Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
The next day, a vivid blue sky and enough sunlight to chase away the chill greeted the occupants of Aldmist Fell. Perfect conditions for an ice skating party. Fergus glided around the ice, dodging McTaggarts and Thornes alike.
He was glad some of his kin had accepted Helena’s invitation to join her and her guests. Miss Gracie’s eyes had doubled in size when they’d topped the hill and spotted skaters already on the pond. Her first party was a grand success.
“Fergus, look at me!” The lassie shuffled toward him, knock-kneed and as clumsy as a newborn colt, but what she lacked in coordination, she made up for in enthusiasm.
Fergus skidded to a stop, giving her room to demonstrate her skill. “Verra well done, lass.”
As with most everything she tried, she tackled skating without fear. Consequently, she built up speed, approaching faster than he liked.
“Do you remember how to stop?” he asked.
“No.” She giggled, windmilling her arms. “Help!”
Laughing, Fergus scooped her up before she collided with him and carefully lifted her to sit on his shoulders. She screeched as they teetered and covered his eyes.
“Now I cannae see.”
“Sorry.” She moved her hands to his forehead, knocking his hat askew. “Take me around the pond.”
He considered it for a fleeting moment. He’d strapped on his first pair of skates as a boy of three.
Skating was in his blood. But carrying the little miss around on his shoulders would earn him a good tongue-lashing from Mistress Gallagher.
And perhaps he’d deserve it, for no matter how confident he was, accidents did happen.
“No’ the best of ideas, lassie.” He pulled her from her perch and held her upright until she found her balance. “It’s high time I started using the brain God gave me.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Edith,” she quipped, wrinkling her pink nose.
He laughed. “Aye, perhaps that’s so, and I feel smarter for it, too. We can skate together if you want.”
Spinning around, he took her hands and began skating backward at a gentle pace. It didn’t take long for Miss Gracie to find her skating legs as they circled the pond. “You’re a natural, lass.”
She pulled one hand free. “I want to try by myself.”
Hesitantly, she loosened her grip on his other hand and slid it from his hold until only their fingertips touched. Her chin jutted with determination, reminding him so much of her older sister Helena.
“I think I can do it,” she said.
“I know you can.”
Her beaming smile when she let go and didn’t wobble warmed his heart from the inside out.
“Look, Fergus. I’m doing it.”
“Aye, keep your head up. You’re doing a fine job.”
It hit him full force that he wanted to teach his own child to skate while he was still able bodied.
His mother’s harping on finding a wife and filling a nursery seemed less like a burden in that moment.
It wasn’t just a duty to fulfill in the future.
Fatherhood became a gentle tug of longing in his chest.
“I’m going to show Helena and Lavinia I can skate now,” Miss Gracie said, already headed in the direction of the two ladies chatting around the warming fire. “Maybe you can teach Edith, too.”
His gaze was drawn to Mistress Gallagher where she was huddled around the fire as well.
She stood at a slight distance from Helena and Lavinia, making a show of warming her hands.
Perhaps she was allowing the sisters some privacy, though at a glance, she appeared slightly uncomfortable, as if she was uncertain of her place.
As Miss Gracie approached the fire, however, Mistress Gallagher’s face transformed with the most beautiful smile. Her eyes radiated love and her joyful applause for the girl’s accomplishment rang with genuine pride. A powerful force slammed into his chest, stealing his breath.
Crivvens! The mother of his future children had been under his nose this whole time.
When Edith cheered for Gracie, Lavinia and Lady Thorne swung toward the ice, both gasping.
“Would you look at her?” Lavinia said. “She is in her element. I must admit, she has thrived under your care, Helena.”
Lady Thorne hugged Lavinia. “We’ve done nothing you were not already doing.”
Edith smiled, her gaze locked on Gracie as she shuffled on the ice—legs wide, arms swinging, and her smile even wider. The girl was a true wonder, tackling new activities with little to no fear. Edith admired this quality in her, even though it increased her worry for Gracie’s safety sometimes.
“Well done, Gracie!” Lord Thorne shouted from across the ice. Edith’s employer skated to the edge of the pond and gestured for his wife to join him. “You don’t want to miss skating with her. She’s beside herself with pride.”
Lady Thorne reached out to squeeze Lavinia’s arm. “Will you excuse me to skate with our little sister?”
“Of course. Have fun!” Lavinia waved to Gracie before sidling up to Edith at the fire. Neither she nor Edith knew how to skate; their upbringings hadn’t allowed for leisure activities.
