Loki had hoped for the chance to talk to Gillie earlier, but there had been too many people around. A lad living in the streets was often aware of everything that happened in a burgh. Though Gillie might not know aught, he thought it wise to ask.
Before they sought their bed that night, Loki and Kenzie made their way to Nicol’s cottage. When they arrived, Nicol and Gillie were the only two present, sitting at the table with hot drinks. When Nicol issued an invitation for the pair to join them, Loki sat and motioned for his son to do the same. Loki trusted his father’s friend implicitly, so he didn’t mind speaking openly in front of him.
“Sorry to disturb you both so late,” Loki said, “but we were hoping to ask some questions of Gillie.”
“Aye, what is it?” the lad asked curiously.
“You lived in Edinburgh for a while. Have you ever heard of a man who wears furs, even a hood of furs that covers his face?”
“All the way to his feet,” Kenzie added, glancing sideways at his papa.
“Aye, I’ve seen a man like that,” Gillie shrugged his shoulders, oblivious to the importance of his revelation to Kenzie and Loki.
“You have?” Kenzie bolted to his feet in a matter of seconds.
Loki gently tugged on his son’s plaid until he was once again seated. “Where have you seen him and how long ago?” He did his best to hide his own excitement, especially since the wee lad expressed enough for both of them. Besides, there could very well be two such men.
“That is, if you mean the man of the bairns. He used to come to Edinburgh once every couple of moons in search of children who lived in the streets. He took them off the streets, fed them at his big cottage.”
“Why didn’t you go along with him?” Kenzie asked. “If he’d been in Ayr when I was there, I would have gone. Many nights it was verra cold.”
“I noticed he usually took the young ones in, not any lads of my age. After the first time I saw him, I asked others about him and they said he was most reputable. I met someone who’d lived with him for a while. He took in the lost souls, that’s what he called them. If you had no home and wished to eat, he was the one who’d help you. He kept around ten bairns in his cottage, all huddled together on the floor in his hut. He slept separately. He fed them and they all did chores.”
“And they were warmer than I was.”
“But you’ve no need of his help now, Kenzie. Recall why we need to find this man in the furs.” Sometimes it was a challenge keeping Kenzie focused, but he tried to keep that hidden from the lad, doing his best to patiently guide him instead.
“Aye, Papa. Where is his cottage, Gillie? We’ll go talk to him.”
Gillie gave them a look Loki didn’t like. “I have no idea. Sorry. No one ever said where, and I never asked.”
“Papa, we must go to Edinburgh instead. We’re heading the wrong way.”
Gillie said, “Mayhap not. They said he traveled to all the Scottish royal burghs. Gathered bairns from everywhere.”
“Then we head to Ayr. Remember your dream, Kenzie? We must heed it.” The others exchanged looks, but no one questioned them.
The following morning was clear, which pleased Loki. There was little he hated more than traveling in drenching rain. He’d take the snow any day over the dampness that soaked deep into your bones. His favorite part of the ride to Ayr was the stunning view it gave him of the mountains of the Highlands. Something about that expanse of beautiful, rugged land both reminded him of how small he was in comparison with nature’s glory and anchored him to his adopted home. He always gave thanks when he saw that view, forever grateful for how the Grants had changed and expanded his world.
The group ended up being larger than Loki had anticipated, but since it was almost the dead of winter, it was a good idea to have extra travelers. Besides Kenzie and Fergus, he’d brought three of his own guards, and Uncle Alex had insisted on sending another five men. His uncle had claimed he was sending them just to help hunt, but Loki knew better. They all knew unrest still roiled in the Highlands after the defeat of Glenn of Buchan, the Grants’ longtime adversary. His uncle was ensuring they had protection from reivers searching for coin or wealth.
They’d almost made it to Ayr when they found a cave to settle in for the night to protect them against the wind, one large enough for the horses to huddle in just at the edge. The wind kept up a brief whistle, but the furs and shelter would keep them warm.
They allowed the horses to graze while they made a fire just at the mouth of the cave to cook the two rabbits they’d shot along the way. Fergus’s skills with a bow were impressive.
They sat chewing rabbit bones around the fire, discussing their plan for the trip to Ayr.
