Chapter Fifteen
“Are you insane?”
Liam turned to hear Aaron’s low growl. He’d been standing with Clara at the top of the Great Room while people finished their meals and headed to work. It was late in the day for that, but there was a great deal to do before the men left on their hunt. His father had made a great show of pulling the men and boys away. After Mairi stomped out, several of the women had followed. That left his brother-in-law, Miss Rees, and a small contingent of Aberbeag men including Connall who watched everything with amused eyes. It was always fun to see a rival clan descend into chaos.
Meanwhile, Aaron and Miss Rees lost no time in expressing their concerns.
“You’ve made a right mess of it!” Aaron continued.
“Yes, he’s touched in the head,” Clara agreed grimly. “I’ve never been good at running things.”
“Not true,” Liam answered. “You’ve never tried.”
She rounded on him with her mouth agape, but he cut her off before she could start shouting at him.
“You left the running of the house to your servants and barely put any thought into who you hired.” He arched a brow at her. “Clara, if you can learn advanced mathematics, you can learn to run a home.”
“This is a castle,” she snapped.
“It’sourhome,” he retorted, using the emphasis to remind her that she was in this with him no matter what.
He could see the skepticism on Clara’s face. Worse, he saw Lilah snort in disgust. She was the one with the knack for running a household and if she thought he was doomed, then he became very concerned. Especially as the lady spoke up. She was kind with her words, but he heard the message nonetheless.
“You must make amends with Mairi,” she said. “She’s the one who knows what must be done. Convince her to come back.”
“Absolutely not.” Liam spoke forcefully. “Clara, you’ll never make your mark here as long as she’s around to countermand your orders.”
“But she could help—” Miss Rees pressed.
“And then whatever happens will be her doing, not Clara’s.” He brought Clara’s limp hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss there. “You know how to do this. You figure out the system, then improve it.”
She shook her head. “I… It’s too much. I can’t—”
He arched his brows. “Never did I think to hear you say that you wouldn’t even try.” He smiled reassuringly up at her. “I’ll help. Whatever you want.”
Clara swallowed. “No. Lilah can show me—”
“Lilah cannot. She and Aaron are leaving today.”
“What?” Clara jerked her hand back. “They won’t abandon me!”
The terror on her face was real, as was the shock on Miss Rees’ face and the chagrin on Aaron’s. But at least her brother seemed to understand why.
“We can help you get started. We’ll stay a few days, but he’s right. If you’re to make a go of this…” He shot a hard look at Liam. “You need to start as you mean to go on.”
“You can’t stay,” Liam interrupted. “You’re English.”
“So is she!” Aaron shot back.
“No, she’s the new wife of the MacCleal heir,” Miss Rees said sadly, showing that she understood the way hatred showed up. “If Lord Loughton makes a great show of backing whatever she does, then they won’t go against him. But if we stay, we’re emphasizing that she’s a foreigner.”
Aaron shook his head. “We could draw their wrath away from her.”
“That never works,” Miss Rees said.
Liam agreed. It would only give his people two more people to complain about. “Clara, they have to go. You have to stand on your own or it won’t work.” He turned her away from her family to look him in her eye. “You threw in your lot with me. Don’t lose faith now before you’ve even begun.”
That was the crux of his wager. Make or break—the two of them together—with his clan’s survival at stake.
