Chapter 9
Cormac’s mind was turning over everything as he sat in his library, staring out at the darkened sky, no stars in sight.
There was something not quite right with the whole scene he’d witnessed earlier that day.
Lady Ellingham had been very welcoming to her brother-in-law, but Theo’s reaction had been different.
He’d preferred to cling to Cormac and be with him than run over to his uncle.
Maybe the young boy had an intuition of his own about Mr. Ellingham.
His mother didn’t seem to have the same opinion from the way she interacted with Ellingham.
Cormac could understand that; when someone close was lost, anyone with a link to that person was going to be a relief.
Almost like an anchor to keep people afloat.
Although Cormac had a feeling that Ellingham wasn’t going to be doing that. Not if William’s concerns were anything to go by. Cormac wasn’t about to argue with that.
He just wished he could do something to prove it. Ellingham was not here simply to look out for his sister-in-law and nephew. He seemed pleasant enough, and he was charming, but Cormac didn’t want to trust it.
He needed to know for certain.
“Cormac?” Hamish was standing by his chair. “Do you need anything?”
Cormac jumped, almost dropping his empty brandy glass.
“Can’t you wear boots that make noise or something?” he grumbled.
“I thought you would’ve heard me.” Hamish frowned at him. “You’ve been out of sorts since you returned from Corrieden. You won’t talk to me about it.”
“I didn’t think you’d want to listen to my rambling.”
“Try me.” His steward folded his arms. “You confide everything else to me. Why not now?”
Cormac was getting a headache. He stood and went over to the drinks cabinet, pouring himself another brandy.
“I suppose it’s because I’m trying to make sense of it in my head. It’s all a mess in there, and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on.”
“What about?”
“Julian Ellingham.” Cormac gulped down some of the brandy, feeling it burn down his throat. “There’s something not quite right about him, and I can’t figure it out.”
Hamish snorted. “I thought William told you that. Didn’t he say something about not trusting his brother?”
“At the time, I admit, I thought it was just brothers and it was nothing. Now I’ve met the man, I can see what he meant.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Hamish asked with a frown. “Are you going to speak to Lady Ellingham about it?”
“I doubt she would listen to me. But there is something I can do.” Cormac turned to him. “I want you to write to the solicitor William left this letter with in London. Tell him we need it immediately. I want to read the contents.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“What? Why on earth not? It’s important!”
Hamish’s mouth twitched. “I’ve already written to them. I sent the letter off late last night. I have a feeling you would ask me eventually, and I wanted to have it prepared for you.”
Cormac was a little thrown. He hadn’t expected that. Then again, maybe he should have. Hamish had a tendency to think further ahead than he did at times, and he would’ve known Cormac would want the letter as soon as possible.
“Thank you,” he murmured. He shuddered. “Sometimes it scares me that you can read my mind before I’m comprehending it.”
Hamish gave a wry chuckle. “It’s just one of my many talents. But you have to remember it could take weeks to get it. It won’t be here the next morning.”
“Unfortunately.” For the first time in his life, Cormac wished they weren’t so far away from London. He finished his brandy. “I’m going to retire. I need you to come with me tomorrow. We’re going to check on the bridge and the shared boundary wall we have with Corrieden.”
“Why?” Hamish frowned. “The bridge isn’t necessarily urgent now we’ve got it under control. And the boundary wall is still secure as it was when I checked it a couple of days ago.”
“Well, then we’ll do it again. I can’t imagine young Theo being concerned about it, so it’s the least we can do.”
But Hamish didn’t look convinced. He tilted his head to one side, regarding him thoughtfully.
“What’s the real reason, Cormac? You want to go back to Corrieden to see Lady Ellingham, don’t you?”
“What?”
“If that’s the case, just be honest. There’s nothing embarrassing about admiring a pretty woman like her.”
“Hamish!” Cormac felt his face getting warm, and he was glad it was dark enough that it wouldn’t be noticed. “That’s nothing to do with it!”
