Questions for a Highlander

by Angeline Fortin

  At the end of the park, they turned to the north, walking their horses side by side as each shot wondering glances at the other from the corners of their eyes. Jack couldn’t help but admire her as she rode. Her habit was one of Eve’s that he recognized, a grass green velvet that matched her eyes and hugged her breasts under the cascade of ivory lace, which might have fluttered freely if not for the painted enamel broach pinning it down. Her little top hat was of the same green, with a small pleated fan of bright ribbon tucked into the ivory satin band. She looked like springtime, with her vivacity sparkling as brightly as the colors she wore.

  Haddington’s lips twisted in self-disgust. Bloody hell, but he was in danger of waxing poetic in her presence!

  “Good morning, Lady Glenrothes!”

  Whirling about, Jack recognized the fellow who called out to them and cursed under his breath. Reginald Wallis was the worst gossip in Town. The dandy toadied to every nobleman, trying to ingratiate himself with a loftier crowd, but Haddington found his petty tittle-tattle nothing but annoying. The rat was sure to wonder at Haddington’s marked attention to Edinburgh’s newest resident though, and given Jack’s somewhat notorious reputation, mark her as his next target. Wallis would be correct, of course, but the earl hated being part of the gossip mills. Nothing had been worse for him than when word of his search for a wife had gotten out. He had felt as if a target had been painted on his back!

  Kitty started to raise a hand in greeting as she assumed Eve might, but Jack pulled her hand down and urged her to turn away from the man before they might meet up with one another. Puzzled, Kitty kicked her mount into a trot and followed Jack away but curiosity got the better of her. “Who was that, Jack? If it was an acquaintance of Eve’s, it behooves me to greet him as she might.”

  Jack merely shook his head and slowed to a walk as they moved out of the park. “Believe me, you did. A cut direct is always the best response for that one. Wallis is the biggest gossip in town. Bugger me! If you are hiding your presence in town, he’ll assume you’re Evelyn, won’t he? It will be bandied all about by this afternoon that the countess was riding out with me while her husband is out of town.”

  Kitty watched Jack’s mouth set in a thin line of disgust. It seemed the thought of rumor about his friend’s wife disturbed him, this man who seemed to care for so little. “You like her, don’t you?”

  Haddington grunted in that mystical male language that could mean so many things.

  “You do! Admit it!” She grinned broadly at him. For all the failure of his courtship with her sister, it seemed that Jack had actually come to care for Eve after a fashion. However, her thoughts took an abruptly negative turn. What if it was more than that? What if Jack had truly been engaged by her sister and had been left heartbroken when Eve had wed Glenrothes? What if Kitty were just a substitution for the woman he really wanted? Kitty frowned at the thought. She had come to truly like Jack over the past few days. Liked his wit and eternal humor. Liked how he made her feel like an attractive woman once more, but what if it wasn’t for her at all? Kitty’s heart twisted. She didn’t want to be a second option in friendship or anything else. She swallowed deeply.

  Chapter 12

  “Do you love her?”

  “What!?” Jack’s head snapped around and he stared at her incredulously as the question sunk in. “Hell, no! Good God, Kitty!” The earl rolled his eyes before having the good grace to look abashed. “I apologize for my language, but you quite turned my stomach at the very thought! Don’t get me wrong. You are right, of course, I confess I do like your sister after a fashion. She has made my closest friend disgustingly blissful, but I would never have been happy with her as my wife. We just rub each other wrong. No, I don’t love her.”

  “Oh.” Kitty blushed disconcertedly at his unabashed earnestness. “I just thought…”

  “Please don’t.” Haddington still looked a bit green around the gills.

  His appalled reaction was a genuine one, Kitty thought. He might consider Eve a friend nowadays, but he didn’t care for her deeply as Kitty feared he might. She didn’t want to examine why but the assurance lifted her spirits and she couldn’t help but tease. “What? Please don’t think?”

  Jack met her wide, open smile with one of his own. “If that’s the direction your thoughts take you, you might be better off refraining from serious contemplation, yes.”

  Kitty laughed and nudged him playfully with her boot. “I will try to refrain.”

  “See that you do!” Jack watched Kitty throw back her head and laugh. The sun’s rays kissed her face, lighting it as if the angels blessed her. She was such a lighthearted lass, her playful spirit and humor a perfect companion to his own. “I like you though, Kitty Hayes.”

  Kitty’s smile faded as she took in his suddenly solemn countenance. He looked as if he were surprised by the words that seemed to give him pause. Nevertheless, his sincerity was evident for the first time since she had met him. “I like you too, Jack Merrill.”

  His eyes flared with enough male satisfaction Kitty couldn’t resist adding, “Don’t tell Eve I said so though. I’m not sure she has given over any of her dislike of you!”

