Chapter 15- Margaret #2
“I’m sorry to hear of her passing,” Margaret said sincerely. “There is nothing quite as painful as a parent’s death.”
Callum nodded. “I miss them very much. They were wonderful people and guided me in all ways. I only hope to do the same for my children, someday.”
They shared a smile of mutual understanding, but Margaret quickly became discomfited by the real feelings she was experiencing within this mockery of a visit. She looked down at her tangled fingers and frowned.
Callum cleared his throat and said, “Though it rains often in Scotland, our air is clean, and there is nothing quite as beautiful as a hillside in full bloom with heather.” He slid a sideways glance toward Margaret’s profile.
“At least, I would have claimed such before I met you. Now I think that your smile is my favorite sight on earth. If only you would direct it towards me sometime.”
Margaret jerked in surprise. Even though she suspected Callum’s words were false, some of them still reached through the cage she’d erected around her heart. They were as dangerous as his handsome face.
“I’m certain I’m allergic to heather,” she said. Margaret took a deep breath and gathered her boldness. “It’s not my practice to smile at every gentleman, especially those I’ve only just met. Forgive me for saying so, Your Grace, but I don’t know you that well.”
“It’s good that you’re careful. My eldest sister shares that trait.” He smiled fondly. “She’s just married, and her husband had a dreadfully difficult time with the courtship.”
“How so?”
“My sister is smart, but stubborn. Her new husband had to prove himself over a long period of time. Though I wholeheartedly approve of her choice, he’s not titled, nor is he particularly wealthy.
Not that it mattered in the end. Such things are less important than her happiness, and she is exceedingly happy.
He’s a charming fellow, and I think you’ll like him very much. ”
Margaret ignored the impudence of his statement, of his assumption that she would ever meet the man, though she couldn’t claim that his words held no interest. She was intrigued by how casually he’d mentioned his brother-in-law’s lack of fortune.
Many gentlemen wouldn’t have admitted to it, let alone offered the information up as if it weren’t the least bit embarrassing.
Still, Margaret was determined to see her plan to fruition. “Many gentlemen are of great worth even though their fortunes are small.”
If Margaret speaking in French bothered him, Callum certainly didn’t show it. He said, “I believe you have four younger sisters, is that correct?”
She nodded. “They are still in Paris. They’re to be presented next year. My brother believed that the four eldest were plenty to keep track of for the time being.”
“I can only imagine.” He chuckled. “My other sister is unmarried. She’d like to come to London and have a Season. I thought it best that I come here first. It is my dearest wish that my wife will chaperone Isla after she’s presented.”
“That’s only proper,” Margaret agreed.
“Isla feels the loss of our mother the least, as she was only five when she died. However, I believe that she’s the one who has suffered the most from her absence for the same reason.”
“How terrible that would be, not to know your own mother,” Margaret said. “My parents died only several years ago; I was lucky that I had them both as long as I did.”
“There are many things that go into raising young ladies that I had no concept of,” he admitted ruefully. “Thank goodness for Mrs. McGregor, my sister's governess.”
“I think anyone who helps raise a child feels overwhelmed at one time or another.” Margaret found herself smiling and pinched her lips together to stop.
It was too easy to speak with him. In order to maintain some distance, she switched to French when she said, “My parents must have felt overwhelmed all the time, as they had the ten of us. Indeed, some say that my parents had too many children, though I have never been sad to have so many siblings.”
Every time she spoke in French, Callum waited patiently for her to finish. Truthfully, Margaret had thought he would have left by now—that she would have bored or frustrated him right out the door.
“My father and mother were good people,” Callum murmured. “They were deeply in love, and they raised their children with strict moral standards. I wish to do the same someday. Therefore, it’s of absolute importance that I marry a young lady of excellent character.”
“Then it’s a wonder you’ve singled me out for courtship,” Margaret said.
“Perhaps I should tell you that only yesterday I dressed in full costume for tea. By costume, I mean pirate costume, complete with a wire hook for a hand. It was very difficult to drink from my teacup, but as I had been cast in the role of the dreadful pirate O’Callaghan, I did my best.”
His lips twitched upward almost imperceptibly as if her resolve to speak in French amused him. He said, “I’ve singled you out because you’re charming, funny, and beautiful.”
Margaret couldn’t help but make a small noise of derision.
Callum’s eyebrows flicked up. “Which part of my assessment do you disagree with?”
As if she would expose her self-doubts to the man! “It hardly matters,” she said. “Even if I am charming and funny, there are far more charming and more amusing ladies available.”
“Ah.” He cocked his head thoughtfully. “Then you don’t believe that you are beautiful?”
“I never said that,” she said stiffly. Her gaze slid toward Lily, who was completely obstructed from view by the gentlemen crowding around her.
He chuckled lowly. “Margaret, when I saw you in the park the week before the first ball, I nearly fell off my horse.”
Margaret had promised herself that no matter what Callum said, she wouldn’t react, but now she frowned at him.
“How lovely that I finally have your full attention,” he said. He studied her downturned lips and his expression grew serious. “But apparently I’ve gained it for all the wrong reasons. You now think I am mocking you.”
“Your entire visit has been a mockery,” Margaret quipped in French, even while giving an insouciant shrug.
Callum frowned down at his interlaced fingers. Finally he lifted his gaze and mt her eyes again. “Perhaps you’re wondering why I didn’t ask you to dance again at the first ball, if I found you so beautiful?”
Margaret stared straight ahead and set her jaw.
Callum leaned slightly closer. It was perhaps but a few inches, but it brought him within murmuring distance. “You are so beautiful, and yet no other man approached you. I had arrived, prepared to battle all the other gentlemen for your hand, and yet the other gentlemen didn’t ask you to dance.”
“You hardly need remind me,” Margaret snapped, accidentally in English.
Color rose in her cheeks. She couldn’t tell if her flustered state was from umbrage at his words or flattery because he’d called her beautiful.
“I asked about you and I found nothing that would keep me from courting you. Nothing except for your refusal of me.” He chuckled as if he found it vastly amusing. “What a funny thing, that the one lady I wish to court is the one who’s most suspicious of me.”
It wasn’t so much his words that affected her, but the sheer longing in them that had her meeting his eyes.
“I wish I could believe you,” Margaret finally said.
And to her surprise, it was the truth.