Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
WE HAVE A CASTLE, LET’S USE IT
Callum
We waited for the storm to break. Halfway through dinner—Mexican rice with steak and peppers, courtesy of Patricia—Wasp gave an almighty sigh. “Fine,” he said to his twin, “but quit nudging me. I dinna see why you can’t ask yourself.”
The chatter ceased, and all eyes fell on him. Wasp raised two blond eyebrows at me.
“What?” I looked from one inquisitive grin to the next.
“Are you two getting married, then?”
Mathilda gripped my hand, my ring on her finger. Then she said, “How would you feel if we told you we were?”
“But are you?” the boys said in unison. Ally rolled his hands in front of him. “I mean, we’ll be over the moon. Amazing news, congratulations, blah, blah, but…”
“But what?” she asked.
“We’ve got a bet going. I win a tenner if it’s announced by the end of the night.”
The beautiful sound of Mathilda laughing mingled with Patricia telling the twins off for gambling on family happiness. The boys crowed, and the meal descended into a typical McRae feeding-time chaos.
I sat back and watched my family. We weren’t all here—Gordain was training to fly into war zones to extract injured servicemen, and James hadn’t yet returned my messages, but they’d be back, and a new era at Castle McRae yawned.
In that second, I let it sink in. I was engaged. Content.
The change hit me like a missile. This, this right here, was what I’d strived to create.
A happy family, free of violence and fear.
So different to how we’d been as wee lads.
I’d cared for my boys for long years, shouldering the burden and making every decision.
Worrying and fretting, willing and able but so fucking alone.
No more.
I looked at Mathilda, and she brought her beautiful gaze to mine. “Want to confirm it?” she mouthed.
I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. The boys yelled all the more.
“Aye, we are.” I lost my battle with my grin, and applause and cheers rang loud. “But keep it to this room until I get a chance to speak to Gordain and James.”
“And Beth,” Mathilda added. “If she’d answer the phone.”
“Funny, James isn’t answering either.” He’d be at Belvedere by now, if that was where he’d found his way.
Throughout the conversation, Scarlet had remained quiet. Now, the girl stood. She glanced between us, settling her gaze on her sister. “Would this have happened earlier? I mean, if it wasn’t for me and the other plan you had.”
At the head of the table alongside me, in the tall-backed chairs where lairds and ladies had sat together for generations, Mathilda smiled. “No. This has been a whirlwind. I’m lucky Callum persisted with me, otherwise I can hardly bear to think where I’d be now.”
It was my turn to grip her fingers. “My stubbornness paid off. Thank fuck for that.”
“Got to happen sometime.” Ally winked.
“Dad won’t like it. Just like he won’t let me stay here.” The girl’s chin dropped and she slumped back into her chair. “He loves you so much but he’ll be angry and he’ll try to persuade you to come home. I’ll have to go because he says so.”
“Nobody is going anywhere,” I growled in response, and my boys sat up.
Mathilda sighed. “Dad will be here in the morning, but this isn’t a war.”
“Aye, it is! And we have a castle, let’s use it. Create a defence.” Ally slammed a hand down, knocking his plate so it rattled. The atmosphere changed, and eating ceased. My brother pointed at the door. “If I understand this right, which I probably dinna, but what the fuck ever.”
“Language,” Patricia reprimanded, and he rolled his eyes.
“This lass wants to stay here, and nobody has the right to take her. She’s Mathilda’s sister, and when you two get married, our kin. We don’t let anyone hurt our family.”
“Well, aren’t you and I going to be friends.” Scarlet’s grin sparkled at Ally.
He merely watched her, his mouth a firm line I’d never seen on the lad who almost always smiled.
“We’re not going to let the man walk in here and take her.” Ally sat, his arms folded.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Whatever happens, it’s for Mathilda and Scarlet to tell us what they need, aye?”
My darling woman twisted in her seat and patted my hand. “And that,” she said, “is why I agreed to marry you. Even though I know how hard this must be, you’re letting me take control.”
What difference did it make sharing control? She already owned me.
After the meal, Mathilda and I called it a night.
I fucked her in the shower and made love to her on the bathroom floor before we found our way to my bed. Our bed. I had so much to say to her, to plan with her, and ask her opinion on, but my eyelids were lead-lined, and I fell asleep with her clamped to my side the moment our kisses slowed.
Dreams, nightmares, really, invaded my peace. With monsters invading my land and trying to take everything I’d worked so hard to gain. Monsters shaped like Maximus Storm and an army of debt collectors.
