Chapter Five Loyal Hearts
“Imade carnitas, and I’m making tortillas to eat them with. Mrs. Fenclan showed me where the crockpot was.”
I don’t know what Lady June is talking about, but I know by the scent of roasted heaven that she’s been cooking again.
“It smells like a banquet for kings!” I praise, collecting up my stone shards with the rake she hands me.
“You’ve made it look like heaven, too. All these flowers you put in yourself? Wi’ no gardener?”
“I told you. I’m a tough girl. I don’t need help.”
“Aye, but someone might want to help you.”
Lady June laughs, but it isn’t a happy sound, despite the fact that she is dressed for a festival in something that is little more than a bikini—a bright yellow top that leaves half her breasts and stomach bared, and tiny blue pants she calls “booty shorts” that would draw any eye to the amount of voluptuous goodness she carries behind her.
“No one wants to help me but my parents, and they can’t.
I still have two sisters finishing high school and college, one that’s got a three-year-old, and one that’s super pregnant. ”
“Super pregnant?”
“She’s in North Carolina, and my parents are going to fly down there when the baby comes to help out.
My parents still work two jobs. My sisters are busy as f...
They’re very busy. I don’t need help. I’m the middle child in a big Italian-Irish-Spanish family in South Philly.
People have each other’s backs in an emergency, but on the daily?
Not worth bothering people who are all in the same boat as you. I just do my thing. Carry on.”
She doesn’t say it, but I can tell by the way her mouth breaks at the corners that she’s in pain again.
I didn’t mean to cause her distress, but I have.
“I’m sorry I made you think of him,” I say, holding out my hand in apology.
I’m not sure what I expect her to do with it, but it just feels right to reach out to her.
“Damn. You notice everything, huh? Yeah, he was the guy I let help me. Catch me when I was falling, carry me when things were tight. Oh, well, lesson learned. You can’t trust men.”
“That’s not true. I’m sure there are many good and true men.”
“I’m sure you’re right. My dad. My brothers-in-law, I hope to God. If not, they’re going to meet the sharp end of a meat skewer, that’s for sure.”
“Gargoyles are loyal. We offer our hearts but once. If our mate accepts it, the bond will never break.”
“That’s sweet. Lucky you. Lucky gargoyle babes. I’m going in the house. I’m starved.”
I follow Lady June, eyes fastened to her hips, even though I try not to stare. “I see it is not only gargoyle females. Did you not observe that Wuillie’s son is married to a human? And Genesis is, and his cousin, too?”
“Mm. That’s nice. I’m glad some humans are lucking out.”
She doesn’t understand my meaning—but then again, I’m not even sure I understand my meaning. What am I saying?
She is freshly grieved.
I am not sure where I want to stay, but I am certain I’m not supposed to be feeling any soft feelings towards her.
“Do you know when you’ll head home to Scotland?” Lady June asks, putting a covered bowl on the counter. She scrubs her hands and starts slapping little discs of dough onto the counter, using her palm and rolling pin to make them flat, working with speed that leaves me dizzy.
“Is this the tortilla?”
“It is. I don’t have a tortilla press or a palote, but this works.
Also, when you get out in the world more, you’re going to find out that there are a lot of different shades to Mexican food.
There’s Tex-Mex, Mexican-American, traditional Mexican, and then there are the regions.
And tortilla means something different in Spain.
I just make things the way my parents and grandparents made them.
If you travel through America a little before you leave, you’ll find that there’s great food from all different cultures, and each region has its specialties.
Philadelphia, where I’m from? That’s where you get real cheesesteaks and soft pretzels.
Hoagies.” She suddenly shakes her rump at me, and I find my throat snaps shut.
No words will escape. “We eat good in my neighborhood, which is why I’ll never be ‘skinny.’ That’s okay.
They say girls with big asses are smarter.
No, legit, there’s a scientific study about the kind of fat that’s stored in your butt being better than if you have fat in other places. ”
I’m at a slight loss trying to understand everything, so I fall back on simple truth. “You are very beautiful.”
June stops slapping the dough like it has offended her clan, and turns to me, wide-eyed. “What?”
“You are very beautiful.” I clear my throat and cough. “Your rump is a lovely size and shape.” I tuck my hands behind my back so that I cannot mimic holding it.
It’s too large for a human male’s hands.
It’d be just right for mine.
“Oh. Okay, another thing. You can’t go around calling girls very beautiful. They’ll fall head over heels in love, okay? Because most guys don’t say that—and if they do, they want something. Mostly sex. Sorry if that shocks your Victorian sensibilities.”
“I did not want that! Or mean that! You are grieving your lost love, and you were to be wed to a laird—or at least a wealthy, powerful man. You will take years to mourn him, I am sure.” I bow suddenly, heart seized with the desire to do something, anything for her, to prove that I understand—that one day, perhaps, I might be worthy of her.
“He should be removed, my lady. Taking the castle and a chunk of his wealth is not enough. He has betrayed you, and that I cannot tolerate. Let me hunt him for you, Lady June.”
“Duncan!” Lady June’s eyes are wide with shock—but not disapproval.
“Do not misunderstand. My kind do not murder, but we do defend, and we do not tolerate dishonor. He has dishonored you, and that I cannae abide.” My talons flex, and my tail lashes. My wings, one strong, one weak but slowly healing, flare out in rage.
Lady June stares at me for a second, mouth open, before she speaks. “But you barely know me. And you understand now that he wasn’t the laird. I’m not a lady, not like you think.”
“But you are mine. This is my protectorate for now, and that means you are mine to protect. Even if gargoyles didn’t have the need to protect running in their blood, I would feel the same.
