Dahlia's Music
Page 47
For his part, James tried to have at least one meal with Dahlia each day. He seemed genuinely relieved that she was returning to her usual spirits. Dahlia became more comfortable with him each day, and there was nothing he would not do for her, from adjusting the pillows to fetching anything she wanted. Matty and James seemed to have a schedule worked out so that one was with Dahlia when the other was not. When James dined with Dahlia, Matty went down to the dining room to eat with the family and MacTavish. Between the two of them, Dahlia started to feel quite well-informed of the goings-on at the castle and the interactions among the inhabitants. When she was finally introduced to them, she felt she would know each of them on sight.
Dahlia prompted James with questions about Matty and MacTavish. At first, he seemed quite unaware of anything between them, but as she peppered him with questions, he started to return to the room prepared.
“Ten!” he exclaimed triumphantly one evening.
“Ten what?”
“Ten times did MacTavish look at our Matty when she wasn’t speaking with him. You asked me the other day if he glanced at her without addressing her. Tonight, I counted.”
Dahlia laughed at his perceived success at getting the information he thought she would have noticed herself had she been present.
“Is that significant?” he asked.
“Yes, I suppose it is. How did he look at her?”
“How?”
“Yes. Was he looking at her in appreciation of something she said? Was he amused by her conversation, or did he stare at her because she had a blot of mustard on her face?”
James looked at her quizzically. “Good Lord. I didn’t know I was supposed to note how he was looking at her. Last time you merely asked me if he looked at her.” He scratched his head as if making a mental note of this additional observance needed for future encounters.
His expression made Dahlia laugh again. “You look just as I did when I first approached the Gaggle! Let me make it easy for you. Do you remember how you looked at me across the table the day after you first kissed me in the barn?”
Realization dawned on James’ face. “Ah, yes,” he said smiling at the memory. “Is that the expression I’m meant to detect in MacTavish?”
“Well, wouldn’t you agree that seeing that expression would mean he is definitely interested in courting her?”
“My dear Mrs. Kent,” he said, coming to sit on the bed next to her. “That expression means he is interested in infinitely more than courting her.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips – for the first time since their arrival in Scotland. Unlike the previous times he had kissed her when they had to steal moments alone, it seemed completely natural and easy – and she wanted him to do it more.
To her regret, however, James got up as suddenly as he had sat down and went to the desk. “If I see that expression, I will have to have a very serious talk with MacTavish and make sure his intentions are serious. Otherwise, he’ll have to answer to me.”
Dahlia was endeared that James was assuming the position as Matty’s protector. Everything he did met with her approval, from his dedication to helping remake the castle to his eagerness in ascertaining whether Matty’s romantic interest in MacTavish was returned. Matty complained about dining with the family – and MacTavish – when James stayed in the room to eat with Dahlia, but Dahlia noticed how she checked herself in the mirror before going downstairs. She also noted how every time she asked about the neighbor – no matter what time of day – Matty seemed to know where he was and what he was doing. She could not get out of her, however, that he had made any attempt to see her privately. By the end of the week, Matty seemed so distracted that Dahlia was tempted to ask James to have a chat with his friend. If MacTavish didn’t make his intentions clear soon, she thought her friend would go mad.
Matty turned out to be more than lovesick. Saturday she could barely get out of bed, and when she came in with Dahlia’s breakfast, she nearly dropped it she was so weak. Dahlia ordered her to bed. The fact that she didn’t even make a feeble attempt to refuse convinced Dahlia that she was truly sick. When Mrs. Kent came up some time later, Dahlia told her of her friend’s condition. Anna went to look in on her, and put the castle’s resources into motion. Remedies were brought up and administered, and other servants took over some of her duties. James brought up a lunch tray himself and stayed to eat with Dahlia and his mother.
“I feel awful that I cannot help her. She’s done so much for me these last few weeks,” Dahlia said.
“Not to worry,” said Anna. “We’ll take care of her. It’s just as well you cannot – we don’t need you getting sick on top of everything else.”
That evening, James brought dinner up for both Dahlia and Matty, along with a huge bouquet of flowers.
“Oh, James! They’re lovely – wherever did you find them at this time of year?”
He grinned at her as he picked up the flowers. “I didn’t, and they are not for you. I have been outdone by our illustrious neighbor who keeps a hot house and brought these over for Matty. But,” he said, pulling a single red rose from the bouquet and giving it to Dahlia. “She won’t know that one is missing.”
She smiled as she watched him deliver the flowers through the sitting room to the adjoining room where Matty slept. When he came back she said. “Shall we take this as a declaration of his affection, then? Or just a chivalrous gesture?”
“The former, I think, from how angry he was that I wouldn’t let him up to see her. And yes, his look was one of extreme worry for her well-being.”
“Good! That alone will make her feel better, I’m quite sure! At least she won’t be wondering any longer. The doubt is the worst.”
“What would you know about doubt? Did I ever give you reason to doubt my affections?”
