“I will be bringing it up, lass. I told ye if ye continued with yer behavior, I would have the laird deal with ye.”
Evan didn’t care for the sound of that statement. As laird in his own clan, he had the responsibility to settle many matters. Issues between parent and child were oftentimes the hardest. He glanced over at Katie, who shrugged. No doubt she had handled such matters herself after her da had passed on.
He sighed and finished his drink. “What is it, MacDuff?” Evan leaned back in his chair.
“The lass here has been sneaking out, seeing Fenton’s boy, Kevin. I told the lad to stay away from her, but I caught them and gave the lad a thrashing.”
“A thrashing indeed, my laird. He gave Kevin a broken nose, and I think his arm is broken too.” Maureen’s wide hazel eyes were rimmed with tears. Katie immediately moved to the lass and put her arm around her shoulders.
Evan eyed MacDuff. “What are yer objections to the lad?”
“Fenton’s a drinker. Beats his wife. Overworks his bairns. A mean son of a bitch—”
“Da!” Maureen rose, her face red.
“Well, he is. And there’s nothing else to be said about it.”
Katie cleared her throat and stole a glance at Evan. He was more than happy to have her take this issue. He never did like family petitions for help. “Yes, Mistress Stirling?”
“May I speak, my laird?”
He dipped his head. “Indeed.” Let her make an enemy of either the da or the lass. Whatever he said, someone would be unhappy.
“How old are ye, Maureen?”
“I’ve seen sixteen summers.”
Katie nodded. “Aye. Old enough to know yer mind, that’s for sure.” She turned to MacDuff. “Is yer only objection about the lad his da?”
MacDuff crossed his massive arms over his chest. “Aye. Like breeds like. I’ll not have my daughter treated the way poor Mrs. MacDuff is.”
Evan was quite impressed with the man’s attitude. Too many men didn’t care what sort of man their lasses married, as long as they were out of his house and eating someone else’s food. He opened his mouth to say something like that, and Katie waved at him to be quiet.
Verra daring the lass was. She believed it was permissible to wave her laird away like some pestering insect? Before he could open his mouth, she continued, “I agree that oftentimes a mon will behave toward his family like the mon who raised him. But that is not always true.”
The stubborn man didn’t answer her but kept glaring in her direction. Hopefully, Evan would not have to save the lass from a thrashing.
“Mr. MacDuff, here is what I propose. Spend some time with the lad. Watch how he treats his horse, how he handles problems that vex him. Most of all, see how he treats Maureen. Since they’ve been hiding from ye, ye have no way of knowing what his feelings truly are. Ye can certainly judge a mon by how he acts, aye?”
Grudgingly, Bernard nodded. “Aye. ’Tis true. I’ve been so worried that she would run off with the lad that I’ve only been watching her.”
“Too closely,” Maureen said.
“What do ye say, Mr. MacDuff? Are ye willing to allow the young lad to attend to yer daughter? In yer presence, of course,” Katie quickly added when Bernard began to scowl again.
“Aye. I guess it’s a good idea.” He smiled at his daughter, all the love of a da in his face. “I just want her to be happy.”
“Oh, Da.” The girl jumped up and threw herself in her da’s arms. “I do love ye.”
Evan slapped his thighs and stood, anxious to get as far away from family issues as possible. “It appears we have solved that problem.”
Katie smirked at him as she also rose and smoothed out her gown. “Aye, my laird. We have certainly resolved that difficulty.”
Chapter Ten
Amazingly enough, by the time Katie and Evan returned to the castle, all was quiet. ’Twas hard to believe the chaos had settled and no one was racing to the door to greet them with another crisis.
They had managed to visit four tenants, and along the way they had discovered an empty cottage that was perhaps not big enough to comfortably house Archie’s family but at least had three bedrooms. In these times, that was a luxury, to be sure.
They were sitting in the library after having shared a cold dinner of bread, cheese, and a leftover joint. Alasdair had joined them for the meal, returning from his visit to the village to speak with the shopkeepers, but excused himself afterward to visit with MacDuff down at the stables. He loved equine talk and was a true horse lover.
“I’m considering employing two of Archie’s older children, which will remove them from the cottage.” Katie took a sip of her sherry and eyed Evan over the rim of her glass.
Evan sat across from her, his long legs stretched out, his boots crossed at the ankles. His unruly hair hung almost to his shoulders, and she had the urge to brush it back. His linen shirt was open at the neck, a sliver of tan skin and rust-colored curly hair peeked out from the opening. He looked tired, and it occurred to her that his was a difficult job. Being laird to one clan while having been handed the responsibility of another must be daunting.
“’Tis yer job to see to those kind of things.” He swirled his brandy before taking a large swallow.
“Aye.” She was grateful he didn’t naysay her on this. “Ella is about fourteen years and would do well working in the kitchen. She’s a sweet lass, and the extra coin she would bring to her family would help. Charlie has seen sixteen summers, and he would be a fine assistant to MacDuff in the stables.”
Evan nodded. “Good idea. I say tomorrow we move the lot of them into that empty cottage.”
“Ye do understand that there are many more who will be arriving? I had
