Waiting for the Laird

by Willa Blair

  “This animal was important to someone,” Ian mused.

  Caitlin frowned at the bones for a moment, then her eyebrows lifted and her mouth dropped open as she jumped to her feet. “Nay!” she shrieked and clamped a hand over her mouth. “I ken what it is,” she added through her fingers, then pointed at the bones again. “Look at the size. Imagine it filled out with muscle and hair. It’s a deerhound. It’s Fergus!”

  Ian frowned. “Why would they bury the laird’s favorite hound right inside a walled-up doorway?”

  Rollo stuck his hands in his pockets. “Likely to guard the place. They might have thought if his body blocked the doorway, his ghost would protect what’s hidden behind those walls,” he added, indicating the secret staircase and rooms with a lift of his chin.

  Lara covered her face with both hands for a moment. “Surely they didn’t kill him for this.”

  “Probably not,” Ian said quietly, hoping that was true.

  “He was left here to protect the place and the things these people held dear,” Rollo added. “Likely he died of old age at a convenient time, so they put him to work in the afterlife.”

  Lara cocked her head to the side, studying the grave. “Look at the way he’s facing…toward the hidden rooms.”

  “I can’t believe I’m about to ask this question, but if he’s supposed to be guarding things, why haven’t we had any problems up there?” Ian glanced toward the public stairs they’d all used many times to ascend to the first floor.

  Lara regarded Ian. “Didn’t you tell me the legend says the ghost obeys the laird?” She turned to Caitlin. “You did, too. And every time we’ve been up there, you’ve been with me.”

  Caitlin cut a glance toward Ian, then glanced down, earning a frown from him. What else had she told Lara?

  “You weren’t around when I put in the lights,” Rollo objected with a frown.

  “But Lara wanted them there, right?” Caitlin’s eye’s sparked defiance as she looked from Rollo to Ian, then at the bones.

  “This is all just silly,” Lara objected. “For one thing,” she said, ticking off points on her fingers, “whoever heard of a ghost dog…hound,” she corrected with a sideways glance at Caitlin. “And two, how would a ghost…hound…know enough to obey the laird and three, how would he know who was laird, and…oh, this is nuts.” She threw up her hands. “We should either move those bones outside and give then a proper burial or cover them back up where they are. Since someone clearly wanted him in there like that, let the poor hound rest in peace.”

  Rollo grabbed his shovel. “The hound has done no damage to anything around him, so I say we leave him be where he is.”

  “Someone did a lot of work to place him there,” Caitlin observed. “Whether he’s guarding Cairn Dubh’s secrets or not, we shouldn’t disturb his bones. Or not any more than we already have.”

  “If this is Fergus and he is the ghost,” Rollo added, “he won’t like being moved. Certainly no’ right before Halloween.” He plunged the shovel’s blade into the mound of dirt he and Ian had created along the base of the leaning slate flooring stones they’d carefully removed.

  Ian studied the skull’s profile, then the ribs, pelvic and leg bones whose curved surfaces protruded slightly from the supporting gravel and dirt like twigs in a mosaic of pebbles. “We should at least get some photographs of this.”

  “I’ll go back up and get my camera,” Caitlin offered and left at a run.

  Ian looked at Lara. “It’s your decision.”

  “Leave him be,” Lara said and nodded. “And do not tell the twins he’s here.”

  ****

  Back at his office that afternoon, Ian tried to focus on another project, but his thoughts kept returning to Lara, the hound’s bones they’d found, and Fergus’s ghost. Up to now, it had all seemed like a touching tale, but seeing those bones made it all too real. What would happen on Halloween, when spirits were reputed to walk the earth? Were Lara and the twins in any danger?

  Not if he believed the tales saying the ghost obeyed the laird.

  Lara was laird of the keep now. As long as Fergus accepted that, she and the twins would be fine. And if he didn’t? Ian ran a hand through his hair. Old folk tales and the upcoming holiday were putting ridiculous notions in everyone’s mind. Here he sat, thinking seriously about the threat posed by a ghost that probably didn’t exist. A ghost hound, of all the crazy ideas. But Lara said the twins had been acting strangely since he’d started work in the old wing. And then, on the stairs, he and Lara had felt that odd draft…and again in the hidden room after they’d decided to leave Fergus’s painting where they found it…nay, there had been too much talk about a ghost, about Halloween. Besides, what could one ghost hound do?

