They walked in silence for several paces before Maxwell spoke again.
“The woman in yer house,” he said. “She fears something specific?”
Frederick’s attention shifted. “She has a reason,” he said slowly, wishing he could say more but knowing there was nothing more he could say.
“Then ye need to ken what that reason is,” Maxwell replied.
Frederick did not answer immediately.
He had already come to the same conclusion.
“I will speak with Lennox,” he said at last. “We will extend the search beyond the initial trail. If there is a pattern, we will find it.”
Maxwell nodded once. “Good, and ye will ask me for help. Ye ken Kian will be able to help as well, and Kayden.”
Frederick made a mental note then, more firmly than before. His family ties stretched nearly the entire highlands. He should rely on their resources as much as his own. This would not remain a loose thread. Not with Iona’s fear as sharp as it was. Not with a man already having escaped.
“I will have the hounds sent farther along the border,” he added. “And I will request reports from every village within a day’s ride.”
Maxwell glanced at him with approval. “That is how it should be handled.”
The conversation shifted then, the weight of it easing as they continued along the path.
Frederick turned his attention to Ariella.
“Ye should nae be walking this distance,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “If ye begin as well, I shall return inside and refuse to speak to either of ye.”
Maxwell made a small sound of agreement. “She has already refused me twice this morning.”
“Because ye are insufferable,” Ariella replied.
Frederick ignored that. “How are ye doing with the bairn, sister?” he asked instead.
“Perfectly well,” she said at once.
“That is nae an answer.”
“It is the only one ye are getting.”
He watched her for a moment, recognizing the deflection for what it was.
She smiled, entirely unbothered.
Then, without warning, her gaze sharpened.
“I am more interested in ye,” she said.
He stilled slightly. “There is nothin’ of interest.”
“Aye,” she said. “That is what concerns me.”
Maxwell huffed quietly. “This will nae end well.”
Ariella ignored him.
“Ye have brought a woman into yer home,” she continued. “Ye have claimed a child as yer own. Ye have done everything except the one thing that would make sense of it.”