He stared at her, expecting her to complete that sentence, and Maddie had no idea what to say. Braid each other’s hair? Play hide-and-seek? Search the loch for sea monsters? What activity could the two of them possibly share? Other than the bed-related activities that were obviously on his mind—and entirely out of the question.
As she stood there dithering, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. He looked toward the corner where she’d dropped the opened knapsack.
She hopped to the side, blocking his view and giving the knapsack a discreet nudge backward with her foot.
“I thought we could visit the tenants,” she said. “Together.”
“Tenants?”
“There are a small group of crofters up in the valley. You’re the new laird of the castle, so to speak. They will want to make your acquaintance.”
To her relief, the suspicion fled his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d like to make their acquaintance, too. That’s a fine idea.”
He found a fresh shirt in his bag and pulled it over his head, punching his arms through the sleeves. As he did, she made note of the bag—a black-painted canvas knapsack.
The letters had to be in there. Now that she knew, Maddie could be patient. He couldn’t hover over the thing every moment of the day.
“Then it’s settled,” she said. “We’ll walk up along the creek together. I can take them a basket of . . . something.”
Maddie started to warm to the idea. Perhaps visiting the crofters was the outlet she needed. She could play with the children. There might be a new baby she could hold.
Perhaps they would even have puppies.
As soon as they came within view of the baile, a trio of terriers came running to greet them.
The dogs yipped at Madeline’s skirts as they approached a cluster of some dozen thatched-roof stone cottages set along the river’s edge. High on the ridge, boys watching the sheep turned and looked down to watch them instead.
From one of the distant blackhouses rose the high, thin wail of an infant.
As they neared the baile, Logan drew Maddie to his side. “Listen to me. The people here will likely be frightened when they see us.”
“Frightened of you?”
“No, of you.”
“Me?” she asked. “But I’m just an Englishwoman, and not a very big one at that.”
“That’s precisely why they’ll be terrified,” he said. “Have you never heard of the Countess of Sutherland?”
“Of course I’ve heard of her. One can’t fail to hear of her. She’s a fixture in London society. An accomplished painter, too. Quite elegant.”
“Oh, yes. So accomplished and elegant that she’s become the most ruthless landowner in all the Highlands.”
“I don’t believe that.”
He sighed with impatience. The lass was so bloody sheltered. Everything had been handed to her on a gilt-edged tray. She had no idea how the common folk of the Highlands lived. A futile sense of anger swelled in his chest.
“The countess inherited half of Sutherland when her parents died. In the past few years, her agents have evicted village after village, forcing Scotsmen off the land by the hundreds and thousands. Stealing their farmlands to make way for sheep, burning their cottages to the ground, and offering them little in the way of compensation. Often with the assistance of the British Army.”
He looked down at his redcoat with regret. He would have done better to wear a traditional great kilt today.
“Believe me, mo chridhe. The Highlands is the one place on earth where no one will underestimate the ability of a quiet-looking, gently bred Englishwoman to destroy lives.”
“That’s terrible.”
That was vastly understating matters. “Try criminal. Shameless. Unconscionable. Any of those words would better serve.”
She regarded the cluster of blackhouses. “So you’re worried they’ll think we’re here to evict them?”
“I wouldna doubt it,” he said. “Showing your face for the first time, with an officer of the Royal Highlanders at your side . . . ? They’ll likely fear they’re about to lose everything.”
“Oh, goodness.”
They were close enough now that Logan could glimpse faces in the windows of the cottages, peering out at them.
“Dinna worry,” he said. “I’ll assure them they’ve nothing to fear.”
“If you say so.”
A little smile curved her lips. Logan was irritated that she didn’t seem to understand what he was telling her.