  “While I am sure she has!”

  A companionable silence encompassed them, washing away an almost awkward moment. Kitty wasn’t certain Jack had meant to confess even a small liking for her and she sensed that it was a rare thing for him to feel that way. Everything she knew about him from Abby’s letters spoke to his long held opinions of women as mere objects. Shaking her head, she focused on her surroundings as they took a turn around Moray Place, where Jack pointed out Richard and Abby’s townhouse in the lovely circular neighborhood, before heading south to Princess Street. It wasn’t far from there to the Princess Street Gardens.

  Kitty’s breath caught when they broke through the trees to find a large fountain in the center of the colorful garden, back-dropped by an impressive castle set upon the hill in the distance. “Oh, how lovely!” she sighed, before asking, “Is that Edinburgh Castle?”

  “Indeed it is,” Jack replied, watching her face light up and her eyes sparkle with renewed interest. “You know, they give tours each afternoon. It would be my pleasure to escort you.”

  “That would be wonderful, but I am supposed to be staying out of sight for the time being,” Kitty flashed him a smile. “Thank you for the invitation, though. It’s very kind of you to try to entertain me.”

  “Perhaps I do it because you so entertain me,” he challenged with a roguish grin.

  “Oh Jack!” she laughed as they rode back toward Glenrothes’ monstrous townhouse. “I’m so glad I could be of service!”

  When they returned to Carlton Terrace, Jack dismounted and reached up to help her down from her mount with a classic tool of seduction. He clasped his big hands around her, letting her feel the strength of them as they nearly encircled her tiny waist and slid her slowly down the length of him until her eyes caught and held his.

  Unable to step away, Kitty could only stare up at him, trying to ignore the frisson of heat that blossomed between them at that slight contact, yet knowing somehow she wanted to explore the promises his eyes held. His hands slid up her arms and neck before framing her face in his palms, his thumbs brushing her cheeks before one moved to caress her bottom lip. She couldn’t help but tremble at his intimate touch but knew it wasn’t fear that shook her, but anticipation. He was going to kiss her, she could see it in his eyes, as the golden eyes that had been so bright with amusement moments before now melted with heat.

  “Are you going to kiss me, Jack?” she whispered so softly that for a moment she wasn’t sure he had heard her.

  Jack stared down into eyes as bright as springtime grass, noting the heat and awareness in them. His seduction was moving forward better than he might have hoped and he felt the urge to press on, to physically arouse her until she gave in, begging him to take her as his mistress. Though he had only known Kitty Hayes for three short days, Jack wanted her w
ith the ferocity of a lifetime of yearning, a desire he felt was quite unmatched when compared to his previous conquests. He could have her too. Despite such short acquaintance, he knew with an instinct born of experience that Kitty wanted him as well.

  So what was holding him back from pushing on, he asked himself. Clearly, she wanted his kiss. Jack stroked his thumb across her silky soft cheeks once again, tempted beyond belief to take her and make her his own. Then, in an epiphany, it came to him. He knew what was different now, what held him back from Kitty Hayes. A fission of apprehension struck him.

  For this time, the seducer had become the seduced.

  Feeling a bit thunderstruck, Haddington took a step back. A scowl creased his forehead as the reality of the moment settled upon him. This was definitely unfamiliar territory for the earl, who had always held himself apart from his lovers, had kept his mind and heart free of entanglements while controlling the relationships he chose to involve himself in. He was the one in charge. The dominant one, who said when it began and when it ended. Suddenly he felt as if he had no control whatsoever. As if his lust were dominating him.

  “Jack?” Kitty questioned, with a matching frown now breaking the smooth line of her brow. “Is something wrong?”

  “Not at all,” he countered easily. “I just recalled an important meeting I need to get on to.”

  “Just now?” The reply held a bit of skeptical sarcasm, which he felt was more akin to his mannerisms than hers.

  Cursing himself for being a coward and a liar, Haddington bowed, taking her hand and kissing it elegantly as he withdrew, offering in a tone that seemed cavalier even to himself, “I apologize for my abrupt departure, but I must be off.” Regaining some control, he softened his tone with a more genuine smile. “Will you join me again tomorrow, Kitty? I thought we might take a carriage to the Botanical Gardens. They are a must-see to visitors of our fair city.”

  Kitty eyed him with a raised brow, wondering at his demeanor that seemed to shift from seductive to standoffish to friendly. “Are you certain there is nothing wrong, Jack? I thought you were going to come up and meet my daughter?”

  Jack cursed once more in his mind. Bloody hell, he had promised, and if he didn’t go now she would think he didn’t want to meet the wee lass, but if he did go it would make his lie of an urgent appointment ring more falsely than it already had. There was nothing for it. “Please give my regrets to wee Hannah. But I shall look forward to the opportunity to visit with her on the morrow after our excursion?”

