nostrils flaring. “I said I owe ye, but I’ll no help ye deceive Sìleas.”
“Ye misunderstand me,” Ian said, putting a hand up. “There will never be another woman for me but Sìleas.”
Gòrdan’s lips were pressed into a hard line, but he was listening.
“I doubt we would have all gotten out alive without Dina’s help,” Ian said. “I don’t like leaving her unprotected. Will ye watch over her and see that’s she’s safe?”
Gòrdan looked over at Dina, who was standing alone, hugging herself against the fine mist that had begun to fall.
“She’s made mistakes,” Ian said. “But we all deserve a chance to redeem ourselves.”
