Page 54 of This Haunted Heart

“I was afraid of that.” Resigned to my fate, I stomped across the lawn and waved a half-hearted greeting to my beloved sister.

Rynn, to my surprise, came closer but kept at a respectful distance, stopping on the other side of the water gardens.

The horses whinnied and clomped their hooves uneasily. The driver and his partner battled to calm them.

“Lochlan,” Josephine cried, pulling me into a warm hug. Then she held me at a distance to inspect me. “Are you well? Why were the gates locked? We had to track down your groundskeeper to open them for us. Thankfully Mr. Willoughby recognized me.”

“I’m well,” I said gruffly, pleased to see her but flummoxed all the same. “To what emergency do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

She frowned at me, her golden brows pulling together. “My goodness, you’re already trying to get rid of me. That never happens.”

“It’s not that,” I said, catching her wrist and squeezing it fondly—though technically that truly was my purpose. “I just know that you wouldn’t have put yourself to so much trouble to track me down if it wasn’t important. I simply wish to save us both time.”

She squinted at me, unconvinced. Her blue eyes always saw too much. I admired that about her usually. Today, it was a most inconvenient quality. “In that case,” she said, then she took a steadying breath, and I braced myself for her news. “I came to tell you that I’m in love.”

I lifted a brow at her archly. “Is that so? Who is she?”

She swatted my arm, a gentle admonishment. “Don’t ask it that way, like you’re about to interrogate me.”

“That’s exactly what I’m about to do.”

Her cheeks filled with a pearly smile, brightened by affection and joy. “Her name is Margaret. She’s theone, Loch.”

My eyes went wide. “You’ve never said that to me before.”

“I’ve never felt that before. This isn’t like the others. Those were silly things not worth dwelling on. Youthful indiscretions.” The wind picked up, and my sister held her small hat over her copper hair.

“Who is this woman?” I asked. “How long have you known her?”

Jo folded her arms defiantly across her chest. “Margaret is a young widow. We met at a house party. She’s the most agreeable woman in all the world, and that’s all you need to know until you meet her. I’ll not be questioned like I don’t know my own business. Not by anyone. Not even by you!”

“It just all seems so sudden,” I said, scratching at my hair. “You’ve never even mentioned her before.”

“If you came around more, I would have,” she said tartly. “What are you so worried about, brother? Do you honestly think that I, of all people, would ever put myself in a position to be taken advantage of by anyone? Me?”

“I suppose not,” I grumbled.

“And you know how Mother worries needlessly,” she added pointedly. “I convinced you to invest the dowry you set aside for me at sixteen, and now I’m one of the wealthiest young women in Pennsylvania. I will never cease reminding you that it’s because of me you sold off those farms that were bringing you nothing but debt and bought the successful breweriesinstead, andstill, I’m the one Mother wastes her time worrying about.”

“It’s a mother’s job to worry, I suppose,” I said consolingly. “And you are the baby of the family. I don’t think she’ll ever stop doing that, but of course you will have my full support with her, Josephine. If you say this woman is—”

“She is!” she said earnestly, coming up on her toes in her excitement. She grabbed my arm and squeezed it. “She truly is.”

I’d never seen her like this before. “Then Margaret must be the one,” I concluded.

Jo exhaled, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased out of her. “Thank you, brother. Now that’s settled,” she said, nudging me aside so she could draw my attention back across the water gardens, “who, pray tell, is she?” Her grin went wicked.

“She,” I drawled, “is none of your damn business. She is also the reason why visiting me unannounced as you have—”

“I tried to announce my visit! You never responded, you cad!” She swatted me on the arm again, and this time it smarted a little.

My cheeks warmed. I rubbed a hand across the back of my neck ruefully. “I’ve been traveling, and I’m a bit behind on my correspondence.” I left out all the coercion and pirating from my story because my little sister could be frightful when she was angry, and I didn’t dare draw out her wrath.

Jo folded her arms stubbornly. “Who is she? She’s beautiful.”

“She is . . . unfortunately,” I growled.

“What does that mean?” Jo’s sharp eyes narrowed.

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