“Must we talk about this now?” Royal and Ainsley naturally deserved an explanation regarding her actions, but why did his grandfather or the other members of the Kendrick family need to know?
“I think we have to,” Graeme reluctantly said.
“What in blazes are ye talkin’ about?” Angus demanded.
“Lady Sabrina was waiting to meet a man when the cutpurse attacked her.”
“Obviously not waiting for ye.”
“Obviously.”
The old fellow clucked his tongue. “Lass, ye shouldna be meetin’ up with strange men in parks.”
“Unless it was your grandson?” Sabrina countered. When Angus narrowed his gaze, she mentally checked off a point in her favor. “In any case, my maid was with me.”
“If ye mean that Hannah, I’d nae think she’d be much of a chaperone.”
“Exactly,” Graeme said. “As I informed Lady Sabrina at the time.”
“Good lad.” Angus waggled a grandfatherly finger at Sabrina. “It’s a good thing Graeme came along, ye ken.”
Sadly, she couldn’t deny that fact. “Yes, I do ken.”
“Unfortunately, there was more to it than Lady Sabrina’s getting pushed into the pond,” Graeme said.
His grandfather twisted sideways to look at him. His gaze grew sharp. “What aren’t ye telling me, son?”
“First, you need to promise not to get upset, Grandda. Because I’m handling it.”
Sabrina held up a hand. “Actually, I already handled it.”
Graeme had the nerve to look slightly amused. “Is that what you call it?”
She lifted her chin in silent defiance.
Angus chopped down an impatient hand. “Cut line, the both of ye. What’s so bloody mysterious about this fallin’-in-the-pond nonsense?”
“It’s about who Lady Sabrina was waiting for before she fell into the pond,” Graeme said.
“Well?”
“Again, you need to promise you won’t go off.”
“I promise I’ll throttle ye if ye don’t stop skatin’ about like a ninny.”
Graeme seemed to mentally brace himself. “Lady Sabrina was meeting Lord Cringlewood.”
For a good thirty seconds, the old man was speechless. When he recovered, Sabrina soon found herself stunned by the inventiveness of Scottish profanity.
* * *
“Ainsley, I’m so sorry,” Sabrina said. “I wish I could have spared you this.”
Seated opposite her in the family drawing room, Ainsley waved a hand. “Please, none of this is your fault. I’m only grieved that you had to put up with that loathsome creature’s appalling behavior.”
“I still can’t believe Cringlewood had the nerve to return to England, much less to London,” exclaimed Victoria, who had plumped down next to Sabrina on the sofa.
“He needed to hunt for an heiress,” Ainsley replied.
Sabrina winced. “And I fit the bill.”
Ainsley’s extraordinary violet eyes warmed with sympathy. “Single ladies with large fortunes will always be prey to fortune hunters. It’s rather an occupational hazard.”
Sabrina had always assumed her father’s disapproval of her suitors had stemmed from his reluctance for her to marry. In light of recent events, she now couldn’t blame him for his overprotective tendencies. Her most attractive asset had never been her intellect, personality, or looks. She’d been a fool to think it anything but the size of her fortune.
Victoria patted her hand. “I’ll be writing to Aden to ask him what’s to be done. Cringlewood cannot be allowed to continue to prey on women.”
“Your brother is dealing with the matter, although I’m not quite sure what the arrangements are.”
“It sounds like you did an excellent job of handling the pig yourself,” Ainsley said. “I wish I could have seen you shove him over that balcony.”
“I was lucky that Mr. Kendrick warned me about the marquess, although it was awkward for him to have to violate your family’s privacy.” Sabrina winced. “And I’m placing all of you in another awkward situation, dropped on your doorstep like this, and with disturbing news, no less.”
“Nonsense,” Ainsley replied. “We’re thrilled you’re here.”
“And Graeme must have been pleased to see you,” Victoria added. “It’s always lovely to visit with friends.”
Sabrina wriggled her fingers. “In truth, he seemed nonplussed by Aden’s note.”
