Page 11 of Falling for Her Highland Steward
“Mama.” Stephen looked ashamed. “Sorry, Mama. Why can I not have a dog?”
Erin shot a grateful look at Caillen. “You know why. You are not old enough,” she replied. “Wait ’til you are seven years old. Then you can have one if you are good and do your lessons.”
Stephen sighed dramatically, then continued to eat his meal, as did Caillen, who was trying not to laugh. From time to time, the little boy grinned at him and was rewarded with a wink, which made Stephen laugh all the more.
Presently, Stephen finished his meal, and Betty came to take him away to bathe him. He was most reluctant to go, and Caillen had to promise to go in and say goodnight to him.
“You will come and say goodnight?” he pleaded. “You will not forget?”
“No, I will not,” Caillen assured him.
“Don’t worry, he will come with me,” Erin said. “Now, go and bathe, Stephen.”
Stephen nodded and allowed himself to be led away.
Michael and Erin gazed at Caillen in disbelief. “Are you a witch?” Michael asked. “Do you have power over children? Stephen is usually very wary of newcomers.”
Caillen smiled. “Not at all,” he answered. “At least, not that I know of. They are usually afraid of me because I am so tall, so I kneel down. Then we are eye to eye, and I do not seem so frightening, but I love children, and I believe they sense it.”
“I have never seen him behave that way with anyone else,” Erin remarked. “I hope you are going to be good friends.”
Caillen flashed a smile at her. “I think we will be,” he replied. He was lost in her green eyes for a moment and had to force himself to look away.
They talked of mundane things for the rest of the meal, then Michael yawned. “I must go to sleep. Goodnight.”
“I will go and wish Stephen goodnight, as he wished,” Caillen said wearily, then stifled a yawn.
Erin smiled, then led him upstairs, but when they reached Stephen’s bedroom, they found it was too late. He was fast asleep, snoring softly, lying on his back with his arms flung out on either side of his head. Erin’s heart almost melted with love. He was so innocently beautiful, so vulnerable. She would kill for him or die for him. She bent forward and placed a kiss on his rosebud lips, then stood back, looking down at him tenderly. Then, to her surprise, she watched as Caillen did the same on the little boy’s forehead.
As they left, she asked: “Do you have children, Caillen?”
He chuckled. “Not that I know of.”
She thought for a moment. “Have you ever been married?”
“No, I have never been married,” he replied, “or wanted to be.” He sounded annoyed.
“I am sorry for being so inquisitive,” Erin said. “I need to know a bit more about you, but that was a little too personal, so please forgive me.
“Michael says you studied at the university in Glasgow.”
“Yes,” he answered. “I studied law and languages.”
“Which ones?” Erin was curious.
“French and German, although I speak Latin too—not that it has come in very useful for anything.” He laughed, and she joined in. “I come from a family of warriors, but we were never very prominent. The Johnstone clan never did any heroic deeds worth talking about. I would like to change that, but not by fighting—with words.
“Now, if you will excuse me, milady, I will say goodnight.” They had reached his bedroom door, and he nodded a polite farewell to her.
“Goodnight. Sleep well,” Erin replied as the door closed behind him. She stood looking at it for a moment before she turned and strode down the passageway.
“I have studied the accounts, and I agree with you,” Caillen said grimly. “The figures show that the estate is very deeply in debt. However, based on what Michael said, I believe that some of the laird’s creditors are not owed anything. In fact, they oweyou.I have not the time to explain it all now because I need to begin inspecting the estate, but it is quite clear to me that some of the men your husband trusted were not trustworthy at all.” He flipped over a few pages in one of the ledgers. “Laird Mackie, for one. Two draft horses were delivered to him six months ago and have never been paid for, and he is only one of many. The steward of Laird McFine’s estate has billed you for thirty bales of hay, but you received only half that amount.”
Erin was horrified. “I always thought they were honest men.”
“Appearances can be deceptive, milady.” He stood up, frowning. “Are we going to see the tenants now, or would you like to wait a little longer ’til I finish looking through the accounts?”
“I see no reason to wait,” she answered. “But the way things are, they might be a bit unfriendly. I will have two guards follow behind us.”
