Chapter Sixteen

Katie studied the crowd of people trooping up the pathway and glanced sideways at Evan. His expression was not hard to read, and she needed to jump in before the steam coming out of the man’s ears led to an explosion.

She walked up to the group, her arms open in welcome. “Fàilte, everyone. Welcome. I’m so glad ye made it safe and sound.”

“Not too sound, Mistress.” Mr. Adam Stirling walked up to her, twisting his cap in his hands. “My wee lad fell out of a tree this morning trying to rescue his sister’s kitten, and I think he might have broken something.”

“Ach, nay.” Katie hurried toward the cart with young Brandon lying there, his wee face twisted with pain. “Brandon, love. What did ye do?”

She didn’t need to turn around to ken the sigh that almost blew the hair off her head came from Evan. “Lass, we need to leave.”

She closed her eyes and drew on her patience. “It won’t take me long to examine the lad and fix him up. No more than an hour.”

“An hour! God’s toes, it’s already well past noon.”

Katie rounded on him. “I am a healer. What would ye have me do, my laird? Allow the poor bairn to suffer while we have tea and biscuits with the neighbors?”

His expression went from anger to resignation. “Nay.” He ran his fingers through his hair. More strands were pulled from his queue. He might as well unfasten the whole thing. She did wonder how the man still had locks on his head for the amount of times she’d seen him do that.

“Ye can go by yerself.” She turned as if to dismiss him, but he grabbed her shoulder and turned her back to him. “One hour. Then I will drag ye out of the castle. Ye ken?” The anger had returned.

Silence fell from the group as they all eyed this large man who was threatening their mistress. Grumbles erupted from some of the men, and a few of them fisted their hands and looked as if they intended to inflict physical harm on Evan. For as grateful as she was for their protective reaction, she kenned that it would surely take more than a few farmers to fell the Highlander.

She held her hand up to the crowd. “Nay, ’tis all right.” She turned to Evan and, trying very hard to not look as though she wanted to throttle the man herself, held out her hand. “This is Laird Evan MacNeil.”

At the raised eyebrows that greeted her statement, she quickly added, “’Tis a slight misunderstanding about the ownership of the castle that the laird and I are working out.”

The clansmen looked back and forth between her and Evan. Katie continued, “’Tis more important for us to get wee Brandon taken care of. The rest of ye can see Mrs. Brody, the housekeeper, who will find a place for ye to settle.”

“I thought we would all have our own cottages,” Mr. Michael Stirling called out from the back of the group.

“Aye, ye will. But it won’t be right away.”

Evan stepped in front of her. “I am yer laird. Ye will listen to what I say because time is growing short for the things yer mistress and I need to accomplish. We are visiting with the local tenants and villagers to see how many empty cottages there are for ye to move yer families into. In the meantime, ye will have to stay in the castle. If there are no more bedchambers, ye will have to make due with the floor in the Great Hall.”

Grumbling started again, and Evan held up his hand. “Cease! Ye will listen to all I have to say.” Mothers pulled their children close, and the men stood taller. But no one looked as if they planned to naysay their laird. Silence reigned.

He nodded and continued. “Ye will bring no animals into the castle. Ye will leave them with Mr. MacDuff in the stable.”

“What about my kitty? She always sleeps with me. She will cry.” Her eyes filled with tears, Amelia Stirling, sister to Brandon, clutched her kitten and almost fell over backward, attempting to look up into Evan’s face.

Evan turned to Katie, absolute terror written on his face. Apparently, the man was big and blustering, but when it came to a wee lass’s tears, he was terrified. Big oaf.

“Aye, I am the laird’s brother, Alasdair. I will help ye all get settled.” Alasdair, who always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, knelt in front of Amelia. “Ye can keep yer kitty with ye.” He looked up at Evan. “Isn’t that right, laird?”

Evan nodded briefly and turned on his heel, striding through the Great Hall toward the library, a trail of loud grumbles left behind. Just as he reached the library door, he shouted over his shoulder. “One hour!”

Despite her best intentions, ’twas more like an hour and a half before Katie joined Evan in the library. An empty whisky glass sat on the desk in front of him, but his eyes were focused on a ledger. He turned the page, then looked up at her. “Are ye ready? Is all well with the lad?”

“Aye.”

He slammed the book shut and stood. “Ye fixed him up?”

“Aye. It was broken, so I had to calm him down, then stabilize the arm. Poor lad. ’Tis going to be verra hard for his mum to keep him from moving it.”

When they arrived at the stable, ’twas in chaos. Alasdair and Gavin were attempting to put together some sort of cage for the puppies, who ran all around with MacDuff chasing them from the doorway with a broom. “Get away from there, ye bloody animals!”

“Mr. MacDuff, language please.” Katie scooped up one of the puppies and deposited him on a stack of hay, only to have him race once again for the door. Several of the newly arrived children were attempting to calm their animals, who were screeching and wailing in a new place.

Mrs. Fraser raced after the pup and lifted him above her head, cursing him in Gaelic. Hopefully, the young children had not yet learned the language. Or at least, those words.

Evan looked as though he was ready to bellow loud enough to bring the roof down. He stomped over to his horse and waved Mr. MacDuff off. “I’ll tack him myself.” Katie followed suit, and when they were finished, they left the stable, leading the horses through a web of bodies and confusion.

Evan helped her onto her horse, jumped on his, and rode off as if the demons of hell were on his heels. It took her a few minutes to catch up to him, and she was out of breath when she did. “Whatever is wrong with ye?”

“Wrong with me? I live in chaos. The noise is enough to drive a man off the edge of a cliff. How do ye stand it?”

Katie shrugged. “I dinnae concern myself with disorder.”

