Page 46 of Falling for Her Highland Steward
“I have some news for you,” she said brightly.
Stephen stuffed one more spoonful of porridge into his mouth and looked up at Erin expectantly. “Tell me, then,” he ordered.
Erin took a deep breath. “I am going to marry Laird Grieve,” she told him, then steeled herself for his reaction.
“You mean that big ginger man?” Stephen asked, frowning.
“Yes.” Erin smiled.
“Don’t marry him,” Stephen ordered sullenly. “Don’t like him. Marry Uncle Cal. He plays with me and tells me stories.”
Oh, how I wish I could,Erin thought, and a pain stabbed her heart. Aloud, she said: “Cal is going to live in Glasgow, darling. He has business to do there.”
“Is Glasgow far away?” Stephen asked. Erin could almost see his brain working overtime to form plans.
“Yes, quite far,” she replied. She could see that he was not going to give up.
“Can I go and see him?” he asked, taking another mouthful of porridge. He was so innocent. For him, “far away” meant the next village. He could not conceive of the length of time it would take to travel to the mighty city of Glasgow.
“No, Stephen, it is too far.” Her voice sounded regretful, and her heart was breaking for her son.
The impact of her words sank in after a few moments, and Stephen began to weep, then he shot up from the table and ran as fast as his little legs would carry him down the passage toward the small room that Caillen used as a study.
Caillen looked up as Stephen burst through the door and sprinted around the desk. The little boy buried his head on Caillen’s lap and burst into tears.
“Stay here!” he sobbed. “Don’t go, Uncle Cal! Stay here!”
Caillen picked Stephen up and lifted him onto his lap, and the little boy wound his arms around his neck and continued to weep as he begged him to stay. Caillen felt a little like weeping himself as he held on to Stephen. He loved the child and could easily imagine a future where he, Erin, and her son could live happily as a family. Yet he knew he was being fanciful. Erin needed someone better—someone richer.
Erin bent down to take Stephen away, but he only clung to Caillen more tightly.
“Do not leave me,” he begged, then he looked up as an idea struck him. “Uncle Cal, you can stay here and be my teacher!”
Caillen kissed Stephen’s forehead softly. “But I do not know how to teach,” he said sadly. “You must let your mama’s new husband find you a real teacher.”
“I need someone to teach me how to fight with a sword and a sling and a bow and arrow!” he protested. “If Mama marries that man, I will run away!” He clung to Caillen even more tightly than before.
Erin sat down, defeated, and breathed out a deep sigh.
“Of course you will not run away!” Caillen said sternly. “Now, I must speak to Mama alone, so run along to the kitchen and find something you would like to eat. I will still be here when you come back.”
Stephen looked at him doubtfully for a moment, then left.
Caillen dropped his gaze to the ledger in front of him, changing the subject at once. “You will be glad to know that for the first time since Laird McCaskill’s death, the estate has made a profit,” he told her as he turned the ledger around and pointed to the columns of figures. The final totals were astounding.
Erin stared at them for a long time. Her mouth had dropped open in disbelief. “Are you sure these are correct?” she asked, at last, looking up at him with eyes that were round with amazement.
Caillen nodded. “I know another steward who can add them up for you if you wish,” he offered.
“No. It is…it seems impossible,” Erin said incredulously as she continued to stare at the pages in front of her. “You have been here not quite four months, Cal. How did you do it?”
“I bullied the men who were cheating you,” he began. “That repaid some debts. With that money, I could begin on the repairs to the farm machinery, and each tenant became more productive, especially after we gave them a few food parcels to tide them over in the lean months when their crops were not growing well. But the main thing was—”
“You listened to them,” Erin said with a wide smile. “You made them feel worthwhile, and they loved you for it.”
“I tried to help them, yes. Do not give me too much credit, Erin. I had a lot of help.” His face was flushed as he dropped his gaze to the ledgers again.
“I will not find another man like you,” she murmured.
