The Heir of the Castle (Harlequin Romance) (12 page)

The fear of stepping outside her ordered life was terrifying. She really needed to speak to someone about it. But who? Most of her friends were in the profession, and they would be horrified and try to talk her out of it.

Callan. He was the only person she could talk to about it.

He was the only person she wanted to talk to about this.

And there he was—waiting for her. Everything about this just seemed right.

She took the first step.

CHAPTER NINE

C
ALLAN
WAS
AGITATED
. He’d spent the last five minutes walking about the drawing room, dining room and kitchen. Searching everywhere for Laurie, but she wasn’t here yet.

Everyone else seemed to be accounted for. Most were sipping drinks and listening to the string quartet—who were surprisingly good. Marion was a blur in the kitchen; service would begin shortly. So where was Laurie?

For a horrible fleeting second he wondered if she’d decided to leave. To get away from Annick Castle and to get away from him.

She’d left that question hanging in the air between them. She’d been disappointed he couldn’t acknowledge what was happening between them. And he’d been disappointed too.

If he got her on her own again he wouldn’t make the same mistake.

The momentary thought of her leaving vanished as quickly as it had come. He’d seen the look in her eyes. He’d seen the way she felt about her surroundings. Laurie wasn’t ready to leave yet. No matter how many difficult conversations they had.

Then he froze. There she was. Standing at the top of the curved staircase.

Looking as if she belonged. Looking as if she was meant to be here.

She was a vision. No ball gown. Nothing ostentatious.

It took him a few seconds for the vaguely familiar-looking dress to click into place in his head. Of course. He should have known.

He watched her carefully. She was deep in thought, her hand resting on the carved banister. She was taking long slow breaths, then her eyes met his and she gave him a smile as her feet started to descend the stairway.

She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her shiny dark curls danced around her shoulders. The simple pink chiffon dress floated around her, emphasising the curves of her breasts and hips.

But it wasn’t just her beauty that was captivating. It was something else. It was the feeling that she looked totally at home—that walking down this staircase was what she was supposed to be doing.

He met her at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Should I break into song?’ he said quietly.

He couldn’t wipe the smile from her face. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were flushed. ‘I need to talk to you. I need to tell you something.’

He frowned. ‘Is something wrong?’

She shook her head, making her curls bounce around. ‘No. I think for the first time in a long time, something is right.’

He had no idea what she was talking about. All he could see was how happy she looked, how relaxed. It was almost as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. What on earth had happened?

He crooked his elbow towards her. ‘Shall we go into dinner?’

She nodded and slipped her arm through his. ‘I can’t wait for this to be over,’ she whispered in his ear.

‘Me either. Do you have anything to do this evening?’

She shrugged. ‘I’ve to have a conversation with someone and say a few things that will make them suspicious of me.’

‘I’ve to do something similar.’ They’d reached the dining room by this point and he pulled out her chair for her, ignoring the seating plan at the table. As she sat down he moved the cards around.

She arched her eyebrow at him. ‘I’ve taught you well.’

He sat beside her. ‘You have. I feel kind of guilty—I haven’t really paid much attention to what’s been happening this weekend.’ He didn’t mean for the words quite to come out like that. He’d been paying far too much attention to what was happening between them, just not the events of the Murder Mystery Weekend.

He could see her pause momentarily before she took a sip of her rosé wine. ‘I haven’t either,’ she said, her eyes fixing on his.

For a moment he felt relief. She hadn’t misunderstood. She was staring at him with those big brown eyes. He couldn’t blink. He didn’t want to do anything to break this moment. She knew he was invested heavily in Annick Castle. She knew how important it was to him. She knew he loved it with every breath that he took.

So, to allow himself to be distracted away from the events of the weekend spoke volumes. He was only just beginning to realise how much.

Laurie Jenkins was occupying every waking minute of his thoughts. She was burrowing under his skin with her questions, her logic and her passion for everything around her. Maybe he should be worried. Maybe, given the set of circumstances he was in, he should be acting with more caution. But Laurie was the first woman he’d ever really felt a true connection with.

