“One would have to be blind to miss it, sir,” the butler responded, chuckling.
Footsteps on the stairs halted their lighthearted conversation, and Niall turned to watch the subject of the conversation as she made her way down the stairs. Willa Mae had also changed into jeans and a white button-down, and she wore a denim jacket over the shirt.
“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting,” she said, hurrying from the last stair to where he was standing with Andrews.
“Not to worry,” he said. “Shall we?”
He extended his arm and braced himself for the touch of her hand on his flesh, like a pilot bracing for impact. When she touched him, his whole body heated up, starting where her fingers touched him at his elbow and spiraling outward.
“Have a pleasant evening, Ms. Jamison,” Andrews said, smiling brightly at her.
The answering smile she blessed him with lit up her whole face, and drew a sharp breath from Niall’s lungs.
“Thank you, Andrews. I’ll do my best.”
Niall walked her out to the bright yellow Mercedes two-seater and after settling her in the passenger seat, he got in himself and said, before he started off,
“Would you prefer the top up?” he asked?
“Not if it doesn’t bother you,” she replied, not looking at him. “My braids will withstand the wind blowing through them.”
He wished she would let him see her dark eyes, but she steadfastly looks ahead as he drove off. He took her around the surrounding villages, letting her get a feel for the area, and slowed or stopped so she could take pictures in the waning light of late afternoon. Then he drove into town and parked in front of the best eatery the village boasted, The Golden Goose.
“This pub serves the very best local foods,” he told her, and you will get a feel for what village life is like after dark.”
“Sounds like fun,” she said, slanting a brief smile his way.
Immediately as they entered, there was a rousing cry. “Hail to the laird!” Niall laughed, and everyone laughed with him.
“Evening, m’lord!” the innkeeper said, grinning facetiously at him.
“Evening, Al!” Niall teased in his turn. “What’s on tap?”
“Depends. Introductions first, so I can know what to suggest. Who’s the bonnie wee lass on yer arm?”
Niall felt a wave of possessiveness wash over him. He shook himself and released Willa Mae.
“Alistair, meet Ms. Willa Mae Jamison of New York. Willa Mae, meet Alistair Marshall, proprietor of this establishment.”
She extended a hand, and Alistair wiped his own on his apron before taking it. Niall watched as the publican’s big hand enveloped her own, and wished he could hold her hand without reacting.
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, lassie,” he said. “You seem like a wine sort of woman.”
“I am, usually, but I’m here to learn new things. What would you suggest for a newbie to the beer drinking scene?”
“A lager would be best to start with, lass.”
Niall led Willa Mae around to the side of the pub, where a table had been magically cleared for them to sit. Although he didn’t expect or demand it, the people in the village were genuinely fond of him, and proud of the Drummond family heritage. They also heartily approved of his plans for renovating the castle, since it could only benefit them in the form of greater traffic through the town and more profit from the sale of local items, food, and, any overflow from the castle’s lodgings would spill into the town’s two inns.
One of those inns housed the pub in which they were seated, and as the publican brought their drinks, Niall told her a little of the history of the village and its castle. Established in the late 1500s, the castle, named after the village of Bannock, was established as secondary residence and fortress for a duke at the time. The duke died without an heir, and his will passed the castle on to his cousins the Drummonds. The details of that will indicated that in fact the estate was paid for, as it were, by the Earl of Ayesthorpe, who paid for a grand funeral and burial for the duke in what had come to be known as Bannock’s Folly.
“That’s quite an unusual story,” Willa Mae said, sipping her drink.
“My mother does not like the tale of ownership repeated. It takes away all the romance of an ancient castle, she says, and no one will respect a family whose heritage was purchased.”
Niall swallowed a mouthful of the dark ale he had ordered, thinking bitterly about how his mother’s need to impress people who would likely be enthralled by the unusual history of the castle.
“That’s an angle we should pursue,” Willa Mae said. “The Drummond family castle a tribute to loyalty among family members. Depending on how you package it, that could become a key piece of the pull of the castle. People like the unexpected. They like to hear that fairy tales can come true, that you can buy your way to happiness. Even if it’s ultimately untrue. It’s definitely something for you to think about.”
Niall liked that they seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He liked that Willa Mae was seeing the story as part of the sales pitch for a venture which would pit his small castle against larger, more popular, and more traditionally historic residences than his own. If they could pull this off, Bannock Castle would become a tourist destination to be proud of, despite its small size and lack of importance in Scottish history.
He smiled at her, and her eyes widened as though she had seen a ghost. “Is everything alright?” he asked solicitously, looking around to see what could have startled her.
“Yes…yes, everything’s fine.”
