Page 7 of A Beauty for a Duke

“That’s very sweet of you Sofie,” George said.

Then he turned on Egan, “Why are you being such a brute?” George joked, “Are you sure you’re not bitter for missing out on Christmas Pudding? You know Stonecastle’s chef makes the best.”

“I’m sure,” Egan grumbled. Why was the chit hovering? He’d already refused her offer. It could be excessive stubbornness, or it could be a desire to impress George. Either of which annoyed Egan to no end.

“So are you two on your way home then?”

“He is,” George waved in Egan’s general direction. “But since he couldn’t find any friends in Scotland, he found me on the road and is taking me back to keep him company.”

Sofie chuckled. Egan wished he had made her chuckle. Once upon a time he had such charm. Recently, his kilt and duke status were enough to win the ladies. Apparently, not so for this one.

Egan massaged his thigh under the table. Weather, sudden movements, and just plain irritation could cause his muscles to flare up in pain. He didn’t want to watch the conversation between the two, so he tried to shut out the banter. He felt another, but unfamiliar, pain under his collarbone and massaged that out for a second.

But then he heard Sofie ask, “Perhaps you could take me with you?”

“Not even if hell froze over,” Egan jumped in. He had exactly one thought about them traveling together: three of them wouldn’t make it to their destination alive. And he couldn’t be sure, but he had a sneaking suspicion it would be George who would befall misfortune.

“Why the devil would you want to join our party, anyway?”

“Haven’t you been listening? She wants to attend that railway convention just north of us. We should take her. It’s not much of a detour. Get in the Christmas spirit ol’ man.”

Egan was unmoved.

“Think of how much we can gloat our newfound knowledge over Stonecastle and Bedmont.”

“We’re not traveling alone with a barmaid.”

“No. You won’t.” Sofie spoke up, and Egan was about to interpret her tone as pique until she added, “Fia would be traveling with us.” There was that beaming smile again. He resisted allowing its light to be contagious.

“Fia?”

“My friend.” Sofie waved noncommittally to the open space behind her.

“See Egan, we have to take them tomorrow. It’ll just be a day trip.” George was kicking him under the table now. “I won’t travel on without them.” He leaned back and crossed his arms.

There was no good reason for Egan to give in to George’s empty threat, but reason must have been caught up in the clouds, for his answer was, “Fine.”

He could only pray that reason would return with the first snowfall.

“I’m off to bed,” Egan pushed back his chair and headed upstairs, key in hand. He would let George have some time to make a move without him nearby. It could be painful to watch George make a move on a normal day, with a woman he wasn’t interested in. But to sit there tonight and watch would be a different kind of pain.

He let himself into his room and crouched behind the bed, near the fire. Something about the flickering flames absorbed all of his attention. He didn’t know how long he sat on his haunches mesmerized by the flames, so when he heard light footsteps in his room and a metal clink, he shot up and whirled around, reaching for his dirk.

“It had to be you,” he mumbled.

“Sorry. I knocked and called out, but no one answered.”

“That gives you leave to enter?”

“No, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out.”

“Miss out? What are you talking about?”

“On this.” She stretched out her arms, so of course the first thing he noticed was the new strain on her frock where two creamy mounds were begging to be licked.

“You can eat it, you know?” she said.

“What?” He practically barked.

---