The Highlanderâ??s Irish Bride

by Kelly, Vanessa

  “And fun,” Jeannie added.

  Unlike Grant, seemed to be the unspoken implication.

  “Graeme’s settled down since his marriage,” Kade said. “Now he’s the local magistrate, which seems to involve paperwork more than cracking heads or shooting. He’s also managing the new distillery and helping Sabrina with estate business.”

  Jeannie scrunched up her face. “Ugh, how boring.”

  “Very necessary, however,” Kathleen said. “Although I’m afraid I would find that sort of work a bit of a bore, too. I’d rather spend my days outdoors, or in the stables.”

  “I canna blame ye for that,” Angus said. “No one in his right mind would choose a moldy old office in Glasgow when he could be spending his time, say, on a grand outing to a castle with two lovely lassies.”

  “The Kendrick offices are neither moldy nor old,” Grant felt compelled to say.

  “They’re dusty, too,” his grandfather added for good measure.

  Grant bit his tongue to stop himself from engaging in an inane discussion about the levels of dust in his office.

  “Perhaps we should take the ladies up to the southwest tower,” Kade tactfully suggested. “We don’t want to miss the chance to take in the views before the housekeeper sends us on our way.”

  “Yes,” said Kathleen in a bright voice. “I’m dying to see the views.”

  “Views are boring,” Jeannie said. “I’d rather see the dungeons, or go looking for ghosts.”

  While Mrs. Graham, the castle’s inestimable housekeeper, had assured Jeannie that no ghosts existed at Mugdock, she obviously remained unconvinced.

  “No dungeons at Mugdock, I’m afraid,” Grant said.

  “Nor ghosts, apparently,” Kathleen wryly said.

  “Ugh,” Jeannie repeated.

  Kathleen looked at Grant, crinkling her nose in silent apology.

  Despite the splendid tea the housekeeper had provided on their arrival or the allure of all the bristling weaponry, their expedition to Mugdock was not proving to be a rousing success.

  “I think you’ll like the tower,” Kade said to Jeannie. “It’s very gloomy. If we’re going to find a ghoulie anywhere in Mugdock, it’ll be in the tower.”

  “Huzzah! Then what are we waiting for?” Jeannie grabbed Kade’s hand, practically dragging him from the room.

  “Drat,” muttered Kathleen, hurrying after them.

  “Ye’d best rescue yer brother,” Angus said. “And be gettin’ on the stick yerself, son, or Kade will be gettin’ hitched before ye. Wrong sister, wrong Kendrick, ye ken.”

  “You are massively unhelpful, Grandda,” Grant retorted as he strode for the door.

  His grandfather snickered, and followed leisurely after him.

  * * *

  Kathleen’s boot caught on the uneven stone steps. As she started to slip, large hands clamped around her waist from behind, all but circling it. Grant was a big, brawny man, which evoked certain sensations she didn’t care to examine, at least not when he was looming over her.

  He’s boring. Remember?

  It didn’t matter how big or how handsome he was. Grant Kendrick had the soul of a businessman, which was apparently his one true passion in life. That he was finding today’s expedition a chore was becoming quite clear.

  Not that she and Jeannie were covering themselves in glory. One couldn’t wonder if he found them a pair of bottle-headed pests.

  “Careful, Miss Calvert.” His subtle brogue rumbled in her ear. “You don’t want to go arse over teakettle on these stairs.”

  She looked over her shoulder. He stood three steps below her on the narrow staircase, so they were all but face-to-face, so close she could see into the smoky-green depths of his remarkable gaze. Her stomach took an odd little flop because those depths sparked with heat.

  “Commenting on my anatomy, Mr. Kendrick?” she said. “Very shocking of you, I must say.”

  What was truly shocking was how effectively he rattled her. For a supposedly boring man, he had quite a knack for it.

  He froze and then retreated a few steps. “I apologize for my intemperate language, Miss Calvert.”

  “It’s fine,” she said with an airy wave. “I’m not prudish about that sort of thing.”

  “Yes, I’ve noticed that,” he said in a neutral tone.

  Lovely.

