“I will earn their respect.”
“They will probably nae think ye a lady at all. Have ye thought of that?”
Annie lifted her chin. “If I treat them fairly, they will. I can be polite and civil.”
Niall shook his head and went on. “I observed the men this morning when I went into the warehouse. Ye will nae be able to control them with polite, civil speech.”
“John Kingsley promised me I will nae have trouble with the men.”
Niall’s eyes turned steely-gray. “Is he going to be in charge, then?”
“Nae!” Annie shot back. “I am the manager. Mr. Haines made that quite clear today. He wants me to personally count the inventory and sign off on each shipment and log it into the ledgers as well. Mr. Kingsley will only be in charge of directing the men to load the boxes and barrels.”
“I doona like ye being out in the warehouse at all,” Niall replied. “Can ye nae just stay in the office and keep up with the numbers?”
Annie shook her head. “If I am to sign off on something, I need to be responsible for it. That’s one of Mr. Haines’ policies.”
“I doona like it.”
“Ye have made that clear.” Annie huffed a breath and then put a hand on Niall’s arm. “’Tis nae that I doona appreciate your concern. I just doona need that kind of protection. Truly.”
Niall looked down to where her hand rested and she quickly removed it before he thought she was trying to use some kind of feminine wile on him. She felt her cheeks warm again, knowingthat was a lie. She’d removed her hand because she’d felt his hard muscle flex beneath it. For just a fleeting moment, he had seemed like a knight of auld. She certainly didn’t need to indulge in that kind of idiotic thought.
Niall muttered something in Gaelic under his breath and started walking again. She wished she understood the language.
****
The first person—and the last one Niall wanted to see—the next morning when he entered the warehouse office with Annie was John Kingsley. The man was standing across the room, studying the plantation picture on the wall. He reminded Niall more of a bloody Viking this morning than he had the day before. Niall’s own Nordic blood began to stir.Enemy. Niall shook his head. Where had that thought come from?
Kingsley turned as they closed the door behind them. His glance raked over Niall. “I see you’ve decided to dress in civilized fashion today.”
Niall managed to keep from clenching both fists. The only reason he’d worn breeches and boots was because he was going to be at the dock, taking care of the kelp shipment coming in on theSea Lady. “I am nae without my weapons though.”
The other man’s gaze traveled to the musket at Niall’s hip and then down to the knife handles protruding from his boots. “One never knows when a battle may erupt on the streets of Glasgow.”
It was meant as a taunt, but Niall chose to ignore the tone. “Ye speak more truth than ye ken.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Annie said. “I hope ye are nae thinking of starting something.”
Niall cocked an eyebrow at her. “Where?”
She grimaced. “Anywhere. Doona start trouble.”
He heard the warning tone in her voice and shrugged. “Only if trouble finds me, lass.”
Annie looked heavenward. “Why do I think that would be easy to do?”
Niall grinned. “I like to keep my skills sharpened just like my blades.”
Annie opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, her cheeks turning slightly pink. The unexpected blush made something else stir in Niall. He hadn’t meant the remark as an innuendo, but had she perceived it like that? If she had, then her reaction could mean the little vixen might be a wee bit more interested in him than her prickly behavior let on.
It was an interesting idea.
Niall became aware that Kingsley was watching them. While it was tempting to push the conversation a bit further just to warn the man off, Niall didn’t want to embarrass Annie.
“I need to get to the marine office. I will come to collect ye this afternoon,” he said and then smiled. “I will look forward to the moment.” Taking her hand, he brushed a kiss across her knuckles and heard her sharp intake of breath. When he looked up, she was staring at him with widened eyes.
He managed to keep from grinning as he turned and left.