Dahlia thought of that awful day in the London café with Miss McElroy when she overheard the conversation of the woman called Daisy – and again when she thought James was more interested in his friendship with her brothers. Then, most recently when she thought perhaps he had married her out of obligation. “Yes. I had doubts on several occasions.”
James was a bit caught off guard by her answer. He certainly never had any doubts about the girl with the brilliant green eyes who had captivated his imagination from the moment he heard her voice. “Well, hopefully it just served to make you think of me more often.”
Dahlia laughed, thinking of the sleepless night she spent cursing him. “Yes, think of you strongly I did.”
“Well, then,” he replied, grinning. “We’re even.”
-----
For nearly a week, Matty suffered from a fever and all the accoutrements of an ague. Dahlia consented to being introduced to Grace, who brought many of her meals. The bruises on her face were fading quickly, but not gone entirely. Grace never gave any indication, however, that she wasn’t the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. She was polite and solicitous when she came up to the room, and likewise showed her concern for Matty. Anna stopped by more than usual as well, but it was James who took on more of the responsibility for getting her up in the morning and ready for bed at night. At first, Dahlia felt uncomfortable with him helping her, but she supposed they had already shared more intimate interactions than these. He would forego dressing her hair in the morning, but he loved to brush out her hair at night. He even washed her hair for her, cradling her head in his strong hands above the basin. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his fingers massaging her scalp. When he poured the warm water from the pitcher to rinse out the soap, he did it slowly and with extraordinary care so that none got in her eyes. She had seen her father and Tom gently handle newborn colts and fillies whose bones were surprisingly delicate, but never did she expect a man to have such a gentle touch. The sensuality of it excited her at the same time it relaxed her to the point she nearly fell asleep. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his hands and the warm water running over her scalp. Lost in the sensations, it took her several
minutes to realize all movement had stopped. Everything was eerily quiet, and she snapped her eyes open to find James looking down at her.
Still supporting her head, he slowly lowered his and set his lips on hers. They merely brushed over hers, then retreated.
“You are an exquisite creature, Dahlia.”
The scrutiny embarrassed her. “Bruises and all?” she joked, unable to believe that the face she had seen in the mirror a week before could be considered ‘exquisite.’
James ran a thumb softly over her cheekbone. “They are fading quickly.” He wrapped her hair in a towel and removed the basin. When he returned, he had the hand mirror and held it up for her.
Dahlia saw the truth of his words. The deep bruises that had marred her face so vividly were now only shadows. “Oh, look – it’s me again!”
James smiled with her. “Yes.” He took the mirror back and replaced it on the dresser. He made sure Dahlia was comfortable, then turned to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I must go down and finish the plans for the new supports.”
“You’re going to work? Now?”
“Better to do it now that you are going to bed rather than earlier when I’d miss spending time with you.” He winked at her, then left the room.
The room he had set up as his office was at the rear of the main building, near the wing reserved for the servants who lived in the castle. As he strode down the hallway, Mary crossed paths with him.
“Master Jamie,” she said sweetly. “Is there something I can get for you?”
“No thank you, Mary, just going to finish up some work.”
She watched him continue down the hall, then went to her room thinking what a shame it was he should spent his nights in a cold office when he could be keeping her warm in her bed.
Chapter 69
The next day, James was gone by the time Dahlia woke. There was a knock at the door shortly thereafter and Grace came in with a breakfast tray.
“Good morning, Grace.”
“Good morning, Mrs. Kent. How are we feeling today?”
“I am well, thank you. Do you know how Matty is?”
“Aye. She showed up in the kitchen early this morning. Fever’s broke and she thinks she right as rain again.” Seeing Dahlia’s expression, she continued on quickly. “Don’t you fret. I marched her right back upstairs and put her to bed again. She’ll still be as weak as a kitten.”
“Thank you, Grace. And Mr. Kent? Did he go down to have breakfast with his mother?”
The maid shook her head. “No. He took his coffee in his office. Appears as if he slept there from the looks of him.”
“Yes, he must have worked late into the night,” Dahlia said quickly, thinking she needed to defend the fact that he had not slept in their room – and she didn’t know.
“He’s a hard worker, our Jamie,” Grace said, nodding.
Dahlia felt like correcting her and saying he was ‘her’ James, not Grace’s Jamie. She wiped the ungrateful thought from her mind, though, knowing Grace meant nothing by it. It was just her way of speaking, like when she used the royal ‘we..
She hoped her James would come up and have lunch with her, but it was his mother who brought the tray up and stayed with her during the afternoon. She informed her that James was working with Trevor and her father, and that Matty was doing much better, but was napping.
“The minute she was feeling better, she was up and out of bed doing too much too soon. I imagine you’ll be the same,” she said, smiling.
“Yes, you are probably right. Having been abed for nearly a month, I am dreaming of simply walking around – anywhere outside of this room!”
Anna must have mentioned this to her son, for when he came up to dress for dinner, he asked Dahlia if she wanted to have dinner with Matty. She answered in the affirmative, thinking Matty would come in from the other room. Instead, he gently collected her in his arms.
“Oh! Where are we going?”
