Page 41 of Duke It Out
The little terrier hops into his lap. “Both?”
“I’m getting there. And—” I chew my lip for a moment, thinking. “I like it.”
“You sound surprised.”
I half-shrug. “I didn’t really think it through, which probably sounds mad.”
“That’s pretty much my MO, so no, it makes perfect sense to me. I run on instinct, unlike my brothers.”
I want to ask where Rory’s disappeared to, but I am determined not to look like a sad desperado, so I ramble on instead. “It’s an amazing experience to be living in an actual castle. Like seeing what it’s like to be part of history. Although…” I shiver at the prospect of being home alone in this gigantic place. “It’s a bit spooky when there’s nobody else around.”
Jamie huffs out a laugh. “I can promise you that there’s plenty of people around.”
I cock my head. “Really? Where?”
“Och, you’re never alone in this place. Haven’t you seen the staff quarters round the back of the west turret?”
“I haven’t finished the tour.” I can’t find the map Janey gave me, either. I think it’s been swallowed by one of the million heaps of paper on my desk in the library.
“You need to go exploring then. Now Rory’s away, you won’t have him breathing down your neck.” He grins again. “Go for a wander tomorrow, find your feet a bit. I promise you there’s always someone lurking around.”
I look at him and he must see the alarm on my face.
“Not lurking in a bad way,” he adds, laughing.
We chat while the lasagne cooks. It’s funny, there’s a strong physical resemblance, but I don’t feel attracted to Jamie in the slightest. He’s flirty and easy going, and I can see that Janey’s mention that he’s a hit with the girls makes sense, but his sprawling, easy-going nature doesn’t push any buttons for me.
“Kate said you met her in town today,” he says, passing me a plate of lasagne.
“So it is true that everyone knows everything up here.”
“Yeah, it’s impossible to keep anything secret in Loch Morven. Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to be anonymous, but there’s no way I could leave all this behind.”
“You don’t miss living here in the house?”
He shakes his head slowly. “Uh-uh. Not one bit. I like outdoors and freedom, not statues and stuffed shirts.”
I burst out laughing. “Do you think Rory’s a stuffed shirt?”
“God, no. I think if you gave him the chance he’d walk away from this place. He hates all the bullshit that comes with the job. But he’s determined to make up for?—”
There’s a long pause. I think of the paperwork I’ve read through, and the impression I’ve already started to build. Thelate duke hasn’t exactly covered himself with glory. “For what’s happened in the past?”
“Yeah.” He flashes me a relieved smile. “Yep. Exactly that.” But something about the way he says it doesn’t sound casual. Like there’s more he could say but won’t.
He cuts a piece of pasta with his fork and bites into it.
I want to ask about his parents, to try and build a picture of the people they were, but maybe that’s not the point of what I’m writing. I need to look at the archives and see what’s gone before.
“Have you read any of the?—”
Jamie chuckles. “Not really my strong point, reading. Read any of what?”
“I feel like I’m trying to create a picture of someone for the records and right now I’m basing it completely on what he’s got to say for himself.”
He puts his chin in his hand and surveys me across the table, and for a moment I see Rory more strongly in him. His dark eyes fix on me as he chooses his words carefully. “I don’t envy you, dyslexia or not.”
I lift a brow.
