Page 36 of A Scot to Wed

Katie called him back. “Go to the kitchen and ask Cook to mix up the drink I told her about for those feeling poorly after a night of drinking. ’Twill help with yer headache and upset stomach.”

The young man grinned at her, his cheeks growing rosy. “Aye. Thank ye, mistress.”

“We must be off now, Katie. ’Tis growing late, and I want to visit as many cottages as we can. We have to move these people into their own homes.” Evan opened the door to find at least twenty people coming up the path, dragging cows and goats, along with a mess of bairns carrying cats and tugging on dogs.

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?”