we’d like,” Ian Five mentioned casually. “She could as likely get annoyed wi’ us for warning him off, regardless that he’s no’ the right mon for her.”
“There’s that,” Ian One agreed, but he added, “And she willna be the only one. Her mother is likely tae shoot the lot o’ us if we dinna handle this right. There’s also the chance Meli will want him anyway.”
Since it sounded as though Ian One had already decided on secrecy to keep peace with the MacGregors’ womenfolk, and since most of them tended to agree with him just because he was the eldest of the brothers, Ian Six felt compelled to point out, “She’s going tae be miserable if he doesna pursue her, after he told her he was officially courting her.”
“Better a little misery now than a lifetime o’ it living wi’ a mon o’ such volatile temper,” Callum said.
“She’ll think we’re interfering if she finds oot,” Ian Six warned.
“We are interfering,” Johnny said.
“Aye, but this on top of scaring off her suitors at home? She’ll be seriously displeased wi’ us.”
“Och, ne’er mind them,” Charles said derisively. “They were afeared of a silly legend e’en afore they showed up. Merely looking at them wrong would hae sent them running. Cowards, those two. She wouldna hae been happy wi’ either o’ them, and she knew that.”
“Linc isna a coward,” William pointed out.
“Linc is sae far the opposite o’ that, he takes bravery tae extremes, tae the exclusion o’ common sense,” Adam said. “At least, he did when he was a lad. Now, did any o’ ye notice any difference aboot him last night tae suggest he’s grown oot o’ such foolishness?”
There was a quick round of naes. Ian Four sighed at the end of it. “And that suggests he’ll ignore our warning.”
“I say we’ve nothing tae worry aboot,” Neill said with more hope than assurance. He was the second youngest, and as such he rarely offered an opinion. “Now he knows she’s one o’ ours, he willna want her. He’ll despise her as he does the rest o’ us. He said as much.”
“He said that afore he heard exactly who our niece is,” William reminded them. “Besides, Meli is impossible tae despise. There’s no lass sweeter, kinder, more compassionate, charming, funny—”
“We’ve the MacGregor tae thank for that,” Callum cut in with a chuckle. “Sweetness doesna run in our side o’ the family.”
“Regardless, I say he willna give up the pursuit,” William continued. “And what I’m wanting tae know is, what are we going tae do then?”
“Short o’ killing him?”
“Now, there’s an excellent option,” Charles said, tongue in cheek.
Fifteen
F OR such a big house, and with so many servants, it was almost amazing how easy it was to find solitude, even for meals, or at least for breakfast. The duchess slept late, of course, a necessary habit during a season when most entertainments lasted into the wee hours. Justin, on a different schedule—he’d begged off going to any more parties with them—usually spent the morning out riding in one of the city’s many parks. Ian, for some reason insisting on escorting Melissa everywhere now, had started sleeping in as well.
Melissa probably would have done the same, if she could have slept. She couldn’t. Well, she could, but not anywhere near as much as she was used to. Not that she needed a great deal of it, with the abundance of energy she had at her age. If anything, she would have liked to sleep a little longer just to get past the hours when nothing was planned.
At home she could go out and about by herself and find any number of things to keep her occupied. She couldn’t do that here. She could just imagine the fit her uncle would have if she tried it. Which left her a lot of empty hours spent with her own thoughts, not the most desirable thing these days.
The trouble was, she was having a lot of up and down moods, which would be fine if they weren’t such
“There’s that,” Ian One agreed, but he added, “And she willna be the only one. Her mother is likely tae shoot the lot o’ us if we dinna handle this right. There’s also the chance Meli will want him anyway.”
Since it sounded as though Ian One had already decided on secrecy to keep peace with the MacGregors’ womenfolk, and since most of them tended to agree with him just because he was the eldest of the brothers, Ian Six felt compelled to point out, “She’s going tae be miserable if he doesna pursue her, after he told her he was officially courting her.”
“Better a little misery now than a lifetime o’ it living wi’ a mon o’ such volatile temper,” Callum said.
“She’ll think we’re interfering if she finds oot,” Ian Six warned.
“We are interfering,” Johnny said.
“Aye, but this on top of scaring off her suitors at home? She’ll be seriously displeased wi’ us.”
“Och, ne’er mind them,” Charles said derisively. “They were afeared of a silly legend e’en afore they showed up. Merely looking at them wrong would hae sent them running. Cowards, those two. She wouldna hae been happy wi’ either o’ them, and she knew that.”
“Linc isna a coward,” William pointed out.
“Linc is sae far the opposite o’ that, he takes bravery tae extremes, tae the exclusion o’ common sense,” Adam said. “At least, he did when he was a lad. Now, did any o’ ye notice any difference aboot him last night tae suggest he’s grown oot o’ such foolishness?”
There was a quick round of naes. Ian Four sighed at the end of it. “And that suggests he’ll ignore our warning.”
“I say we’ve nothing tae worry aboot,” Neill said with more hope than assurance. He was the second youngest, and as such he rarely offered an opinion. “Now he knows she’s one o’ ours, he willna want her. He’ll despise her as he does the rest o’ us. He said as much.”
“He said that afore he heard exactly who our niece is,” William reminded them. “Besides, Meli is impossible tae despise. There’s no lass sweeter, kinder, more compassionate, charming, funny—”
“We’ve the MacGregor tae thank for that,” Callum cut in with a chuckle. “Sweetness doesna run in our side o’ the family.”
“Regardless, I say he willna give up the pursuit,” William continued. “And what I’m wanting tae know is, what are we going tae do then?”
“Short o’ killing him?”
“Now, there’s an excellent option,” Charles said, tongue in cheek.
Fifteen
F OR such a big house, and with so many servants, it was almost amazing how easy it was to find solitude, even for meals, or at least for breakfast. The duchess slept late, of course, a necessary habit during a season when most entertainments lasted into the wee hours. Justin, on a different schedule—he’d begged off going to any more parties with them—usually spent the morning out riding in one of the city’s many parks. Ian, for some reason insisting on escorting Melissa everywhere now, had started sleeping in as well.
Melissa probably would have done the same, if she could have slept. She couldn’t. Well, she could, but not anywhere near as much as she was used to. Not that she needed a great deal of it, with the abundance of energy she had at her age. If anything, she would have liked to sleep a little longer just to get past the hours when nothing was planned.
At home she could go out and about by herself and find any number of things to keep her occupied. She couldn’t do that here. She could just imagine the fit her uncle would have if she tried it. Which left her a lot of empty hours spent with her own thoughts, not the most desirable thing these days.
The trouble was, she was having a lot of up and down moods, which would be fine if they weren’t such
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