Page 20 of The Laird's Unwanted Wife
“Mollie, I willnae come closer if ye daenae want me to,” Gerald assured. “I just want to ken if ye’re all right.”
Mollie looked hesitant to answer.
“Are ye hurt in any way?”
She shook her head gingerly.
“Good. Cause that’s all I care about right now.” Gerald sighed lightly, shifting to a sitting position as he crossed his legs. “That’s all I’ll ever care about, all right? It doesnae matter if ye make a mess, or get into something ye shouldnae. As long as ye’re nae hurt, that’s all that matters.” His jaw tightened, his teeth grinding as he held back his anger. “Ye daenae deserve to be struck for makin’ a mistake. Do ye understand that?”
Mollie didn’t seem to know how to answer that.
“Mollie …” Again, Gerald sighed. “I am cross with the mess ye’ve made in me study, but I would rather ye apologize and help clean it up. Can ye do that for me?”
Mollie looked genuinely confused. “Th—that’s … all ye’re goin’ to do?”
Gerald nodded. “If ye make a mistake, and ye’re genuinely sorry, ye should take action to fix it. Putting Bannock outside willnae teach her to respect me things. It will only teach her to hate me, or fear me.” And he didn’t want either of those things to happen. “And as her pack leader, it falls on ye to teach her to be better.”
“Pack leader?” Mollie asked.
“Aye. Bannock needs a strong and confident leader to follow, so she doesnae get into trouble anymore.” He rubbed his beard thoughtfully, an idea beginning to form in the back of his mind. “If ye’d like … I ken a man who is an excellent pack leader. He lives at MacDonnell’s seaside keep—Nathan, I believe his name is—I could write a letter and ask him to come teach ye the basics.”
Mollie wiped her eyes furiously, blinking away any stray tears. “Can ye nae teach me yerself? Bannock listens to ye really well.”
“Aye, well, I learned only a wee bit from Nathan,” Gerald admitted with a chuckle. “Ye’d get farther with him teaching ye.”
“Can … can I write the letter, too?” Mollie asked.
Gerald offered her a small smile. “I daenae see why nae. But we need to find some paper that Bannock didnae eat.”
Mollie giggled lightly, wiping strands of blonde hair out of her face. “I told her paper werenae good for her tummy.”
“Well, I’m sure Nathan will help ye get that lesson to stick.”
Mollie then rose to her feet with an unsteady wobble, Bannock letting out a concerned whine as her tail thumped nervously against the ground. The little girl offered a reassuring pat, then turned to Gerald, eyeing her shoes nervously.
Then, suddenly, she ran across the room, leaping into his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. Gerald briefly locked up, uncertain as to why he deserved her affection. But, after a moment, his own arms embraced her, and the two sat in a long, lingering hug.
“I like ye more than Laird Carswell,” Mollie whispered.
Somehow, that one sentence mended Gerald’s heart immediately.
“Mollie!” Aileen suddenly came bursting into the study, her face flushed and clearly out of breath. She stared at the absolute mess, her gaze flickering between the guilty deerhound lying across the ground and Mollie sitting in Gerald’s lap. “Oh, nay! Me Laird, I didnae mean … I should have kept a closer eye?—”
“It’s all right, Leelee!” Mollie wiped her face once more, her cheeks still flushed, but a small smile on prominent display.“Gerald said I just have to help pick up. A pack leader … uh …” she furrowed her brow, turning back to the Laird for help.
“I told her that it falls upon a leader to teach their people how to do better,” Gerald said.
“Aye, that!” She then stood up from Gerald’s lap, skipping to her sister’s side with an excited squeal. “And, and … Once we clean up, we’re goin’ to write a letter to Nathan and ask him to teach me more!”
Aileen shot the Laird a bemused look.
“It’s Laird MacDonnell’s man-at-arms,” Gerald explained. “I promised Mollie he could help train Bannock.”
“That’s … very kind of ye to offer.” Aileen blinked a few times, then turned her attention back to Mollie. “And I agree with him. Ye should help clean up the mess Bannock made in here.” She paused, then added quickly, “Ah, but Ms. Blair needed her for a moment. Her dress for the ceremony was a wee bit loose, and she needed Mollie to wear it for alterations.”
“Well, we daenae wish to incur Ms. Blair’s wrath,” Gerald chuckled. “Go on, then, lamb. But come straight back once ye’re done.”
Mollie nodded, giving Gerald one more squeeze before scurrying past Aileen and down the hall. Bannock quickly followed after,excitedly yelping at the prospect of avoiding trouble for her misdeeds.