“Are you visiting your true sire, the priest, Loki? Does he not live in Ayr?” Fergus asked.
“Aye, he lives there for most of the year, but he heads to Edinburgh every Christmas. I’ll probably not see him, but I know he’ll be up to visit the new bairn in the spring,” Loki replied, tossing his bare rabbit bone off into the woods.
They ate in silence until Kenzie couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Papa, mayhap he’s seen the man.”
Loki gave him a sideways glance, then decided Fergus would probably hear about the purpose of their journey soon enough. “Fergus, you traveled around the area some during our big battle with the Buchans.” Without revealing the truth about the dreams, he asked. “Have you ever heard of the man of furs?”
Fergus thought for a moment, tossed another bone out of the cave. “Nay, not that I recall,” he said. “Why would you think I would know aught about him?”
Loki rolled his eyes. “You don’t think I’ve taken notice of all your requests to travel back to Buchan and Cameron land? I’m not sure what exactly draws you there, but there’s some reason a man who’s never liked to leave home has volunteered three or four times to patrol the area with the Grant guards. You wish to share your true purpose for this journey? I’m glad to have you along, but it does make me curious.”
“Mayhap I’m missing my mother. My brother’s never around anymore. He’s too busy living the happy life with Kyla.”
Rather than respond, Loki merely arched his brow.
Fergus heaved a sigh. “That does not sound the way I intended. I’m happy for my brother. Truly. But it all makes me unsettled. That’s the best word for it. I’m just restless.” He made a point not to look Loki in the eye.
Kenzie’s gaze jumped back and forth between the two men, waiting to see what would come next.
Mayhap he’d let it go…for now. But when Loki got up to head outside the cave to relieve himself, he couldn’t help but cast a parting remark over his shoulder. “I’ll find out who she is before we’re done.”
Kenzie broke into a fit of giggles.
***
A day later, the group arrived at the toll booths outside of Ayr. Once they paid the toll, Kenzie couldn’t contain his excitement. He bounced about in the saddle behind Loki. “Hurry, Papa. We must visit Woodgait. ‘Tis where we both lived.”
Fergus said, “I still cannot believe both of you lived alone when you were young, surviving out in the wild. I couldn’t have done it.”
“You’d be surprised what you can do when you have no choice,” Loki said as they rode through the streets. “‘Twas forced on both of us, just as it was on Gillie. And besides, ‘twas not the wild, Fergus. In fact, Kenzie and I will show you exactly where we lived.”
A short distance later, Kenzie shouted, “Over there.”
A rush of memories filled Loki’s mind as the familiarity of his surroundings wrapped around him as though welcoming him home. But he knew the truth of it well enough. Thanks to Brodie Grant, this was no longer his home.
He’d learned long ago that he had everything he needed—his clanmates, the beauty of the Highlands, and the love of his sweet Bella and their boys. Their son, Lucas, would never live in a cold crate behind an inn.
He pulled on the reins of his horse and held his hand up to indicate they were stopping. After releasing Kenzie, who quickly raced to the back of the inn, he climbed down and tied his horse’s lead to a branch on the closest tree. He hoped they wouldn’t find another living where the two of them had spent so much time cold, hungry, and alone.
When he caught up to Kenzie, Fergus directly behind him, they all stared at the ground littered with torn clothing. The same three crates Kenzie had kept in careful order were now haphazardly arranged.
“Papa?” Kenzie’s gaze took in the scattered mess in front of him, and Loki was sure they were thinking the same thing.
A grizzled older man came around the building, approaching the group. “You looking for the lad who lived back here?”
“Aye,” Kenzie said, glancing at his father for approval.
“There is a lad who has been living here?” Loki asked.
The innkeeper put his hands on his hips. “Was. There was a lad who’d been living here.”
“Can you tell us more?”
The innkeeper brushed his hands together as if sending crumbs to the floor. He stared at the ground for a moment before he lifted his head to answer their question. “The poor lad became gravely ill. A man came along a couple of days ago and took the lad with him. I did not know the man, but he said he only intended to heal the boy.”
“The man with furs! It must have been him! Was it not?” Kenzie had difficulty staying in one spot, instead darting from one place to another as he took in every detail of the area behind the inn.
