Page 91 of Laird of Secrets
“Get in there, all of you,” Eldin growled, pushing the girls into a small cave, then taking Fiona by the shoulder to shove her in with them. The reverend lunged for Jamie, pushing him inside with the girls. Then he reached into the shadows to pull an iron grate across the entrance, securing it.
A cage—but not intended as a jail, Fiona realized. This must be the way the smugglers protected their kegs from thievery. And now she and the children were locked inside.
“Let us out!” she cried, yanking on the rusted bars. The little cave was so low that she could not stand upright, but had to kneel. She reached out to bring the children close, fiercely so. Jamie stood ramrod straight, Lucy was breathing hard, and Annabel was whimpering. “They are only bairns. Let them go. I will stay. What do you want with us?”
“You are insurance,” Eldin growled.
“What sort of insurance?” A man spoke almost casually, his voice echoing. Footsteps sounded over stone. Golden light bloomed in the stone passage. Fiona craned her neck to see past the grate.
Dougal walked toward them calmly, his face a fiery glow in lantern light. Behind him came Patrick.
Chapter 18
“Eldin,” Dougal said, “and Hugh. I should have suspected sooner.” In the flickering light, they stood staring at one another. Beyond them, Fiona and the children were trapped behind the iron grate. His glance flickered to meet hers, and away again. He could not allow anger, or his fear for her and the bairns, to weaken him. He fisted a hand at his side, and merely tilted his head. “What is this about?”
“Kinloch,” Eldin said smoothly. “And Cousin Patrick. Are you here for dear Fiona, or the whisky?”
“Both, I suppose,” Dougal said.
“I saw my sister across the meadow,” Patrick said, “saw her walking toward the loch with the children and with you, Reverend. I followed, and met Kinloch along the way.” He held the lantern high. “We agreed that it seemed odd.”
“Aye so,” Dougal said.
Fiona was watching him, her face pale as she knelt holding the children close. She was beautiful, the strength of her will shining in her, and his heart turned to see her. He felt a raw and powerful urge to protect them, to tear open the iron bars, hurl Eldin and the reverend against the rock and into that prison, and worse than that. But he only clenched his fists, flared his nostrils, watched them warily.
He knew what this was about. The fools. Eldin wanted the whisky that Dougal had refused him earlier. Hugh’s involvement was more puzzling. He was glad that Patrick MacCarran stood at his shoulder as a stalwart comrade. The lad had backbone and heart, like his sister.
“Where are the other customs men?” he asked Patrick quietly.
“Still in the glen, I’d wager. We are on our own,” Patrick whispered.
“Eldin,” Dougal said then, “why take children and a woman captive? Is it cowardice you wish to prove, or do you have another purpose here?” He stepped closer, easing his hand to the butt of the pistol hidden under the drape of his plaid.
With a quick move, Eldin produced a pistol of his own, drawn from inside his coat. He cocked the thing. At its echo, Fiona jumped, and the children shrieked. “Stand where you are, Kinloch,” the earl snapped. “Patrick too. Move and regret it.”
“Nick.” Patrick spoke quietly, but Dougal sensed the lad was sharp and ready to spring. “What do you want here?”
“Kinloch knows,” Eldin said.
“Not all this kerfuffle for twelve-year whisky, I trust,” Dougal said.
“Not that,” Eldin confirmed. “I want the other sort.”
“What other sort?” Patrick asked.
“Nicholas, please,” Fiona implored. “We so admired you when we were all young. You were such a kind boy, and such a fine young man. Something changed. But you have always been good to me, and so this—today—I do not understand.”
“Perhaps he is that eager to inherit Grandmother’s fortune,” Patrick said.
“Ah. Eldin, the cousin who could claim it all,” Dougal said.
“Fiona told you about the will?” Patrick raised a brow. “She trusts you.”
“I hope so,” Dougal said. He did not look at her. Could not, or he might go after Eldin and Hugh both in the next moment.
“So you know Eldin inherits if my siblings and I do not find fairies and such,” Patrick said.
“Then you must find fairies, by all means,” Dougal murmured.
