Aye, whatever it was she did to the man, he did to her as well. His whispered words kept repeating in her ears as she tried to make some semblance of order out of the chaos that had erupted in the hall with the rest of Archie’s little ones stumbling through the door—hungry and weary from their travels.
She quickly made arrangements for them to share two of the bedchambers and sent the bairns to the kitchen to be fed. Glenda kept hugging her, telling her how grateful she was for the chance to have a better life for her little ones. Katie was just grateful to shoo them upstairs before Evan made good on his threat to drag her off in a most undignified manner to do his bidding.
’Twas exactly one half hour after his announcement that Evan emerged from the library, the look in his eye leaving no doubt in her mind that if she wasn’t prepared to leave, he certainly was.
“I am ready, my laird.” The words burst forth from her lips. She didn’t want to race him from the castle to avoid being slung over his shoulder.
“Good. Let’s be on our way, then.” He took her elbow and hustled her out of the house. She couldn’t help the wee bit of disappointment she felt as they made their way to the stables. Would he truly have tossed her over his shoulder, her bottom in the air? She shivered as he wrapped his large, warm hands around her waist and hoisted her onto the horse.
Within minutes, he was also mounted, and they were again on their way toward the village.
…
Evan was almost sorry Katie had been ready to leave. His hands had itched to lift her up and feel the softness of her stomach on his shoulder, her fine breasts pressed up against his back. But ’twas not a dignified way to treat his employee, especially in front of her clansmen.
“If ye have other families on their way that are the size of the one just arrived, we better find some empty cottages for them. Although the castle has many bedchambers—forty, I believe—’tis better if each family has a place of their own.”
Katie couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “Better for who? Ye or them?”
“Aye.” His grin made a reappearance. The lass certainly had a way of making his world lopsided. One minute he wanted to throttle the woman, and the next minute he was thinking of getting to know her in other, more pleasant, ways.
He reached into his sporran and pulled out the paper with the list of tenants. “Our next visit is with a Mr. Bernard MacDuff. He and his daughter, Maureen, live there.”
“No Mrs. MacDuff?”
“Nay. None listed.”
They rode past the MacDuff house where they’d rescued the poor sick woman. “I asked Cook to see about getting someone to clean the cottage.” Katie pointed to the humble house. “We cannot send the woman back there until we see to it.”
Evan nodded his approval and directed his horse into a right turn, then up a small hill to the next cottage. “Let us hope we dinnae leave this place with an animal or an ill tenant.”
Bernard MacDuff was a tall, well-rounded man with whiskers on his face and large mitts for hands. He looked as though he could pick a man up by his neck and with one swift move, send him to his creator.
Maureen was tall, like her da, but slender with a bit of the fairy in her demeanor. She reminded him of the stories about ethereal creatures. Mystical, ready to pull a prank on an unsuspecting lad—or something more devious, if angered.
After Evan introduced himself, Bernard slapped him on the back, almost sending him to the ground. “’Tis about time ye came around to see to the castle and what’s left of the clan.”
“Aye. It took me some time to finish up what I needed to do at home before I could make the journey.”
“Come inside, and we’ll have a bit of ale.” Bernard glanced at his daughter. “Set out some of those scones ye made this morning, lass.”
They all trooped inside. Evan was pleased to see a well-tended house, with no illness or stray animals wandering about. Perhaps they could escape this visit empty-handed.
“Ye say this here lass is to be the land steward, and ye are returning to Argyll?” Bernard took a large swallow of ale, wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, and burped.
“Aye. I have my own clan to run. We have been fortunate to keep most of our land and our clansmen. ’Twas not easy. My da and his da before him worked hard.”
“So ye dinnae lose yer land after Culloden? I thought the MacNeils were Jacobites.”
“Aye, in that we were, but we dinnae come under the notice of the English once the rebellion was crushed.” Seeing the look on the man’s face, Evan hurried on, “We were all for independence, but my grandda made the wise choice to work with the Sassanach. ’Twas not a popular position, in truth, but once it was over, it hadn’t seemed too smart to make things worse. We lost a lot of men in Culloden, and my grandda was determined to keep the clan together as best he could.”
“Aye, old MacDuff—the last MacDuff’s grandda—did much the same. Lost a lot of men, and then a bulk of land, but managed to hang on. ’Twas the Sassenach’s idea to crush the Scottish, mostly the Highlanders, but a few managed to endure.” Bernard held his mug up. “Here’s to the survivors.”
Both men drank the rest of their ale while Katie and Maureen watched them. Katie seemed amused at their conversation, but Maureen studied her da carefully, almost as if wishing the visit to be over and the two of them on their way.
Bernard slammed his mug down. “Now I have a problem for ye to deal with.”
Young Maureen groaned. “Nay, Da. Dinnae
