Chapter Nine #3
Hands on his hips, Alec glanced around. “Lord, I haven’t been here in ages.
” A faint smile rimmed his lips. “Aidan and I used to come here and race each other across—to this day, my mother doesn’t know it.
And while we were here, we’d pretend we were pirates.
” He pointed to an outcropping of rocks.
“There’s even a cave behind those rocks. ”
“And I suppose you were the fierce pirate captain.”
He grinned suddenly, a grin that made her breath catch. “Of course. I’m the eldest.”
Maura stilled the clamor of her heart. “By how many years?”
“Two.”
“Well, then,” she concluded dryly, “I rather suspect it wasn’t so much that you were older, but simply that your brother was smaller than you.”
“Well, there is that.”
Fluffing her skirts, she sat on a rock shaped rather like a chair. “Is that why you came to the masquerade dressed as a pirate?” she asked daringly.
“Perhaps.” Brazenly, his gaze slid down and settled on her breasts. “Certainly I never expected to find one in kind.”
Maura ignored the jibe—and crossed her arms over her breasts. “It seems the perfect place from which to sail a pirate’s ship. Perhaps one of your ancestors was a pirate?” She held her breath.
“Now there’s a tale I’ve never heard. Though supposedly there’s treasure buried somewhere near Gleneden. Oh, and let me not forget! There are also rumors of a family curse, though I’ve no idea precisely what this curse is supposed to be.”
She gazed at him steadily. “Why aren’t you wary?”
“Of what?”
“A curse should never be taken lightly, Scotsman.”
He didn’t hide his amusement. “Be serious.”
Maura’s lips compressed.
“Good heavens, you are serious.”
She thought of the Circle. “There are things in this world that cannot be explained, sir.”
“Like pixies and faeries and banshees?”
A shiver shot through her. Through the window in her mind, she remembered the moment her father had passed to the afterlife. It wasn’t the cry of a banshee, but the eerie howl of a wolf.
“Next you’ll be telling me you believe in ghosts!” He glanced at her, then laughed outright. “My word, I cannot believe it! Only the Irish would believe in such things!”
Her eyes flashed. “Do not amuse yourself at my expense, Scotsman. And do not insult me or my countrymen.”
He held up both hands, a gesture of defeat. Ha! She suspected Alec McBride was a man who would never admit defeat.
“No insult intended, Maura. But I’ve told you of my family. Now tell me about yours. You said you grew up near the sea.”
“Aye.”
One dark brow quirked up a fraction. “The whole of Ireland is surrounded by the sea, Irish. Where in Ireland did you grow up?”
“Inishowen.”
“And your schooling?”
Maura hesitated. Caution warned that she must be judicious with what she revealed. She didn’t want him looking closer and delving into her background. She knew he already considered her a fortune-hunter. “My father was my tutor.”
“And did you then attend a school for young ladies?”
She shook her head.
Both his brows shot up. “An earl’s daughter? And no finishing school?”
Her chin climbed high. “A title does not always command riches such as yours, your grace,” she said quietly.
Their eyes caught. “I meant no offense,” he said softly.
“None taken.” Nonetheless, her tone remained stiff with pride.
“Any brothers? Sisters?”
“No. My mother died when I was very young. My father, more recently.” An ache settled around her heart.
There had been no time to mourn. To grieve over the loss of her father.
Through some miracle, her voice remained steady.
“So you see, there’s just me.” Hastily she amended the statement.
“And Uncle Murdoch, of course. He was my mother’s only brother. ”
“Is your uncle married?”
His interest was keen. Too keen for curiosity? she wondered.
“No,” she lied. “When my father died, I took up residence with Uncle Murdoch.”
She pushed herself to her feet and stood, looking out to sea.
Alec rose and stood beside her. All at once her insides knotted.
She swallowed a rush of awareness. His nearness was distracting.
Disturbing. Not even an inch separated them.
She was keenly aware of his height, his size. She heartily prayed that he would move.
He did not. Instead she felt his gaze on her profile, but she didn’t acknowledge it.
“Such avid concentration,” he said. “May I ask what you are thinking about, your grace?”
She was thinking that he shouldn’t be calling her “your grace,” for one thing. “You may ask, but that doesn’t mean I must answer.”
“Oh, come, we are husband and wife. May I not be privy to your thoughts? Should I not be privy to your thoughts?”
“Only if I am privy to yours,” she said lightly.
“Touché,” he said dryly.
Maura glanced up at him. “Very well, then. There’s a promontory near my home. Sometimes I would climb there. It took nearly half a day since it’s very near the most northernmost part of Ireland. You cannot imagine…It has the most unparalleled view.”
“I think I can imagine.” She had no idea that Alec’s gaze was trained solely on her.
“The sea was all around,” she went on. “To the north. The east and west. It was like being on top of the world, and I used to fancy I could see clear to the Arctic. It rained sometimes, but still I stayed. Because when the sun came out, there was always the most glorious rainbow. It looked like it stretched around the world.” A faint wistfulness crept into her voice.
“It was like nothing you’ve ever seen before. ”
“Oh, but you’ve not yet seen a Scottish rainbow.”
“The sky is too gray here for a rainbow proper,” she informed him primly. As if to prove it, she gestured upward where the entire sky was locked in cloud cover.
He gave a raucous laugh. “You’re touting the beauty of an Irish rainbow? On that soggy bog of an island?”
Maura wrinkled her nose at him.
Together they turned and started toward the headland.
The wind gusted furiously now, stinging her eyes so that she could scarcely see.
She led the way up the rocky pathway to the lane carefully, with Alec close behind.
One particularly fierce blast sent her reeling back.
His hand at her back was all that kept her upright. Once again he rescued her.
The rain began the instant they were seated in the gig. It pummeled them like ice. Maura grabbed the strings of her bonnet. They ripped through her fingers and her bonnet sailed away. Her cloak flapped high, like the wings of a gigantic bat.
It seemed to take forever to get back to Gleneden, though it was little more than a mile or so. Near the entrance, a groom took hold of the bridle. Lifting her down, Alec held her hand as they climbed the stairs.
Once they were behind closed doors, he turned to her. “I’ll boast no more about our Scottish sunshine. Now, why don’t you have a bath, a nap if you like, since you didn’t sleep well last night. Or if you wish, I can show you your new home.”
Her new home. Guilt prodded her. Gleneden would never be her home, but for the time it took to find the Circle. “I’d love to see the house,” she said quickly.
“We’re both in need of dry clothing. I must sign a few documents with my estate manager as well, so it may be half an hour or so. Shall I knock on your door when I’m ready?”
She detected a slight derision on his part. At least he’d asked this time. She walked away, concealing her excitement. This would give her the chance to determine where to begin her hunt for the Circle.