Hamish looked as if he didn’t agree. Cormac sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.
“If William feared his brother enough to leave a warning about him, then it means I want to make sure Lady Ellingham and Theo are all right. I need to stay close enough to make sure they’re safe.”
“And how are you going to explain that?”
“That I’m a concerned neighbor helping the young lad settle in. I doubt Theo would turn me down with the way he treated me today.”
Hamish’s expression said he didn’t quite believe him, but Cormac wasn’t backing down.
He was certain that something wasn’t right, and if it meant Lady Ellingham was in danger, he wanted to make sure she was safe.
She and Theo deserved someone to protect them, and Julian Ellingham wasn’t going to be that person.
Hamish sighed. “All right. I’ll come with you. But we have to tread carefully. If we hover around too much, we might get sent away and then we won’t be able to look out for the mother and child.”
“I’m aware of that.”
His friend didn’t look convinced, but he nodded and bowed before leaving the room. Cormac put his glass down and glanced toward the window. It was pitch black outside, and he could only see his reflection staring back at him, but he knew Corrieden would be on the other side of the valley.
Would Lady Ellingham be asleep right now? Or would she still be awake checking on her son? She was very protective over him.
Hopefully, she would remain protective with her brother-in-law around. Cormac didn’t want her lowering her guard because she was sure she was safe.
***
He was still hoping the same thing in the morning after a restless night’s sleep.
Having his breakfast and saddling up his horse, Cormac wondered what would happen today.
He hoped he would get a chance to spend time with Lady Ellingham, just to hear her voice and her laugh.
Her eyes sparkled when she laughed, and it was beautiful to see.
This wasn’t about him being selfish for her company, though. He had to remember that. This was something more important than spending time with the pretty widow.
His head was all over the place. Maybe a knock to the head would be enough.
The sun was fully in the sky when he and Hamish arrived at Corrieden, and they were admitted. Bea was walking down the stairs as they hovered in the hallway, and she stopped in surprise.
“Lord Ravensmuir. Mr. Ross.” She curtsied and reached the bottom of the stairs. “Is something the matter? I wasn’t aware of you visiting us today.”
“We just wanted to see how young Lord Ellingham is.” Hamish gave her an easy smile. “And we were going to check on the boundary wall. If there’s any issues with it, we can sort it out.”
“That’s very kind of you, but don’t you have better things to do? I’m sure we can manage a flimsy wall on our own.”
“Lord Ellingham is a child, Miss Lowe. We just want to be sure that things are safe and secure for him.” Hamish gave her a slight bow. “We’re just being neighborly.”
Bea arched an eyebrow, giving him a skeptical look. Then Cormac heard a cry coming from down the hallway.
“Cormac!”
Theo was running down the hall toward him, clutching onto the spyglass. Cormac couldn’t help but smile at the sight and crouched, almost falling over as Theo jumped onto him.
“Careful! You’re going to knock me over!” Cormac eased him back. “How are you today?”
“I’m all right.” Theo glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “Uncle Julian seems to be grumpy today.”
“Oh?” Cormac whispered back. “How do you mean?”
“I don’t know. But everyone is nervous around him, and they aren’t as happy as usual. Mother says it’s because he’s someone knew, but wouldn’t they be treating him as normal?”
He did have a point. Maybe the servants knew something that they didn’t. Perhaps they’d been given the warning as well. Before Cormac could respond, Lady Ellingham and her brother-in-law appeared.
He got to his feet, trying not to stare at Lady Ellingham as she walked with a delicate yet confident stride. She was wearing a cream dress, her hair styled so it was mostly hiding the scars on her face.
He had an urge to brush the hair away to see her face fully, his fingers itching to do so. But he simply bowed at her, keeping his eyes on her face. She didn’t seem distressed, although she did appear tired. And there was a smile at her lips, a genuine one that reached her eyes.
She was happy to see him. And that lifted Cormac’s spirits.
