Chapter Twenty-One #2
“Evicting,” Catriona said. “He was good at it—ordered by your father.” Her gaze was bold, unyielding. “But you know that.”
Of course he did. He gave a mild nod and closed the ledger. “I need a census.”
“Of what?” Finlay asked. “Sheep or tenants?”
“A list of tenants,” Evan said. “I want to know who lives here, where they live, and how many are in each household. If they work for the estate, include what they do and what they are paid.”
Finlay gulped visibly and sent his sister a quick glance. The fellow was hiding something, and he was not very good at it, judging by the high color in his cheeks.
“We could use an exact count of sheep,” Evan went on.
“The count should be renewed every month, adding and subtracting as needed. Then we will know, next spring, how many men are needed to do the work. The number we have is inadequate. It is too much to expect from too few. We can do better in that regard, I think.”
“Aye, sir,” Finlay said. “Some of the tenants can help with the counting and the census. I’ll have them get started. Is there anything else, Lord Kildonan?”
“Kildonan will do. Or Evan—we are family now. Aye, one other thing. The old bridge at the foot of Ben Shee is in poor condition. You know the one?” When Finlay nodded, Evan continued. “I have barricaded it, but that does not seem to deter people from using it despite the danger.”
“That old bridge has been broken a long while. It needs repair if you intend it, sir.”
“I do,” Evan answered. “I mean to improve the design of the structure and hire a crew to build it, but that will take time. For now, we need a few able men to do some labor. Can you gather a crew for that? I will show you how it should be done.”
“I will arrange the men and the supplies.” Finlay sent another glance toward his sister, who looked calm, though her hands were white-knuckled.
“Good.” Evan frowned again, wondering at the tension in the room that felt taut as a wire. The siblings were anxious about something.
He kept things close to the vest by nature too. But now he wondered if she and Finlay were keeping something important from him. Why? He wanted her trust, hoped he was earning it. Did she hide some truth from her husband—or from the earl?
*
Seeing Finlay to the door as he left, Catriona looked back over her shoulder. Evan remained in his study reviewing other estate documents, and she was grateful for a few moments alone with her brother.
“Does he know about the new tenants?” Finlay asked.
“I did not say a word about that, as I promised.” She lowered her voice. “Are you already keeping a record of the new tenants and the work they do, as Evan wants?”
“I have records in another ledger. I hoped he would not ask questions so soon. Truly, I thought the man might never come up to Kildonan and leave the running of the estate to Lady Jean and me. She has paid very little attention to the details of who lives here. She is simply pleasant to all and does not keep accounts.” He leaned down.
“But now Kildonan noticed some discrepancies between the amount of wool we processed and the number of men doing the work. He might suspect something. What might he do about it?”
She glanced down, feeling as if her heart gave an anxious turn as she thought of Kenneth Grant.
The doctor knew that Finlay was quietly bringing evicted tenants back into the glen to act as sheep herders, and he could turn her brother into the authorities.
The magistrate who oversaw the evictions could punish him for disobeying the removal order—but that depended on whether Evan would pursue it.
“Evan is not like his father,” she said. “If he asks, we will explain. For now, we wait.”
“I have one more family ready to move back into the glen. In Inverness, I found some of the MacLeod family. They were working on the shores bringing in the nets. It is not work they are accustomed to. They have been living in a hovel on the beach, nearly starving. I will fetch them on Sunday. It is the only day we could manage it.”
“Where are they now?”
“I left them at Mrs. MacAuley’s inn. She can only keep them a few days, since she expects tourists to arrive soon. Once they are settled back in their homes in the high hills, that will be the last of the returning tenants. At least for a while.”
“It will have to be the last of it. Where will they live?”
“In the old shieling on Ben Shee, where you and your husband stayed.”
“But it is a ruin,” she said in a hasty whisper. “We nearly froze to death there. A family with children cannot survive the winter there.”
“A few of the crofters went up there recently to repair the roof and patch the walls. They will bring in furniture and stock the larder with food and the hearth with peats,” he said.
“It will be good enough to house a family. It was the only place available. They can build a croft elsewhere next spring, I hope. If no one is questioned.”
She nodded. “If Evan asks, tell him that since our adventure there, it is clear that the old shieling needs repair. He will not question that. But be careful, Finlay. Evan and some of the other guests plan to go to services at Papa’s church on Sunday.”
He nodded, and bent to kiss her cheek quickly.
“Finlay!” Evan said, walking toward them.
Catriona jumped a little in surprise to realize he had approached so quietly. What had he heard, if anything?
“Sir?” Finlay asked.
“Our guests would like to climb Ben Shee in a few days. I have heard you are a fine guide. Would you be willing to take a group up the mountainside?”
“Of course. Depending on the weather and the route, it can be an easy climb or a more difficult one. Are they experienced climbers, sir?”
“Some are. I tried that climb with Mr. Fitzgibbon, but the weather defeated us, and I fell. But for that calamity, I might never have met your sister.” He smiled.
“No doubt you would have met one way or another, with you staying in the glen now,” Finlay said. “But for your adventure together, you would not be married now.” He grinned. The men chuckled, but Catriona was quiet, nervous, not amused.
“I am grateful to the mountain for defeating me that day,” Evan said. Catriona saw a quick dazzle in his hazel-green eyes. “Your sister will join us on our climb.”
“Is it so?” Finlay looked at her in surprise. “Would you go up Ben Shee, truly?”
“I will.” She lifted her chin, knowing Finlay thought of their brother Erik, who had died on Ben Shee.
Both of them had avoided climbing it since.
Then she realized that Finlay knew nothing about Flora’s request for the fairy crystal in exchange for fairy songs.
That was one reason she had agreed to venture up that daunting height; Evan was another.
“Join us Monday for breakfast,” Evan said. “You can meet the group and discuss plans for the climb.”
“If the weather remains good, we should go up sooner than later. The weather is too unpredictable. Why plan for another day if the one you have is good enough, aye?”
“Aye,” Evan agreed. “Good advice.”
“Sir, you already know that Ben Shee is a beast to climb,” Finlay said. “Perhaps your holiday climbers should try a different peak, Ben Alligin or another.”
“Oh, their minds are made up. Good, then. Perhaps we’ll see you at kirk services.” With a nod, Evan turned to walk back to his study.
Finlay looked at Catriona. “Will you come to kirk service, then?”
“I am not sure. Father and Aunt Judith are so cross with me that I hesitate.”
“Not as cross as you think. Father in particular has fretted while you’ve been gone, and he is very cross with Aunt Judith.
I am glad to see him stand up to her. But he does not feel at ease coming here to see how you are getting along.
He would be pleased to see you at services, and pleased to see your husband too, though he would not admit it.
Remember to come in time for the reading of The Book.
You know how Aunt Judith disapproves if we are late on a Sunday. ”
“I—we—will be there.” She kissed his cheek as he left.