Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Shouldnae ye be enjoyin’ time with our guests?” Darragh asked as he walked into the kitchen.
Amelia looked up from the pastry she’d been fussing over. There was a streak of flour across her jaw and specks of what looked like congealed sugar on the front of her apron. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful woman.
“Shouldnae ye be enjoyin’ time with our guests?” Amelia challenged, not shrinking away from him.
Her spirit’s still intact, it seems.
“Me duties daenae cease simply because I have company,” he said, nodding at Nigell as he slipped away.
A few other staff members began to silently herd themselves toward the door in what was undoubtedly an attempt to avoid being caught in another standoff between him and Amelia. “I’m makin’ me rounds.”
She watched as the staff left, a frown settling on her lips. “Yer rounds danae include the kitchens.” Her eyes met his once more. “Nae on a normal day.”
A pleasant, possessive warmth settled in Darragh’s chest. It was gone the second he tried to examine it, evasive even though he’d been experiencing similar moments of sensation around her.
This, he told himself, was simply a reaction to knowing that the newest resident at Fraser Keep had begun to learn the routines.
“Nay, it’s nae part of me rounds on a normal day,” he agreed as he walked over to the counter she was working at. Smoothly, offering an excuse that wasn’t entirely dishonest, he said, “But the annual fox hunt is approachin’.”
“So ye’re tryin’ to get ahead in yer preparations,” she said, her voice a bit far away. “I do suppose ye wouldnae want things to be too chaotic.”
“They will be regardless of me preparations,” he argued as he reached forward, pinching off a bit of her pastry and putting it in his mouth.
“Ye’re a beast,” she hissed, looking between him and the new imperfection in her cake. “This wasnae for ye.”
“Ach, but it looked so delicious that I simply had to try it,” he replied, a whip of amusement cracking through him at the absolutely aghast look on her face. “Ye’ve been becomin’ quite skilled in the kitchens.”
She hooked her finger on the edge of the plate, dragging it closer to herself as she glowered at him. The effects were a bit dampened by the dusting of white on her face. He would still wager that she could intimidate a weaker man.
“Ye’ve nae a thing to say?” he asked, leaning forward with a smirk. Before he even registered what he was doing, his thumb ran across her cheekbone, clearing away the mess. As her eyes widened, he dropped his hand and said, “I’m complimentin’ ye, lass.”
Her mouth opened and closed, color rising almost all the way to her hairline. Rearranging her expression into a weak scowl, she touched the spot that he’d just cleared. When she found a few missed remnants of flour there, she groaned.
“Ye could have told me I had somethin’ on me face,” she complained, avoiding the compliment again.
“It was easier to get it for ye,” Darragh explained, not pressing further.
“Of course, it was,” she replied, straightening her posture and raising an unimpressed eyebrow.
She wiped off the front of her apron, trying to look diplomatic, but the lingering blush simply made her look petulant.
“Surely ye’ve observed whatever it is ye came to check.
” She looked around the empty kitchen. “And ye’ve scared off me, instructor. ”
“Perhaps that’s yer sign to take a break, then,” Darragh suggested with a chuckle. He dropped his voice a little lower, a little more casual. “And nay. I’m nae quite finished with me rounds.”
“Then ye should finish them rather than botherin’ me,” she huffed, smoothing the dent in the surface of her dessert. “As ye said, the fox hunt is approachin’. I shouldnae be yer priority at the moment.”
Darragh gritted his teeth, bracing himself against those words as though they were a blow.
Her belief that she wasn’t the most important component in his planning sat wrong on his shoulders.
He had half a mind to call the event off to keep her safe.
If there weren’t already guests on the journey to the castle, he might have.
“Ye say that,” Darragh said, stepping around the counter and stopping in front of her. She tilted her head back to maintain eye contact. “But the next thing I need to do is speak with ye.”
For a moment, she seemed frozen. Her eyes darted to his jaw. Then, she seemed to take control of herself, her brow furrowing.
“Ye’re already speakin’ with me,” she retorted a little breathlessly. Her throat worked as she swallowed dry. “Are ye nae?”
“Aye, I am,” he said as he gestured toward the empty kitchen.
A shiver seemed to run down her spine, her pupils dilating.
He continued with a smirk that he couldn’t hide on his lips.