She took a bigger swallow of the lager, and wiped her lips on her napkin. He watched as she avoided his gaze, and wondered suddenly if she was also feeling the pull of attraction that he was feeling. He was determined to resist it, so he turned her attention to the menu that the publican had provided with their drinks.
“What would you like to try tonight?”
Willa Mae looked at the menu and said, after a long moment of consideration, “I guess I’d like to try the haggis with potatoes and turnips,” she began, and it looks like there are one or two dessert items I might like as well. Not sure which to choose.”
“What are they? Perhaps we can share them,” Niall said.
“One is called a clootie dumpling,” she wrinkled her brow as she spoke, and the other is…crannachan? Is that how you say it?”
Niall smiled. You’re close enough. Why don’t we order one of each, and share them?”
“That’s very kind of you. Thank you.”
A waitress appeared to take their order. He had the Angus beef meal, which included potatoes, turnips, peas and carrots. While they waited for their food, Niall asked what she thought about the pub.
“I read that most pubs don’t serve an evening meal,” she said. “So this is quite a pleasant surprise.”
“This pub is part of one of the two inns in the village. The other pub is where the younger crowd hang out, and they don’t serve dinner, just lunch, and tea on weekends.”
“Will I be able to visit that one as well?”
“If you’d like, we can stop in tomorrow,” he promised her.
“So, how large an inn is this? It seems quite small from the outside.”
“If I’m not mistaken, they have four rooms, one with an ensuite bathroom. Sort of like a junior suite.”
“Is it pricey?”
“Quite inexpensive, though I imagine that if all goes well with our plans, that will change.”
“They’ll have to do a bit of sprucing up themselves, to draw visitors in, even with low prices,” she added, taking in her surroundings. “But the pub will be a bonus, as folks won’t need to go anywhere to have a drink, and if they imbibe too freely, they only need walk upstairs. Sweet deal, if you can get it.”
Niall was becoming more and more enamored at the sound of her voice as she reeled out idea after idea for how the village would benefit from his improvements at the castle. He liked her enthusiasm, and
he could tell she really enjoyed what she did for a living. When the waitress returned with their food, he took in the wide smile she graced the young woman with, and he wished he could taste that smile. Lowering his eyes quickly, he waited until the waitress had left to say,
“As you Americans would say, dig in!”
At least as long as they were eating, he had somewhere else to put his eyes, and other things he could think about than her smile and her subtle scent and the way she licked her lips as she ate… he dragged his eyes away again and sighed inwardly. Dinner couldn’t end too soon for him.
Chapter Three: Playing With Fire
Dinner was delicious. Willa Mae had wanted to be brave and try things she had never heard of before, and what she had heard about haggis had made her wrinkle her nose. But she was determined to experience all she could in the time she had, because she wasn’t sure when, or even if, she would return. Truth be told, she was glad for the distraction that the food provided, because she could feel Niall’s eyes on her as she ate, and the heat between them had continued to simmer. She hadn't noticed that he had dimples until he had smiled at her earlier, and her reaction had caused him to ask if she was okay.
She was definitely not okay. Niall Drummond was charming, witty, urbane, intelligent…everything a woman could want in a dinner companion. Everything a woman could want in a first date. Everything to make a woman want a second date. She chided herself as she finished her meal. This wasn’t a date. It was a business dinner. They had talked mostly about the work they wanted to accomplish together, and she had been happy to show him that she had ideas that he might wish to use. But the awareness of his nearness, of his sex appeal, of his interest in her…all of it made her insides shake, and made it hard to concentrate on the things that should be holding her attention.
When the desserts arrived, she watched as he asked for a second set of utensils. He was serious that they would each share both. He served her a dish with the dumpling first, while he had his from the bowl. The dumpling was really deliciously smooth and sweet, with just enough fruit to give it texture. It was served with a heavy clotted cream that was equally delicious. At this rate, Willa Mae was sure she would end up returning to the states a few pounds heavier. Then he served himself the crannachan, which was like a trifle with a kick, and let her have the tall glass it was served in. It was presented with what appeared to be cottage cheese. The slightly sour taste went perfectly with the sweet notes of the trifle, and Willa Mae savored every bit of it.
“Mmmm! That was divine!” She smiled at him, unguarded, and watched as his eyes went dark with awareness. Immediately she withdrew, straightening her spine and putting her spoon down. “Thank you.”
She didn’t smile again, and refused to look him in the eye. Instead, she finished her drink as she looked around the pub which had filled up while they ate dinner. The noise was deafening, but she wouldn’t have missed it for the world. She knew she was drawing a lot of eyes, as the only person of color in the establishment. What would it be like when the castle’s renovations were complete? Would the village see an influx of more people who looked less like its inhabitants? How could she sell it to a more diverse market? She’d have to help Niall come up with a sales pitch that was inclusive without being fake.
