Page 28 of Taming the Heiress
"You could have stopped it altogether."
"Never. This lighthouse goes up."
"And be damned to all?" She had never used such language, yet he did not blink over her boldness.
"Something like that," he said.
"Then why meet with the baroness? You want no one's permission but your own for what you do."
"I want her cooperation, especially since we must quarry more stone, and it must come from Caransay."
"What! You cannot quarry on Caransay!"
"Frankly, Miss MacNeill, I can do what I want, according to the writ. But I want the baroness's approval too. Caransay rock is better quality than from Guga. It's good gray granite, with few flaws."
"Mr. Stewart," she said, head lifted high, "the baroness will never approve that."
"The quarry would bring work to the men of this island."
"They do not need the work. The baroness helps the people on this island. We do not want Caransay ravaged or defaced."
"I always make certain that my crews respect the integrity of the landscape, wherever we work."
"Caransay has been undisturbed over the centuries."
"Modernization is not an evil force, Miss MacNeill."
"When improvement threatens to destroy centuries of custom and eons of Nature's fine work, there is evil in it. I suggest you think of your quarters here as only temporary, sir, for you will not be on Caransay much longer."
"You are a fitting mouthpiece for your baroness."
"I—I must get back to Iain." She whirled and walked down the slope, and he came with her. Soon the boy ran toward them.
"Did you see me in the water?" Iain asked. "I am learning how to swim!" He puffed his chest proudly.
"We did," Dougal answered. "When next we meet, young sir, I shall teach you how to swim the foam myself, as they say in the old songs. How would that be?"
"No!" Meg said quickly, touching Iain's shoulder. "No."
Dougal frowned at her. "He needs that skill, living here."
Fear went through her like the toll of a bell, like a warning. "It's not necessary for you to teach him. Good day, Mr. Stewart. Come, Iain. We must get back." She took the boy's hand and urged him along with her.
"Mr. Stooar," Iain said, turning, "I will see you again!"
"You will, sir," Dougal said cordially.
Meg swept Iain along with her toward Thora and Elga, who waited with Anna. She glanced over her shoulder, but Dougal had already gone. Oddly, his absence tugged at her heart.
Unwise to surrender to his charm, she told herself. She must stay away from Stewart until he left the island.
I never give up,he had told her.
Well, neither would she.
Chapter 7
Birds left the sea rock like ashes on the wind. A flare, a noisy bellow, a plume of smoke, and then debris erupted from the massive rock. Falling rocks churned the water below, the ripples spreading out to bounce a dozen boats.