You were here to guide and protect me in a new land.
You helped me find allies and my clan. You have nourished me and given me a sanctuary to heal—”
“That’s just being a good person, Duncan!”
My tail smacks the floor, and Lady June gasps and jumps back a step.
“It is a life debt! I am yours, Lady June, for my life. You are the lady of this manor, and to me, you are queen of wherever you stand. You have my loyalty. Always. However you decide to use it.” I bow low and stalk away from her.
“I will guard the grounds until the food is ready.”
WHEN DUNCAN LEAVES, I stand and clutch the counter for support.
Something just happened that I would not have suspected in a million years. Something wrong. Stupid.
I liked what Duncan just did.
No, I mean I liked it, liked it.
The protective, possessive, “You are a queen, and I am your loyal guardian forever” thing? It’s so not me.
But my insides are all fluttery. I feel valuable, after feeling like I was a puppet or a prop. I feel like Duncan might be fantastical, but he’s real and solid, and it’s refreshing after realizing I let myself live in a dream with Daniel, only to wake up in a nightmare.
Looking back on the past six months, I question every feeling I had. I wonder if everything between us was fake, just like Daniel turned out to be.
With Duncan, his passionate declaration, his fiery eyes, the physical aggression to back up his claims that he belongs to me... It feels so real—and it makes me feel so good.
It’s so the wrong time. It’s also not right, even if I were just curious, let’s say, about a huge, musclebound gargoyle with the face of a chiseled angel (or maybe a demon) and what’s going on under his newly restored kilt.
Duncan’s kind have one love only, and he’s going to leave soon, and I’m going to leave soon, and I know I couldn’t possibly be ready for anything more than a rebound fling after only three days of dealing with a broken engagement and a broken heart.
So why is my heart racing, and why am I tempted to believe every word he says is hinting at more than just being a loyal friend?
Why am I tempted to turn it into something he probably doesn’t mean?
I stomp my foot and shake my head to clear it. “Snap out of it, June. Your Prince Charming was a cheater. There’s no Beauty and the Beast here, either.”
“THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE meal, Lady June.” I finish the last bite of the juicy, succulent, heavenly-flavored roast pork with red and yellow peppers, garlic, onions, and other spices too numerous to name.
Lady June ate two of the little rolled dumplings made of thin flour shells, fried and stuffed with pork.
I lost count of how many I gobbled down, moaning the entire time.
Lady June grins at me, but then scowls, and her hands fly to her hips.
“I am thrilled you liked the food—and I’m glad I made three pounds of pork shoulder, because feeding one gargoyle is the same as feeding ten people.
But,” her scowl turns menacing, “if you don’t stop calling me Lady June, I’m gonna flip out. ”
“You are most talented. I once saw tumblers at the—”
“Not a literal flip. It means I’m going to get mad. Please, just call me June. I don’t need you to be my servant or guard.”
I nod once, face tight at her rejection. “As you wish.” In my heart, I vow to do as she says—outwardly. Inside?
No. A hundred years asleep, and a hundred years of life before—and I’ve never heard of a laird abandoning the lady of the manor. Leaving her unprotected.
Well, he made a mistake, one that will cost him dearly if he ever shows his face. June is mine to protect now.
Mine.
“I was never your servant, my lady, but a gargoyle can no more stop guarding an innocent woman alone than he could stop the sun from rising.”
“I get that, I guess. Look, don’t be mad. It’s not about you, not really. I know you can protect yourself, me, and an entire castle, but in this time period, women are told it’s dangerous to rely on a man to take care of them.”
“I am not a man. I am a gargoyle,” I say, and there is a low growl in my words.
June smiles softly. Sadly. “Yeah, I know. But I just learned my lesson the hard way. It’s not related to you, but I can’t handle being seen as ‘fragile’ or something right now.”
Because someone hurt her. Broke her. All the more reason to let someone mend her and guard her from being damaged again.
I hate this time, suddenly, and how it has made this great beauty so strong, but still unable to feel safe when someone wants to help her keep that strength.
June continued, “If there’s a crazy bad guy with a gun, you can protect the hell out of me.
But I can’t stand the Lady June stuff, like we’re not equals.
You’re my friend. You said you owe me a life debt and all that?
Well, this is the first task. Just call me June, and be my friend.
Tell me when you’re going to leave, and tell me where to send a postcard, okay? I want to stay in touch.”
I want to stay where she can touch me, too. And her friendship? That’s a treasure, a prince’s ransom. How could that fool Daniel have traded it away for some harlot? “In August, I will leave to meet my clan. I may leave sooner if you would have me dispatch your former lover.”
“It’s tempting, but no. Don’t.” There is a roguish smile that passes between us, and my heart feels that strange squeezing again. The one I love and hate at the same time. “Okay. Until August. And I’m here until the end of July. Perfect. We can be roomies.”
“Roomies?” I repeat the strange word.
“Like roommates.”
The word mate passed her lips. My heart loses the steady rhythm it’s always followed, rushing and bounding. “That word is one I haven’t heard yet.”
“It doesn’t mean we share the same bedroom, but we live together. Like friends. Loyal friends. We can hang out together, have fun together. Eat together. Garden together.”
The only word I hear is “together.” Over and over again, and my heart follows the sound. “I would love to be together,” I whisper, trying to make my voice work.
June does something strange, at least to my senses. Her cheeks turn pink, and she squirms in her seat. The scent of sadness that clings to her lifts, and there is a new note in her scent, something warm and sweet, like the flowers she loves.
“Want to go for a drive before Daniel sends someone to collect his car?” she suddenly suggests.
“Ooh! Yes.”