She bent over, watching him. “Because it belongs to my family.”
Another clump of her hair fell, this time right into his eyes. Despite her sorry state
from traveling, the flowery smell from her hair teased his nose. Almost distracting him from the wheel. He shoved the lock away. “Dinnae ye just say yer name was Mistress Katie Stirling from Stirlingshire?” He grunted as he tied the rope around the wheel.
She nodded. More hair fell. “Aye.”
Evan wrapped the rope twice more around the wheel as he pondered the situation. “We are speaking of the MacDuff castle, aye?” The wheel and the entire cart were in such a sorry state, they would be lucky if they even made it to the castle.
“That is correct.”
Giving the rope one more tug to be sure it was tight enough to hold together, he bolted from the ground and loomed over her. The smart lass moved back several steps, licking her lips as she looked up at him. The top of her head hardly reached his chin. “What proof do ye have that yer family owns the MacDuff castle?”
The lass fumbled in the pocket of her worn dress and pulled out a piece of paper that looked as though it had been a new document shortly after the Great Flood. She carefully unfolded it and held it out to him. “This.”
He studied her as he took it from her hand, then looked at a faded-brown document with barely visible writing on it. “What’s this?”
She gestured toward the paper with her head. “Proof.”
“Of what?” He studied the paper, finding it hard to believe this was what had made the lass and her companions make the trip from Stirlingshire to Fife. ’Twas quite a distance with the hard winter weather upon them in a few fortnights. A foolish decision at best.
She raised her chin and looked him in the eye. A bold lass, to be sure. “That I own the MacDuff lands and castle.”
He ran his palm down his face. “Lass, the writing on this is so faded, it can’t be read. This proves nothing.”
She leaned forward, her face flushed. “My mum was Aileen MacDuff Stirling.” She nodded her head as if that confirmed her claim. More hair fell to her shoulders. He had the urge to grasp the locks, rub the soft silky strands between his fingers, and sniff.
What the devil was wrong with him? They had a serious matter to discuss. He cleared his throat and returned to the matter at hand. “And?”
“And what?”
Evan was amazed that she looked genuinely surprised at his questions. “What does that have to do with this paper and yer claim to own the MacDuff castle?” He dinnae ken whether to laugh or merely dismiss the lass and be on his way.
She was not giving up, however. “Years ago, the MacDuff clan should have passed down the title of Laird to one of my female ancestors. Instead, they bypassed her in favor of a male cousin.”
Evan shrugged. “That happens.”
Mistress Stirling shook her head vigorously. “No. Scotland allows for a woman to inherit if there is no direct male progeny.”
Ah, ’twas time for a history lesson. No wonder the lass was confused. “Not always. Some titles were created to only pass down to males. This might be one of them.”
She waved her finger at the document. “This is not one of them. And if that was so, ye would not be standing here now since ye said yer name is MacNeil, not MacDuff.”
He tried very hard to hide his smile at her insistence. She was so wee, and he was so large, yet she stood up to him like a warrior, gaining his admiration. She reminded him of one of the kittens from the barn, hissing at the dogs. “How do ye know this paper proves anything?”
She pointed to the paper. “Because it says so right there.”
Evan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “’Tis not possible to read what’s on the paper, lass.”
“I was told from the time I was a bairn that the MacDuff lands belonged to my mum—that they should have been passed down to her. The reason it dinnae was because a cousin a few generations back stole it.”
“Evan.”
He turned as Alasdair called to him. “Can we not all travel to the castle and speak about this there? It looks to me like a storm is building.” Alasdair pointed to the gathering clouds. “We’re about to be drenched.”
“Aye.” Evan pointed to the cart. “Get yer cart moving, and we will settle this at the castle.” With that, he turned on his heel, grabbed his horse’s saddle, and swung himself up on his horse. “I suggest you dinnae try to ride in that cart.”
“Evan, ye can’t ask the lasses to walk to the castle.”