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pronounced.
    Catriona rolled her eyes. Better and better. He might as well fling the girls over the lip of the cliff, for his inducements would send them there of their own will.
    “How so?” Mairi asked.
    Ruari shook his head. “The old lairds traded in religious relics of dubious repute, making their fortune upon the gullibility of others.” This had no effect upon the girls’ fascination, undoubtedly because they did not understand. Ruari made an exasperated sound. “It has long been said the lairds had strange powers, that they could speak to the ravens that nested in the roof of the old keep and dispatched them as spies over their holdings.”
    At that, Mairi fairly bounced in her enthusiasm. “They spoke with the birds ?”
    “When shall we see the ravens?” Astrid demanded.
    “When shall we meet the laird?” Mairi asked.
    “Soon enough, I wager,” the older man said grimly.
    “Perhaps he will teach us to speak to the birds,” Astrid said with excitement.
    Ruari, meanwhile, warmed to his theme. “They were pirates and thieves, the Lammergeier of Ravensmuir, and their ships docked below the keep. The cliff was riddled with caverns and secret passages, the better for them to practice their notorious trade.” He wagged a finger. “And so it was that they were struck down in their wickedness, for the caverns collapsed and the keep fell into the sea.”
    “A ghost and secret passages,” Mairi whispered to her sisters.
    “We shall play hide and seek and no one will find us,” Astrid agreed with a giggle.
    “Save the ghost!” Mairi raised her hands and made a face at her sister, who screamed then giggled even more.
    “You will do no such deed,” Catriona said sternly, though she feared she fought a losing battle. “You just vowed to heed my instruction and remain by my side.”
    “Aye, Catriona,” they agreed, but she saw the quiver of excitement in them both and wagered she would be running after both of them shortly.
    “The lady said Malcolm must be returned. Who is that?” Catriona asked Ruari, deliberately trying to change the subject.
    “The Lady Vivienne’s brother and second son of Kinfairlie. The uncle, Tynan, had no children of his own, so named Laird Malcolm as his heir. Laird Tynan was killed when the keep collapsed into the sea.”
    “The ghost!” Mairi whispered in delight and Astrid nodded.
    “How unfortunate,” Catriona said flatly, attempting yet again to diminish the allure of the ruins.
    “It was wickedness set loose!” Ruari insisted. “This was Tynan’s reward for trying to undo the sins of the past, for it was he who sold the last of the relics in the treasury. The forces that held that keep to the cliff were dark indeed, for they would not be cast aside. Whether it was the Fae or the Devil himself who destroyed Ravensmuir forever, there was wickedness at work, and wickedness that doubtless is still in residence. No good will come of this foray, upon that you can rely.”
    Catriona eyed the girls and could only agree. “Upon your influence, we can depend,” she said beneath her breath. Ruari flicked a glance at her and the back of his neck colored, as if he just realized what he had done.
    “You must stay with Catriona,” he said as gruffly as ever. “This keep is no safe place for children.”
    It was a bit late for such advice.
    The cart passed over a wooden bridge that spanned a deep defensive ditch, and Catriona saw that two roads did converge there, one from the north and a larger one from the south. The children’s eyes were wide as the cart passed through the opening in the massive hedge, which proved to be denser and taller than she had first realized. Catriona saw the enormous dark thorns that grew upon the shrubbery and could only think of ancient tales.
    Both moat and hedge formed a large half circle, sealing off this point of land from attack. That barrier had been strengthened by the addition of a gatehouse that spanned the gap in the hedge and