Page 57 of Highland Crown
“Why?” Blair squinted slightly, confused by thequestion. “The laird’s doing what’s right, I should think. What he sees as his duty. That blue-backed cavalry officer we run off, Hudson, he’s been tearing through every village in the countryside, looking for ye and for her… and for us. And he’s not been too gentle about it, the devil take him. So we’re here to watch that ye stay safe and well.”
Lachlan hadn’t given a straw about him when he was nine years old. Why did he care about him now?
“Your laird sits at Dalmigavie Castle. He’s the one who needs protecting.”
The Highlander waited until two naval officers passed them on their way toward town, then ushered Cinaed down the quiet lane a ways. “No one can touch the laird there in the mountains. But yer here. And yer the one we been waiting for. Come out, lads.”
Blair motioned, and a dozen men appeared from the shadows of the buildings, the alleyways, crumbling cottages, and warehouses. The two who’d been sitting on the wall crossed the road and joined them. More of them were watching the house than he’d seen.
A nod, a tip of the hat, a bow, and a greeting. A few of the faces struck Cinaed as familiar, perhaps from the days of his youth. They were friends and not a threat. One of them had a way of looking at you sideways. Cinaed wondered if this could be the same lad who’d been caught poaching rabbits with him from the laird’s private warren. They’d both taken a hiding for that little escapade.
Other memories flowed back, of Dalmigavie, and even of a time before. Images he could make no sense of. Warm summer afternoons. The smell of flowers in a garden. Melodies sung in French. But he fixed histhoughts on the present. “I still don’t know why you came after me. Before, I mean.”
“We come down from the glen and waited, as Lachlan told us,” Blair replied. A few heads nodded in agreement.
Cinaed wasn’t getting a straight answer. He gave up and decided to let the man talk.
“When the bells rang that day at Stoneyfield House, we weren’t far off, so we came.”
“How did you know it was me? No one at the inn knew my name. How could you know I was even there?”
Blair grinned. “Lachlan and a goodly number of other lairds have been waiting—none too patient, neither—for the return of the son of Scotland and theHighland Crown. Expecting ye any day. A rider come up from Aberdeen with the message that ye’d sailed for Inverness, so we knew ye were coming. That’s when he sent us down.”
“Before the storm hit,” another Mackintosh man added. “A nasty blow, to be sure.”
“Aye,” Blair agreed. “We spread out along the shore, looking to spy some sign of ye. One of the lads caught word of a ship running aground, so we set out, combing every village, looking. Just hoping ye’d made it ashore.”
Cinaed ran a hand across his brow. How fortunate they’d been that these men had been close enough to that blasted inn to hear the bells.
“My crew,” he said. “Searc told me two longboats made it into Nairn. Another boat, with my second mate, is still missing.”
Blair gestured to the pair who had been sitting across the road. They nodded and went off.
“Those lads’ll find them. Dead or alive, if they comeashore, we’ll bring ye word,” he assured him. “Whatever ye need from us, just say the word and it’s done.”
Ever since he’d been cast out from their midst, Cinaed had always harbored feelings of resentment. But now, surrounded by his kin, he realized his anger had never really been directed toward clan folk. It was Lachlan whom he’d hoped would one day feel his wrath. The fellows around him now were here in Inverness, risking their lives for him under the watchful eye of their British overlords. He owed them his loyalty in return.
All eyes were on Cinaed. They stood in a circle with him at the center.
“Know this. We’re yer arm and yer blade when ye need us. And we plan to take back what is rightfully ours.”
Cinaed looked from one to the next. Over this past decade, legends had grown up, tales had been exaggerated about his exploits. But the truth was that he’d been blessed with an ability to lead men. It was one thing that made his crews at sea perform their duties with exceptional prowess. Standing here, however, with these Highlanders around him, he was stunned by the sense of unreserved commitment emanating from them.
He took a deep breath, grateful for their support. But he still couldn’t understand why they were so willing to provide it. Or why Lachlan was so eager to do anything for him.
The truth suddenly slapped him in the face. The weapons. They were waiting for the arms he’d been smuggling into the Highlands. If they were to fight for their land and their rights, they needed muskets andpowder and shot. Cinaed was giving them what they needed to carry on. This was why he was valuable to them.
The Highlanders were waiting, but he didn’t know what to say to them. He’d buy another ship. He’d make more crossings and bring more weapons. But none of that was carved in stone at this moment.
For now, he thought, perhaps he could engage them the day he went after John Gordon.
“You’re planning to stay here in the Maggot?”
“For as long as ye stay. Lachlan was clear. Be here for when ye need us and protect ye if the need arises.”
Isabella. Cinaed needed no protection, but knowing these men lined the streets made him feel better that no British soldiers would be paying any surprise visits to the house. So long as he kept her close to him, and his clan was watching out for him, she was safer here than anywhere, at least until they were ready to sail away from these shores.
“What about Searc? What does he know about my wife and her family?”
