Page 24 of Hold Fast

When the sun was high above, Ewan reached forward and directed Una’s gaze. “There is the MacDonald keep,” he said, pointing at the stone keep in the distance, surrounded by a large curtain wall. The stones looked colder and more foreboding than usual, as gray and hard as the bedrock of the mountains themselves.

Una was silent, her eyes fixed ahead. She leaned forward in the saddle, over Calman’s neck, as the horse climbed a rocky hill.

He cleared his throat. “You will be meeting a great many of my family in short order.”

“Aye?” Una said, a bit breathlessly, as she clung to the pommel.

“There are six of us in all. I am the oldest, of course. Then there’s Kenneth, Angus, and Rabbie. And then, seven years behind him, Connor and Catriona. And then there are the servants and staff of the keep and stronghold.”

They reached the top of the rise, and Calman picked up his pace, eager to be back in his stall. They rode briskly through the cottages that clustered more and more tightly together the closer they were to the wall. Una’s head swiveled from side to side, taking it all in.

Her back was straight as a poker as they rode into the bailey, and from over her shoulder, Ewan could see that her knuckles were white from gripping the pommel.

“Laird MacDonald! Ye are returned!” someone shouted from across the bailey.

Upon hearing Ewan’s name, Mathan bounded out from the stables, stopping short in front of Greer and cocking his head to the side. Calman tossed his head, happy to be home. Ewan dismounted and handed the reins to a waiting groom, who would take the horse off to be groomed and, no doubt, pampered with oats and apples. Ewan reached for Una as he’d done before, holding his arms up and waiting.

She gripped his biceps like a vise as his hands closed around her waist, and he brought her down from the horse’s tall back without delay. As he set her down, his eyes snagged on the tiny triangle of flesh visible above the bodice of her dress and below the clasp of her cloak. Her skin was pale, contrasted all the more by the green of the heavy wool.

The groom led Calman away, and Mathan trotted off after them, stopping to look back at Greer, who remained at Una’s side. He issued a short bark, and Greer bounded over to him, the pair following Calman neck to neck. For the briefest moment, Ewan was amused by the pair. But then he heard Una’s hissing breath.

“What is amiss, Una?” he asked, instinctively cupping her elbow in his palm and squeezing gently.

She closed her eyes tightly. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

He didn’t believe her.

“Una—”

“What if he dies?” she blurted out. “The MacDonalds are nae friends of the Camerons. What if you decide he died because of me? What if you seek revenge upon me? What if—”

He bent his knees so that he could look into her eyes.

“You willnae kill him, Una.”

“Of course I willnae kill him,” she snapped. “But what if I cannaesavehim? Will that nae be the same to you?”

The members of his clan, occupied within the walls, had all slowed their business or stopped it entirely, curious about the scene unfolding.

“I promised you safety,” he said in a whisper. “I promised you nae harm would come to you, Una. I gave you my word. You—”

“I have three conditions for doing this,” Una choked out.

Conditions? She hadconditions? No doubt she wanted coin. But what else could she want?”

“First, I come and go as I please. You dinnae lock me in the keep. You dinnae lock me in a chamber. You dinnae restrict my comings and goings in any way.”

For a moment, the briefest of moments, Ewan wondered if he was dreaming or at the very least, delirious. Restrict her comings and goings? Lock her in a chamber? What sort of monster did she think he was? But then he remembered to whom she’d been yoked for the past year, and that confusion turned to a flash of rage.

“Una, you are nae a prisoner. Of course you’ll have your freedom.”

There was a flash in her eyes. One he would have missed it if he hadn’t been paying attention. She was surprised by his easy answer.

“Alright then,” she said, pulling herself up taller, emboldened by the victory. “The second condition is that I willnae stay in the keep.”

“You will need to be close to Connor to do your job, Una. I cannae have you running back and forth between the keep and somewhere else. ’Tis a waste of energy. I will find you a place to sleep close to him.”

“With a bar on the door,” she said, her voice as hard as the stones surrounding them.