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Alasdair said, “We are the new inhabitants of Duart Castle and as your neighbors, would like to acquaint ourselves with your clan. We bear gifts, if you’ll allow us a brief repast. I am Alasdair Grant, and these are my cousins, Dyna, Broc, and Hagen.

All from Clan Grant but now at Clan Grantham of Duart Castle.

The man in the front said, “Greetings to you all. Tristan MacClane of Clan MacLean. We are building on my uncle’s land.

Please bring your cousins inside for a brief repast, and your guards can share an ale with our men, who are about to break from carrying stones for the curtain wall.

There’s a nice area near the beach they prefer. ”

“Many thanks to you.” Alasdair nodded to the others and moved their horses closer to a line of trees.

They dismounted and handed the reins to their guards, knowing they would feed and water the animals while the five went inside to meet with the clan leader.

The bubbling sound of a small burn nearby called to their horses after the half-day journey.

The cottage was long, finished with a fine thatch roof and a few chickens running off to the side in a fenced area.

Dyna grabbed a small crate with holes in the side. “We brought two chickens as gifts. Hagen brought a slab of smoked beef we can share this eve, if you like. And we have bread, wine, and mead, along with a sack of vegetables from our garden. Turnips, beans, and some parsnips.”

“We are grateful. It’s hard to get supplies here, as you know, and the men work hard to finish. We hope to complete the wall before…”

Alasdair tipped his head but said nothing.

“Come inside and we will explain.” Tristan gave them a weak smile and led them into the hut.

“We have several men who help us build, and my sister is here with two lasses who help with the cooking and cleaning.” Tristan was tall with dark curly hair and wary brown eyes, broad-shouldered, but a sadness in his countenance that Broc would ask Dyna and Alasdair about later.

Broc grabbed the bag of vegetables and carried them in while the others took care of the livestock and the beverages.

Once inside, Tristan introduced them to the two females they saw first. “This is my sister Merryn and our niece Shealee.” The wee one looked to be under two summers old, with red hair and a bright smile, though she hid behind Merryn.

Referring to the lass as “our niece” made Alasdair wonder where Shealee’s mother was.

“And the two lasses by the hearth are Olivia and Euna. If you need anything, they can help you.”

Sylvi smiled and glanced up at her mother. “May I play with Shealee, Mama?”

Dyna looked at Merryn for guidance. “Absolutely, but she doesn’t have much experience with playmates here. We are quite isolated.” The lass toddled about but didn’t say much, hugging a small piece of plaid to her side as she smiled at the newcomers, her green eyes taking in everything.

Sylvi gave Shealee one of the fabric animals and the lass hugged it with a squeal, smiling. The two headed off toward the hearth to play with blocks while Merryn poured wine into goblets to share. “Welcome to our hut. We have not been here long. I can offer you some cheese and apples.”

Broc took one look at Merryn and had to admit he’d never been affected by the appearance of a woman as much as this one.

What he couldn’t understand was why. He had such a visceral reaction to Merryn, something that coursed through him so quickly he hadn’t known how to react to it.

At first glance, she appeared to be quite plain, but when she smiled, her face lit up.

Her hair was a most unusual shade of red and gold, and she had a smattering of light freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Not too tall and not too short, she had curves in just the right places.

He tore his gaze away and looked to the other two by the fire. The one named Olivia was also quite pretty, but she did not affect him in the same way. Euna was quite a bit older with wide hips and graying hair.

Dyna said, “Merryn, we brought bread and smoked beef to share. Our guards have food for themselves, but we would appreciate the cheese and apples.”

Merryn made two trays of food and set them down on the table, which had two benches along with several stools scattered around the chamber. There were no tapestries on the wall or dried flowers anywhere. The furniture was sparse, the area clean and sufficient.

Once they were all seated, Tristan said, “Please allow me to explain, then I’ll ask you to tell us what you know of the isle. We have reason to know all, but you’ll understand soon enough.”

The group settled as Merryn, Olivia, and Dyna found beverages for everyone before Tristan took his seat, Merryn sitting on a stool on the other end near the bairns.

“Our family lived in a small group of cottages set outside MacLean Castle near the Borderlands.

Merryn and I lived with our parents while our sister, Nara, lived in the next cottage with her husband Kelvan and their daughter Shealee.

“Nearly a year ago, I was training in the lists at our uncle’s castle when the surrounding villages were attacked by a band of men led by Kelvan Mortimer.

Merryn watched the bastard kill his wife—our sister—then kill our parents while she hid with Shealee.

When I returned from the castle with ten guards, we found our village massacred, nearly everyone dead.

Kelvan committed the evil acts with his band of misfits, though we have no idea where he found the men other than he did spend much of his time in taverns along the border.

“I immediately escorted Merryn and Shealee to the castle, and my uncle insisted on bringing us here. He’d pledged to his brother, our father, that he would always protect us should anything happen.

Since Kelvan is still in search of his daughter, our uncle believed this to be the safest place for us.

His guards had been here at one time and started building the tower for a castle and had already built this cottage along with the small barmkin for protection, so he brought us here along with several guards, pledging to send more to help us finish the castle.

“The work has been slow, but we have made progress. I wish we had the curtain wall finished so we weren’t so open to attack, but our aim now is to finish the tower before winter arrives.

It’s not as high as my uncle had wanted, but we are ready to put the roof on soon so we can all be protected.

We will continue our work.” Tristan paused to sip his mead.

“I thank you for your gifts. We appreciate your generosity. Please tell us what you know of Kelvan or about the attacks you have seen.”

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.