  He obviously thought she was some sort of loose fish. When it came to Grant Kendrick, Kathleen could not seem to navigate a sensible course.

  She carefully climbed the ancient stairs toward the second floor. No wonder Angus was giving the tower a miss, choosing instead to have a wee dram and a chat with the castle’s housekeeper. Although the day had started enjoyably—she wouldn’t forget the appreciative smile on Grant’s face when he saw her this morning—their little outing had turned into something of a slog. Much of that was due to Jeannie, although Kathleen carried her share of the blame. Since arriving in Glasgow, her sister’s behavior had continued to deteriorate, and Kathleen hadn’t a clue how to keep her in check.

  She’d die before admitting it, but part of her was starting to look forward to Jeannie’s return to London, and now even found a certain sympathy for Helen. Trying to keep Jeannie out of trouble and a moderately respectable distance from poor Kade had turned into a challenging task.

  Her sister stuck her head through the hatch at the top of the staircase. “Hurry up, Kath. We’ll never get up to the roof at this rate.”

  “Coming, dearest, but I don’t wish to slip and break my noggin.”

  Her sister scoffed. “You would never be so clumsy as to do that,” she said before disappearing from view.

  “Jeannie obviously has a great admiration for you,” Grant said.

  Kathleen couldn’t tell if he thought that a good or bad thing.

  “She’s always tended to put me on a pedestal. It’s silly, really. I’m such a dreadful role model.”

  “For a young girl, you mean.”

  Bad thing.

  “Especially for a young girl,” she lightly said.

  “I can understand why. I felt the same toward Graeme. Still do, actually.”

  She cast him a startled look over her shoulder. “Was that a compliment? I can’t tell.”

  His lips moved in a barely-there smile. “Careful with the top step. It’s very worn.”

  Since he was not going to answer her question, she faced forward and stepped into the room.

  Her sister rushed over in a whirl of enthusiasm. “Isn’t it splendid, Kath? It’s so dreadfully gloomy. One can imagine all sorts of horrible things happening in a room like this.”

  Kathleen took a slow turn. They were on the main floor of the southwest tower, the only one of the four tower structures that was still intact and livable. Not that she could imagine anyone voluntarily living in such a place.

  “It’s certainly something,” she said as she eyed the high timbered ceiling and the large, soot-covered fireplace.

  “Damp, for one thing.” Grant strolled over to peer out one of the windows.

  There were only two. Both were fairly narrow and covered with iron bars, obviously for defensive purposes. That meant the room was cast into twilight, even with the sun shining outside. The iron chandelier, empty of candles, did nothing to dispel the dreary atmosphere.

  One could feel the weight of history in the thick gray walls, and it didn’t take much imagination to conjure a vision of fearless, tartan-clad warriors, guarding their keep with broadswords.

  Oddly enough, Kathleen could imagine more than a bit of that warrior in Grant. Despite his impeccably tailored coat and breeches and his polished boots, he fit the rugged environment. Taking in his brawny shoulders, stern expression, and burnished hair, Kathleen fancied there might still be a wild Highlander lurking under the man’s sober demeanor. She couldn’t help wondering what it would take to tease that inner warrior to the surface.

  And what might happen if she managed it.

  Don’t be a ninny.

/>   She didn’t give a biscuit about Grant’s inner warrior, or anything else about him, for that matter.

  “This room must be freezing in the winter,” Kade said. “No wonder the fireplace is so large.”

  Kathleen rubbed her arms. “It’s not exactly balmy in here now.”

  Jeannie made an audible noise of disdain for that piddling complaint, and then bent down to peer under the massive oak table dominating the center of the room.

  “Dearest, what are you looking for?” Kathleen asked when her sister all but crawled under the table.

  “There might be a secret cubbyhole inside this table, with a treasure map or some old family papers.”

  Grant threw Kathleen an amused glance. “Sorry, Jeannie. All you’re likely to find is a few cobwebs and a spider or two.”

  Jeannie straightened up. “How boring.”

  Kathleen fancied she saw Grant wince, but the expression was fleeting.

  “Graeme and I searched this tower from top to bottom when we were lads,” he said. “Sadly, we never found any secret papers, treasure maps, or anything else remotely exciting.”