“Where is Lord Thorne’s sister?” Lavinia asked. “I expected her and her new husband to be here in Scotland with the rest of the family.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Hillary have taken a honeymoon trip. I don’t know when they’re expected back.”
“Helena said Cora and the children couldn’t get away before Christmas,” Lavinia said, referencing her and Lady Thorne’s younger sister. “It’s a busy time of the year for the butcher shop, and she didn’t want to leave Mr. White alone.”
“It sounds like she is beginning to mature.” Edith didn’t much care for Cora, but she would never speak ill of Lavinia’s kin. They had all lived through difficult times.
Now that Edith had a quiet moment with her friend, she wanted to ask about Lavinia’s health. Even after a night’s rest, Lavinia seemed fatigued, yawning frequently, her eyelids drooping as if she might fall asleep standing.
“How are you, Lavinia? Are you well?”
“She’s the picture of health.” Lord St. Ambrose’s sudden appearance from behind startled Edith. “Just look at the rosy apples of her cheeks.”
Lavinia cocked an eyebrow. “I wondered when you would join us. You promised business could wait until we returned.”
“Forgive me, my love.” He placed his arm around Lavinia’s shoulders and bent to kiss her cheek. “I only wrote to Mother, letting her know we’ve arrived safely.”
Edith doubted there was any mention of ‘we’ in the marquess’s letter. One didn’t need to be a member of High Society to understand the unspoken rules: one never mentioned one’s mistress, especially to one’s mother.
He grinned. “I offered your regards.”
“Of course, you did.” Lavinia rolled her eyes, clearly not taking him seriously. “You also promised to keep our association private.”
“Oh, no. I forgot,” he replied with a chuckle.
Lavinia’s eyes flared wide. “Tell me you didn’t mention me in your letter.”
He shrugged. “Mother will learn about your existence once we’re married. I’d prefer to win her approval before our wedding.”
“August, I already told you there will be no wedding.” Lavinia sighed wearily, even as she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into his hug.
Edith had grown accustomed to their recurrent arguments over Lord St. Ambrose’s plans for their future. Lavinia’s lack of fire left Edith wondering if the marquess was finally breaking down her friend’s resistance.
“Mistress Gallagher?”
Edith’s heart sped at the sound of her name rolling off Mr. McTaggart’s tongue. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was growing fond of his lovely brogue. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she turned toward him with a smile. “Good afternoon, sir.”
He held up two skates and aimed his crooked grin at her. “Are you ready for our next adventure?”
She blinked. “Skating? I-I don’t skate.”
“It’s high time you learned, lass. Have a seat,” he said, gesturing toward a large stump. “I’ll help you strap on the blades and teach you what to do.”
She shook her head, backing away. “You’re not getting me on the ice.”
“You should try,” Lavinia said, stepping forward. “It looks like fun.”
“I don’t see you speeding around the pond.”
“True,” her friend whispered in her ear, “but I don’t have a handsome man offering to teach me.”
Edith’s face flooded with heat. “What does his appearance have to do with anything?” she grumbled under her breath.
“It makes the task more pleasant.” Lavinia playfully nudged her toward Mr. McTaggart. “Be brave, my friend.”
Edith glowered at Lavinia, realizing it was obvious she wasn’t coming to her rescue. Some friend she was.
Mr. McTaggart held out his arm to Edith. “Shall we?” His deep green eyes twinkled with merriment as she accepted his escort, allowing him to draw her toward a stump. “If Mr. Mason can enjoy himself, so can you.”
On the ice, Lavinia’s younger sister Pearl pushed her husband around on a ladder-back chair, their laughter carrying across the pond.
“Do you have a chair for me?” Despite her surly tone, she sat on the stump, kicking her leg out in front of her.
Mr. McTaggart knelt and grabbed her ankle to strap the skate to her boot. “You willna need a chair. I’ll hold you up if you need it.”
“What?” she asked in a breathy voice.
“I’ll hold you close so you don’t fall.” When he looked up, holding her gaze, her heart skipped. Until that moment, she’d worried about twisting an ankle or cracking her head on the ice.
His rugged face glowed from the cold, his lips a darker shade of red. Rich brown hair lay against his nape, tempting her to brush it aside. Suddenly, the prospect of learning to skate became more enticing.
She had enjoyed his arm around her shoulders yesterday while watching Gracie roll to the bottom of the hill.
He was as solid as a bronze statue, yet when he’d held her, he had been tender.
She’d felt both protected and cherished.
Edith could get used to his touch, which would make returning to England more difficult than it needed to be.