A Midsummer Night's Romp

by Katie MacAlister

  “On the contrary, I was simply pointing out that I’m well aware you are feeling trapped right now, and that I was giving you the time and space you need to work through that and come to the decision that marrying me is the answer to a great many problems,” he said lightly, not wanting to add stress to the situation. “Also, I noticed that you didn’t kiss me.”

  “Pfft. And not likely to when you make silly comments like that.” He was about to object that he wasn’t teasing her when she continued, setting the stone back in its tray. “Evidently Paul is in one of the other rooms looking at some foundation that one of the diggers uncovered. Shall we go tackle him?”

  “If you like.” Gunner strolled with her out of the room, feeling only a slight twinge of ache in his ankle. “Although you may wish to let me do the talking, since you’ve already confronted him about it, and he might be less happy to see you again so soon.”

  She made a face, but kept silent as they approached Paul, who was directing a pair of diggers on how to clean off the wall.

  “What is it?” Thompson snapped when Gunner asked to have a word with him. “Can’t you see I’m busy? Some of us have work to do, you know. We can’t all swan around the castle like . . . like . . .”

  “Like I lived here?” Gunner put a smile on his face even though he would have liked to kick Paul out of the cellar. “I believe you’d prefer the discussion to be a bit more private.” He glanced meaningfully at the diggers. “I have a couple of questions to ask about a dig a few years ago.”

  Thompson glared at Lorina, and looked, for a moment at least, like he was going to refuse Gunner’s suggestion. “Very well. You two carry on. I won’t be a moment.”

  Thompson marched out to the room where the mouse stone was stored. Fidencia had evidently been ordered elsewhere, since they were now alone.

  “I hope you are not going to slander me the way that one did,” he said, nodding at Lorina. “And also, she’s crazy if she thinks I’m going to give in to her blackmail.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Gunner said, taking Thompson by surprise. “If I’d been accused of something I didn’t do, I’d say the same thing. The question is, can you prove what you say?”

  “Prove it?” Thompson looked first appalled, then angry. “Why the hell do I have to prove anything?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to do. Because you are a decent human being. Because you are aware that the charges made against you by Lorina’s friend Sandy are grave and you wish to assure her and any other women you’ve been with that you are not the cause of any illness.”

  Thompson’s jaw worked a couple of times; then he finally spat out, “You have no right to the sort of proof you’re asking for.”

  “No,” Gunner acknowledged. “We don’t. And we can’t force you to give it to us—we can only ask you to do the decent thing because an innocent woman has suffered, and we would all like to keep others from going through the same thing.”

  “Very well.” Thompson gave an annoyed sniff. “Because I have nothing to be afraid of, I will do as you ask, even though I consider having to prove my innocence an unnecessary inconvenience. As you say, I am a decent man, and if it will make Sandy feel better to know that our relationship did not end in her present situation, then I will e-mail my physician for a copy of the lab results. So long as the information contained therein goes no further than Sandy.”

  “Absolutely,” Gunner agreed. “We don’t wish to persecute the innocent, Thompson, or invade your privacy any more than we have to. We simply desire to locate the source of the infection, and ensure that person receives appropriate treatment.”

  “I just hope you have a suitable apology ready for me once you see the lab results,” Thompson replied grandly, and stalked away.

  Lorina sagged against Gunner when he was gone, releasing breath that she had evidently been holding. “That was the most horrible thing I’ve ever done. Dear god, I feel dirty. Do you feel dirty, Gunner?”

  “Not dirty so much as guilty as hell.” He pinched the bridge of his nose to forestall a headache he felt coming on. “I do admit that was one of the more unpleasant things I’ve ever done, and hope I never have to do it again. There is one thing worse, though.”

  “Ethnic genocide?” Lorina asked, releasing his hand and moving over to examine the stone and the other finds that sat on the makeshift table. “Baby-seal clubbing?”

  “That he’s as innocent as he says he is,” Gunner said grimly.

  Lorina shuddered. “Yeah, that’s going to be seriously horrible. He could sue me.”

  “I doubt he’d do that, since he offered to let us see the lab results, but he could make things very uncomfortable for us.” He caught her hand as she walked past him, about to head out the door. “Lorina, you’re very certain—”

  “Yes,” she said without letting him finish. She hesitated a moment, then leaned in and kissed him gently before licking the tip of his nose. “I know Sandy. She’s not promiscuous.”

  He took a deep breath. “All right, then. We’ll just deal with the situation as it happens.”

  “You’ll see. Sandy will be vindicated,” she predicted, and, with an explanation that she needed to catch up with taking photos of the dig in the cellar, went off to gather her camera equipment.

  Gunner had to fight back the urge to give her instructions on how to frame shots, but kept his advice to himself, and instead went to find his daughter.

  He found Cressy as happy as a lark, and she quickly had him promising her she could spend the weekend assisting the stable owner with an overnight pony trek, which made her even happier.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best dad ever!” Cressy yelled, doing a leap of happiness, and flinging herself on him to smother his cheeks in kisses. “Madame said we could do a little cross-country work, which is so awesome! This is the best summer I’ve ever had! Gran, did you hear?”

