Page 47 of Promised to the Forbidden Laird

“Nearly a tenth in warm weather.”

He considered the map. “Then the building would repay its cost within two summers.”

Donaldina stared at him.

“What?” he asked.

“Naething.”

His brow lifted.

She looked down at the ledger. “I made the same calculation three years ago.”

“Why was it never built?”

“Cormac said the men would grow lazy if the stores were brought closer tae them.”

Roy’s expression hardened. “Cormac appears tae believe hardship is proof of good governance.”

“He believes hardship endured by others is particularly improving.”

Roy’s mouth shifted. A soft sound escaped Donaldina before she could prevent it. They looked at one another across the table. For an instant, the solar felt less like a chamber preserved around the dead and more like a place in which something living might still be decided.

By late afternoon, ledgers covered the table. Dust clung to Donaldina’s fingertips, and the fire had burned low enough that cold began seeping through the floor. Shadows gathered in the corners, softening the familiar shape of Lachlan’s belongings.

Roy bent over a coastal map.

“Here,” he said, indicating the narrow inlet south of Dun Ard. “Cormac’s family held land near this place before the Gunn holdings were absorbed?”

“Aye. There are ruins above the shore. An old watchtower and several cottages.”

“Could men shelter there?”

“For a little while. The roof of the tower fell years ago, but the lower chambers may remain sound.”

“Is there fresh water?”

Donaldina considered. “A spring north of the ridge. It is hidden beneath the heather unless one kens where tae look.”

“Cormac would ken.”

“He spent much of his childhood there.”

Roy’s finger remained upon the map. “He kens the land.”

“Better than most.”

“And some of the smaller families still consider his faither their rightful chief.”

The truth of it chilled her more than the failing fire.

Donaldina drew the map closer. “Then he may try tae gather them.”

“He will.”

There was no comfort in Roy’s certainty, but neither was there panic. He seemed to regard the danger as he regarded a damaged wall: something to be understood before it could be strengthened against.

“What would ye dae?” he asked.