“Yes, that was a bit odd of my brother,” Victoria said. “I’m surprised he didn’t send an express to tell us about the incident with Cringlewood and of your impending visit.”
“I didn’t know I was coming to visit you,” Sabrina said with a wry smile. “It was rather embarrassing.”
Victoria poured her a cup of tea from a Limoges service on the table in front of them. “Graeme was right to insist you come immediately to Heriot Row.”
Sabrina tactfully refrained from mentioning that he’d been ordered to do so.
“I’m excited to have the chance to catch up with you,” Ainsley said. “After spending the last three years in a backwater, I rather feel like a bumpkin.”
“Halifax is hardly a backwater,” Victoria protested. “Nor were you living in rustic solitude. Logan’s house sounds charming, from what you told me.”
Ainsley grinned. “Springhill Manor is both charming and enormous. It’s even larger than the governor’s house, by at least two rooms.”
“Not that you were counting,” Victoria drolly replied.
“I always count. Plus, we were the first residence in Halifax to have built-in water closets.”
Sabrina couldn’t help laughing—mostly from relief. The discussion about Cringlewood had been distressing for Ainsley, who’d gone white and pinched looking. But after ascertaining that Cringlewood was no immediate threat to her family, Ainsley had been primarily concerned for Sabrina’s well-being. Her friend had then launched into a blunt and rather entertaining commentary about what she would do to the marquess if she ever saw him again, and Victoria had chimed in with ideas of her own.
Sabrina fully agreed with their sentiments.
She couldn’t help but marvel at Ainsley’s resilience and strength, and it made her realize how lucky she was to have led such a sheltered, privileged life. While Father was a dreadful and sometimes selfish fusspot, he’d always protected her with every ounce of his being. Because of that, Sabrina had the confidence to step out and lead her own life, making the decisions that were best for her.
Decisions, she hoped, that now would include Graeme Kendrick.
A quiet knock sounded on the door.
“Enter,” Victoria called out.
Graeme stuck his head in. “Is it safe to come in? Royal is having hysterics out here in the hall.”
His brother shoved him aside. “Idiot. I simply want to check on my wife.”
Ainsley rose with a reassuring smile as Royal strode to her. For the first time, Sabrina noticed he had a hitch to his step. He gathered his wife into his arms, and they hugged for a long moment. Then he ducked down to look into her eyes.
“Are you all right, sweet lass?”
Ainsley cupped his cheek. “I’m perfectly fine. You, however, are limping, which doesn’t please me.”
“Och, it’s nothing to fuss about.”
Ainsley beetled her brows at Graeme, who’d propped a shoulder against the doorframe. “You should not have kept Royal on the docks in this blustery weather. You know it’s not good for his leg.”
“It was his idea,” Graeme replied. “He said it was the only way to get out of that stupid regalia ceremony.”
“Regardless, you should have made sure he came promptly home. I am quite annoyed with you, Graeme.”
He gave her a mocking bow. “Naturally, I am stunned by that assessment.”
“I will knock your block off, laddie boy. Don’t think I won’t.”
Victoria winked at Sabrina. “Just an average day in Clan Kendrick, as you’
ll soon find.”
Goodness. They were certainly a forthright and highly informal family.
Royal drew his wife back to the sofa. “You’re scandalizing our guest, love. I’m fine, and I don’t think we need to air all our dirty laundry at once.”
“You couldn’t. There’s far too much of it,” Graeme said, strolling over to fetch a glass of whisky from the mahogany sideboard.
Sabrina rose to join him.
“Would you like something to drink, my lady?” he politely asked her.
“A glass of sherry, if I may.”
A slow smile lurked at the corners of his mouth. It was quite a firm mouth, but very attractive.
“Not something stronger? You might need it to survive my family.”
She smiled. “Actually, I find them refreshing.”
The hint of amusement turned into a grin. “Yes, Ainsley is exceedingly refreshing.”
“Especially with you.”
“Oh, she specializes in that.”
