Chapter Twenty-Seven
Spencer
Kendall hugs me so fiercely that I”m stunned for a moment, speechless and unable to cobble together a single thought, much less a spoken word. My brother has never reacted this way when he saw me any other time in my entire life. I don”t believe he”s experiencing an anxiety attack, as Bindy suggested. I”m also quite sure Hugh and our other mates conspired to trick me into coming home.
I don”t mind that as much as I”d thought I would.
Finally, Kendall takes a step backward. He keeps hold of my upper arms while grinning at me. ”I didn”t think you were coming until Saturday.”
”The American Wives Club orchestrated an earlier departure time.”
Avery and Rosalyn both aim faux looks of outrage at me. But it”s Avery who speaks. ”How dare you accuse me of such nefarious behavior. I am a titled lady, Spencer Halfenaked.”
Rosalyn scowls at me with even less believable fake outrage. ”Refined ladies of our stature would never do such a thing.”
All the men in the room, including myself, roll our eyes at the women.
They give up their stern expressions and laugh.
I turn to my brother and scowl at him. Yes, all right, it”s a fake scowl. ”Bindy assured me that you were in a state of severe anxiety and urgently in need of my help. It was all a ruse, wasn”t it?”
Rosalyn wraps her arm around my brother”s bicep. ”It isn”t entirely a lie. Hugh, Avery, and I could tell that Kendall wished you could be here all week long to participate in the pre-wedding festivities and also just to spend time with you. He has been missing you, Spencer. Please have a chat with him. Even Rachelle agrees that our boy needs you right now.”
My brother winces.
I scratch my head. ”Ah, well, in that case...I suppose we can find a private place to...I don”t know. Have a drink and talk about...whatever.”
”Brilliant!” Rosalyn kisses my cheek. Then she gives Kendall”s arse a shove. ”Get moving, boys. We ladies have our own arrangements to make. And don”t worry, please, we will show your parents and the lovely Sabrina to their rooms upstairs. The others will entertain them. Tabitha will remain downstairs until you and Kendall are done with your chat.”
”What others?”
”You”ll see, pet.”
I glance at my brother, but he simply shrugs. Then he strides toward the door and waves for me to follow him. As the drawing room door shuts behind me, I start jogging to catch up to Kendall. He has longer legs, and he”s always preferred to walk at a brisker pace. My brother ushers me into another room, shutting the door behind him. We”ve wound up inside what seems to be a room that has a glass-enclosed area on two sides, overlooking the patio.
”Is this the solarium?” I ask.
”Yes, it is. You”ve been to Sommerleigh before, so you should know the layout by now.”
”I”ve been here twice before. And I didn”t peek into every room.”
Kendall gestures toward a pair of rattan chairs. ”Spencer, please sit down.”
”Aren”t you going to bow? I thought all butlers did that.”
His jaw tenses, making a muscle tick there. ”Just get your sodding arse on the chair, Spence.”
I try not to laugh, but it turns into spluttering. ”Yes, sir, Mr. Halfenaked. Or will you be you completely starkers this evening during your dance routine?”
”Making jokes about our surname is asinine.”
”Have you informed Hugh of that fact? He makes rude jokes about our surname all the time.” I settle onto the rattan chair. ”Are you going to stand there towering over me? Or will you take a seat too? After all, I did come here five days early because Bindy swore you were in the throes of a severe anxiety attack. She was very worried about you.”
Kendall finally drops his arse onto the chair beside me. Releasing a long, gusty sigh, he slumps in his seat. ”I”m sorry Bindy was worried. The situation wasn”t as desperate as everyone made it out to be.”
”I was worried too, you know.”
He jerks his head to look at me, and he stops blinking. ”You were concerned? About me?”
”Why is that shocking? You are my brother, and I look up to you. So does Bindy. We were both upset about what you might be going through. That”s why I asked my boss to give me the entire week off so I could help you.”
”Help me?” Kendall pushes himself up straighter in his chair, clears his throat, and avoids looking at me. ”Crikey. I had no idea what you”d been told about my little incident. No wonder you rushed back to Sommerleigh.”
I hook one ankle over my other knee and study my brother. ”Are you going to tell me what really happened? Or should I hunt down Rachelle and torture the truth out of her?”
