The Knight's Temptress (Lairds of the Loch) by Amanda Scott

a towel from the washstand rack.
    Donning a fresh tunic, he left his wet clothes on the floor for Hak and had just taken his favorite plaid from its hook when the door opened and Hak walked in.
    “Where the devil have you been?” Ian demanded.
    Shutting the door, Hak said, “I ha’ a message for ye, sir, from Dumbarton.”
    Draping the plaid over a shoulder and taking his belt from the hook, Ian handed Hak the belt to hold. “How did you receive such a message?” he asked, using both hands to arrange the length of blue-and-gray wool.
    “A rider brung word from James Mòr for the laird,” Hak said, handing Ian the belt when he reached for it. “When the rider went inside, a lad he’d brung wi’ him tae watch the horses asked for me. He said Gorry MacCowan said tae tell ye that the deevil’s spawn… I dinna ken who that be, sir. Nor did the lad.”
    “I do,” Ian said grimly, recognizing his own words to Gorry at Dumbarton. “It is Dougal MacPharlain.”
    “Aye, well, the lad said that the deevil’s spawn asked the lord tae let him keep the elder o’ the two pawns he’d captured. I dinna think he meant the Almighty when he said ‘lord,’ Master Ian.”
    “No,” Ian said. “He meant James Mòr. The man fancies himself still a great lord despite the fall of his whole House of Albany. Go on.”
    “Lemme think,” Hak said, frowning. “Aye, then the deevil’s spawn said the younger pawn be the important one o’ the two, because the lord could use her tae keep her sire in check. I dinna ken what that means, neither. But the lad said he tellt me just what he’d clapped in tae his memory, as Gorry bade him tae do.”
    “I understand it,” Ian said. It meant that Dougal thought holding Lizzie hostage would keep Galbraith in check and thus made her more valuable to James Mòr than Lina would be. However, it might mean that Dougal wanted James Mòr to
believe
that because Dougal wanted Lina. Ian did not share these thoughts with Hak. Nor would he until he had pondered them more. “Is that all?”
    “Nay, master. Forbye, Gorry said that this be the most important part. But he said tae tell ye the other first, lest ye fail tae heed aught save this bit.”
    Tension gripped Ian. “Well?”
    Hak gave him a wary, speculative look. His news wasn’t good.
    “Hak?”
    Swallowing visibly, Hak said. “See you, sir, the lad said that the lord—James Mòr, that would be—declared he would keep both o’ them.” He paused.
    “Go on, damn you.”
    “He said he could do nae bargaining if the young onefaced ruin, by having nae female tae speak for her innocence after being captive in a castleful of men.”
    “What else did your messenger say?” Ian asked grimly.
    “That afterward, the deevil’s spawn were in a rare tirrivee. That Gorry fears the man will just take the pawn he wants.”
    Hak stopped, less wary now, his curiosity nearly palpable.
    “Hak, I’ll explain it all to you, because I’m going to need your—” Ian broke off at a sharp rap on the door followed by his father’s entrance.
    “Leave us, Hak,” Colquhoun said so curtly that Ian wondered how much he had overheard or if something else had stirred the paternal wrath.
    Since he had been treading lightly to avoid aught that might imperil his own plans—when he had some—the chance that he had angered Colquhoun was small. Moreover, the door to his room was thick, solid, and well-hung. So his father had overheard only a word or two as he entered the room.
    So far, Ian had shared none of the wild ideas he had considered and rejected for rescuing the girls. Not with Rob MacAulay or any other man who had arrived at Dunglass since Ian’s visit to Dumbarton, including Sir Alex Buchanan, who was a close cousin of Rob’s, a friend of Ian’s, and a fellow knight of the realm.
    Hak was on his way out with the bundle of wet clothing, so Ian said, “Come back when the laird has gone, Hak. I have more to say to you.”
    When the door had shut