Chapter Eleven
Katie scowled at Evan as they mounted their horses to continue with their tenant visits. Didn’t he realize it would take some time for Gavin to feel secure? It was the first time he’d even felt comfortable enough to join them for a meal. He’d been taking his meals in the bedchamber they were sharing. The man had no heart. That was the only explanation. He’d probably been born at this age—had never been a lad himself.
“Ye could have given me a wee bit of time with my brother.”
He turned to her. “Ye coddle the lad. He’ll never be a mon with such soft treatment.”
How dare the man judge her! He knew nothing about her or her brother. She was the only mother Gavin had ever known, and they shared a special bond. Da hadn’t spent time with the boy, saying it pained him too much to gaze upon Gavin because the boy had cost him his beloved wife.
It had been up to her to give Gavin all the love he wasn’t getting from his da. For as many times as she’d admonished her da over that, he had never taken an interest in being a parent. As little interest as he’d taken in being a laird. He’d merely shaken his head, sighed, and poured another brandy.
“I dinnae coddle him. He needs special attention because my da dinnae take an interest in him.”
Evan snorted. “And it shows too.”
She drew herself up. “What does that mean?”
He rode for a few minutes, ignoring her question. Just as she thought she’d need to repeat it because his hearing must have disappeared right along with his heart, he said, “The lad needs to learn to be a mon. Refusing to shake hands with my brother and gazing at his lap like some wee lass at his age is disgraceful. Ye should be ashamed of yerself for allowing it.”
All the motherly instincts in her rose up to strike the person attacking her brother. Had they been riding at a slower pace, she would have jumped from her horse onto his and pummeled him. Instead, she counted to ten—if she did indeed wreak havoc on her laird, she could very well find herself and her clan homeless.
She swallowed several times and ordered her heart to cease pounding and her stomach muscles to unclench. After taking a deep breath, she said in her most reasonable voice, “And what do ye ken of raising a lad? Do ye have several of yer own that ye can hold up as examples?”
“I dinnae need to have examples to hold up to ye except for myself and my brother. My da raised us to be men. If one of us had acted so meek when meeting a new person or cried when someone left us for a few hours, he would have thrashed us and then ordered us to muck out the stables for a spell.”
Katie sniffed and raised her chin. “He sounds like a dreadful man. A brute and a bully.”
Evan shook his head. “Nay. He was a mon, a real mon.”
Oh, how she hated his superior attitude! He had no idea how hard things had been for Gavin with Da ignoring him all the time. Perchance she did mother him a bit, but trying to be both mum and da to the lad had been a challenge.
Evan glanced in her direction. “If ye dinnae change some of the things the lad does, I guarantee he will be bullied by the other lads. In fact, I’m sure he is already.”
Katie shook her head. “Nay. He dinnae like playing with the other lads. He prefers to stay in his room and read his books.”
Evan smacked himself on his forehead. “Lass, dinnae ye see what yer doing to the lad? He prefers to stay in his room because the other lads make fun of him.”
That took all the wind out of her. Not just his words but the niggling thought at the back of her mind that he might be right about her beloved brother. She hated how this gruff man made those fears rush back at her. “Ye dinnae ken what yer talking about.”
He shrugged as they made their way up a lengthy path to another tenant cottage. This one was set back from the main road. Herbs of every type grew in the entire front area of the house. Katie recognized many of them as being medicinal herbs, along with plants used in cooking. The woman who lived here must be a healer.
Calling an unspoken truce while they made their visit, she and Evan stepped up to the front door and knocked. Within moments the door opened to an older woman with a bright smile on her aged face. Long white hair streamed over her shoulders and down her back. But the blue eyes were youthful, sharp. “I saw ye coming from my window. I heard ye are the new laird and are making visits to all the tenants.” She stepped back. “Please come in. I have tea and fresh-made scones for ye.”
The house was small, probably smaller than any other they’d visited. It was clean and uncluttered. Wonderful smells came from the table set in the center of the room. Since she and Evan had not notified the tenants of their schedule, Katie was certain this woman had set her table when Evan had first arrived, just waiting for him to visit.
“I am Mary MacCabe.” She turned and offered a smile to Katie. Crooked teeth, several missing, but a pleasant smile nonetheless. “Not a MacDuff. I fled from my clan many years ago, and the MacDuff took me in because of my healing skills.”
Since it was not their place to question Mistress MacCabe as to why she’d fled her clan, and Katie was especially uneasy with the subject, they both just smiled and nodded. “’Tis a pleasure