  Salma emerged from her tent, a folding chair in her hand. “I did. I believe anyone within a five-hundred-yard radius heard your cries of joy. Good afternoon, Gunner. You look much better than this morning.”

  Gunner wasn’t the sort of man who blushed at the drop of a hat, but he felt a little warmth on his cheeks that had nothing to do with Cressy’s overenthusiastic signs of affection. He met Salma’s eyes, wondering if he was going to see any reproach in them, but there was nothing but a little amusement that he could well bear. “It’s amazing what a meal and a shower can do to raise your spirits. How are things going out here?”

  “Very well. Cressida had a nice lesson today, didn’t you, dear? And we have decided to indulge ourselves in a little celebratory dinner in town tonight. You don’t mind if we don’t spend the evening with you and your family, do you?”

  “We’re celebrating the fact that you had illicit sex in the tunnel, and are getting married and getting me a horse next year,” Cressy said in a rush, and then looked down at her walking shorts and eeked. “Gotta change! Back in a flash, Gran.”

  “No, I don’t mind you having dinner by yourselves, although I know Elliott and Alice are looking forward to spending time with both you and Cressy.”

  “I promised Cressida what she calls a girls’ night out,” Salma said. “And I hate to go back on that, but of course, if the baron and his wife would like us to attend dinner with them—”

  “We’ll do a family dinner tomorrow,” Gunner reassured her, then grimaced. “Illicit sex in the tunnel?”

  Salma just smiled. “You do that martyred look very well, Gunner.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s a look that I’m going to be wearing a lot.”

  “Only if you keep allowing Cressida to find you in compromising positions.” She lifted a hand when he started to protest, giving a gentle little laugh. “That wasn’t a criticism, my dear, merely an observation. I do like Lorina, you know.”

  “Good. I do as we
ll.”

  She hesitated a moment before continuing. “I hope you aren’t allowing yourself to be swayed by empathy into actions you might later regret.”

  He puzzled through that for a moment before guessing she was talking about the marriage announcement. “Have you ever known me to be forced into something I didn’t want to do?”

  “No, but this is a situation where you’re not really being forced, are you?” She sat on the folding chair, smoothing a hand over the skirt covering her knees. “You might not wish to acknowledge the fact, but you are a very empathetic man, and I can see that you feel strongly about Lorina.”

  He was genuinely surprised that Salma knew him so well, since he saw her so seldom. “Strongly empathic, you mean?”

  She said nothing for a moment. “I suspect it started that way, but now other emotions have come into play, have they not?”

  “I’d be a dead man if I didn’t think Lorina was worth my attention,” he said with a rush of gallantry.

  “And that is very telling,” Salma said, nodding. “Lorina is charming, quite charming, and I like her. But you clearly see much in her that perhaps others miss. No, I’m not criticizing her, so you needn’t rush to her defense—I’m sure she’s everything you know her to be. I’m simply saying that to those of us who don’t have your sensitivities, she is a perfectly nice woman, no more and no less. What is more, she is, I suspect, quite vulnerable to your particular charms. I would hate to see that vulnerability exploited.”

  “If you’re worried that I’m rushing into a relationship, I can assure you that Lorina stated several times that she has no intention of marrying me. Although I have to admit, the thought that she’s so willing to spurn my offer has wounded my pride a bit.”

  “And perhaps your brother’s recent marriage has made your own situation look a little less rosy?”

  “My situation as in my inability to maintain a serious relationship?” he asked, wondering if he should be offended that his feelings were so easily read.

  She made a conciliatory gesture. “Let us say your choice to stay open to potential new romance rather than commit yourself to one person.”

  “I’m a free spirit,” he said with dignity. “I always have been. Elliott’s the one who had long-term girlfriends—I’d never found one that I wanted to be with beyond a few weeks.”

  She was silent for a moment, her gaze on Cressy’s tent, from which came the sounds of both music and occasional crashes followed by muted cursing. “Until now?”

  He opened his mouth to say that he would move heaven and earth to protect Lorina, but reality wasn’t quite so cut-and-dried. “That is something we will have to wait and see. Unfortunately, the decision is not mine alone to make.”

  “And yet you announced your engagement in public without Lorina’s consent.”

  He shifted uncomfortably, swallowing back the explanation that it had originally been made in jest, but now had taken on a much more enticing aspect. “Yes, well, I might have been a bit premature in that, but I’m sure that once a few problems are taken care of, Lorina will be more open to considering a future with me.”

  “And if she doesn’t want a future with you?”

  He straightened his shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that, because I’m not sure I could move on from her.” Raising his voice, he added, “Cressy, do you need any spending money?”

  Cressy stuck her head out of the tent, clutching the door tightly. Her hair, which had been contained in a ponytail, had somehow gone through a transformation, and now resembled several hedgehogs locked in mortal combat. “When don’t I need spending money, Gunner?”

  “I apologize,” he said, pulling out his wallet and giving her a few bills. “That was a stupid question.”

  “The only stupid question is the one not asked,” Cressy said, blowing him a kiss before disappearing back into the tent.

  “I really do not know how she turned out as smart as she did,” Gunner told Salma, “but I’ll never stop being grateful to your daughter for her. Shall I see you two later tonight, or will your girls’ night out be a lengthy one?”