“But it seems that if we speak here, me staff willnae be able to complete their duties. Accompany me on a walk around the courtyard. Me men are takin’ a short rest.”
Amelia hesitated, starting to take a step back before swallowing hard and planting her feet firmly on the ground beneath her.
For a moment, Darragh was sure that she was going to argue, but something he didn’t recognize flashed across her features.
The corners of her mouth softened, and her shoulders relaxed in a gesture that reminded him of resignation.
But also, curiously, of relief.
“I suppose that I could spare a few minutes,” she said delicately. She lifted her chin, the playful challenge bleeding into her posture again. “But only to give Nigell enough time to return. I must ask him if there’s a way to fix this imperfection ye’ve inflicted.”
“I already told ye that I couldnae resist,” he said, his fingertips brushing against her elbow as he guided her toward the door.
It took everything in him to keep from shifting his hold to her waist, the desire to keep her close feeling like a physical thing.
“It was quite delicious, by the way. If ye have any of that left, I’d be happy to take it off yer hands. ”
“It wasnae enough that ye already damaged me cake,” she grumbled, lightly rubbing her elbow when Darragh broke the contact. “Now ye’re invitin’ yerself to the leftover bits.”
* * *
The ease in the silence that existed between them felt at odds with the plans forming in Amelia’s mind.
She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when she began anticipating his presence, though the tipping point was when they’d gone riding.
It was something that she had accounted for when she was cobbling together an escape plan.
But I’m only indulgin’ his request for this walk because I’m leavin’. It’s nae because I enjoy this.
“Ye’ve been gettin’ along with Flora,” Darragh observed. It wasn’t a question, and he sounded a bit smug. “I’m surprised she wasnae in the kitchens with ye.”
She stiffened. Perhaps she should have expected that this was what he’d want to discuss, but she wasn’t sure she was prepared for the direction this would go.
“I dinnae think to ask her,” Amelia said. Though, in truth, she didn’t want to. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but she wanted to indulge in her newfound pleasures alone. She looked down at the apron that she’d forgotten to remove. “And I’m still nae happy with ye about invitin’ her.”
“Because I went against yer wishes.” He didn’t break his stride, but the bluntness unbalanced Amelia’s step. “I ken. That doesnae mean that ye’re nae gettin’ along with her.”
Amelia glared at him, but she couldn’t muster enough heat to make herself threatening.
With a scoff, her hands opening and closing in an effort to dispel the restlessness threatening to settle in, she said, “I do suppose that I enjoy Flora’s company.
She respects conversational boundaries… unlike someone else I ken. ”
The low sound of Darragh’s chuckle settled in her stomach. Her breath caught, the back of her neck warming with a sense of pride she refused to understand. She quickened her pace, fixing her gaze on the leaves swaying on the branches above.
“Then I’m nae sorry for invitin’ the McGowans,” Darragh said as he caught up to her easily, giving her an infuriatingly pompous grin. “And that means me plan is workin’.”
“I’m nae askin’ about yer plan.” She was smiling, even though she desperately wanted to be annoyed with his sense of victory.
Everything felt so out of her control. She shouldn’t be letting herself enjoy the time she was spending with him when she was just going to leave.
“I ken ye wanted to get information out of me when ye invited her.”
Darragh stopped, reaching out to pick a blossom from the tree. When he spoke again, rolling the petals between his fingers, there was a mellow quality to his tone.
“I cannae say that I wasnae hopin’ that she’d convince ye to open up,” he admitted. He offered her the bloom, pushing it toward her nose. As she inhaled the sweet, lightly fruity scent, he said, “But I ken ye’re a social lass, even if ye try to hide it. Flora’s easier to speak with than I am.”
Tingling warmth crawled up Amelia’s spine, and she frowned as she tried to shake it away. It stuck, though, despite her best efforts. “She is.”
Amelia cleared her throat, taking the flowers from him. Their fingertips brushed, and the heat worked its way to each of the tiny points that they touched. She stroked the velvet-soft pink petals, cocking her head to the side.
“Ye dinnae just bring me out here to ask about how I’m gettin’ on with Flora,” Amelia said, not looking away from the tiny parts in the middle of the bloom.
Darragh was quiet, and Amelia struggled to keep from looking at him. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she didn’t think she could stand to meet his eyes right now. Her emotions were too twisted, her heart beating too fast, her head spinning in a way that was only slightly unpleasant.