When Edie had stubbornly insisted on what she saw, Alec had made the colossal mistake of suggesting that perhaps her new spectacles had temporarily scrambled her vision. It had seemed a reasonable proposition to him at the time. After spending her entire life barely able to see twenty feet in front of her face, the change would no doubt take getting used to.
Edie had retorted that it was his brain that was scrambled. Their merry little jaunt had concluded with her giving him the silent treatment all the way back to Breadie Manor.
Alec had always found women lovely, compliant, and generally a delight to manage. Edie was certainly lovely, but she was the furthest thing from manageable.
She’d been in slightly better humor this morning, and he’d been relieved to see her wearing her spectacles. Surprisingly, Lady Reese had thanked Alec for bestowing such a thoughtful gift on her daughter, although she’d been scowling a bit when she said it. He imagined she was torn between hope that his gift signaled a continuing interest in her daughter and dismay that Edie was now, in her mamma’s mind, firmly in the bluestocking category.
“Well, Mamma,” Edie prompted, “you’ve spent quite some time in the Lake District. What do you think?”
Lady Reese cast a frowning glance out the window. “I suppose it does look rather like the Lake District, now that you mention it. How disappointing that it looks nothing like I imagined from my reading of The Lady of the Lake.”
Edie rolled her eyes. “Mamma, that’s a poem not a travel guide. I’m sure we’ll have the opportunity to see a great deal of beautiful scenery once we settle in, isn’t that so, Captain?”
When she gave him another encouraging smile, it occurred to Alec that she was making a special effort to draw him out. He’d been a less than an ideal traveling companion today, falling into a grim silence the closer they approached Blairgal. Edie had apparently decided to do her best to distract him.
Touched by her kindness, he smiled back at her. “This part of Scotland is a transition from the Lowlands to the Highlands. We’re a bit south of Loch Katrine here, but once we reach Blairgal Castle you’ll be able to see Ben Venue and some of the larger peaks in the Trossachs. Then you’ll truly feel like you’re in the Highlands.”
Lady Reese picked up the travel guide from her lap and studied it. “Trossachs. I believe that means ‘bristly country. ’” She peered out the window. “It doesn’t look particularly bristly to me.”
“No,” Edie said. “The hills look like . . . like crumpled green velvet. And those flashes of water, streams, I think, are almost like diamonds on the velvet. It truly is lovely.”
“Dear me, Eden,” her mother said. “You are beginning to sound like a poet yourself.”
“And here I thought you weren’t romantic, Miss Whitney,” Alec teased.
She gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m just excited that we’re finally here in the Highlands.”
“I, for one, am delirious at the thought of getting out of this carriage,” her mother said. “Eleven days on the road is enough to try the patience of even the holiest of saints.”
Her daughter wrinkled her nose. “And no one would ever accuse us of being saints, would they, Mamma?”
“Speak for yourself, my dear,” Lady Reese said in a lofty voice. “I believe I have been a paragon of civility and good humor for the entire trip.”
When Edie stared open-mouthed at her mother, Alec had to stifle a laugh. “That you have, my lady. A true paragon.”
“What about me?” Edie demanded.
Alec waggled his hand, as if to suggest not so much.
“You really are the most irritating man,” she said.
“Eden, please don’t be so rude to our host,” her mother admonished. “I’m sure the captain was simply jesting.”
Alec smiled. “I take no offense, Lady Reese. My grandfather will no doubt agree with your daughter’s assessment of me.”
Edie looked about to apologize to him when her mother interjected. “Oh, look, Eden. There’s the castle. I must say, it looks quite splendid under the setting sun.”
Edie tried to crane around her mother. “Drat, I can’t see it from this angle.”
“Change seats with me,” Alec said.
Her eyes widened. “Don’t you want to see it? You’ve been away a very long time.”
“Believe me, I know what it looks like.” He stood and, bracing his feet against the movement of the carriage, held out his hand.
Smiling, she took his hand and started to move to his vacated seat when a sudden jostling of the carriage tumbled her into him. She let out a startled oof and landed against his chest. Instinctively, his hands clamped around her round hips.