  Ian could think of only one way to put all this nonsense to rest. He would find a way to be out at Cairn Dubh Halloween night.

  He shifted the floor plan on the drafting table before him. He had expected to finish the detailed drawing today, but his heart wasn’t in it. He glanced at the piles of paperwork stacked on his desk. He needed to hire a partner, and soon, but all he could think about was Cairn Dubh…and Lara—Lara taking off her ring at Blane and Cassie’s wedding, her fingertips brushing his palm, her in his arms on the stairs, her lips a breath away from his—and so much more that he hoped for.

  With a growl, he left the office in search of coffee. His secretary, Lenore, would bring him some if he asked, but he needed to stretch his legs and get his mind off of Lara. This time of the afternoon, the few people about would be headed home from work or to the market, or just enjoying the late-day sun peeking out between some clouds. Ian didn’t have the sidewalk to himself, but he didn’t mind.

  Until he saw Cassie’s mother headed his way, frowning as soon as she noticed him. He continued on, knowing the confrontation was inevitable at this point, and pasted on his friendliest smile.

  “Good afternoon, Mrs. Crawley,” he greeted her.

  “Is it? After you conspired with my daughter and son-in-law to elope? To leave their families out of the ceremony? How could you? A mother dreams of seeing her daughter married, and thanks to you, I missed it.”

  “How could I refuse a friend?” Ian responded, knowing if she was already playing the guilt card, the rest of this conversation was not going to go well.

  “You could have talked them into a delay. I had such grand plans.”

  “I did suggest waiting, but they were insistent.” And didn’t agree with any of the grand plans, but Ian knew better than to mention that.

  “Hmmph. And I hear you brought that young widow with you. For shame.”

  So if she couldn’t get a reaction from him about the elopement, she’d come at him through Lara? Ian took a breath. “I did, and there was no shame involved, ma’am. The happy couple asked for her.”

  “Indeed? It seems to me all too easy for you to take advantage of her, what with her husband having just passed…”

  “A year ago,” Ian ground out, his temper starting to rise despite his good intentions.

  “Keep in mind, Ian Paterson, this is a small village. If you overstep, we’ll ken.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Ian responded through clenched teeth. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve business to attend to.”

  “Aye,” she said, and sniffed, “I imagine you do.”

  Ian stepped around her and went on his way, seething. If this was the reaction his interest in Lara got from the people in the village who’d known him since he was in diapers, he didn’t want to think about how Lara would react if she found out about him from anyone else.

  He could imagine a future with her, but not if he didn’t handle telling her just right.

  He’d tell her tomorrow, he decided. Since his uncle died and he had no male cousins, he was the last male of his line. She needed to ken who he was. What his grandfather had insisted he was supposed to be. His family’s connection to her estate. All of it. He couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. He had t
o know if she could accept his heritage, and Halloween, the night for telling old tales, would be the perfect time to lay it all out.

  She planned to take the twins into the village to trick-or-treat. He’d come over once they’d returned home, and they’d talk after the kids went to bed, zoned out on sugar. Surely, they’d sleep soundly after indulging in Halloween candy. And he’d be there if Fergus decided to show himself to the adults. As long as Lara didn’t kick him out before the hound had a chance to appear. If he didn’t accept Lara as laird, maybe Ian would do.

  Chapter Ten

  Lara laughed as the twins presented themselves in their ragged old clothes for her inspection. Scottish children dressed in tattered clothes and ghoulish makeup as their Halloween costumes to go ‘’guising’, so the twins had insisted on following the custom. No superheroes or witches and warlocks for them this year. They’d even found suitable turnips at the farmers’ market—with Ian’s help—before Alex had gotten sick and her wish for an evening with Ian had gone by the wayside. She’d drawn the line at allowing the twins to walk around with actual candles in their neep lanterns. She’d inserted battery-powered tea lights, justifying her choice by telling them they wouldn’t be blown out by a ghost’s breath or the spooky Halloween wind. Amy looked skeptical, but Alex just shrugged.