Happy that she had finally managed to corral her thoughts, she looked over at him when he said,
“You’ll find that your accommodations have changed. I’ve put you in a suite adjacent to mine until it’s time for you to leave.”
She kept her surprise to herself and merely asked, “Why?”
He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn’t challenge her any further, for which she was grateful. She didn’t want to complain about her accommodations to the master of the house when she didn’t know who had ordered them.
“You were placed there in error,” was all he said.
She knew that he was lying, and that it meant his mother had ordered it for her. Given the family’s hostility to her from the moment of her arrival, she wasn’t at all surprised that she had been relegated to a child’s room, which it had clearly been. His decision to place her elsewhere was another sign that he was more than just a pretty face.
“How early will I need to be up in the morning?” she asked, before her thoughts took her back into the rabbit warren of desire from which she was working hard to keep it.
“Breakfast is served at eight every morning, and you will need to be with the family for this one only. I will understand if you prefer to take your meals alone or away from the castle after tomorrow morning, but I need you to bring the family up to speed on the plans and ideas that you already have.”
He didn’t apologize for his family’s behavior, but she could tell from his stiff bearing and tight voice that he was not happy with them. She was grateful to him for allowing her to choose to escape them if she wished. Maybe she would come back to this inn for dinner and try something from their seafood menu. She already had good things to say about the food she had tried. She would research it tonight when they got back to the castle. It was something she had started when she first began this job, and had begun to travel more extensively both in and out of the States.
“Is breakfast a formal affair?” she asked him. When he quirked an eyebrow at her again, she added, “Will I need to dress up?”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it would tickle my mother to no end if you did, and it might move you up a smidgen in her estimation. But we’ll be going out immediately after and will be out all day. You need to dress comfortably for extended time in the car.”
He looked her over as he spoke, and she felt the intensity of his gaze like a heat lamp on her flesh before he said, “What you’re wearing now would be ideal. Perhaps a somewhat heavier blouse and a hat.”
“I didn’t bring a hat,” she said.
“Not a problem. I’ll make sure you have one for the day.” He paused for a second, lowering his eyes and then looked up again to ask, “Would you like another half pint?”
“Oh, no thanks, I’m full.” In fact, she was so full she felt like the dumpling she had eaten earlier. “But please don’t let me stop you from having another drink if you want.”
“Thank you, but I think we can head out now. I’d like to take you for a last drive to a spot close to the castle that is magical at night.”
Back in the car, Willa Mae pulled the blanket that was on the back seat over her knees as there was a distinct chill in the air. The sky was clear, the stars scattered across it twinkling in iridescent splendor. There was no moon as far as she could see, but the bejeweled firmament was a delight to behold.
“It’s so beautiful!” she exclaimed, her head back so she could take it all in.
“Indeed!” His agreement was made in a low tone, and she looked down to find him staring at her. Her face heated up, and she was glad of the darkness to hide her reaction from him.
He put the car in gear and drove off, and Willa Mae kept her gaze out the window, staring into the darkness, letting her cheeks cool. It wasn’t as though she had never been called beautiful before, but it had never been by anyone as charismatic as Niall Drummond. She also knew that he was not the sort of man to keep one woman around for too long. She had Googled him as part of her preparation for the trip, and his name had been connected to a number of high profile women, among whom were actresses, models, and the daughters of the rich and famous. His interest would wane as soon as she left. All she had to do was keep him at a distance for another day and a half. She could do it…she had to.
They turned off the main road, and took a single lane path, barely wide enough for the little car, that seemed to go on forever. Eventually, however, it ended at a large pond, whose calm waters were as bejeweled as the sky, thanks to the reflection of it on the surface. She could not suppress an exclamation of surprise and pleasure at the sight.
“This is magnificent!” she enthused. “It’s like a jewel box, holding all the stars in it.”
She t
urned to look at Niall, unable to hold back her elation from him. She watched him lean in, and knew if she didn’t move, this man whom she had only met a few hours earlier would kiss her. It shocked and amazed her that she wanted him to do just that, and so badly that her hands shook with the desire. Mustering every ounce of strength she had, she moved away from him.
“Would you like to take a walk?” he asked. “We won’t go all the way around, but there’s a bench we can sit on for a while halfway round.”
She should say no. Walking would encourage things like hand holding, and other intimacies she wasn’t ready for. Even though she wanted his kiss, now that she knew he wanted to kiss her, she had to resist the pull he had over her. They could be nothing to each other, and this ridiculous attraction was merely lust. She hadn’t had a boyfriend for years, and she supposed her body was craving some masculine attention. But Niall was her client, this was a job, and she would do well to remember that.
Scottish Swag Page 3