Page 62 of Hard-Hearted Highlander
THENEXTDAY, Rabbie rode with Cailean, Daisy and Lord Chatwick to have a look at Arrandale and Auchenard. At Arrandale, Rabbie took Cailean down to the cave to see what goods they had.
Cailean examined the contents of the crates and was speaking of how they might sell it to Inverness or Glasgow, as there wasn’t enough market in the Highlands now.
Rabbie tried to listen, but he was distracted. Just yesterday, he’d made up his mind to do what he must for his family. He’d made a conscious effort to remove any thoughts of giving Avaline Kent a reason to end their engagement. He’d spent a long night of restlessness, trying to rid his mind of Bernadette. But today, he and Cailean had walked up to the hanging tree, and all of Rabbie’s pleading with himself was for naught—all he could think of was Bernadette, of what had happened between them here, on this hill. He recalled how he’d kissed her, and the way she’d responded to him, making him mad with want.
Perhaps he would make her his mistress, he mused idly. Perhaps he would bring her to Arrandale while his wife remained at Killeaven, just as he’d threatened to do. Oh, he had no hope that Bernadette would ever agree to it, but for now, the fantasy sustained him.
“Are you listening?” Cailean asked, cuffing him on the shoulder.
“De?”Rabbie said, startled out of his rumination.
“Have you heard a bloody word I’ve said, then?”
“Aye, of course,” Rabbie said. “It’s growing late. Let’s carry on to Auchenard, aye?”
Cailean’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he didn’t argue and returned with Rabbie to the house.
Daisy was especially happy to see Auchenard, and praised Rabbie for keeping the garden she’d started eight years ago when she’d first come to the Highlands.
“Donna thank me,” he said, leaning lazing against the ivy-covered arched entrance to the garden. “Mr. Brock has done it.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, turning slowly about. “You cannot imagine the state of disrepair when we arrived. Remember your dog, darling?” she said to Cailean.
“Aye. Fabienne was fine hunter, she was,” Cailean said nostalgically. Like so many of their dogs, Fabienne had gone missing.
“I saw you kissing the laird here,” Ellis said as he idly felt the petals of a rose. “I saw it from my window,” he added, pointing to one above the garden.
Daisy laughed brightly, but her cheeks turned pink.
“Bloody good he didna see more than that,” Cailean muttered.
“I mean to spend all my summers here when I’m of age,” Ellis declared.
“Do you?” Daisy asked, and smiled indulgently at her son. “I hope that you do. Auchenard will always hold a special place in our hearts, will it not?”
Rabbie suspected Ellis would never return here, not really—only for a visit now and again. But Ellis was a viscount, and when he reached his majority, he would want what all English lords and ladies wanted—a proper society. Lassies in silk dresses. Drink and gaming.
No, he’d not return here.
“We never stalked the red stags,” Ellis said to Cailean. “You promised.”
“Aye, that I did,” Cailean said, laughing. “And you’ve reminded me time and again, you have. We will, lad, we will. If you have a desire for something, you reach for it, aye? Your mother taught me that.”
Daisy smiled so brilliantly at her husband that Rabbie felt a small tug in his chest. It was envy he felt. Pure, simple envy.
“It had to be taught, my darling husband.”
He laughed and pulled her into his embrace. “You are right,leannan.Again.”
The two of them laughed as if they shared a private jest about this, and then kissed.
Rabbie groaned at the sight of them. “Aye, all right, then,” he said, and pushed away from the arch. “If you find all in order, we best return to Balhaire, aye? The Kents will arrive in a few hours.”
Cailean and Ellis walked on, both of them curious about a broken windowpane Mr. Brock had yet to repair.
“Who all has come to Scotland?” Daisy asked curiously as she walked along with Rabbie behind them. “Miss Kent, naturally, and I assume her mother.”
“Aye, her father, too,” Rabbie said. “Her uncle, Lord Ramsey.” He brushed a twig aside with the toe of his boot. “Her lady’s maid, Miss Bernadette Holly, and a few servants.”
