Jamie grinned at that.
Iona watched the exchange carefully.
“So,” Jamie continued boldly, “do ye always fight like that?”
Frederick glanced toward the carriage window. “Like what?”
“With blood and swords.”
Iona’s stomach tightened.
“When necessary,” he said simply.
“And is it always necessary?”
Frederick considered that. “I try to ensure it isnae.”
Jamie seemed satisfied with that answer.
The wheels rolled steadily over packed earth as the village disappeared behind them.
Iona leaned back slightly, tension creeping along her spine. The rhythm of the carriage felt foreign after years of moving quietly and quickly on foot.
“Ye look as though ye are riding toward execution,” Frederick observed lightly.
“I prefer walking,” she replied.
“That much I have noticed.”
“And I prefer kennin’ where I am going,” she added pointedly.
“Ye should ken just fine where McIntosh seat is, lass,” he said.
She met his gaze through the window opening. “We shall see.”
He held her stare a moment longer than necessary before turning his attention back to the road.
And the carriage rolled on toward McIntosh Castle.
The child chose quickly.
By the time the road widened and the village disappeared behind the curve of trees, “Frederick” had become the name called whenever a question surfaced, whenever curiosity sparked, whenever a small voice decided it deserved an answer.
Frederick kept his horse alongside the carriage, one hand loose on the reins, the other never far from his sword. He had insisted Jamie use his name. “Me Laird” did not belong in a child’s mouth, not when the child’s gaze was already sharpened by too much fear for too many years.
Still, hearing the name spoken like that felt strange.
Not unpleasant. Just unfamiliar.
From the carriage window, Jamie leaned out again, eyes bright. “Frederick, does yer castle have a river?”
“Aye,” he answered. “But ye willnae go near it alone.”
Jamie’s mouth tightened. “I didnae say I would.”
Frederick lifted a brow. “Yet I will say it anyway.”
A huff of breath came from the window. “Frederick is bossy.”