  “Not even a skull or two?” Jeannie asked in a hopeful voice.

  “Not even one.”

  “What about in the dungeon?”

  Grant shook his head. “There’s no dungeon, only a moldy cellar used for storing broken furniture, I’m afraid.”

  “That is so b—”

  “Boring,” Kathleen finished for her. “Yes, dear, we know. But there’s a great deal of interesting history about Mugdock. It’s the traditional seat of Clan Graham, and they’ve owned it for centuries. That’s rather fascinating, you must admit.”

  Jeannie studied the room, as if looking for the ghosts of long ago Grahams. “I suppose they had some rather splendid battles here.”

  “They did,” said Grant. “Bloodthirsty ones.”

  Kade nodded. “Gruesome beyond belief. Heads chopped off and everything.”

  Jeannie brightened. “Can you tell me about those battles?”

  “If you like,” Kade said with a kind smile.

  “You can tell Jeannie about it on the roof,” Grant said as he consulted his pocket watch. “We’ll have to start back soon, and we don’t want to miss taking in that view.”

  With a flourishing bow, Kade indicated the narrow staircase up to the top floor of the tower. “Shall we, Miss Jeannie?”

  She giggled and started up the steep staircase, with Kade in her wake. Grant and Kathleen followed.

  The next level was a duplicate of the lower room but devoid of any furniture. Another set of narrow stairs led up to a small trapdoor in the ceiling.

  Kade glanced at his brother. “Who should go up first?”

  “Why don’t we all go up?” Kathleen suggested.

  “There’s barely enough room for two,” said Grant.

  “Much less a giant like you,” his brother joked.

  “But you’re ever so tall yourself, Kade,” Jeannie said.

  Kathleen swallowed a sigh.

  “I’m a scrawny beanpole compared to my brothers,” Kade cheerfully replied. “Here, Jeannie, let me go up first and open the door. Then I’ll help you onto the parapet.”

  From the expression on Jeannie’s face, one would have thought Kade had just asked her to marry him.

  Kathleen started for the stairs. “Dearest, I think—”

  Grant reached out a long arm to snag her wrist. “Don’t worry. Kade will take care of her.”

  “It’s not Jeannie I’m worried about.”

  He smiled. “Kade won’t let anything like that happen, either.”

  “My sister is very persistent.”

  “That she is.” He glanced up at Kade, who had unlocked the trapdoor and thrust it open. “Kade, keep that door open, and make sure you stay close to it, all right?”

  His brother glanced down, a wry expression on his youthful features. “Understood.”

  Grant gently squeezed Kathleen’s wrist before letting go. For a brief moment, she wondered what it would be like to actually hold hands with him.

  Nice.

  She firmly put that image out of her mind. “Jeannie, be careful, all right? Do everything Kade tells you to.”

  “I’m always careful,” Jeannie shot back before clambering up to disappear through the door.

  Kathleen grimaced. “She’s actually the opposite of careful.”

  Grant propped a shoulder against the wall at the bottom of the staircase. Kathleen knew he was standing in that spot to keep an eye on things up above.

  “Something tells me that you weren’t very careful at her age, either,” he said.

  “No, but I was horse mad. Boys held little interest for me.”

  “And now?”

  Kathleen’s heart jumped. “Um, now what?”

  “Are you still horse mad?”

  “Oh, of course.”

  That was a bit deflating. For a wild moment, she’d thought he was flirting with her. But it was already stupendously apparent that Grant Kendrick was not the flirting type.

  “I spent a great deal of time in my father’s stables at home in Ireland,” she said to cover her awkward response. “We had an excellent stablemaster. I learned much from him.”

  He tilted his head, as if listening to the murmur of conversation drifting down through the door. “And did you spend as much time in the stables after you moved to England?”

  “We only spend a few months in the summer at Papa’s estate in Wiltshire, because my stepmother prefers the city. I do try to ride as much as I can in Hyde Park, and I occasionally take my phaeton out to Richmond Park.” Or racing on Hampstead Heath. “But it’s not the same as driving or riding in the country.”

