Page 32 of Cottage in the Mist
She nodded. “And then Bram stepped from the shadows. It was just so good to see him. He’d disappeared and I thought I was insane. But then I remembered the men. And I warned him. And almost as soon as I’d gotten the words out, he started to fade.” She stopped, tears filling her eyes. “And then he was gone. Oh, God, what if they got to him? What if he’s dead?”
“No way,” Jeff said, with a decisive shake of his head. “Iain’s Duncreag was a fortress. No way would a handful of men have managed to get in, no matter who they were. Especially with forewarning. And you gave them that. My guess is that Iain and his men met the challenge head on. And prevailed.”
There was comfort in the thought. But it wasn’t enough. “But we can’t know that for sure,” she said, putting her fears into words.
“No, the only way to do that is to go back,” Elaine said.
“But who’s to say that I can?” Lily asked, not even bothering to verify what they all already knew. “Even with Katherine it took time. Eight years, right? And she really never had any control of it.”
“True,” Jeff agreed, “but I seem to have. I mean, I went after my sister when it was important. And brought her back when that was necessary as well. Not that she appreciated the last.”
Elaine put a hand on his shoulder. “You had no choice. She’d have died if you’d left her there. And anyway, it all worked out in the end.”
“That it did,” Mrs. Abernathy agreed. “But you don’t know where Bram is. And to date, at least, you’ve only been able to find him when there was a need. First, for him to care for you after the accident and second, for you to let him know about the intruders. And although you have a need now to know that he’s all right, it’s not specific enough. What we need is more information.”
“But you already said that his branch of the clan was a small one,” Jeff broke in. “So there isn’t much written about Dunbrae or about him.”
“But if there is anything,” Elaine continued. “It would be at Dunmaglass, right?”
“There might be something there,” Mrs. Abernathy admitted. “But the Macgillivray seat has no’ been there for a couple hundred years. Better, I’m thinking, to go straight to the source.”
“Dunbrae?” Lily’s heart started to pound. “It still exists?”
“Aye. Not in its entirety, mind you. But there are walls still standing. And if you can put stones together again here,” she said, clearly referring to the cottage, “then perhaps there’s something you could learn there.”
11
“I dinner know if this is still accurate,” Bram said, looking down at the crude map he’d drawn on the piece of parchment. The three men were in the great room, the drawing spread upon the massive table on the dais. “I’ve no’ been toTigh an Dromaexcept the once. And I was just a wee lad at the time.”
“So we’re going in blind,” Ranald groused.
“We can send men ahead to get the lay of the land,” Iain assured him. “Besides, I’ll wager the two of us have ridden into far worse.”
“I canna remember when.” Ranald still seemed less than convinced. “We have no idea how many men Alec Comyn has nor where they might be waiting for us.”
“So then dinna come,” Bram snapped, feeling irritation rise. “I’ll handle it in my own way.”
“Nay.” Ranald shook his head, his eyes reflecting regret. “I dinna mean to imply we wouldna go with you. I only wish the odds were slightly more in our favor. Or that we could trust the memories of a wee boy.”
Bram sighed, his frustration vanishing as quickly as it had come. “’Tis sorry I am that I canna remember more. I dinna likethe idea of riding into the unknown any more than you do. But I canna sit by and let my father’s death go unavenged.”
“I understand your need,” Iain said, a shadow crossing his face. Iain had lost his father to treachery not much more than a year ago now. “And you know that we’ll stand by you. But Ranald makes a good point. We canna go into this without a better understanding of our enemy.”
“And how do we do that?” Ranald queried. “We canna contact Moy or Dunmaglass. We dare not let anyone know that Bram is here. Or that we’re riding with him. Not when there’s even the smallest doubt that he might have been the traitor.”
“I told you—“ Bram began, the heat of anger shooting through him again.
“You canna ignore the facts, Bram,” Iain said, cutting him off. “And Ranald is right. Whatever we do, we must do on our own. ’Tis too great a risk otherwise.”
Bram nodded, dropping down onto a bench, wondering how the hell it had all come to this. If only his father had called for him sooner. Or if Bram had insisted on coming home. But there was nothing gained in wonderingwhat if.
“Alec Comyn is no’ a man to ignore the possibility of retaliation,” Ranald said, pulling Bram from his thoughts. “Even if he is denying that he attacked Dunbrae, he’ll no’ be sitting idle on the chance of your coming.”
“Well, if this map is accurate,” Iain responded, “then our best shot is going to be to come at him from the hills to the west.”
“You’re right, ’tis the most logical choice,” Ranald mused.
“And the one the Comyn will least expect,” Bram added. “He’ll assume we’ll come from the south. From Dunbrae. At least from this point”—He tapped the map—“it gives us the possibility of surprise.”