He handed Sabrina a diamond-faceted wineglass containing a generous pour of sherry. As it was barely midday, this was another indication that Kendricks did everything on a large scale.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.” His gaze warmed with a look that pleasantly muddled her insides. “But if you’re staying any length of time in Scotland, you’ll need to start drinking whisky, like a proper Scottish lass.”
“I suppose you’re right. If I wish to do things properly, that is.”
The emerald glitter of his mesmerizing gaze positively dazzled her for a moment. Then he blinked and seemed to withdraw, as if mentally closing the shutters.
“And yet I expect that you won’t be staying long,” he said. “Going back with the king, no doubt.”
“Oh, yes. I suppose so.”
They stood awkwardly until Graeme made a vague gesture toward the others. “Would you like to sit? A full tea tray is on its way up. I’m sure you must be famished.”
And they say women are changeable.
One moment, Graeme had smiled at her with the warmth of a summer sunrise. The next, he’d grown coolly formal. And he was not a formal man.
Well, she refused to be daunted by his erratic behavior.
“First, I want to ask you about your grandfather,” she said. “I feel terrible that I upset him.”
“I’m just sorry you were on the receiving end of an Angus eruption. Those are not pleasant.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Eruption, is that what you call it? It was certainly colorful.”
“It was one of his better ones.”
So colorful, in fact, that Graeme had been forced to intervene, although initially without success. Only his threat to toss Mr. MacDonald out of the carriage had finally taken some of the wind out of the old fellow’s sails.
When Sabrina had tried to apologize for bearing such bad news, the old man had tersely informed her that it was “nae her fault” and then had fallen into a brooding silence. Graeme had tried to alleviate the tension by pointing out various sights on the way to Heriot Row.
“I do wish I could make it up to him somehow,” she said.
“I sent him up to spend time with the bairns. That always calms him down.”
“Oh, yes, the children. I hope I get a chance to spend time with them.”
Sabrina loved children, but rarely got a chance to interact with them. Growing up an only child, she’d missed having a sibling or two.
“You’ll not have much choice. They rule the Kendrick household.”
“That sounds like an immense amount of fun.”
“Like the little ones, do you?” he asked.
“I do.” She wrinkled her nose. “My father, however, does not. He says they’re too messy, too noisy, and they get sick.”
Graeme laughed. “He’s not wrong, although our bairns are a robust lot. But you’ll get the noise and the mess.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Warmth once more sparked in his gaze. “Then you’ll fit right in, lass.”
I hope so.
“Graeme, don’t keep Sabrina standing about like a footman,” Ainsley called from the sofa. “And you come join the rest of us like a proper human being.”
“Yes, Mother,” he sarcastically replied as he took Sabrina’s elbow to usher her back to the others.
“Oh, Lord, I can’t imagine being your mother,” Ainsley said in a humorous tone. “She must have been a living saint.”
When Graeme’s grip briefly tightened on Sabrina’s elbow, she glanced up at him.
His expression was bland. “She was all that, and more.”
Royal threw him an odd look before smiling at his wife. “Our mother had to be a saint to put up with the lot of us.”
Graeme handed Sabrina to one of the sofas, then moved off to the side. “Especially me,” he said. “I was a terror.”
Ainsley pressed a hand to her chest with mock surprise. “I’m shocked to hear that, although I’m sure Grant wasn’t far behind when it came to terrorizing the locals. And I suspect Logan was an absolute fright.”
“They couldn’t hold a candle to me,” Graeme quietly replied. “No one could.”
“Our mother loved all of us, lad,” Royal said gently. “And you made her laugh the most. She always said you were the most lovable scamp in all of Scotland.”
“Did she? I don’t remember that.”
“I wonder where that husband of mine has got off to?” Victoria said after a moment’s odd silence.
Graeme settled into a leather club chair by the fireplace. He seemed to be deliberately sitting away from the rest of them. “Nick came in a little while ago. He was going to change and then come down.”
“Oh, dear,” Ainsley said. “We’ll have to tell poor Nick about Cringlewood. As if he doesn’t have enough on his mind with the king’s visit.”
