Page 81 of The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain
He looked around for Lia but couldn’t find her anywhere. He began to panic, but then glanced around the hall full of chieftains and warriors. No one would have dared to come in here to steal her away. Logan Ramsay was near the hearth and the giant Connor Grant was seated not far away, Sandor bouncing on his knee. Alasdair and Alick guarded the door and no one would dare argue with those two big brutes.
Nay, Lia was here somewhere. He’d noticed how much she’d enjoyed the new bairn, but he had gone into the tower with his mother. Magni snuck over to the door of the tower and peeked inside. Sure enough, Lia sat in a chair next to the basket the wee bairn slept in.
He tiptoed in because Maeve was sound asleep on the bed, a blanket wrapped over her. He crept next to Lia and said, “Come, Lia. I think we’re leaving.”
Lia shook her head.
“Aye, Thane said we were leaving soon.”
Lia waved him close, then reached for Magni’s hand and said, “I know you won’t like my answer, Magni, but please remember that I love you dearly.” She let out a deep sigh and said, “My place is here for a while.”
“At Duart Castle?”
“Aye and nay. Not necessarily.”
He tipped his head because he didn’t understand her answer. He would argue with her, but he didn’t wish to awaken the lady or the babe. “Where, then?”
“By Alexander’s side. It’s where I belong for now. Thane needs you at home, but I’ll stay here to help with the wee one for a short while. Think of me as Lady Maeve’s helper. I’m Alexander’s nanny.”
“But you’re only five, Lia.” He scratched his head, still trying to understand. “You cannot be a nanny.” He knew Lia was special, but watching over a wee bairn seemed more than a wee lass could handle. Even a faery lass.
“But I’m six summers now, Magni.” She patted his shoulder and said, “Come visit me in a sennight. I’ll be right here.”
***
Down in the tavern in Craignure, not far from the ferry, sat two unsavory characters, both chugging down as much ale as they could. They’d received a new assignment, but they had to wait a few more days yet.
“So, those are the ones?”
“Aye. They’re here. We just have to wait for final instructions. They’ll tell us exactly when and how.”
“The bairn and the golden-haired one, true?”
“Aye. And the mother too.”
He grinned and said, “And then we’re off to Kilchoan.”
***
Connor paced at the water’s edge beneath Duart Castle after everyone had gone home, the moonlight reflecting off the water. “I don’t like this one bit, Logan. I wanted to go home, but I can’t ignore my granddaughter. What the hell did she mean telling me I can’t go?”
Logan crossed his arms and said, “Quit your pacing, Grant. We’ll handle it.”
“But if anything happens to that lad, Maitland and Maeve…it will kill them both. We have to protect them.”
“And we will. Look, we know what the job is. We can handle it. Stop fretting so. Just because he’s your sire’s namesake doesn’t mean this is going to be anything unusual or something we can’t handle.”
“Nay?” Connor asked, his fists on his hips. “Then tell me why that odd golden-haired lass of only six summers refuses to leave that baby’s side? That unsettles me more than Tora.”
“Grant, she’s a faery, I tell you, and she’s protecting the lad. That comforts me a bit. It should comfort you too. She’ll turn anyone who bothers him into stone or ash or something.”
Connor sighed and looked up at the moon. “I told Sela we couldn’t leave yet, but I didn’t tell her why.”
“Gwynie knows. She senses it in Dyna too. She gave me my orders.”
Connor grinned. “And what are your orders?”
“My wife told me I couldn’t leave that bairn’s side. That if anything happened to that lad, I’d have to drag her across God’s land to find the fool who stole him away so she could be the one to put a dagger in the bastard’s heart. Or mayhap she said bollocks. I forget.”