“Aye,” the innkeeper answered. “‘Twas the man who visits once a year. Never here long, but he spreads hope among the young scamps. What know you of him?”
“Verra little,” Loki answered. “But we are seeking the man who is covered with furs. Do you know where he was headed?”
“Aye. He left a couple of days ago, said he would take the lad to Doongait to see if he could heal him. If not, he said he would take him home, though he never said where that would be.”
“Our thanks.” He nodded to the innkeeper, who turned about, shaking his head, and returned to the warmth of his inn. “Mount up, lad,” he said to Kenzie. “We’re headed to Doongait. Be quick now.”
Loki couldn’t be more pleased. If the man of furs was still in Ayr, they’d surely find him. He didn’t want to tell Kenzie, but he’d had another dream the night before in the cave. The man in the furs had appeared and said to hurry.
He had no idea what that meant, but he thought it best to heed the man’s word.
***
Fergus took his time, patrolling and scanning all of Ayr to see if he could be fortunate enough to locate the woman of his dreams, but to no avail.
It didn’t matter. He was a patient man. He’d find her if it took the entire year.
Part of him had wished to confide in Loki. And yet…he knew how he would sound to others. They would think him a lovesick fool, incapable of looking at the situation objectively.
But he was. Aye, Davina of Buchan was a beautiful woman, but it wasn’t simply her beauty that had turned his head. The lass had faced tragedy after tragedy and survived. Her strength humbled him, and he could think of no other woman he’d prefer as his partner.
Still, there was no denying they’d only had one encounter—a meeting at Lochluin Abbey that had soaked down to his very soul. He’d never told anyone about it. How could he explain how badly it had made him want her?
He’d gone back to the abbey, only to learn she’d left a short time ago. The nuns had no knowledge of where she’d gone. She’d only told them she was getting a cottage of her own, somewhere close to “home.” Ayr was close to Buchan land, was it not? Surely someone would remember her if she’d passed through. She was so beautiful, so unique…
Of course, if he did find her, there was still the question of whether his clan would accept her. Her background was troubled, to say the least, and her father and former lover had forced her to play a key role in their attempted trick on Torrian Ramsay.
But people could change. He’d just have to convince everyone it was possible. She’d been handed one of the worst possible scenarios, but mayhap all of that was in the past. Mayhap it was time for both of them to find a wee bit of happiness. There was an innate goodness in her that had never been allowed to bloom, and he wished more than anything to help her cultivate it.
He wasn’t going back without her.
***
As they rode to Doongait, Loki said a quick prayer that they would find the man in furs forthwith. He had to get home to Bella.
As soon as they arrived in Doongait, they made their way to the nicest inn, the one the Grants frequented whenever they traveled in the burgh. They settled the horses in the town stable, out of the wind, but as soon as Loki stepped outside into the fresh air, he froze.
There he was—the man in the furs. He stood not fifty paces away from him, hunched over next to a small, shivering bairn. Kenzie caught sight of him a few seconds after Loki did, and the look of horror on the wee lad’s face sent a chill down Loki’s spine. The strangest thing about him was they could not see his face. His hood of furs obscured his looks, just as it had in the dreams.
“I see him. Papa, ‘tis the man in my dreams.” Kenzie’s shaking finger came up slowly to point to the man.
The man in furs lifted his hand to wave at them, as if he understood why they were there. Could he?
Fergus crept up behind them, whispering, “Is he the one?”
“Aye,” Loki said. “Wait here, and I’ll speak with him.”
“May I come, Papa?” Kenzie asked.
Loki gave him a wave, indicating for him to follow along, only because he refused to take his eyes off this vision that had haunted his dreams for so long. They moved across the road together, and Loki found his steps slowing, as if he were afraid to discover the truth. How could he and Kenzie both have had dreams about this person they’d never met? He’d never been on Grant land, so they couldn’t have encountered him there.
When they reached the man in furs’ side, he finally dropped his hood.
He reached down to pat Kenzie’s head and whispered, “Greetings, Kenzie.”
Kenzie didn’t speak, instead staring at him in awe.
“We meet again, lad.”