“Disorder! The entire castle and stable are a madhouse of pandemonium. I’m sure Culloden was quieter.” He kept up his rapid pace, which made it difficult for Katie to hear him, but she thought that’s what he’d said.

She didn’t try to ask where they were headed, just followed his lead. Eventually, they rode over a hill and before them, spread out, were dozens of cottages dotting the hillside. Their thatched roofs glowed in the sunlight. The whitewashed walls and white sheep grazing the area gave it a look of an artfully painted picture.

They both slowed their horses. “’Tis verra relaxing,” she said.

“Aye.” Evan sat back in his saddle. She could see his body easing as he gazed out at the sight. He turned to her, a grin on his face. The first one of the day. “After the chaos we just left, warriors attacking the castle would be relaxing.” With a laugh, he moved forward. But at a much slower pace.

…

Evan was certain with all the cottages spread out before them, there had to be a few that were empty. He prayed to the heavens above that there were more than a few. Besides the noise and confusion back at the castle, the longer it look him to get the entire estate settled, the less likely he and Alasdair would get on the road to Argyll before winter set in.

Then there was the problem of Katie and this Richard Armstrong of the fake betrothal. Until the mon showed up, he couldn’t leave either. ’Twas too dangerous a situation for both Katie and Gavin for him to ride away before it was resolved.

As much as he wanted to return to his clan before winter, he admitted to himself that the idea of leaving Katie behind held no appeal, even if he got everyone settled and the Armstrong fellow straightened out.

She’d been quite enthusiastic in their kiss early that morning—responding to his desire. Her quick exit from his arms and the room had startled him, but kenning she was an innocent, not too surprising. If he were honest with himself, unless he planned to actually marry the lass, he should not continue to seduce her. She was not one to take to his bed and then toss aside.

All these thoughts only added to the muddle that had become his life.

He had arrived at Fife with the full intent of hiring a competent land steward and returning home. No thoughts of marriage or interest in any lass had filled his mind for years. He’d been cursed in his three attempts at the wedded state.

But then Mistress Katie Stirling had appeared. She of the golden-red curls that escaped her hairdo daily, laughing blue eyes the color of a Scotland sky, and a light scattering of freckles over her perfect nose above her perfect lips. However, it wasn’t just her visage that had him ensnared. Her compassion, high spirits, and determination to do the best by her brother and her clan raised her in his estimation. She was not a lass to sit on her backside and weep about how life had treated her.

Were he ever to consider attempting marriage again, he would need a strong lass by his side. Someone who kenned how to make decisions, handle daily household problems, and most of all, return his enthusiasm in the bedchamber. In the few kisses he’d shared with Katie, he was convinced there was an underlying passionate spirit in the lass—and he was more than willing to unleash it.

They took their time just enjoying the view as they rode slowly down the hill. Off in the distance, he could see a small village that would most likely have a tavern or alehouse once they finished their visits.

They stopped at the very first cottage, which had flowers surrounding the front of the dwelling. Behind the small house, sheep grazed in the hills, and a healthy garden backed up to it.

A pleasant-looking woman exited the front door, wiping her hands on a cloth. “Good afternoon. Ye are the new laird?”

Evan jumped from his horse and helped Katie down. “Aye. I am Laird Evan MacNeil.” He pulled Katie forward. “This is Mistress Katie Stirling, who will be overseeing the estate in my absence.”

He’d been introducing them this way since the visits had started, but for some reason the words sounded foreign on his tongue now. Was he really prepared to leave Katie here to oversee the place while he returned to Argyll?

He shook off the uncomfortable feeling and smiled at the woman.

“I am Mrs. MacDuff.” She started laughing. “I’m sure ye’ve met more Mr. and Mrs. MacDuffs then ye ever thought ye would.”

He grinned back. “Aye. That is true.”

“Since there are so many of us, I suggest ye call me by my given name, Alice. Now, won’t ye join me for some tea?” She turned and led them into her house. He had to duck his head to clear the lintel. ’Twas small, but everything was clean and tidy. Just like the garden in the back.

“Do ye live alone here, Alice?” Katie asked.

“Nay. My husband is a bookseller and has a store in the village.” She waved to seats at the small table in the corner of the room. “I can see by yer face yer surprised to hear we have a bookstore.” She bustled around, quickly placing three cups and saucers and a plate of biscuits and scones on the table.

“Aye. I must admit I am a bit surprised that such a small village would have a bookstore. I imagine it must be hard to get books shipped out here,” Katie said.

“My husband was a professor at Edinburgh University. That is where I met him. I’m a Cowan, ye see. We lived there for many years, but when he left teaching, we returned to his home here in Fife.” She poured boiling water that she apparently kept hanging in a pot over the fireplace into the teapot sitting on the table. “He brought quite a few books with him, and then he returns to Inverness twice a year to buy more books and have them shipped.”

“How verra interesting,” Katie said as she fixed her tea. “What subject did he teach at university?”

“He taught legal practices in the law school.”

Evan immediately filed away that information for future use. If Richard Armstrong did arrive with his fake paper, it was helpful that someone well acquainted with the law lived right here on MacDuff land.

After a few minutes of social chattering, hearing more about this Mr. and Mrs. MacDuff, and learning there were no problems that a land steward would have to deal with, Evan took a final sip of tea and placed his cup on the saucer. “Alice, are ye aware of any cottages that are empty? We have a number of people from Katie’s clan who need homes.”

“Aye,” she said. “There are several behind us on the other side of the hill. An entire branch of the clan left for Australia several months ago.”

Evan leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Is that so? Do ye have a few minutes to show us which cottages are empty?” He looked over at Katie, who beamed back at him.

The three of them left the house through the back door. They walked over the hill, and Alice pointed out the cottages that were vacant. There were six of them, and Evan worked hard to banish the impulse to dance a Scottish reel.