  “You’ve memorized your rhyme, right? You can’t just yell ‘trick or treat’ to get candy. People here expect more from their visiting ghouls.”

  “We’ve got it, Mom,” Amy informed her with an eye roll at her brother. “Dad told us about it last year before he…left for California.”

  Lara’s heart clenched. Okay, message received. She ruffled Amy’s hair, then Alex’s, a silent show of sympathy and shared pain. Trick or treating had been out of the question last year. They’d returned to California, to family, and to the funeral. Her mother had offered to take the twins around the neighborhood, but no one had been in the mood for ghosts and goblins. She figured they were making progress if it sounded like fun this year.

  “Let’s go then,” she told them and grabbed her keys. Tonight, she’d leave the house dark and locked up, making it clear to anyone who ventured this far out of town no one was home to hand out goodies, at least not while she and the twins were out and about. If Angus were still alive, he could have taken door duty, or escorted the twins. But he was gone, and Lara had to make this work on her own.

  In the village, a party had been set up in the main square with food, drink, and games. But first, the kids would make the rounds of the nearby homes and businesses to collect enough candy to keep them on a sugar high for days. Then the adults would keep an eye on the miniature ghouls while they ran around the square, playing games and chasing each other, until time to go home.

  Over an hour later, Lara encountered Becky as they returned to the square from dropping the twins’ bags of plunder in the car.

  “Are they wound up on sugar, yet?” Becky asked as the twins raced for some school friends.

  How they recognized anyone was beyond Lara. All the kids looked much the same in their old clothes and dirty faces. A few had on slouchy hats, as well.

  “Getting there,” Lara assured her. “Are yours here?”

  “Ach, nay. They’re too old and sophisticated for such as this. But I still enjoy watching the bairns have a grand time, so here I am.”

  “I’m glad. We can keep each other company.”

  “And keep an eye on…how did you describe them? Trouble and Double-trouble?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Speaking of trouble, Ian’s here, ye ken.”

  Lara swallowed, trying to keep her interest from being obvious. “He is?” Then her stomach sank as she recalled how little she knew about him. “I didn’t think he had children.”

  “He doesn’t. He’s never married. But he sponsors the ‘dunking-for-apples’ tub every year. It is one of the most entertaining events on the square…though we haven’t managed to drown any lads or lasses…yet.”

  Lara summoned the energy to laugh, despite still feeling a twinge in her chest after jumping to the conclusion that Ian taking part in the Halloween festivities meant he came with a wife and children of his own—none of which he’d mentioned. She had given herself a fright. Becky just confirmed he wasn’t married, she told herself, recalling the very unmarried and available vibes he’d been sending her. Not that men didn’t lie about their marital status every day, but she felt certain Ian would not. Too many people knew him too well around here. And, well, Ian just wouldn’t. He also didn’t have kids, though she would not have minded, as long as he’d mentioned them sometime in the months since she’d met him. She breathed a sigh of relief, then laid a hand over her heart.

  He was here.

  She hadn’t known he would be part of the celebration. Other than a passing thought about what the ghost of Fergus might do on Halloween, and wishing Ian would be there to…well, actually, she didn’t know what she expected him to be able to do about a ghost. If there was a ghost. And she’d been too busy all day to even consider where Ian might spend the holiday.

  Lara saw the knowing grin spread across Becky’s ruddy face and realized her own must have reflected the thoughts flitting through her mind, and her desire for Ian.

  “Did ye think he’d spend the evening at home? With all this going on? Or,” Becky added with a sly smile, “show up at your door, looking for a treat?”

  Lara cut her a glance and rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Don’t be ridiculous. Besides, the house is locked up. He couldn’t get in if he wanted to.” Not that he would. He hadn’t mentioned coming back to the house tonight, even after all the talk about Fergus when they found the hound’s bones. She was on her own until Halloween ended. “Are ghosts allowed to walk all night until sunup, or at 12:01, once it is no longer All Hallows Eve, do they go back to wherever they came from?” If so, she was tempted to keep the twins out past midnight.