Of course, he’d had girlfriends. He’d even lived with one woman for a couple of years. But he’d never felt this. He’d never felt drawn to someone so much.

And it wasn’t for any of the reasons most people would suspect. It wasn’t her connection to Angus—if anything, that was more of a hindrance than a help. And it wasn’t the possibility she could inherit Annick Castle.

No. This was simple. This was all about her, Laurie Jenkins, and him, Callan McGregor.

He would have felt this way no matter where he’d met her. Whether it had been some noisy bar in London or Edinburgh, or some workplace environment. The fact that he’d met her here—in one of the most beautiful settings in the world—was just an added bonus.

One he fully intended to take advantage of.

He gave her a smile. There was a whole host of other thoughts going on in his head that he almost hoped she could see. ‘I guess it’s only good manners for us to stay as long as it takes to fulfil our duties.’

She nodded solemnly, with a wicked smile dancing across her lips. ‘I guess you’re right.’ She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, ‘How long
exactly
do you think that will take?’

Their eyes met again and stayed that way until Robin clapped his hands together to draw their attention. ‘Good evening, people. This is the last night of our Murder Mystery Weekend. There have been more than enough clues left for you all to have some idea of who the murderer could be. I’d ask you
all—
’ he emphasised the word and looked pointedly in the direction of Laurie and Callan ‘—to pay special attention to the actions you’ve been asked to take this evening that will help all parties have an equal chance of winning the castle.’

Callan felt a cold wave wash over his skin. Robin made it sound as if they were winning the lottery—not an ancient piece of history. He tried to push his thoughts aside. He had to come to terms with this. He had to move past this and accept Angus’s decision. The boxes upstairs flickered into his mind again. He had to spend some time looking through them. Not that it would make any difference to the eventual outcome.

A slim hand slipped under the table and gave his hand a squeeze. Even now Laurie was taking his thoughts into consideration. The touch of her silky skin sent a shot of electricity up his arm, setting his senses on fire. And in a world of uncertainty there was one thing that he knew for sure. Nothing would douse these flames.

He kept his voice low. ‘How quickly can you eat dinner, Laurie?’

She smiled as a bowl of soup was placed in front of her. ‘Quicker than you can imagine.’ She looked around her. ‘This is my last night in Annick Castle. Let’s blow this place as quickly as we can.’

She was laughing. She wanted to escape the confines of the dining room and their other companions and he felt exactly the same.

Dinner had never seemed such a protracted affair. The food was as delicious as always. But every single mouthful seemed to take for ever. People were too busy talking to eat their food. In between courses Callan walked around to the other side of the table and had the conversation that his card had instructed him to. It was over in the blink of an eye. He made sure of it.

And Laurie had done the same. But she didn’t seem to walk—she floated. Something was different with her tonight. And he couldn’t wait to find out what.

The clock ticked slowly. By the time dessert arrived Callan wanted to refuse it and leave. But it was Marion’s speciality, rhubarb compote with crème anglaise and he could never offend her by not eating her food.

Laurie was more relaxed. She happily sipped her wine and ate her food, chatting to all those around her. By the time Robin announced time for coffee in the drawing room Callan was almost ready to explode.

He didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the open glass doors leading out to the gardens. ‘Ready to leave?’

She flashed him a smile. ‘Around two hours ago.’

‘Really? You seemed so comfortable.’

‘I’m just a better actor than you.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘Where are we going?’

They’d walked out to the stone patio that overlooked the maze. There was smoke around them, a haze. A natural mist that was lifting from the sea as the warm summer air met the cool sea breezes. If he didn’t know any better he’d suspect some film director was pumping it around them to set the scene.

But Callan didn’t need anyone else to set the scene for him. He’d arranged that for himself.

He looked down at her. ‘In that dress? There’s only one place we can go.’