  When a scuffling noise sounded from overheard, Kathleen started for the stairs.

  “They’re fine,” Grant said in a gentle tone.

  She dredged up a weak smile.

  He settled his shoulders more comfortably against the window frame. Once more, her attention was drawn to the fact that those shoulders were indeed very broad. As was his chest, which tapered down to a lean waist and hips. For some reason, she found his legs quite fascinating. They were long and exceptionally muscled, a fact made obvious by his well-fitting breeches.

  For a dreary businessman, he certainly cut an imposing athletic figure.

  “Miss Calvert?”

  Kathleen jerked her attention back to his face. She could only be thankful that the room was so poorly lit, because she could feel her cheeks glowing like fiery embers.

  “Yes, Mr. Kendrick?”

  He stared at her for a moment before answering. “I was suggesting that you not worry too much about Jeannie. She’s energetic, but she’s a sweet lass for all that.”

  She wavered for a moment. There was something dependable and trustworthy about Grant, and it seemed so silly not to tell him. Then again, she was reluctant to air her family’s dirty laundry with a near stranger.

  “You don’t have to tell me,” Grant said. “But I can tell you’re worried about something. Whatever it is, have you talked to Vicky about it? She’s very good with wayward lads and lassies. I speak from painful experience on this issue,” he added with a wry smile.

  She couldn’t help but chuckle, and suddenly she did want to confide in him.

  “Jeannie ran away from home to follow me to Glasgow. She stowed away in the boot of the luggage carriage for two days before she was discovered by one of Gillian’s grooms.”

  He jerked upright. “Was she all right?”

  “Just hungry and annoyed with us for dragging her out of there. It’s been a challenge to keep the episode under wraps, quite honestly.”

  “How did she pull it off?”

  Kathleen sighed. “She dressed as a stable boy.”

  “Good Lord.” He glanced up at the open door. “I assume you told Vicky.”

  “Yes. She’s much better at controlling Jeannie than I am. I’m afraid my sister no longer listens to me li
ke she used to.” She crinkled her nose. “She’s too much like me, I’m afraid.”

  “Och, you’re much too hard on yourself. And Vicky was a governess, don’t forget.”

  When another scuffling noise sounded above their heads, they exchanged a glance.

  “On second thought . . .” Grant started to climb the stairs.

  Kade stuck his head through the trapdoor. “I’m sending Jeannie down. Stand by the bottom of the steps, will you?”

  “Aye, that.” Grant stood on the bottom rung, waiting for her.

  Jeannie’s feet and skirts appeared a moment later, as she lowered herself through the trap. Grant grasped her waist and handed her down to the floor. Kathleen couldn’t help noting that her sister looked very put out.

  “Did you enjoy the view?” Grant asked.

  “No,” Jeannie snapped.

  Kathleen frowned. “Dearest, Mr. Kendrick was simply—”

  “Leave off, Kath, would you?”

  Jeannie turned on her boot heel and headed down to the lower level in a huff.

  “Careful,” Kathleen called after her.

  By this time, Kade had clambered down the stairs.

  Grant rested a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Everything all right, lad?”

  Kade grimaced at Kathleen. “I’m so sorry. I did actually try to show her the view and talk about the castle’s history.”

  “Tried to kiss you, did she?” asked Grant.

  Kade flushed bright red, looking more like a guilty schoolboy than the accomplished young man he was.

  “Sorry,” he said again to Kathleen.

  “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you, Kade.” She pointed a finger at Grant. “I told you.”

  “And I’m sorry I didn’t take it seriously. Our Jeannie was even more assertive than I imagined.”

  “I almost fell over the parapet when she went to kiss me,” Kade admitted.

  Kathleen was torn between laughter and irritation at the ridiculous situation. “Oh, dear, that’s dreadful.”

  “Well, no real harm done, except to the poor girl’s pride,” Grant said. “Try not to worry, Kade.”

  “I hated hurting her feelings.”

  Grant pulled him in for a brief hug. “Aye, but the truth had to come from you, I’m afraid. She probably wouldn’t have listened to anyone else. This I know from sad experience, ye ken.”