  “I don’t think we will be back at a sociable hour. We plan on visiting the cinema after dinner.” She gave him a knowing look tinged with amusement. “You are free to enjoy your evening without our limiting presence.”

  He bent down to kiss her cheek. “You’re a witch, do you know that? In another age, they’d have burned you at the stake.”

  “In another age, I wouldn’t have let them know the truth about me.”

  He laughed and, after a quick look at his watch, headed back to the castle. He had arranged to meet Lorina shortly before dinner, so they could meet Thompson together, and he had just enough time to shave and change his clothes before that.

  It didn’t escape him that he was almost giddy at the thought of spending the entire evening with Lorina. That excitement lasted until he had completed his ablutions, and then the thought struck him that perhaps Lorina had other plans for her evening.

  “Impossible,” he said aloud, refusing to give in to the doubts that Salma had started within him. “Lorina clearly can’t keep her hands off of me, and I’m not going to encourage such subversive thoughts. The only question is whether she would like to go out to dinner or have me cook for her here.”

  The question was still uppermost in his mind when he thumped his way down the stairs to the small sitting room that the family used when they were home. To his surprise, Elliott was sitting with a book in his hand.

  “Ah,” his brother said upon sighting him. “There you are.”

  “I am indeed, although I’m about to leave. Did you need something?”

  “Not need so much as wanted. I thought we could catch up.”

  Gunner paused in the act of gathering up the keys to his motorcycle. “That sounded very older brother. You wouldn’t, by any chance, be wishing to question me about the fact that I announced I was going to marry a woman I’ve known for a week?”

  Elliott looked surprised. “No, actually, I wasn’t going to mention that. I assume you know your own mind.”

  “Thank you. Then you, like Salma, must be warning me about stomping all over Lorina’s heart. If so, I can assure you that I have no intention of doing anything to hurt her.”

  “Again, that wasn’t what I was going to say.” Elliott cleared his throat. “It’s another matter that’s become quite obvious.”

  Gunner crossed his arms over his chest. “You know full well that I would never have been in the middle of carrying on with Lorina had I known that you had broken down the door to the bolt-hole and crept along the tunnel to us—”

  “We weren’t creeping!” Elliott said loudly. “The amount of noise being generated was enough to wake the dead, but evidently not enough to distract you two.”

  “I would point out that when I make love to a woman, she’s oblivious to all else, but you’re well aware of tales of my prowess, so I won’t.”

  “Don’t you try to look modest at me, Gun,” Elliott said, pointing the book at him. “I know full well you haven’t a shred of modesty, and yes, I’m equally well aware of both your reputation and the fact that when one is so pleasantly engaged, trivial things like an awareness of one’s surroundings get lost. That was, in fact, not what I wanted to talk to you about, either.”

  “Well then, what the hell is?” Gunner asked, running out of patience. He hated being called on the carpet, especially when he knew he was guilty of misdeeds.

  “It’s come to my attention that you are blackmailing a member of the dig team.”

  Gunner stared at his brother for the count of twenty before speaking. “That bastard ran to you, didn’t he?”

  “If by ‘that bastard’ you mean a perfectly charming woman, then yes.”

  “A woman? What woman? Not Lorina!”

 
“No, although the fact that you’ve mentioned her makes me believe she knows what you’ve done.” Elliott gave him a long look, one that made Gunner think of their father. He felt even more like a naughty schoolboy, which in turn just made him even more irritated.

  “Of course she knows—she’s the whole reason we’re blackmailing that bastard Thompson.”

  “So you admit you are blackmailing him?”

  “No, of course not, I was being facetious. We simply asked Thompson about a situation that is worrying Lorina, and he offered to give us the proof that he wasn’t guilty of instigating the situation. There was no blackmail involved, although I have no doubt he thinks we pressured him into doing the right thing.” Gunner took a deep breath and tried to think of the names of all the women diggers. He had met only a couple of them, although the one he knew best was Daria. “It couldn’t have been Daria. . . .”

  “That was, I believe, her name.” Elliott set down the book. “Gun, you know I hate to do this just as much as you hate to have me rail at you, but really, we can’t have you harassing anyone, let alone people who have given us a substantial amount of money to spend a month on the castle grounds. They may not be guests per se, but they are tantamount to guests, and I draw the line at extorting money from guests. At least, not money they haven’t agreed to pay, although god help us if Alice continues to hold those Historic Ainslie Castle events. I may just go mad if she goes through with her plans to have a Victorian Month. Can you see me in a cravat for an entire month?”

  Gunner couldn’t help but laugh despite the dressing-down he was receiving. “No, although I’m willing to wager that Alice would come up with some costume for you that made you look even more the lord of the manor than you already are.”

  Elliott made a rude gesture at him. “Do you want to explain just why you and Lorina see fit to not-quite-blackmail one of the archaeologists?”

  “It’s not even remotely blackmail, and no, I don’t wish to explain,” Gunner said smoothly. “It’s not my explanation to give. I will inform Lorina that you’re concerned about the situation, and see if she’d like to explain the whole story.”