Chapter 6
“You seem to be in better spirits,” Hamish commented as they went over the accounts.
Cormac looked up. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you’re not as grumpy, and you’re not scowling as much. It’s like you’ve decided to pull yourself out of your gloom.”
Cormac arched an eyebrow. “That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it, Hamish? Why would you say that I’m coming out of my gloom?”
“Because you seem to be. And it’s nice to see you getting better.” Hamish handed him another ledger. “I’m delighted to know that your old self is coming back.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not happening.”
“Are you sure about that? You’ve gone over to Corrieden three times this week, and that’s not including when we went for dinner and you rescuing the young viscount from drowning. It’s like you can’t wait to see either of them.”
Cormac felt his face getting red. He’d not thought about it like that, just him being a conscientious neighbor. Then again, he hadn’t done that with his other neighbors. It was like his attention was on helping Lady Ellingham—Rosalind—and Theo.
He couldn’t quite describe it, the feeling he had when he was around them.
Theo was like a breath of fresh air, his youthful eagerness infectious, and his keenness to learn everything still evident.
He was still a child, but Cormac liked spending time with him.
He was a wide-eyed innocent in everything, which he found sweet.
And he’d never found anything sweet before.
As for his mother, Rosalind drew his attention more than he could ever recall.
It was strange that she could capture his thoughts and then hold onto them for as long as she could.
He would spend time sitting with her while Theo ran around outside and played with his governess, and they would spend hours talking.
They didn’t run out of anything to talk about.
Rosalind was a consummate listener, and very wise with her words.
She was coming out of her shell, no longer hiding her scars.
The veils were gone, although she did sometimes use her hair to cover a few.
The scars were shocking, but Cormac barely saw them.
He saw the beautiful face, the lovely eyes, and the half-curved smile that she gave him.
There was a relaxed atmosphere about her that hadn’t been there before.
It was good to see the previously nervous woman coming out of her shell. Cormac could understand that. He’d been there before himself. And in just the space of a fortnight, Rosalind seemed to be shaking hers off a little bit.
“I didn’t think it would be a mother and child pair that would bring you out of yourself, though,” Hamish went on.
Cormac glared at him.
“Keep an eye on the figures, Hamish. We’re not going to discuss that.”
“Are we not?” Hamish moved away from the desk. “Because there’s been something that’s puzzling me for a while: if you handled the whole purchase in secret, how is it you never once met the woman you bought it for?”
“You know it was in the time when Father died,” Cormac said. “And I was shut away. It was done at a distance. I never showed a face to anyone, and Rosalind…”
“It’s Rosalind now, is it?”
Cormac ignored that.
“That was what William wanted. A place that was far enough out of the way to be trusted, and yet near enough for me to keep an eye on it.”
Hamish frowned.
“Then what about the letter he left with his lawyer, the one to be delivered should his brother come close to Lady Ellingham? What are you going to do with that?”
That, Cormac didn’t have an answer for. He’d been trying to figure out what his friend meant by not letting Julian Ellingham come anywhere near Corrieden. Perhaps he should send for the letter. To follow William’s full wishes.
“Write off to his lawyer, then,” he said briskly as he stood up. “Get the letter up here as soon as possible. We will need to follow what he wanted.”
“As long as we haven’t delayed it enough that we’ve gotten it wrong.”
With that remark, Hamish left the room. Cormac rubbed his hands over his face, hoping that was the case. He didn’t think he could forgive himself if he’d gotten it wrong.
He had told himself to look over his accounts and make sure everything was in order, but now Cormac found himself heading toward the door, through the house and out into the stables.
He couldn’t stay here and wait around patiently.
Patience wasn’t something he was good at holding onto.
He needed to get over to Corrieden and see how Rosalind and Theo were.
“Lord Ravensmuir!”
He turned just as the groom was bringing his horse out of the stall. One of the footmen was hurrying over to him, holding onto an old satchel. He bowed and held it out.
“I found what you asked me to look for. You said you wanted it as soon as I found it.”
“You actually found it?”
The young man nodded eagerly.
“It took me all day yesterday and most of this morning, but I found it. Do you think Viscount Ellingham will like it?”
Cormac opened the satchel and looked inside.
It was certainly dusty, but it would still be in working order once it had gotten cleaned up.
The spyglass had been one of his favorite toys when he was Theo’s age, and he knew Theo was eager to watch the birds around the loch.
He was drawn to the huge expanse of water, although he was a little nervous to go anywhere near it.
He didn’t want to fall in the water again.
Rosalind was worried about him going near the loch again, but Cormac was sure if Theo got his confidence back, he would be fine. And the spyglass would keep him entertained from the safety of his garden.