“Good morning, my lord.” Lady Ellingham approached him. “I trust you’re well?”
“Very well, thank you.” His eyes searched her face. “And you?”
“I’m fine. You managed to catch us at the right moment.”
“Oh?”
“Uncle Julian was planning on taking me out riding,” Theo declared, bouncing up and down on the soles of his feet. “He wanted to explore the area with me. We were going to head up to the moor.”
Cormac felt a cold shiver down his spine. He glanced at Hamish, who looked equally perturbed. Why would Ellingham want to take Theo out all of a sudden?
“Alone?” he asked.
“Yes.” Theo put his hands on his hips. “I can manage, you know!”
“That’s not what I was worried about.” Cormac looked at Ellingham, who was barely holding back a look of irritation.
“You are aware that there are lots of bogs out on the moor that could suck you in, and there’s also an old quarry that was abandoned a long time ago.
That’s not something to go anywhere near. ”
“I know what I’m doing, Ravensmuir,” Ellingham said coolly. “I’m not an inexperienced rider.”
“But do you know the area? Will you be able to come back in one piece?” Cormac raised his eyebrows. “What if you ended up having an accident and Viscount Ellingham was lost? He wouldn’t be able to get back on his own.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“The Highlands are unforgiving, sir,” Hamish added. “You would need someone who knew the area to guide you.”
“Can you come with us, then, Cormac?” Theo asked, looking up at him with his big eyes. “You know the way. So you can show us where we can go.”
Ellingham frowned at his nephew. “There’s no need for that, Theo…”
“But I want Cormac to come!” Theo whined. He turned to Lady Ellingham. “Mama, can he come as well? Please?”
Cormac could see her hesitating, glancing nervously at her brother-in-law. He wondered what that was about.
“You’re welcome to come as well, my lady,” he said with a smile. “It might be precarious, but it is beautiful, and it would be nice to explore the area with your son.”
Her eyes met his, and Cormac was sure something crackled in the air between them. She looked unsure of what to do. Was she scared of going out riding? Or was she nervous about her brother-in-law? He couldn’t be sure.
“Please, Mama?” Theo trotted over to his mother. “It will be fun. I want you to come with us.”
That was enough. She relaxed, and she nodded with a smile at her son.
“All right. If you want me to come, I can do that.”
Theo beamed. Ellingham cleared his throat, glancing sharply at Lady Ellingham.
“Well, then shall we get ourselves ready? The sooner we head out, the sooner we can return and enjoy the rest of the day.”
He walked away, Cormac watching him go. He caught Hamish’s eye, and his friend nodded once. He’d noticed the subtle way Ellingham had reacted when he knew he wasn’t going alone with Theo.
Neither of them knew what that was about, but Cormac was glad that he’d arrived when he did.
“You don’t need to come and see us so often now,” Lady Ellingham said to him, almost apologetically.
“It’s absolutely fine. You don’t need to worry about inconveniencing me.” Cormac smiled at her. “We might be a little isolated from the wider crowds here, but we do look after our neighbors. Besides, I find it refreshing interacting with your son.”
Her cheeks turned a little more pink, and she bit her lip. Cormac couldn’t stop staring at her mouth, and something stirred in his chest. He pushed it away and glanced over at Hamish. He was talking to Bea, and it looked like the two of them were having a spirited discussion.
“It appears that my steward and your governess are finding the visits refreshing as well,” he remarked.
“I’ve not seen Bea like that before.” Lady Ellingham sounded confused. “I didn’t think it was possible for her to behave in such a manner.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Not really. I’m glad she can be spirited with other people as well as Theo and myself.” She turned to him. “Shall we head out to the stables? Julian is always very swift in preparing himself, and Theo will be eager to go out riding. He does enjoy it so much.”
Cormac didn’t doubt that, but he did worry about Ellingham taking Theo out. It might just be a false alarm, and he was worrying over nothing. But if William was concerned about his own brother…
He needed to be concerned as well.