She groaned when a knock sounded at the door. Alaric’s command to enter sounded distant, like he was underwater. Or maybe it was she who was underwater. ’Twas clear that one of them was.
She roused herself when she heard the laird’s quietly voiced question. Then she frowned. Alaric was arguing with his brother. He wanted Ewan to leave her alone and leave the questioning to later.
“Nay, ’tis all right,” she said. Her throat protested the few words, and she put her hand to her neck to massage away the discomfort.
Ewan sat right on the bed at Alaric’s feet, which Keeley thought a bit improper, but he was the laird and as such he could do what he wanted.
Ewan grinned. “Aye, lass, ’tis a perk of being laird. I do get to do what I like.”
“I didn’t mean to say that so loud,” she muttered.
“Are you feeling well enough to tell me what happened in the woods? I’ve spoken to Crispen and the other children, and God’s teeth, but they each give a different accounting.”
She smiled but groaned when it hurt. “I don’t understand why I feel so badly.”
She tried not to sound so cross, but she was sure she failed, judging by the amused looks on Alaric’s and Ewan’s faces.
Ewan’s expression sobered and then he leaned forward. “I feel I’m forever thanking someone for saving my son’s life. ’Tis the truth he seems to find trouble wherever he goes. He told me you fought for him. I owe you a debt that can never be repaid.”
She shook her head drowsily. “Nay. You’ve already repaid it.”
His brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you speak of, lass?”
“Your clan,” she said hoarsely. “You made me a member of your clan. ’Tis payment enough.”
Alaric’s arm tightened around her shoulders and he stroked his fingers over her arm in a soothing pattern.
Ewan’s expression softened. “You will have a home here for as long as you wish it. You have my word.”
She licked her cracked lips and burrowed a little closer to Alaric. The chill was returning and already her bones ached.
“I fear I’ll be of no aid to you. It all happened so fast. I know they thought me your lady wife and they were most eager to spirit me away. They called you a fool for leaving Lady McCabe unattended.”
Ewan scowled at that, his face growing as dark as a thundercloud.
“They crowed over the fact that they had managed to capture both your son and wife.”
Ewan leaned forward, his eyes intense. “Did they say anything else? Did they identify themselves? Did you recognize their crest?”
Slowly she shook her head. Then her brows knit together in concentration. “There was one thing. They said that Cameron would reward them handsomely for their bounty. ’Twas all I remember. When they discovered I was not pregnant, they meant to kill me for they realized their error.”
“Mercenaries,” Alaric spat. “Cameron has posted a reward for the capture of Mairin.”
Ewan let loose a string of blasphemies that had Keeley cringing. “There are many men without coin and nothing to lose by attempting to abduct Mairin and my child.”
“If they are mercenaries, they have no clan or keep to call home,” Alaric said. “ ’Tis likely they are still nearby.”
Ewan’s lips curled and his nostrils flared. “Aye. ’Tis time to go hunting.”
“I’ll ready myself to accompany you.”
Ewan paused and then shook his head. He stared down at Keeley and then back up to his brother. “Nay. I need you here. I want you to keep Mairin close. She can busy herself with Keeley. Caelen will accompany me.”
As he rose, he glanced down at Keeley again. He inclined his head in a gesture of respect. “Again, you have my thanks for the life of my son. I hope you are feeling to rights again soon.”
Keeley mumbled something appropriate and fought another yawn as he departed the chamber. ’Twas freezing again and she needed another fur. Why had Alaric taken it from her?
Alaric sank lower into the bed and cuddled her into his embrace. “Never have I been so frightened,” he admitted. “When I heard what had occurred and then I could not find you. ’Tis not a feeling I want to ever have again.”
“I knew you would come.”
“Your faith humbles me.”
She stroked his chest with her fingertips. Someday … Someday he would owe his protection to Rionna. And their children. Keeley would no longer be able to look to him to solve her ills or fight her battles. After so long of fighting her own, it was a wondrous feeling to have a man such as Alaric to stand for her.
“You should rest, Keeley. I can feel the fever burning through you.”
She was already drifting off, cocooned in his heat.
Alaric paced the interior of the hall in darkness. Ewan had taken a contingent of men to track the mercenaries who’d attacked Crispen and Keeley, and it was nearing dawn. They’d been gone for hours and Alaric’s impatience grew with each passing minute.
It angered him to be here when he itched for a fight. He wanted to vent some of the rage that smoldered in his system.
It wasn’t only the fact that these men had dared to touch what he considered his—and Keeley was his—Alaric wanted to let loose his frustration with the fates that would deny him the woman he loved.
Instead he waited for his brothers to return while he kept silent watch over the women of the keep.
He should go back up to look in on Keeley, but Maddie had agreed to stay by her bedside while Alaric stayed belowstairs where he could hear the watchmen cry alarm.