Page 12 of Saved By the Highland Beast
“I was just trying to explain why I was wearing men’s clothing,” she said sheepishly. “Your uncle didn’t seem to understand when I tried to explain.”
Dean shook his head and leaned back down to speak to his uncle. “She’s the new tutor that’s come for Cillian, Uncle,” he shouted in the man’s ear. “She’s from London. Sophia Harrison.”
Duncan looked at his nephew before looking back at her. “Oh, she’s English, then. That explains a lot.” He nodded to himself as if her behavior could completely be explained by the fact that she was English.
Dean looked at her with thinly veiled amusement as she smiled sheepishly at him. He shook his head with a small laugh. “Duncan, the lass had nae even been here for a day, an’ yer already having her jump through hoops.”
“Boots?” Duncan squinted at him. “Why would I give the lass me boots? Does she nae have any of her own?”
Sophia noticed the kind glimmer in the laird’s eyes whenever he spoke to the old man. He seemed like a rough man, but there was a gentler side to him that showed up at the most unexpected times.
“I dinnae ken what I am goin’ to do with ye.” Dean shook his head and laughed as he walked away, leaving the pair to fend for themselves.
“Could you just…” She wanted to ask him if he would stay and be the language and hearing buffer between her and his uncle, but he was gone before she could finish her sentence.
Sophia hung her head in shame as Hamish and Anthony passed by with thinly veiled expressions of amusement on their faces. Being a tutor at McGill Castle was going to be harder than she thought.
Her only hope was that Cillian proved to be a pleasant boy that was easy to work with. Perhaps her gentle way of teaching was all he needed to learn.
CHAPTER5
Sophia shuffledthe books on the desk in the corner of the study that had been set aside specifically for Cillian’s lessons. The papers lay scattered in a haphazard manner that only she could understand.
She was wearing an old grey skirt with a white frilly blouse that one of the maids had found for her. The cut was slim and fitting, but not entirely her style. She preferred looser clothes that gave her room to move. She made a mental note to write to her mother for more clothes as soon as she could. Her hair was tied back with a ribbon, and her overall appearance was that of a schoolmarm.
She’d taken a few days to get settled in at the castle before starting her official position. She was nervous about meeting Cillian but made up her mind to do her best and treat him with as much patience and kindness as she could. It couldn’t be easy being raised without a mother. She also tried to take her mind off the irritating laird, whom she thankfully had not seen all these days.
She couldn’t say she didn’t feel a slight pang of longing at his absence.
Looking around, she tried to familiarize herself with everything she needed to carry out the lessons. The study was lined from wall to wall with novels and instructional books on just about any topic one could imagine. She was impressed with the laird’s extensive collection.
“Who are ye?” a small voice suddenly asked, drawing her attention to the study door.
A small boy of about ten stood in the doorway holding a book. His hair was jet black and slicked to the side. His skin was pale, and his stature was small and gangly like most boys of his age, but the most striking feature of all was his penetrating blue eyes, which pierced through her soul.
Sophia swallowed the urge to correct his manners and smiled warmly at him, not wanting to get off on the wrong foot. “My name is Sophia Harrison.” She walked around the desk and came to stand in front of him with her hands clasped in front of her. “You may call me Miss Harrison.”
“Are ye the new tutor?” he asked without bothering to introduce himself.
“I am,” she replied politely. “And you must be Cillian, am I right?”
Cillian looked her up and down for a second as if she were an insect that required closer inspection. “Why did Faither bring a woman all the way from England? What can ye teach me? I dinnae need another tutor.”
“I can assure you that I’m more than qualified to teach you your lessons,” she insisted with a smile.
“Prove it.” He cocked his head to the side in a challenge.
She kept her cool. “Well, I’m rather good at arithmetic. Ask me any question you like.” She widened her smile and clasped her hands behind her back, shifting on her feet.
“Very well, then. What will I have if I subtract five hundred and ninety-nine from seventy-three?”
She did the math in her head for a second before giving him the answer. “Negative five hundred and twenty-six.”
“You cannae have a negative number.” Cillian glared at her. “Besides, I have no use for arithmetic. Where will I ever use that in real life?”
“You can have a negative number if you work in the opposite direction. Temperature takes negative values to denote how cold it is,” she explained. “Arithmetic can be very useful in all walks of life,” she added positively. “For example, when you become laird of the castle one day, you will need to make sure that all of your men’s wages are paid in full and all the taxes collected are fair. You don’t want to be taking more money from people than what they owe.”
‘‘I can hire a man to do those things for me,” he stated triumphantly as if the argument had been settled.