  Becky burst out laughing. “Ye are not serious. Are ye?”

  No. Yes. “Of course not.”

  “I’m happy to see you embracing Scottish customs, but dinna go overboard, aye?”

  Did Becky, like Ian, speak with a thicker accent when she got nervous? What did she have to be nervous about? They were just talking about ghosts…on Halloween.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Lara muttered, more to herself than Becky. “This conversation has gotten way out of hand.”

  “Aye,” Becky said, taking her arm and urging her forward. “Let’s go back to talking about something more fun, like Ian Paterson.”

  She could see where Becky was leading her. The twins had gravitated toward the one adult in the crowd they knew well and idolized, and were currently hanging on to Ian, watching as others bobbed for apples. It wouldn’t be long before they joined in.

  “Convenient, isn’t it? We can watch the twins and Ian, too,” Becky teased.

  “I see what you’re doing,” Lara warned her.

  “Me? I’m just walking around, doing what we said, making sure the twins stay out of trouble.”

  “Sure you are.”

  At that moment, Ian looked up from the twins and caught sight of her and Becky. A wide grin lit his face. Lara could only smile back. Becky tugged her even faster in his direction.

  “Care to try?” he asked as they got close enough to hear him over children’s shrieks and laughter.

  “What can I win?”

  Ian lifted an eyebrow, his gaze suddenly molten. But his smile and his words were more for public consumption. “An apple?”

  Lara forced a laugh around the heart suddenly lodged in her throat. “I think I’ll pass. But Becky, you should try it. Soaking your head might do you some good.”

  Becky burst out laughing again, then gave Lara a look that promised payback. “I think that’s my cue to be on my way. Ian, she’s all yours.”

  “Promise?” Ian responded.

  Lara gasped. Heat flushed her chest and traveled up her neck. Did he really just say that
? In public? And did he mean it?

  Becky chuckled, shook her head and wandered away.

  Ian turned his gaze on Lara. “I’m only here another forty minutes, then I’m free to go. Why don’t I come out to Cairn Dubh after I’m done?” He glanced down at the twins, but they were laughing, their attention on a lad who had just about gotten his teeth into an apple, then lost it and dunked his head completely into the tub trying to recapture it. “It’s the perfect night to go ghost hunting again,” Ian said softly.

  Lara gave a nervous chuckle and glanced at the twins to make sure they hadn’t overheard, since they’d demand to be included if they thought that was why Ian had come over. Then she glanced back at Ian and noted his grin. Did he really mean ghost hunting? The image of Fergus’s bones flashed before her eyes. Oh no. She would feel safer with Ian there, at least until midnight…or dawn. Why not, indeed? She could get the twins home, cleaned up and headed for bed by the time he arrived.

  “I’ll make tea.”

  “Ach, I’ve a mind for something stronger than tea.”

  “Whisky it will be, then.” She waved to her offspring. “Time to go, kids.”

  “Aw, Mom,” Amy complained, right on cue.

  “Don’t ‘aw, Mom’ me. You’ve had your fun. By the time we get home and you get cleaned up, it’s going to be past your bedtime.” She included Alex in the look she gave Amy. “Both of you still have school tomorrow, remember?”

  Alex perked up suddenly. “Maybe when we get home, the ghost will be out and we can find out where he sleeps. Let’s go!”

  She traded a glance with Ian. “I sincerely hope not. See you later, Ian.”

  He nodded and smiled, but as she turned away, she noticed his expression morphed into a frown. She and Ian knew where the bones of a giant deerhound lay. Did he think Alex was right?

  ****

  As she drove through the woods to the dark estate, Lara realized she should have left a light on. Not wanting to entice trick-or-treaters to an empty house was one thing. Coming home to the Addams Family mansion on Halloween was quite another. Not that Cairn Dubh looked anything like the haunted house on TV. But still. Nights were so much darker here than in California—especially this time of year. Especially on this night. Oh, stop it, she told herself. You’ll be jumping at shadows next.