"Sween and Donny went fishing," said Anna.
"Kevin knows; he will find them."
*
Finding Rachel turned out to be far easier than finding Sween and Donny. One stream fed the moat from the north while another emptied it to the south. Once the four men realized the boys were not fishing the moat, they split up to search along the two streams. Kevin warned them not to go too far away and the boys disobeyed, so when he finally found his oldest son, he meant to scare him.
The boys were happy, talking far too loudly and both were lazily sprawled out on a rock facing the wide stream. At his nod, Kevin and Justin attacked at the same time, grabbed the boys, and tossed them into the water face down.
A smaller, but a nearly exact version of his father, Sween was so startled, he quickly turned over and grabbed for his dagger, but it wasn't in his sheath. Instead, his father had it in his hand and Kevin was not smiling. The boy was caught and the only choice he had was to scramble to his feet and wordlessly follow his father home.
*
That night, Rachel boldly stood face to face with Kevin near the long table in the great hall, ignoring all the other people in the room. "I can do it. I have been inside the Ferguson hold three times and they never once noticed."
It was a large room and could easily hold a hundred people during celebrations. Candles in holders burned at intervals along the walls and more were on the table. At the end of the room was a large stone hearth and a small back door leading to the place food was prepared. Stairs led to a balcony from which more doors opened into bedchambers.
"Nay," Connor said from behind Rachel. Then he noticed the warning look Kevin shot him.
"I can do it, Kevin, you know I can." Rachel was determined and prepared to argue if he turned her down.
Sween's golden curls were finally dry after his unexpected dip in the stream and he looked smug, "I could do it better than a girl."
Rachel turned to glare at her nephew, but it was Kevin's much more fierce glare that made the boy sit down and close his mouth. Kevin then looked to his wife for advice. Anna was very protective of Rachel and one word from her would keep him from letting Rachel go.
Anna walked to her husband and turned to face her sister. "What will you do if the boys are there?"
"Save them, of course."