Love Wild and Fair by Bertrice Small Page A

I’d nae go home till I was carrying his child, because then I would have to wed him. I would hae no other choice.”
    The abbot silently thanked God that he had chosen the religious life. Women, particularly those born into his family, could be such damned nuisances.
    Cat continued. “He called me his ‘possession.’ I am no man’s possession! When Patrick acknowledges me as an individual, and not as a part of himself, then I will consider the matter of marriage.”
    Charles Leslie sighed. It was worse than he had thought However, and he chuckled at the realization, his niece was a remarkable strategist She had the Earl of Glenkirk by the throat If he wanted his son—the abbot never considered that the baby might be a daughter—then he must agree to her demands. The abbot decided to appeal to Cat’s maternal instinct
    “Have ye no feeling for the bairn, niece?”
    “No,” she answered. “Should I?”
    Charles Leslie exploded. “God’s nightshirt, girl! Ye are the most unnatural mother I hae ever known! To have no feeling for yer child?”
    Cat laughed. “Dinna be silly, uncle. Why should I hae any feeling for my child yet? I dinna know him. I hae never seen him. What is there for me to get soft about? A dream? Foolishness! If I dream the lad a blue-eyed redhead, and he arrives wi brown eyes, and black hair …” She stopped a moment, and then said in a solemn voice, “… or worse yet, a blond lassie! Why, uncle, I should be very disappointed then. And that’s overlooking the fact that the bairn’s father and I are not exactly on the best of terms.”
    Charles Leslie pursed his lips. “Ye are being deliberately difficult,” he said.
    “Aye,” she rejoined sweetly. “It comes from being tired. I bear a heavy load, uncle. Ye and Patrick are welcome to stay the night. If ye’ll send Mrs. Kerr to me on yer way out, I’ll gie her instructions for yer comfort.”
    He retreated as gracefully as he could to the library on the main floor. Patrick was waiting. The abbot shook his head. “It’s going to take time, lad. She’s got the upper hand, and is in no mood to settle easily wi you.”
    “She must!”
    “Nay, lad. Be careful, now. That’s where ye made yer first mistake. Ye assume ye can bring Cat to heel, and ye cannot. She is proud, and has a wide streak of independence that I’ve seen before. My grandmother, Janet Leslie, was very much like that But she had wisdom to go with her willfulness.”
    “I wonder if she had it when she was Cat’s age,” mused Patrick.
    “She must have to have survived all she did,” replied the abbot. “However, nephew, our problem is Catriona. She is very angry with you because of the things ye have said and done to her. She feels yer interest in her is not for herself, but for her breeding ability. Ye must humor her. Women about to gie birth have strange notions.”
    “I dinna understand what she wants,” complained the earl. “I love her. Isn’t that enough?”
    “Nay, nephew, ‘tis not. You are considering only yerself. I am not sure I understand entirely what it is she wants, but I think she wants ye to take an interest in her as a person. To talk wi her, to consult wi her on matters affecting yer life together—not simply to make demands. Catriona is, after all, a well-bred and an educated young woman. I think, Patrick, that yer problem stems from consorting wi so many low women, that ye dinna know how to treat a well-born one. Catriona is nae a plaything. And until ye realize that, she willna hae ye.”
    The earl flushed. But before he could defend himself, Mrs. Kerr was at the door asking them to dinner.
    “Will yer mistress be joining us?” the abbot inquired.
    “No, my lord. She’ll sleep till late afternoon.”
    They ate in silence. The abbot noted with pleasure that Cat kept a good table. There was a hearty soup filled with carrots, barley, and thick chunks of mutton. Next came large bowls of fresh-caught oysters, a joint of rare beef, a fat