movements. In a blink, Ian dumped the stew from the bowls into the pot hanging over the hearth, wiped the bowls clean with a cloth, and set them on the shelf above the table.
While Ian did that, Tearlag unearthed a jug from beneath her mending in the basket in the corner and poured a healthy measure of it into two cups on the table.
“Drink it down,” Ian ordered Sileas and tossed his own back.
Sileas choked as the fiery liquid burned down her throat.
Ian wiped the cups clean, set them back on the shelf, and took the chair beside her. “Now, we are here having a nice, relaxing chat with Tearlag.”
A moment later the door burst open and several foul-smelling men crowded into the small room. The first was Hugh Dubh.
Sileas had not seen him this close since she was a bairn. As Hugh surveyed the tiny cottage, she was struck by how much he looked like his brother, the former chieftain, and Ragnall. He had the same square face, impressive frame, and commanding presence, but there was something dark and sinister in Hugh’s sea-mist eyes. The chieftain and Ragnall had been hard men, but they didn’t have this evil in them.
“Where are they?” Hugh demanded.
The cow on the other side of the half wall mooed in complaint as one of Hugh’s men pushed her aside and slashed at the straw with his claymore.
“If ye throw my cow off her milk, ye’ll answer to me,” Tearlag said.
“The other three can’t be far off, if you’re here,” Hugh said to Ian. “Why don’t ye save us both a lot of trouble and tell me where my nephew is? Connor and I need to have a talk.”
“I’m sure ye already know that Alex is staying with my family,” Ian said, leaning back in his chair as if they were discussing how the fish were biting. “But I haven’t seen Connor and Duncan.”
“I have to ask myself why Ian MacDonald would be coming to see this old woman,” Hugh said, tilting his head in Tearlag’s direction. “And the only answer that comes to me is that ye wouldn’t. So I’m guessing that you’re here because the others are hiding nearby.”
Hugh waved to his men and headed for the door. “Come along lads, let’s find them.”
“I came with my wife,” Ian said, resting his arm along the back of Sileas’s chair. When Hugh turned around, Ian added in a low voice, “Female problems, ye know.”
Hugh raked his eyes over Sileas, making her feel as if he could see beneath her clothes. “The lass looks fine to me.”
“There’s nothing’s wrong with her,” Tearlag said, and all heads turned toward her.
“I knew Ian was lying,” Hugh spit out and reached for his dirk.
“ ’Tis true his wife brought him here.” Tearlag pursed her lips and shook her head. “Sometimes a lass has a problem with her husband, though I rarely see it in a man as young as Ian.”
Ian coughed and banged the front legs of his chair to the floor.
“Tearlag!” he said, glaring at the old seer.
“Are ye saying our lad Ian here is having trouble pleasing his pretty wife?” Hugh was grinning ear to ear.
“Nothing to fret about,” Tearlag said, sounding as if there was plenty to worry about.
Sileas choked back a laugh and put her hand on Ian’s leg to prevent him from rising from his chair.
“Sileas is such a patient lass, waiting on her husband for five long years,” Tearlag said, looking mournful. “I’m sure she’s willing to wait a wee bit longer for him to overcome his… battle injury.”
“I wasn’t injured there,” Ian shouted. “There is nothing wrong with me parts.”
Hugh and the other men roared with laughter.
“Sometimes the injury lies here,” Tearlag said, tapping her temple with her knobby finger. “But don’t fret, I have a potion I’ll mix for ye. It works… sometimes.”
At the look of outrage on Ian’s face, Sileas had to bite her cheeks to keep from laughing.
Hugh and the other men were guffawing. The angrier Ian became, the more they believed Tearlag’s story.
“If ye lose patience with Ian, I can find ye a new husband,” Hugh said, giving Sileas a broad wink. “One who will be
The men burst into a new round of laughter.
“Don’t trouble yourself,” Sileas said, dropping her gaze to her lap. “I’m sure Ian will be right as rain soon.”
“It’s a hard rain she’s hoping for,” one of the men said, and he was rewarded with snorts and snickers.
“There’s nothing wrong with me.” Ian jumped to his feet and clenched his hands in front of him. “I’m ready to fight any man who says there is.”
“You’d best save your strength,” Hugh said, choking with laughter. He turned to Sileas and added, “Don’t forget my offer.”
When Ian took a step toward Hugh, Sileas stood up in front of him.
Ian’s breathing was harsh, and the muscles of his arms were taut beneath her fingers. It would be foolish for Ian to attack Hugh with five of his men in the room and another fifteen waiting outside.
Hugh threw his head back, letting his laughter fill the tiny room. Sileas was certain now that he was trying to bait Ian—and he was close to succeeding.