Royal tucked his wife close. “Graeme and I talked to him about that when he came in. Stop worrying, love.”
“You’re not to worry about anything, Ainsley,” Graeme said. “Aden is handling matters. The marquess has already departed for the Continent, I believe.”
“Where it’s to be hoped he will meet with an unfortunate accident,” Royal grimly commented.
Graeme frowned thoughtfully at his glass. “Travel abroad can be risky. Bandits are especially bad in France, I hear. They have rather spectacular ways of making people disappear, such as shoving them off a cliff.”
Ainsley perked up. “Goodness, how dreadful. I imagine such sad events might be rather gruesome.”
Graeme gave an insouciant shrug. “Hard to say what might happen to him over there.”
Royal’s gaze narrowed on his brother. “No suspicion can come back on my wife or the family.”
Ainsley patted his arm. “Don’t be silly, darling. Aden excels at this sort of business.”
“Yes, he’s exceptionally talented in that respect,” Victoria ruefully said.
Sabrina mentally blinked at the extraordinary and rather bloodthirsty conversation. Forthright didn’t even begin to describe the Kendrick family.
Royal’s gaze, as sharp as broken glass, stayed on his brother. “I mean it. No repercussions for Ainsley.”
Graeme’s equally sharp gaze didn’t waver. “Obviously, although I have no idea what you’re talking about. In fact, this conversation never happened at all.”
When he cast Sabrina a challenging look, she returned a bland smile. “Did you say something, sir? You do tend to rattle on, so I regret to say that my mind was wandering.”
While the others chuckled, Graeme shook his head. “I’ve noticed how rarely you listen to me.”
“But in this case, I actually am listening to you.”
“Don’t make it a habit, or I won’t know how to manage you,” he replied with a slight smile.
Sabrina felt her cheeks heat up. “As I believe I’ve mentioned, I do not require managing.”
“That’s the sp
irit, Sabrina,” Ainsley said. “Kendrick men can be so bossy and interfering.”
“We’re only that way because we want to protect our lassies.” Royal winked at Graeme. “Right, lad?”
“I never boss anyone,” Graeme replied. “I’m completely easygoing.”
Sabrina choked on her sherry.
“Go down the wrong way?” he politely asked.
“Something like that,” she hoarsely replied.
Victoria hauled herself up. “Now that we’ve got the most pressing issues sorted, and determined that Graeme is not bossy, I’d best see what’s become of our tea.”
“The tea tray will be arriving shortly,” said a distinguished-looking man as he entered the room. “There was a minor fracas in the kitchen, thanks to one of the dogs, but Henderson has restored order.”
The new arrival had to be Lord Arnprior himself—a handsome man with startlingly blue eyes and jet-black hair.
Victoria heaved a sigh. “Angus promised he would keep those silly dogs under control if they came with us. I suppose I should go speak with him. Again.”
Her husband bent to kiss her on the nose. “No, you will sit down and rest.”
Her smile was wry. “Nicholas, I do nothing but rest.”
Lord Arnprior steered his wife back to the sofa. “And you will continue to rest, my love.”
Once his wife was seated, he smiled at Sabrina. “We have a visitor, I see.”
“Allow me to introduce Lady Sabrina Bell,” Victoria said. “Lady Sabrina, this is my husband, Lord Arnprior.”
Sabrina rose and curtsied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Please forgive the unexpected intrusion.”
He bowed. “You’re most welcome, although I regret that my scapegrace brother failed to inform us of your impending visit. Had I known, I would have returned home earlier.”
“Unfortunately, your scapegrace brother didn’t know about her ladyship’s visit until she stepped off the bloody boat,” Graeme sardonically replied.
Arnprior’s eyebrows ticked up a notch, although whether it was in response to his brother’s tone or that tidbit of information, Sabrina didn’t know.
Fortunately, the butler and the tea trolley arrived, and the next few minutes were taken up with the dispensing of pastries and small sandwiches. When Graeme handed her a full plate, Sabrina didn’t even pretend to object. She was famished, and he knew it.
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