Pent-up energy ate at me when I woke. No magic bullet could solve my problems, but I’d share the facts with Mathilda. Tell her all there was to know about my debts and ask her opinion. I owed her that, and I had the feeling it would be the last thing she’d expect me to do.
But she’d called me when she’d needed me. Showed me what it was to depend on someone. I could do that, too.
I’d considered my options. It broke my heart, but I’d sell the distillery. On paper, it was a good earner, but I carried the debt for the upgrading we did for Storm Force, and if I cleared that, we’d have space to breathe.
Mathilda’s wedding venue plan had to go ahead. I needed to offer her a place in my life, so I couldn’t take that away, but we’d have to start lower down the ranking for a few years. There was no money to front the costs, so we’d make do with what we could fix or build ourselves.
If she agreed to it all, we had a plan. If she didn’t, we’d work another out together.
The ease with which I’d changed to fit her shook me. Who knew I could be so reasonable? I’d never had the chance to try.
My chores done, I glanced across the great hall to where Mathilda sat with her sister, perched on chairs by the big fireplace. Their father was on the warpath, having caught a flight back from wherever he’d been, and would be landing at Inverness soon.
In no uncertain terms, I’d told myself to keep my temper and let Mathilda handle her da. The logical choice was for me to leave for the morning. If the man raised his voice to either lass, I’d…
I straightened out my shoulders. No. I’d be a married man and maybe even a father myself one day.
I couldn’t keep letting my instincts rule.
London had given me a taste of stepping back, even if it had been Mathilda’s words that had stunned me to silence.
I’d be in control around her father. I’d brain myself if I couldn’t do it.
“Hey, Cal, do any of these work?” Ally hollered from across the hall. He pointed above his head to the old weapons displayed on the wall.
“No,” I said and raised my gaze to the rafters. The swords were blunt and the guns decommissioned. And thank fuck for that.
“Ah, that’s too bad.” Ally huffed and strode off toward the cellar.
I rapidly cast my mind over any dangerous weapons that were stored down there and made a note to frisk my brother before Storm senior arrived. Better still, I’d send the twins out.
My phone rang in my pocket. Gordain. I could barely hear him over the chopping sound of a helicopter.
“Alasdair is claiming there’s going to be some sort of trouble at the castle today. Do you need me home?”
“Callum.” Scarlet waved.
I strode over to join the women at the seating area.
“No,” I said to my brother as I moved. “Stand down, Serviceman. It’s just Mathilda’s father coming to pay a visit.”
“Oh shite,” he barked into the phone. “You’ll be on your best behaviour. Can you hold your temper if he asks about your intentions to his daughters?”
I hated how it was so obvious that I was the liability. “Dinna even joke.”
“Better have Mathilda tie you up and gag you and leave you in your room. Wait, that sounds kinky. I hear camomile tea is calming. Go boil up a vat of it.” His chuckle mixed with the whirring rotor blades.
“Funny. There was I thinking Alasdair was the comedian.”
“Well, ye ken where I am if you need me. I’ll commandeer a heli to come and save the day. Let me know.” Then Gordain was gone.
My family had gone mad.
Scarlet’s gaze fixed on me. “Mattie said I could stay here for as long as I want. Aye or nae?”
I squatted next to Mathilda. “Aye. You’re welcome to the room. But we’ll need to work on your Scottish accent.”
“Would I have chores?”
“Everyone earns their keep. The boys clean. They chop wood. They visit tenants, if needs be. Show visitors around.” I eyed her. “Can ye drive?”
Scarlet snickered a laugh, and Mathilda pressed her lips together in a little smile, gratitude in her eyes. Earlier this morning, we’d talked through the implications of Scarlet staying. “Drive? No, what are you, nuts?”
“One of us will teach you. That will make you more useful. As for other chores, the twins are shite at laundry so you can have that, if you want it. You’ll go to school in Inverness, and we’ll work out the rest as we go. You’ll make new friends, dinna worry.”
Scarlet bit her lip. As fun as this place seemed, I bet she’d miss her home. Mathilda had told me about Scarlet’s wide friendship group, how well she’d been doing at school.
The problem was Maximus Storm. The girl obviously loved him, but he couldn’t get his head around being her da.
The hard fact was, he needed to take responsibility here.
No matter what a shite upbringing he’d had, and how the girl had come about was done and dusted, how they all went on together was up to him.
I felt for him, now I knew more about the man. My anger at how he’d treated me had shrunk. Still, I wished I’d had the chance to smack his business partner in the face. It rankled me that Dominic had gotten away with his behaviour.
“What time is your da’s taxi getting here?” I asked Mathilda.