he knew about prostitutes.
“Laird,” she said, looking directly at Lachlan. “I am Euphemie. I had heard there was a bit of a dust up at the Chisolm keep. I take it ye are the new MacCullough laird?”
“I am,” Lachlan said with a slight inclination of his head.
“Congratulations then, to ye. But the hour is late. I fear all our ladies have retired for the night. Perhaps ye could come back later this night.”
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Murdoch nodded as if he were enchanted and started toward the door.
“I am nae here to seek the comfort of yer ladies,” Lachlan told her.
“Oh, I fear we do nae have any young men in residence. Ye would want to visit the Cock and Bull. It is a few blocks down the street.”
Either she was intentionally trying to rile him or she was being sincere; he couldn’t be certain and neither did he care. “Madam, I am nae here for that either. I am here to discuss the terms of the agreement between the former Chisolm clan chiefs and ye.”
“Could this nae wait until a more decent time of day?” she asked right before glancing at the staircase behind her.
“I fear it cannae,” he said. “I want this business done as quickly as possible.”
“Verra well,” she replied. As soon as she sat on the chaise, Lachlan and Murdoch took seats near the hearth.
She smoothed out her skirts before giving her full attention to Lachlan. “Now, what is so important that it cannae wait?”
Lachlan wasn’t certain where he should begin. “It has only recently been brought to my attention that the Chisolms own yer establishment.”
“They dunnae own it entirely,” she replied. “Only a small percentage of it.”
Walter hadn’t made that distinct clarification, but he supposed, in the end, it didn’t matter. “Either way, I would like to somehow stop bein’ an owner of any sort.”
She studied him closely for a long moment. “Are ye thinkin’ of shutterin’ our doors?”
“That thought had crossed my mind, aye.”
He could see the fire of anger burning in her bright eyes. “Do ye have any idea what would happen to the women who work here?” She gave him no time to respond. “They’d be sent to work in the streets, laird. And the streets of Inverness are a dangerous place to be. Especially these past few months. They’d be forced to work in deplorable conditions. They would barely make enough money to eat let alone to keep from freezing to death. Nay, laird, I will nae allow ye to close us down. I owe it to these women to keep them safe.”
He waited until she took a breath before interjecting. “I said it had crossed my mind. I did nae say that was what I was goin’ to do.”
Euphemie’s glare dimmed only slightly.
“I am morally opposed to what ye and yer women are forced to do just to survive,” he began. “Were it up to me, none of ye would have to do what ye do.”
She scoffed at his naïveté. “Ye mean, bring pleasure to men when they cannae find it anywhere else?”
He felt his cheeks grow warm. “Aye. That.”
“My mother was a prostitute,” she told him. “She was a favorite of Robert de brus.”
“I am aware of that,” he replied. In his mind, it didn’t matter if it was a king or a farmer taking advantage of a woman. It was repugnant just the same.
“My mother took great pride in what she did, laird. There is no shame in it.”
He knew they would never agree on the matter. “I am sure she was. But we still need to solve the current predicament.”
“And how do ye propose to do that laird?”
“By giving the entire ownership to ye.”
She could not have been more stunned. “And what do ye want in return?”
“Nothin’,” Lachlan replied. “The entire buildin’, the business, it would all belong to ye.”
From the way she was looking at him, he knew she didn’t entirely believe him. “I want nothin’ in return, madam. I want only to be done with this business.”
She quirked a pretty brow. “Ye say this business as if ye have a mouthful of dung.”
“I meant no insult, madam.”
Still unconvinced of his sincerity, she maintained her icy glare.
“Murdoch, please leave us.”
Thankfully, he did not argue. Lachlan waited until the doors closed behind him before he returned his attention to matters at hand. “Truly, I meant no insult. I have reasons for wantin’ to end the previous relationship ye have had with prior lairds.”
“I