Page 55 of A Highland Bride Disciplined
Tam clasped his hands behind his back, and the two men started toward the study. “First matter is old Mrs. Cuthbert’s geese have gone missin’ again. She swears it’s the McGivern lads, but they say it was the wind.”
Kian stared. “The wind?”
“Aye. Claims a gust carried them over the loch.”
Kian pinched the bridge of his nose. “And?”
“And they’re offerin’ to return any goose that lands in their yard… for a small handling fee.”
“Bloody opportunists.” Kian exhaled through his teeth. “Tell Mrs. Cuthbert if she catches them at it again, she has me leave to set her rake where the sun doesnae shine. I dinnaemissthese clan matters in the slightest when I was away.”
Tam let himself chuckle deeply in chest before continuing. “Second matter is old MacTavish wants to build a second privy. Says the first one’s haunted.”
Kian blinked. “Haunted?”
“By an ole woman he apparently wronged last winter. A spirit, he says.”
Kian sat back in his chair. “Did he provide any proof?”
“Nay, but he looked quite afeared for himself.”
Kian waved a hand. “Fine. I’m guessing it’s in addition to that old garden, then? Crossin’ over into Byrd’s property?”
“Precisely.”
“Tell him to build it if he pays for it himself. I’ll approve it, and Byrd can deal with it, but I’ll naefundsuperstition.”
Tam gave a sharp nod, clearly enjoying himself. “Third matter is from the weaver’s wife. She says her husband’s been flirtin’ withthe barmaid at The Drover’s Pub, and she’s asked if the laird might ‘speak to him like a man.’”
Kian’s brows shot up. “Does she think I’ve nothin’ better to do than play nursemaid to jealous wives?”
Tam’s grin widened. “I told her as much. She asked me to pass on that she’ll be prayin’ for ye to find better manners.”
Kian muttered something in Gaelic that made Tam chuckle. “Any actual matters of worth today, or have ye just come to rot me brain?”
Tam’s expression darkened as both men entered the study. “Aye. There’s one. Had a letter from my man up North, Duncan Ross.”
Kian stepped inside the room and let the door close behind him. His response was delayed as he sauntered over to the whiskey, poured both men a glass, and handed one to Tam before sitting down on the large sofa.
“Duncan?”
“Aye, sent ‘im word to look into a lass travelling on her own who might have been with child…”
“And?” He said finally.
“He’s on his way back from the north reaches. Says he heard somethin’ about… the bairn.”
Kian’s jaw tightened. “Elise.”
Tam nodded. “Could be somethin’ that solves the, uh, problem.”
Problem.
The word lodged in Kian’s chest like a splinter. His stomach twisted, heat flaring behind his ribs.
Aye, Elise was a problem. The bairn was an uninvited responsibility, a disruption, a living reminder that me life was nay longer me own to arrange as I pleased.
But what he couldn’t reconcile was, when Tam said it aloud, it made him want to knock the man flat. It was nothin’. Just sense. Facts. And yet…
