Instead, it took us less than an hour before Eoin stopped the horse and dismounted, quickly reaching his arms toward me to help me off of the horse. He smiled at me as I reached behind to rub my sore bottom. He gestured for me to follow him as he made his way to a small cluster of cottages in front of us.
Eoin turned his head to tell me something, but he was interrupted by a loud voice coming from one of the doorways.
“Well, if it isn’t Laird Conall! Why, it’s been too long since we have seen ye here, son!”
Eoin’s face lit up as he moved away from me and embraced the large, red-faced man. “Aye, it has, Bran! How’s yer wife and children?”
“Fine. Fine. Dona is in bed, nursing our sixth bairn. She gave birth only two nights ago.” The man’s eyes gleamed with pride as he spoke of his family.
“Six, my God, man! Do ye no ever let the lass rest? How have ye been managing the others on ye own, the last few days?”
“I havena.” The man let out a loud, deep chuckle before continuing. “They’ve had free run o’ the place while their mother has been in bed. I’m sure she’ll be no too pleased with me once she’s up. Come inside. Let us have a drink for old time’s sake, aye?”
Eoin reached his hand behind him, and I instinctively took hold.
“Let me introduce ye to my wife, Bran. This is Blaire.”
I smiled as the man quickly looked me up and down. “How did this old sot get such a beautiful lass like ye to marry him? Oh, never mind. What’s done is done, aye? I shouldna try to talk ye out of it now. Come. Ye shall have a drink with us as well.”
I followed the two men through the small entranceway into a one-roomed first floor where all five children, minus the newborn, were running around, creating chaos. All children were under the age of seven, and a few days without strict structure from their mother had put them in a tailspin.
I knew that the noise level in the home could in no way be conducive to their mother’s rest, and my teacher drive immediately kicked in.
“Alright, stop where ye are!” And I quickly held my hands up as I stared them down. “My name is Blaire, and ye are all going to follow me outside so that we can allow yer mother some rest time. Aye?”
I watched as the three oldest children glanced up to take in the shocked look on their father’s face. When he stood silently, they looked up at me and seemed to consent, slowly marching out the front door together. I yanked up the two youngest—year-and-a-half-old twin boys—and placed one on each hip.
I turned to address the two men before following the children outside. “Go ahead and enjoy a drink. I’ll keep the children busy so that the two of ye can visit and yer wife can rest with the baby.”
Leaving them both open-mouthed, I made my way outside with the two squirming toddlers.
Chapter 18
Scotland
1645
Kinnaird Castle
“The fire served no purpose! The lad is too foolish to see when he’s been warned and to be afraid. He thinks the fire happened by chance, set by a drunkard at the wedding.” Ramsay Kinnaird sat at the end of a long table, staring down the two servants unfortunate enough to be called to his service.
“What will ye do, sire? Attack them at once?”
The servant’s words were rewarded with a large bang as Ramsay threw his fist down on the table hard. “No, ye fool! To attack by surprise would be too easy! I want Eoin and his brother Arran to sense the darkness coming for them. I want them to feel afraid for their home and their loved ones and know that there is nothing they can do to stop them from losing everything.” He stood from the table and walked toward the servants until his own face was but inches from theirs. “The first attack was too simple. We must take something that is precious to them.”
“What would be best? Would ye like us to slaughter their sheep?”
Ramsay contemplated the servant’s suggestion. A wicked grin contorted his face as his next plan came into full view in his mind. “No, the Conalls have no real connection to their sheep, but they’ve always loved their horses. Conall Castle is known for them, all cared for by that pathetic stable master. The loss of horses will hurt them. Send the two lads that work the stables out tomorrow midday. Take their mother, should they need motivation. Tell them to take the head of every last horse, and leave behind the pieces to be found.”
*
“No, Arran. I’m telling ye the truth. I dinna ask her to take the children out of the house. She offered to do it all on her own. I was surprised as well, and ye should’ve seen Bran’s face.”
Arran ran his hands through his hair as he paced back and forth in front of his brother. He’d spent days trying to make some sense of Blaire’s strange behavior, and the only thing he could come up with was that this lass wasn’t actually Blaire. That conclusion made no sense to him at all.
“It just doesna make sense, Eoin. Blaire hates children. If ye left her alone in a room with them, she’d be more likely to eat them than offer to care for them.”