Odo was the true hero of the day.
Once back at the keep, Ilsa and the children were quickly taken away by Gay and Fraser. Diarmot made certain Tom was comfortable and cared for, then joined Ilsa's brothers and Nanty in the great hall. He helped himself to some of the ale, bread, and cheese that had been set out, but he had barely begun to slake his thirst and hunger when he realized his companions were unusually quiet. He looked at them and found them staring at him as if they expected him to say something.
"Ye have something ye need to say?" he asked. "Everyone was saved, the injuries are nay severe, and that is the end of it, aye?"
"One would think so," said Tait, "yet I cannae shake away the feeling that it wasnae as simple as it appeared. I looked around, but couldnae see any reason why those rocks came tumbling down. Couldnae see any signs that twas done by a mon, either. But that is what troubles me, that lack of any sign of why it happened."
"Rocks fall. It could be as simple as that."
Diarmot was pleased, however, to discover that someone else shared his unease. He just wished it was not a Cameron. This incident stole a lot of strength from his suspicion that they were his enemies. He knew, without even a flicker of doubt, that they would never put their sister in danger nor would they put children at risk. They might be guilty of other things, but not this.
And, after a month of their company during which not one suspicious thing had occurred, he was finding it increasingly difficult to believe they were responsible for his beating. Even the possibility that they played some game to get their sister a laird for a husband was losing its importance.
"And how could someone have accomplished it?" asked Nanty, drawing Diarmot's attention. "It would require planning."
"It wasnae any great secret that Ilsa was going there today," said Tait.
"Some planning was needed ere she set out. It wouldnae have been difficult for someone to prepare this accident, ready it for her arrival at the cave. Ilsa has been there before and spoken of the place. Only a few stones needed loosening and then a push. Once rolling they would bring anything loose on that hillside right along with them."
"Why would someone try to hurt my wife and children?" asked Diarmot. "If I am right in believing I have an enemy, that the things which have happened to me were more than accident and ill luck, then I am the target, nay Ilsa."
Tait shrugged. "Tis nay so strange for an enemy to strike at those who are close to a mon. Until we uncover the truth, who your enemy is if ye have one, and why he is your enemy, I cannae see this accident as simple fate."
"Reasonable. The children and Ilsa must be closely guarded then, until we have those answers." He looked at each man and carefully asked, "I assume ye dinnae have any yet."
"Nay," Nanty replied. "We have eliminated a growing number of people as ones who might be guilty. It doesnae appear as it is anyone from Clachthrom. Wallace talks a lot, but doesnae act." Nanty smiled faintly. "We had a wee chat with the fool about the slander he is spreading about. Sigimor was especially convincing in making the fool understand that he is lucky he can still breathe after the way he betrayed his laird. Howbeit, I begin to wonder if we look in the wrong direction." He shrugged. "We will continue, however, until we see something to lead us elsewhere. That may happen when we finally discover who holds the lands upon which ye were nearly murdered."
"I, too, begin to wonder if we chase a chimera." Diarmot considered the possibility for a moment, then shook his head. "Nay, I am certain someone wanted me dead, that the beating at Muirladen wasnae simply a robbery."
"Have ye remembered something?"
"Only a little, a glimpse. I can now hear a rough voice saying someone best make sure I was dead, that they wouldnae get their reward if I was still breathing. That rather implies that someone hired the men."
"Aye," agreed Sigimor, "and it tells me the answers lie at Muirladen. I will give my family another fortnight to find the answers we seek, or show that they make progress. If there is none of either, then Tait and I will go there to have a look for ourselves. Until we find some answers, however, ye are right to say Ilsa and the bairns must be guarded. If what happened today wasnae an accident, then ye do have an enemy and he now strikes at your family. I just wish ye could remember why ye had been traveling upon our lands."
"Nay more than I," Diarmot said, "for I also grow more certain every day that the answer to so much lies there."
CHAPTER TEN