“Goodness, be careful,” exclaimed Lady Reese. “We don’t want you breaking your head before we even arrive.”
“Captain, you can let go of me now.” Edie sounded slightly breathless.
Alec lowered her onto the padded bench, eyeing the encouraging blush that pinked up her cheeks. There was no doubt that she did still think him a great Scottish oaf, but at least she wasn’t indifferent to him. He needed more from her, of course, but perhaps he was making better progress than he thought.
She joined her mother in peering out the window. Since the image of Blairgal Castle was engraved on Alec’s memory, he made no effort to catch a glimpse. Once he was home, he had the oddest feeling that he wouldn’t be escaping its confines for a very long time.
“Oh, my goodness,” Edie exclaimed. “It’s magnificent. Look at those towers, Mamma, and it even has turrets.”
“It certainly looks very old,” Lady Reese said, not sounding nearly as enthusiastic as her daughter. “Quite medieval, in fact.”
“It’s not quite that old,” Alec said, “although the original stone keep was built in the 1300s.” He finally succumbed to the pull of Blairgal, and leaned around Lady Reese to gaze out the window.
They were bowling up the final rise to the front of the house, which stood on the highest point at the end of the valley. The rays of the setting sun bathed the five-story structure in a warm glow, turning it the color of old amber. Despite the guard he’d placed on his emotions, Alec felt his throat tighten.
“The color is very unusual,” Eden said. “I wonder how they did it?”
“It’s from the plastering process over the stone walls,” Alec said. “Color is added to the lime wash to lend it that hue.”
“It’s splendid, and it certainly looks a proper castle,” Eden said, flashing him a quick smile. “But where’s the moat and drawbridge? If you tell me there’s no moat, I’ll be utterly devastated.”
Her warmth and eagerness loosened the band of tension around his chest.
“Alas, the moat is lost in the mists of time. The tower house was built around 1670. By that time, there was no need for a fully fortified structure, with just the occasional band of outlaws wandering about. The castle was built to protect against them, not attacks from an enemy army or clan.”
“Outlaws, how mundane,” she said in a droll voice.
“We do have a secret passageway leading to a hidden room in the walls. It’s just a priest hole, but it’s haunted, so at least that’s something.”
“I despise ghosts,” said Lady Reese. “They rarely behave in a respectable fashion, they’re always accompanied by terrible drafts, and they insist on terrifying the servants. I don’t know which of the three is worse.”
“Mamma, there’s no such thing as ghosts,” said her daughter, obviously trying not to laugh. “I’m sure the captain is just teasing us.”
“Then I wish he’d stop it, since I have no desire to encounter annoying apparitions or spend my nights freezing to death in their drafts.”
Edie threw Alec a look of comical exasperation. “If you think I’m not romantic, now you know where I got it from.”
“Really, Eden,” her mother said, “I believe I have a perfectly acceptable degree of sensibility, and I am looking forward to our sojourn in the Highlands. I simply fai
l to see why that requires us to be discomforted, or inconvenienced by ghosts. Or smoking chimneys,” she added as an afterthought.
“I sympathize entirely, Lady Reese,” Alec said, enjoying the ridiculous conversation. “Fortunately, there’s a substantial mansion house built around the base of the old towers. That was constructed around 1720, and my grandfather and his father modernized the building several times over the years. I assure you that you will have every comfort.”
“There you go, Mamma, no great sacrifice will be required of you,” Edie said, “beyond having to spend the winter snowbound in the Highlands with me, of course.”
Lady Reese started to look anxious. “The prospect of being snowbound anywhere, much less at a remote country estate in Scotland, is quite daunting.”
“I agree with you, Lady Reese,” Alec said, “but my grandfather won’t. He’s quite touchy about that sort of thing.”
Now her ladyship looked downright horrified. “Captain Gilbride, you cannot suppose I would even think to complain to Lord Riddick. I am determined to endure our exile with good grace, no matter how challenging it might be.”