“Thank you, Timmons,” he said, climbing onto his horse and slinging the satchel over his shoulder. “Viscount Ellingham will be delighted with it. Let Mr. Ross know that I’ve headed out. He’ll know where I’ve gone if he needs me.”
“Very good, my lord.”
Cormac rode out of the stables and began to make his way to the road that went around the edge of the valley to Corrieden.
He normally would take the quick route by the loch, but the road itself was precarious while the stonemason was in the process of fixing it.
There were stones and slabs everywhere, and the water was still making it slippery.
Cormac didn’t want to risk it and get in the way.
It was worth taking the longer way around just to be sure, even if it was slower to Corrieden. But he wasn’t in any rush.
Of course he wasn’t.
As he reached a fork that went to the south or to Corrieden, Cormac noticed a carriage coming the other way. He slowed, moving off to the side as the carriage slowed to a stop. The window opened and a dark-haired man in his mid-twenties stuck his head out.
“Excuse me, sir? Am I on the right road to Corrieden? I think we’ve gotten a little lost.”
Cormac found himself staring at him. He’d never met the man before, but there was something vaguely familiar about him. Almost as if they had crossed paths before in passing, so fleeting that it was at the edge of his mind. But he couldn’t place the name.
“I… What are you wanting to see Viscount Ellingham for?” he asked. “My neighbors are rather… isolated. They don’t take many visitors.”
The man chuckled.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m a member of the family.” He stuck a hand out of the window. “Julian Ellingham. I’m Viscount Ellingham’s uncle, brother to the previous viscount.”
Cormac felt something cold on the back of his neck.
This was the brother William had commented on.
The man he had some concerns about, although he hadn’t explained why.
There was something off about him, was all William had said.
However, looking at Ellingham right now, Cormac wasn’t sure what it was.
There was nothing about the man that indicated something was not quite right.
But if William had suspicions about his brother, Cormac would have to pay close attention. Whatever his friend wanted.
“I’m the Earl of Ravensmuir, my lord.” Cormac bowed his head. “I’m Viscount Ellingham’s neighbor.”
“Then it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ravensmuir. How are my sister-in-law and nephew getting along? Do you interact with them?”
“I do, actually.” Cormac shifted his horse a little closer, sitting up slightly straighter. “I’ve been to see them a few times, just to make sure they’ve settled in and they’re not having any problems. And it seems like life out here is very good for them.”
“Really?”
“They’re starting to relax, from what I could tell.”
Ellingham looked surprised at that.
“Interesting. My sister-in-law was someone who didn’t like the extreme quiet. She enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city.”
“Well, you’d be surprised at how the isolation has worked for her, my lord. Being away from everyone who see her as something to gawk at, in her words.” Cormac couldn’t help but smile. “She’s still grieving her husband, but there’s a spark in her that is coming to life more and more.”
“Now I’m pleased with that.” Ellingham beamed.
“I thought she was going to be miserable for the rest of her life. If I’d known getting her out of the city would’ve been the cure…
” He cleared his throat. “Forgive me, I was so concerned about them after my brother’s death. Especially when Rosalind was there.”
“She was there?”
“Didn’t she say? She was in the carriage when it overturned. They ended up in the wreckage together.” Ellingham touched his cheek. “That’s how she got injured. She was so lucky for it not to be any worse.”
Cormac was stunned. He’d wondered about the scars but hadn’t asked, not wanting to get things awkward between them. He wanted her to tell him about it without any prompting. He could only imagine how scary it had been when the carriage overturned, and she was there when her husband died.
He couldn’t begin to think how hard it was to watch someone you loved die before your eyes. It sent a shiver through him.
“Well, I’m on the way to Corrieden now,” he said. “Why don’t you follow me? I’m sure Lady Ellingham would be delighted to see you.”
“That’s a great idea!” Ellingham declared with a grin. “I know Rosalind is going to be relieved to see me. We got close after William’s death, and she’s now like a little sister to me.”
Cormac kept his smile fixed on his face, but he didn’t like how Ellingham had said that. Something about the way he said “close” had been different, and he couldn’t shake the thought. Was it Ellingham’s way of making sure Cormac knew Rosalind was not a free woman? Was he trying to warn him off?
Whatever it was, Cormac was curious to see what the man was like on Rosalind’s threshold, and what he was going to do.
“Follow me, then,” he said briskly as he walked around the carriage. “If you can get the carriage to turn around. It’s a bit of a sharp bend.”
As he watched the coachman maneuver the carriage back around with ease, Cormac thought about the sealed letter William had left in trust. And he wondered if he was doing the right thing.