Chapter Thirty-Four
Thane
Thane rode with Artan and one other guard, Magni in the saddle in front of him. “Do you think Lia is back yet? I surely hope she is. I miss my sister.”
“This is a meeting of the patrols, so I’m sure someone knows something.” They approached Dounarwyse Castle on MacVey land, the place chosen as the center of the groups. As soon as they arrived, horse hooves could be heard coming a short distance down the path.
Magni squirmed to peek around Thane’s shoulders as they entered through the gates and headed to the stable. “Who is it?”
“I would guess the Granthams. Dyna, Derric, Eli, or Alaric. It sounds as though they are coming from that direction.” Thane moved to set Magni down once he was close to the stable. “Artan, you will stay out here with the guards. Ask questions. You may hear different answers from what I hear inside.”
Magni let out a whoop of excitement as soon as he saw his friends. “Tora. I’m here. Sandor and Sylvi, we can all play together.” The lad loved nothing more than playing with others. He enjoyed playing with Tamsin’s daughter Alana, but she was a wee bit young for Magni, though he was very patient with the toddler.
Dyna let Tora down and with a yell said, “You will only play in the courtyard near the keep. No wandering outside.”
Thane understood exactly what she meant. After watching Lia and Magni stolen right in front of his eyes, he wasn’t willing to give them much freedom. In fact, they hadn’t been back to the beach since that awful day.
The group chatted in the courtyard before Sloan arrived with Rowan and his brother Rinaldo. Rowan jumped down quickly and joined the group of friends playing some form of tag.
Thane spoke quietly to Dyna. “Any word on Lia?”
“Nay, but I don’t think Lennox is here. Rut and Taskill are greeting us. And I don’t see Meg either. My father and Uncle Logan will be here shortly with Eli and Alaric.”
Once everyone had arrived and all the groups had gathered, they went inside, bringing the bairns with them, though the young ones were not happy about it. Except Magni.
Magni wished to hear about Lia, so he would not leave Thane’s side.
Rut laid out trays of berries and cheese for everyone while the serving lasses brought wine and ale, goat’s milk for the bairns. Sloan moved over to Eva and said, “My, but you are looking lovely today, Eva.”
Eva nearly snorted but said, “I look the same as I do every day, Sloan, except I have more worry lines on my face from my brother.”
Sloan took the hint and moved away while Thane hid his smile.
Once the serving lasses were done, Rut stepped up and said, “I will lead the meeting because Lennox and Meg have not returned from their search yet.”
This shocked Thane that Meg was with Lennox, and without a chaperone, apparently, but it was not his choice. He didn’t think Tamsin would approve, but he’d find out soon enough.
Rut was peppered with questions, so she raised her hands and said, “Please allow me to explain what I know. Apparently, Lia told Meg that she had to go to Loch Aline just before everyone boarded the ship to return to Mull, so Meg wished to go since it is right across the sound from us. Lennox went with her because he knew someone of questionable character at Kinlochaline Castle, owned by Clan MacKinnis. I expected them back promptly, but they’ve been gone for two days now.”
“Who is the questionable character?” Dyna asked.
To their surprise, Tora ran over to her mother, rested her hands on her mother’s bent knees, and said, “Egan. The chief is going after Egan.”
Then Tora ran back to her playmates. Dyna whipped her head around to stare at her father. “Why does she see things I don’t?” She shook her head and then turned back to the group. “Rut, do you know Egan?”
“I’ve heard the name. An unsavory character, for certes. But let’s move on. I’d like to start with Sloan and see what he learned on his patrol. Then we’ll go on to Thane, and finally to Connor Grant and Logan Ramsay.”
Sloan stood and explained what areas he searched, then said, “Neil MacClane had three men he’d just hired as guards that he overheard bragging about making a large sum of coin. When questioned, he found that they’d taken part in Magni and Lia’s kidnapping along with Rowan’s. He banned them from his clan and from the isle.”
“Did they say who paid them?” Logan asked.
“No names. Someone from Ardnamurchan.”
“The mainland?” Thane asked. He wasn’t as familiar with the area as others.
“Aye, west of Morvern,” Connor replied before standing to explain about their patrol. “I’ll go next. We found Herbert and Ellis, the pirate.”
Rowan ran over to listen, standing next to Magni who stood so close to Logan that the old man finally found him a stool. “Are they coming for us again, Grandda?” Magni asked, staring up at his newly appointed grandfather. “Is Pirate Man on his way for us?”
“Nay, dead men can’t steal you away, grandson.” Logan took a swig of his wine. “But I would like to say that Meg has good aim with her axe. Did you see that man when he attacked, lads?”
Rowan said, “Nay, not when he attacked. Meg made us stay behind some boulders, but I peeked when I had to pish later.”
Magni giggled and said, “I pished on Hairy’s hand. He was dead so he couldn’t get me then. He was mean.”
“She hit him in the middle of the forehead. Must have dropped him like a rock,” Logan said, his approval apparent to everyone.
Rut said, “Thane, have you learned anything?”
“Nay, we turned up naught. But I don’t have the best tracking skills. I’m still learning.”
Rut asked, “Does anyone have any other information? I think we could be missing something.”
Connor said, “Since Meg isn’t here, I’ll tell you what else we learned. The baron is looking for her. It hasn’t occurred to him to look on the isle, but he seems persistent. I don’t know if Logan’s talk with him will dissuade him or not.”
“How many men?” Thane asked.
“Two score. Naught we can’t handle with our eyes closed. I’d gladly send a score to protect your clan until we take care of this situation. We brought another score to Duart after seeing the baron. Just let me know, MacQuarie,” Connor said.
“I will accept. Obviously, if the baron learns she could be here, he may consider where her sister is. Her father probably informed the baron that he’d married the older sister to someone else. My thanks to you for the extra guards.” Thane nodded, then asked, “Naught about Lia anywhere? No one has heard about the lass? No more faery talk?”
All the guests shook their heads. Magni’s lower lip quivered, but he didn’t let the tears out.
“Did I forget anything? Does anyone have any other comments, thoughts about strategies, ideas on where to go next?” Rut paced in a small circle.
Tora came barreling over to the group, stopping in front of Thane. “You must go to Drimnin.” She had everyone’s attention.
“Drimnin? Where is that?” His gaze traveled from one person to the next, looking for an explanation. “Why?” Thane had never heard of the place. Why would he need to go? He had no special knowledge of where Lia could be found.
Tora said, “Because Lia wants you to. Lennox and Meg are there now.” Then she skipped back to her play spot.
Thane looked to the others. “Where is Drimnin?”
Sloan said, “Follow me back to my land. Drimnin is straight across the water from us. It’s a small fishing village, low population. I don’t know why Lennox would be there.”
Tora ran back and said, “Because Egan is there. And Lia.”
Thane stood up, took the last sip of his ale, then said, “Magni, we’re headed to Drimnin. Lia said so.”
Magni burst into tears as he chased out the door ahead of Thane, but then he ran back to hug Logan before taking his leave. “I love you, Grandda. We’re going for Lia.”