Edie sardonically regarded her mother. “Mamma, you are a saint. How you’ve managed to keep that such a secret all these years is a mystery to me.”
Alec bit back a laugh, but it looked like Lady Reese was about to bite off her daughter’s nose. Fortunately, they were all spared the reprimand when the carriage finally lumbered to a halt in front of the main entrance to Blairgal Castle.
Alec could no longer stave off the inevitable. He took a deep breath and smiled. “Well, ladies, are you ready?”
Edie surprised him by leaning forward to grasp his hand. She gave it a quick squeeze before letting go. “I’m sure everything’s going to be just fine,” she said in an earnest voice.
Perhaps, but certainly not without her help. And such help was all too dependent on what would happen in the next few minutes.
After Alec descended, he helped the ladies exit the carriage. Edie gave his hand one last squeeze as she stepped down, then she turned with a bright smile to the small crowd assembled to meet them.
To Alec, the moment felt too solemn for smiles.
His grandfather had rousted what looked like the entire staff to greet them. They had assembled in two lines extending from the wide, shallow steps at the front door. He recognized a few of them. Mrs. Alpine, the housekeeper, looked much the same, although her hair had gone fully white, and it appeared that Barclay, the senior footman, had graduated to the position of butler. Most, however, were unfamiliar, underscoring the length of time that Alec had been away.
His family stood in the center of the small crowd, and it seemed as if Alec’s past rose up to meet him. Slightly in front was his grandfather, kilted and wearing the red vest of the Grahams. Beside the earl was Alec’s father, graying but looking much the same, and Fergus Haddon, his cousin. They all waited for him as if suspended in time.
For a bizarre moment, Alec felt as if he’d never left home at all.
Then his grandfather moved, and the spell was broken. Alec’s heart jolted as he stepped forward to meet him and realized that he was so much taller than the man who’d always seemed like a giant to him—physically and mentally. It was another shock to see his grandfather stoop-shouldered and moving slowly, using a cane. His hair was completely white and his rugged features looked drawn and deeply wrinkled.
The earl looked like an ancient oak, once strong and invincible but now withered from the passage of time. Clearly, ten years had taken their toll.
“Well, lad, you’re finally home,” Grandfather said in his gruff burr. “I imagine you’re none too happy about that, now are you?”
“I’m very happy to see you, sir,” he replied, giving a respectful bow. “And I’m pleased to see how well you look.”
The old man scowled. “You needn’t flatter me, laddie boy. I know I’m on my last legs, which is the only reason you’ve come home.”
His grandfather had always been a bit fussed about his health, ridiculous given how strong and vital he’d always been. But for the first time, Alec realized that his father’s warnings about the old man were not alarmist.
“I would have come home in any event, Grandfather, now that the war is over,” Alec said in a quiet voice. “And I am happy to see you.”
His grandfather’s scowl faded and his faded green eyes warmed a bit. “Your mother would have been proud to see what a braw man you’ve turned out to be, Alasdair.”
Alec had to swallow before he could answer. “Thank you, sir.”
The old man’s gaze flicked past him, and his scowl returned. “Well, I suppose you’d best introduce me to those Sassenach standing there behind you,” he grumbled.
Alec didn’t bother to repress his sigh. His grandfather still liked to lay it on rather thick, and he could only hope the ladies hadn’t heard. “Of course.”
That hope died when he turned to see Lady Reese standing straight as a pike and looking her most forbidding. Eden’s smile, however, was luminous and full of humor, emphasizing the charm and beauty that had been the downfall of her numerous suitors.
It had been Alec’s downfall from almost the moment he first saw her. He was counting on that charm to work its magic on the Earl of Riddick, too.
“Sir, may I introduce Viscountess Reese and her daughter, Miss Eden Whitney. Ladies, my grandfather, the Earl of Riddick.”
“Welcome to Blairgal Castle, your ladyship, Miss Whitney,” his grandfather growled, making it sound like a march to the gallows.
