Page 3 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
Callum’s chest tightened. “What did ye call me?”
Alexander raised his eyebrows. “M’Laird?”
“Aye. That. YerLaird,am I? What in the hell has happened here, Alexander?” Callum demanded. “Angus explained nothin’ in his letter. Summoned me back like an obedient pup, and here I am. Could ye at least dae me the courtesy of tellin’ me what this is all about? Where’s me braither?”
“Mama left and Papa went up to heaven.”
Callum froze at those words, ice running down his spine.
Angus is dead?
He briefly closed his eyes before carefully schooling his expression. Turning in a slow circle until his gaze fell upon a tiny form behind him. The little girl was standing all alone on the cobblestones, impossibly small against the backdrop of the enormous castle.
Is that Eilis or Amy? I couldnae ever tell the difference.
Her dark hair was long now, almost down to the middle of her back. She must be nearly six years old by Callum’s calculations, but she looked younger.
“Are ye Uncle Callum?”
He blinked as another voice piped up behind him. He turned back to find a second little girl had appeared behind Alexander’s legs. That was Amy, he realized. He recalled the freckles peppering her nose.
Amy stepped out, looking up at him quizzically. His nieces were twins, and so alike it was startling. Long dark hair and blue eyes shining up at him curiously.
Callum crouched down to greet her, but Amy leaped back as he did so, clinging to Alexander’s legs and hiding her face in his thigh.
She is still scared of me, scared of the scars her own faither inflicted because of a lie her mother told.
He considered covering his face with his hands to calm her, but she would have to get used to the scars sooner or later.
“Aye, I’m yer uncle,” he said coldly, standing up again, a mixture of hurt and shame warring inside him.
I have had grown men turn away in fear at me appearance. Why should two wee girls be any different?
“Should the two of ye nae be in bed?” he said solemnly, hoping that some distance would allow Eilis and Amy to forget their fear.
He motioned to a maid who was hovering nearby, her eyes wide with horror as she took in his face.
“Take the children upstairs,” he said firmly, and watched as both girls hurried away, Eilis holding Amy tightly, glancing back at him furtively before they disappeared.
Callum was unaccustomed to people noticing his scars or making comments on them these days. His only companions had been Duncan and Isla, and they were quite used to both his face and his moods by now.
“Dae ye wish to discuss the clan, M’Laird?”
He turned back to Alexander. “And what if I do? What is yer position here?” he asked.
“I am yer man-at-arms, M’Laird.”
Callum snorted derisively. “Aye, of course ye are. Ye always did ken how to take care of yerself.”
Alexander’s cheeks heated.
“Come with me, then,” Callum snapped. “I think I can remember where the study is, even after all these years.”
“The children cannae be raised by me!” Callum insisted, watching Alexander’s infuriatingly stoic face.
The chair where he sat was uncomfortable and lumpy, worn down to fit another body. A body that would never sit in it again.
Callum glanced around him at the cavernous study that Angus had favored. It was more like a dining hall than a place of work. He would never be able to get a thing done in it without thinking of his brother. It would be repurposed as soon as possible.