”Good luck with that. Rachelle is a force to be reckoned with. When I got pissed, she threw a bucket of cold water on my head.”
My laughter echoes inside the solarium. ”Yes, she is quite a woman. She and Tabitha have that in common.”
”Tabitha?” Kendall”s brows knit together over the bridge of his nose. ”Who the bloody hell is that? Your new pet cat?”
”No, you cheeky sod. Tabitha is my girlfriend.”
Kendall goes perfectly still, his expression blank. For several seconds, he sits there like that. Then he clears his throat. ”I”ve missed a great deal, haven”t I? You went to America and fell in love while I was acting like a ruddy arsehole.”
”No more delaying, Kenny. I want to know the truth about your drunken behavior.”
He sighs and sinks down in his chair again, this time rubbing his eyes. ”You know the Scots contingent arrived at Sommerleigh a few weeks ago. And I mentioned to you that Thane Buchanan would be there. He”s the bloke who makes whisky up there in the Highlands.” Kendall winces. ”Very good whisky. It has some unique properties that Thane warned me about, but I assumed he was simply trying to sell his single malts. So, I tasted some of his whiskies. Thane Black Label is quite good, so I decided to try the new variants. They”re...different. Apparently, women can almost orgasm from drinking Dùndubhan Masterpiece. That”s what Thane calls his most recent single malt.”
”What is Dùndubhan?”
”The castle that sits on a mountain called Beann Dealgach. Thane gets the water for his whisky from the river that flows down from the castle.”
”That”s interesting. But you still haven”t explained your wildly drunken behavior. I”m quoting Arthur, the gent who drove us out here to Sommerleigh. He said you were trying to do a striptease on the lawn, but Hugh talked you out of it.”
Kendall nods solemnly. ”It”s all true. After Rachelle doused me with cold water, I passed out. Woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. Dùndubhan Masterpiece ruined me.”
”You can”t expect me to believe a dram of single-malt Scotch turned you into a lunatic. Even drunk, you wouldn”t try to strip naked in front of the Parrishes.”
My brother bows his head, cradling his forehead in one hand. ”That whisky also made me, ah, very randy. I tried to seduce Rachelle, but she wasn”t having any of it. Hence, the aborted dance routine.”
”Were you doing your old dance moves from Bodacious Nights?”
He nods.
”Oh, I see. But I still don”t believe whisky could turn you into a randy goat. You drank too much and misbehaved, that”s all.”
Kendall lifts his head and narrows his gaze on me. ”Maybe I should give you a glass of Dùndubhan Masterpiece. Then you”ll see what I mean.”
I jump out of my chair. ”All right. Let”s do that now.”
My brother raises his brows, then stands up and leads me into the kitchen. A gray-haired woman gives us a strange look. Kendall glances at her as he reaches up to get a glass out of a cabinet. ”Never mind us, Mildred. I”m showing my brother what Dùndubhan Masterpiece can do to a bloke.”
Mildred”s eyes widen. ”Kendall, you shouldn”t do that. If he”s never tasted that whisky before, he might react badly like you did.”
”Relax, Mildred. Spencer won”t dance naked on the lawn.” Kendall reaches into a lower cabinet, bringing out a bottle. I can read the words Dùndubhan Masterpiece on the label. My brother pours a dram and offers me the glass. ”Go on, Spence. Prove me wrong.”
I accept the glass and swirl the liquid inside it. Then I take a sniff. ”It does have an unusual yet enticing aroma.” I take a small sip. ”Nice. It has an earthy---” I freeze as a sensuous warmth rushes through my veins. ”Bloody hell.”
Kendall chuckles. ”It”s hitting you already, isn”t it? I warned you.”
”Bugger me.” I take another tiny sip, and that warmth spreads out into my extremities with arousing effects. I clap the glass down on the counter. ”Excuse me, Kendall, I need to find Tabitha right now.”
When I find her, we shag for an hour and don”t bother trying to be quiet. Our room is at the end of the first-floor hall, so I doubt anyone heard us. Don”t give a toss if they did hear. But I do not get drunk. Kendall drank far more than I ever would have, but at least now I understand why everyone told me I needed to come home to save Kendall.
If he”d drunk an entire bottle of Dùndubhan Masterpiece, he would have gone instantly insane. But he would”ve been one happy nutter.