right dousing down there if it fails.”
“Aye, sure, it will hold. We’ve piled wood and rocks high to hold the planks in place against the rising water. It be rising quick now, too. If this rain picks up again, it may get high enough to drown the lot o’ them by morning and mayhap Shaw’s men, too. I just hope our lads a-watching them do keep themselves safe.”
“I’m surprised Rory didna want them all kept below with the others.”
“He didna want to hear them Mackintoshes bemoaning their lot all night, he said. Come what may, I mean to find me a place to sit well above this great pile.”
“Me, too, aye. But we’d best keep one o’ us to each side like Rory did say.”
Satisfied with what he’d heard, Fin shifted to a better position, drew his dirk, and waited for the one who would guard that side of the dam to come up to him.
The result was almost too easy, because the man came carelessly, paying heed to naught but where he put his noisy feet.
Clapping an arm around him from behind, Fin put his dirk to the man’s throat. “One squeak and ye’re spent,” he muttered, affecting the local accent. “How many watchers d’ye keep round yon loch?”
“Two at their landing, and three others, if ye dinna count us two here.”
“Who guards your prisoners?”
“Them other three I told ye about. All the others returned to our encampment below. Nae one else be out yonder, for nae one can see nowt tonight!”
“How many sleep below?”
“Nigh a score to send out and about at dawn. That be all o’ them, I swear!”
“Is that counting Albany’s army or that of the Douglas?” Fin asked dulcetly.
His captive stiffened but kept silent.
“Ah, now, ye’re a fine honest chappie,” Fin said. “A feather in your chief’s bonnet, ye be. I’ll just go and see if your friend yonder be as fine and honest, shall I? Nay, now, cease your wriggling. I’ll no disturb ye more, I trow.”
Catriona was sure that something horrid had happened to Fin. She had heard nothing since he had left her with Boreas, and the dog lay dozing beside her.
She kept her dirk in hand, just in case, and had wrapped herself in Fin’s mantle. Although she was grateful for its warmth, its dampness permeated to her skin, making her think longingly of the hall fire at Rothiemurchus.
The dog raised its head, and a moment later, silently, a shadow loomed over them. “God-a-mercy, I hope that’s you,” she muttered, gripping her dirk tighter.
“It is, aye,” Fin said. “I’ve come to fetch that sack and your rope.”
“How many guards are there?”
“None who will disturb us,” he said. “Now, come, for I want to get this done. Albany’s army will come round the Cairngorms and Douglas from the south through Glen Garry. They could be here tomorrow if Ivor, Shaw, and their men cannot stop them. Albany expects the Comyns to capture Rothesay and Alex Stewart for him, and as many Clan Chattan prisoners as they can. I won’t let that happen.”
Indignantly, she said, “Neither will my father or Ivor. And even if they should somehow fail, do you think Rothesay and the Lord of the North are such cowards that they would leave those of us here to face Albany and Douglas alone?”
“Nay, but if Albany captures them, it will put everyone here in danger, because he will declare us all part of their conspiracy. I agree that Shaw’s men and Ivor’s from Lochindorb will likely stop Albany’s armies or the terrain and bad weather will, because neither leader has experience in the Highlands. But if Albany is determined enough to get his hands on Rothesay and Alex, he may just do it.”
“In this weather, we cannot use our signal fires to bring more aid,” she said.
“Nay, but if we can avoid armed confrontation, we’ll sort things out. However, we must defeat the Comyns here. Then, if Albany does win through, he’ll have to deal with your grandfather. The Mackintosh can handle him if anyone can.”
“He has cowed fiercer men than the Duke of Albany,” she said. “And my father and Ivor will succeed. But what about Rothesay and Alex? Neither one will like being out of the action and neither is easily persuadable.”
“I hope that Alex will persuade Davy to go with him,” he said. “But I cannot think about that. First, I must see if I can perform a feat of magic with this dam.”
“What can I do? And,