Lady Reese dipped into a curtsey that looked precisely calibrated. “Lord Riddick, it is an honor to meet you. My daughter and I thank you for your gracious hospitality,” she said in a cool, haughty tone.
The daggers were already drawn, and they hadn’t even made it through the front door.
Edie stepped forward, swanning down into a low and deeply respectful curtsey, as if she were saluting the king with the graceful display. Even his crusty old grandfather seemed taken aback.
“Oh, my lord,” Edie enthused as she rose, “I can’t tell you how happy we are to be here. Everything is so magnificent, especially Blairgal Castle. Captain Gilbride has been telling us all about it, and we’ve been able to talk of nothing else for days. I simply cannot believe how lucky I am to visit a true Scottish castle, especially one so historic. I cannot wait to explore it.”
There was no doubt Edie liked to talk, but Alec had never heard her babble with such verve. His grandfather blinked a few times, and for a horrible moment Alec thought the lass had overplayed her hand. But then the old man’s wrinkled face relaxed into an expression that, on him, counted as benign.
“Well, Blairgal does have a fascinating history, and that’s a fact, Miss Whitney,” Grandfather said. “Once you’re settled in, I’ll be happy to give you a wee tour.”
Edie clasped her hands together like she’d just been promised the Scottish crown jewels. Clearly, she’d deduced that one of his grandfather’s few weak spots was his pride in Blairgal and the family history.
She proceeded to pepper his grandfather with questions about surfacings, plaster, and old moats, blatantly ignoring her clearly bored mother. Breathing a sigh of relief over Edie’s skillful managing of his irascible grandparent, Alec finally turned to greet the man who’d been the only father he’d ever known. Walter Gilbride’s gentle, scholar’s face beamed with joy as he pulled Alec into a warm embrace.
“Welcome home, my son. I’ve been waiting for this day for a very long time.”
“You’re looking well, Father.” Alec smiled down into Walter’s eyes, twinkling behind their spectacles. “Even better than when I saw you in London six months ago.”
His father waved a hand. “London air is so injurious to one’s health, as is the bustle of the city. Although I was happy to make the trip on your account, I don’t blame your grandfather for refusing to visit.”
“His refusal to set foot in England anymore,”
Alec replied drily, “has nothing to do with his health, as you well know.”
Walter gave a gentle grimace. “We won’t speak of that now, if you please. Now, say hello to your cousin.”
Fergus came forward, his expression grim and reluctant. Alec’s heart sank, but he put out his hand and injected as much warmth into his voice as he could. “It’s good to see you, Fergus. I hope you’ve been well.”
His cousin had grown like a sprout and was now almost as tall as Alec. He was still on the thin side but carried himself with a cool dignity that sat well on him. He’d obviously matured into his position as estate steward and right-hand man to the Earl of Riddick. It wasn’t surprising, since Fergus loved everything about Blairgal, its people, and its business. He’d never understood Alec’s desire to get away because family, clan, and the estate were everything to Fergus. His cousin would no sooner run away from home than cut off his arm.
“Welcome home, Cousin,” Fergus said, giving him a slight bow. “I hope you’re happy to be here.”
“Well, I’m happy to see you,” Alec replied with a broad smile, but it seemed to have no effect on his cousin’s mood. “How are your mother and Donella? Will we be seeing them tonight?”
God, he hoped not. He wasn’t quite ready for that meeting.
Fergus’s green gaze, so like Alec’s grandfather, went glacial. “They will be coming later, after the English ladies settle in.” He said “English ladies” like they were a species of poisonous snakes.
“Good God, Fergus,” Alec said in a quiet voice. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to insist on referring to them as ‘the English ladies.’ That’s ridiculous.”
“What’s ridiculous is that you brought them back with you,” his cousin retorted, casting an angry look in Edie’s direction. “How could you possibly insult Donella like this?”
“What effect it might have on Donella is none of your business, Cousin,” Alec said. “That is between her and me.”
“Anything that affects my sister affects me,” Fergus snapped.
How to Marry a Royal Highlander Page 13