16Iona found herself clinging to the Duke’s arm, trembling all over, but she was conscious of his calm strength and that he had neither moved nor spoken since the moment of Lord Niall’s arrival.
At his other side Raild spoke in a low voice,
“None ca’ fall frae the Rock, Yer Grace, an’ live.”
It was a statement of fact. The clansmen turned again to face the Duke, and his voice rang out steady and unhurried.
“You will go at once to your homes,” he said. “You have none of you any knowledge of what has happened here this evening, nor will you speak of it again even amongst yourselves. In the morning those who are working by the loch side will find the bodies of his Lordship and the lady who has been staying at the castle. They will bring me news of their discovery, but it will concern no o
