Alasdair spoke first. “We’ve had two abductions of our bairns by different groups of men, but with one common connection. A man who goes by K is in charge of the group and resides in Mingary Castle near Kilchoan on the mainland. His castle is a gateway for any questionable characters coming from Europe or the north.”
“And what was his purpose for stealing the bairns?” Merryn asked, surprising them all by the intensity of her gaze.
Broc explained, “He sells them. He kept a few on Ardnamurchan, but some of his men lost their lives trying to sell our bairns. Fortunately, they weren’t sold, but K persists in stealing more. Now he threatens to steal another of our bairns who he believes is a faery. We’ve hunted many of them down, and we will get him before we finish. Know you of a man named K or of a woman known as Glenna?”
Merryn looked to Tristan, then shook her head. “Nay to the woman, but K must be Kelvan. There can’t be that many evil men in the world. He told us once of others who bought and sold bairns, but I thought he was jesting. And when he left after killing our parents, I heard him tell one of his accomplices that he wanted Shealee because he had a contract. Know you what that would mean?”
Dyna cleared her throat and whispered, “A contract to purchase a child of her age would be my guess. So you think K and Kelvan could be the same?” She glanced from Merryn to Tristan who nodded.
“Nara’s husband,” Tristan whispered. “I never trusted him. I’m certain we speak of the same man.”
Dyna said, “Kelvan has a new wife. Glenna of Buchan, so we’ve heard.”
Merryn glanced at her brother and whispered, “He’s going to come for her, Tristan. And he’ll kill both of us.”
“I’ll send a message to Uncle Neil to see if he’ll send more men.” Tristan got up and paced, then put more wood into the crackling fire in the stone hearth. “I fear we’ll not be safe here until we have the tower finished and the wall around it. This cottage won’t protect us any more than the cottages we were in at the Borderlands.”
“How can we be of assistance to you?” Alasdair asked. “We have many Grant guards looking for work to keep them busy until they are needed. After the other trouble we’ve had, the old chieftain brought another four score guards here in case they are needed. At the moment, they are cutting wood and working in the lists. We’d be happy to help erect a stable or complete the tower roof. We would gladly send two score for a fortnight. We have some skilled in thatch roofing. It could hold you through the winter.”
Dyna added, “And as one of the chieftains of Clan Grantham, I offer protection to you, Shealee, and Merryn whenever you need it. Duart Castle is well built with a strong curtain wall. We have plenty of beds and food. We are presently keeping six score guards about.”
Merryn gave her brother a beseeching look, nodding. “Mayhap it’s time, Tristan…”
Tristan held up his hand to his sister. “If we determine that he is on the isle and searching for Shealee, we may take you up on your offer by sending the lasses your way. I’ll stay and fight. I love it here, but we would be grateful for any assistance you can give us. We’re hoping to finish the tower. The gables are up, but we need to work on the inside. And a thatch roof for now would be appreciated. We’ll do whatever we can to get through the winter. We’d also love to build a stable, so if you could assist us with that, we would forever be in your debt,” Tristan said.
“What livestock have you?”
“A few goats and some chickens. We’ve planted apple trees, but that will be a while before they grow, as you know.”
“Horses?”
“Three. Enough to travel to Craignure for necessities. Our uncle sends a boat occasionally, but we get what we need from the forest or at Craignure. And the fishing is plentiful, of course.”
Alasdair said, “We have many guards, so I’d be pleased to send two score to you for a fortnight. Broc,” he said, turning to his cousin. “Would you lead that group? Bring them back in two days?”
“Two score would be greatly appreciated,” Tristan said.
Broc said, “It would be my honor to return to assist you. At present, we have plenty trained to protect our land. One score is with MacQuaries because he’s still building his force. We’d be happy to assist in any way possible. I helped build the new stable on Grant land. We can build the same here. We can bring the axes to chop down the trees we’ll need. Have you any archers?”
Tristan shook his head. “I only trained with my sword. The ten guards and the two lasses do plan to stay, so we would train if we had someone to teach us archery. It would help us to hunt, and there are plenty of deer on Ben Buie and around Loch Buie.”
Broc said, “I’ll bring an archer along to train anyone who is interested. Our archers are mostly female. That will not bother you?”
Tristan grinned. “Our men would love to meet any lasses you wish to bring here. They’ll be respectful, I promise. Olivia will have ten proposals before the first snowflake falls, if I were to wager.”
Merryn spoke up quickly. “I’d like to learn archery, if you please. I have trained a wee bit with a local lass, but she’s not here often. And please tell everyone that Shealee is my daughter. We don’t want Kelvan to know she is here.”
Dyna perked up. “Who is the local lass? I would love to meet her.”
“She lives on Iona. Her name is Simmy, and I met her when she and her husband were hunting deer. She’s been a great help to me.”
Broc asked, “Would you like a pet for Shealee? We have a new litter of wolfhounds. We’d be happy to bring a couple of pups to you.”
Tristan said, “We’d love whatever you don’t need. We are just starting here, and while we were grateful to have a place to hide Shealee from Kelvan, we had verra little to begin with. Anything you wish to share with us, we will appreciate. We will repay you when we are able.”
Broc glanced over at Merryn, surprised to find her studying him. He said, “I’ll be back in two days, and I look forward to it.”
He had one goal in mind—to get Merryn to smile again.