* * *

They didn’t even wait to walk along the paths but just cut across the lawn towards the stairs that led to the lowered gardens. His hand was grasping hers tightly and she could scarcely keep up with his long strides, the damp grass wetting her feet through the open gold sandals. As the grass was wet the ground underneath it was soft, her spindly heels sinking rapidly into the pliable earth. She stumbled as her heel caught and her foot slipped out of the shoe.

Callan’s strong arms closed around her, catching her before she collided with the damp grass. ‘Careful!’

He reached back and extracted her shoe from the ground, kneeling down to slip it back over her foot. His gentle touch around her foot was sending a whole host of delicious tingles down her spine as he refastened the straps. ‘Isn’t this what Cinderella did? Lose her shoe as she ran away from the ball?’

She smiled at him. Her one leg that was on the ground was feeling distinctly wobbly. ‘I guess that makes you my Prince Charming, then?’

His hand slid along her lower leg. The tingles were getting
so
much worse. ‘I guess it does.’ He stood up, stopping in front of her for a few seconds. She caught her breath.

This was so real now.

Tonight was their last night together. And expectations were causing the air between them to sizzle.

He reached out and took her hand again, this time walking with a little more care, a little more measure.

As they reached the top of the stairway she let out a little gasp. Something she totally hadn’t expected. Lights around the gazebo.

‘I didn’t realise,’ she began. ‘Is there an electricity supply down there?’

The rest of the swan pond was in complete darkness. Even the steps they were standing on now had no lighting.

‘No. Just be thankful for modern technology.’

She took a few tentative steps down the first few stairs and screwed up her nose. ‘What is it then?’

‘Solar lights. Small white ones lighting around the base of the gazebo, and some coloured butterfly lights strung along the outside.’

‘They’re beautiful, Callan. Just beautiful.’ She tilted her head as she looked at him. ‘Have they always been there? I didn’t notice them the other day.’

He shook his head. ‘I put them there today.’

There was a little soar of pleasure in her chest. It was almost as if, with every step, a notch on the dial between them turned up. She felt curious. ‘Did you know? Did you know about the dress?’

‘No. But I knew about your daydream. You told me. You told me what you wanted to do.’

Her heart squeezed in her chest. She hadn’t told him everything she wanted to do. Some thoughts were entirely private. But here, and now, someone had valued her enough to make her little girl dreams come true. Someone she’d only known for a few days, but felt a whole-hearted connection to.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

He kept her hand in his as she walked gingerly down the steps and they walked along the white stone path around the edge of the swan pond. She could hear the swans rustling in the bushes at the side of the pond. Some of them were floating near to the edges, obviously asleep. It was such a peaceful setting at night.

The gazebo with its soft lights was glowing like a beacon in the middle of the pitch-black night. Twinkling like a Christmas tree in the middle of summer. The air around them was still with hardly a breath of air. Apart from the occasional animal noise all she could hear was their steps on the path, the stones crunching beneath their feet. It was magical.

They reached the entrance to the gazebo and Callan pushed the door open. It creaked loudly. Almost in protest at being disturbed. She liked the idea that none of the other guests had been here. She liked the thought that this was her and Callan’s private space.

It probably wasn’t too surprising. Most of the other guests were older than her and Callan. The steps to the lower garden were steep, not the most conducive to those who weren’t as steady on their feet.

She held her breath as she stepped inside. Wow. The glass panels inside reflected the string of tiny butterfly lights outside. And as they bobbed around outside, the multicoloured lights reflected across the floor inside like a rainbow.

It was better than a movie effect. This was real.

She felt his hands on her waist and spun around to face him, her hands reaching up and resting on the planes of his chest.

He smiled down at her. ‘So, Laurie. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?’ He was standing over her. Only inches away.

She was trying to concentrate. She was trying not to focus on the rise and fall of his chest beneath the palms of her hands. She was trying not to dare recognise the fact she could feel the gentle echo of his beating heart beneath her fingertips.

It was time. It was time to tell someone else her plans. Her hopes for the future. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know where those plans would take her. She only knew they wouldn’t keep her in London any more.

Callan’s green eyes were focused on her. And they soothed her. And they ignited a fire within her belly. A surge she hadn’t felt in a long time.