“Am I hurting you?” He looked at her seriously, waiting for her reply before he moved a step away from the bed.
Her excitement at leaving her confinement overshadowed any discomfort she felt. “I’m fine! Now, where you taking me?
“To have dinner with Matty,” he said smiling. “But first, a little tour.” He carried her around and let her peer into the washcloset. She gasped at the size of the porcelain bathtub set upon brass claw feet.
“That’s big enough for two people!”
“We’ll have to try that – but later, when you are feeling better,” he joked. Swinging her around in the opposite direction, he walked over to the dressing room. She saw her dresses hanging on one side with her hat boxes all lined up on shelves and her boots in a neat row on the floor. On the other side of the room was his closet, his clothes similarly housed in neat fashion. Crossing the main bedroom, he carried her into the sitting room of which she could only see a small portion from the bed. It was a beautiful room – circular, as it was set into one of the towers of the castle. There was a small writing desk, velvet settee, and two down-stuffed chairs that looked perfect for curling up with a good book. The room also had two large arched windows through which Dahlia could see a bit of the snow-covered lawn in the light escaping the windows on the lower floors.
“The views from these two windows are stunning. Wait until tomorrow and I’ll show you!”
He continued on to Matty’s room. She was sitting on a satin couch, but stood up when she saw them enter. “Miss Dahlia!” she exclaimed. “This was the surprise?” she asked James. “How wonderful!”
James set Dahlia down on the couch slowly, then wrapped a waiting shawl around her. Then, he picked up her feet and placed them on a small footstool. “Comfortable?”
Dahlia nodded. “You are full of surprises for both of us!” Rory had followed them into Matty’s room and was dancing in circles and barking.
“Ah, the surprises are not over yet,” he said, adjusting the chairs in the room. A knock at the door interrupted him. “Come in,” he called.
The door opened and Grace carried a large tray into the room. She was followed by MacTavish, who carried another.
“For you ladies, we have arranged a dinner party,” James announced, directing the newcomers to place their treasures on the long table in front of the couch. “Trevor MacTavish, may I present my wife Dahlia.”
Trevor swept a low bow, then took Dahlia’s hand and kissed it. “A pleasure to meet ye at last, Mrs. Kent.”
“And I you. I have been enjoying your book, Mr. MacTavish.”
While they got acquainted, James helped Grace complete the setting. Two silver candleholders were placed and lit, followed by crystal water goblets and a matching pitcher. Silverware, napkins, and dinner plates heaped with food were distributed. When everything was placed, Grace curtsied and left the room. Trevor and James took their seats opposite the ladies on the couch and raised their glasses in a toast.
“’To beautiful lasses who illuminate our lives and blind our senses,’” Trevor quoted from a Scottish poem.
“Here, here!” James chimed in.
The next several hours were a delight for Dahlia. She sincerely liked the roguishly handsome MacTavish, and watched him carefully in his regard for Matty. He was, of course, well read and well-travelled, and therefore a very good conversationalist. With his knowledge of music and experience with storytelling, he could not have been a better dinner guest for her and Matty. Given their long friendship, the familiarity between Trevor and James seemed untouched by their long absence from one another and contributed to their witty banter that had everyone laughing.
James saw how the continued laughter was causing Dahlia’s bruised ribs to pain her. Before the accident, they would have carried on for much longer, but given her health and that of Matty, he made sure they didn’t overstay their welcome. As the gentlemen got up, Dahlia thanked Trevor again for coming up to dine with them. “It was lovely to get to know you.”
The two women were still giggling when James and Trevor left the room. When James returned with Grace to collect the dishes, Matty offered to help take them downstairs.
“You’ll do no such thing, lass,” chided Grace. “That’s the first solid food you’ve had in a week. I don’t need you dropping the MacFarlain crystal on the way down to the kitchen.”
“I’ll help you as soon as I return my wife to her room,” said James as he went to pick up Dahlia.
“I’d be grateful, Master Jamie. Take your time.” To Matty, she said, “And you will stay in your bed until I come with your breakfast in the morning.”
While Matty acquiesced to Grace’s command, she did follow James into their bedroom as he placed Dahlia on their bed. While he left to help Grace, she resumed her duties of assisting Dahlia to get ready for bed.
The evening, as wonderful as it was, had taken its toll on both of them. To each other, they admitted how tired they were and bid each other goodnight with the promise of having a good long chat the following day.
By the time James returned to the room, Dahlia was fast asleep.
-----
Grace was enjoying a mug of tea with Mary, Maggie, and several of the other servant girls. Breakfasts had been delivered upstairs, and the dining room sideboard loaded with the hearty morning repast of the Highlands. They had a good half hour to have their own breakfast with little probability of being interrupted. As Grace was the first among them to see the elusive young Mrs. Kent, she had the attention of everyone there. The anticipation was heightened by the fact that all week she had ignored the barrage of questions, but this morning she mentioned the little dinner party she had served the night before. Then, she wouldn’t give any details following the announcement, saying only that she would tell them later after the breakfast chores where done. Now seated by the fire at her leisure, she engaged in sharing her observations.