  “Very well, Jack,” Kitty sighed in disappointment, feeling certain Haddington was avoiding the meeting as she earlier expected. Still, it did not dampen her need to see him once more, though she would rather eat dirt than admit it. Keeping her voice polite and distant, she answered, “It is just as well, your sister is coming to take me shopping soon, so I must be off anyway. Shall we say ten tomorrow?”

  “I will see you then.” Jack rose from his slight bow but his prey was already turning carelessly away, her long skirts swishing from side to side as she climbed the few stairs to the townhouse. Bugger it all to hell! The morning had taken him two steps forward, only to fall three steps back by his own idiocy.

  Chapter 13

  Silence may be as variously shaded as speech.

  - Edith Wharton

  Kitty was at a loss over what might be wrong with Jack. The earl had picked her up this morning in an open carriage promptly at ten, as promised. To hear Evie tell it, such an event was nearly unheard of, as punctuality was one of Haddington’s most acknowledged weak points. He had politely handed her up into the carriage, allowing her to settle her skirts before climbing up himself. Rather than sit next to her, however, Jack had chosen to sit opposite her, though the carriage had plenty of room. After offering the most polite good mornings and compliments on her appearance, he had proceeded to ignore her completely.

  It hadn’t struck her directly. The morning air was crisp and clean and the views as they traveled north were very lovely, allowing her to catch her breath for the first time really since her shopping trip with Abby and Moira the previous day. They’d had a wonderful time, spending nearly the whole of the day moving from shop to shop, chatting and catching up. It hadn’t been until tea time that Kitty had been able to broach the truth of her arrival in Edinburgh and the need to keep her presence unknown. Her friends had been aghast for her, soothing her with their reassurances that, if they ever met her husband face to face, they would gladly give him some of his own. It had been so comforting to have their encouragement and support.

  Returning to Carlton Terrace, she had dined en famille with Eve and their two children, playing games with the pair until long after their normal bedtimes. Then she had played chess with her sister until late in the evening as her husband was still out of town. It hadn’t felt as if she’d had a moment to just relax at all until the gentle sway of the carriage this morning, and the beautiful views of the city, had lulled her. New York was a couple hundred years old, of course, but in comparison to Edinburgh could not match the aged loveliness of the buildings they passed, from churches to old shops to taverns. The businesses and townhomes lining the streets seemed to stretch before them as far as she could see, broken only by the occasional cathedral or park. It was a charming city and so very historically engaging that it had taken some time for Kitty to realize that her companion had yet to offer any conversation.

  She eyed him now, quizzically. He was so very handsome in the bright morning sun, though lacking the casual elegance of the previous day. The earl had once again gone through some effort to appear the well turned-out gentleman, with his proper suit and hat. Today he wore a dark brown coat that contrasted against his amber vest and tie, and long brown trousers with a gold pinstripe. Upon his slicked back hair he wore a fashionable trilby hat of dark amber felt. He even carried a gold-topped cane. He appeared every inch the noble he was and, strangely, was acting the same way.

  “‘He had occasional flashes of silence that made his conversation perfectly delightful’,” Kitty quoted as Jack’s silence grew over the space of more than ten minutes.

  “I’m sorry. What?” Jack asked with a little frown, as her words drew his attention.

  Kitty repeated herself and was rewarded with a reluctant smile and a shake of Haddington’s head. “My apologies, my love. I seem to be lost in thought this morning. Who, might I ask, spoke those insightful words?”

  “Sydney Smith,” Kitty answered. “He was referring to Baron Macaulay when he spoke them, though they are much better directed to you this morning. Might I ask what draws your attention to the point of bad manners in ignoring your companion?”

  “My apologies for being such beastly company,” Jack responded. “Business, you know.” A lie, of course. He had been thinking about her, naturally, about his unusual responses toward her. How the norm for him felt anything but normal. He had also been dwelling on his more immediate problem, namely that of his estate and the debt he was very nearly buried under. His personal finances, those he had acquired before Cullen had died, were officially depleted upon paying the rents on his rooms that very morning. The funds from Lady Boughton, Abby’s grandmother, were all he had left between himself and complete destitution.

  Oh, he had been staying rent-free with Glenrothes at his townhouse until about six weeks past when his oldest friend had wed Evelyn, but certainly felt the fifth wheel after. He had excused himself and taken up rooms in a bachelor house not far from his sister’s home in Moray Place. Abby had offered him rooms there as well, but while staying with a good friend was one thing, taking charity from one’s younger sister was quite another. He had turned her down, determined to make due on his own, and thought he might manage it. Or rather, had hoped he might muddle through until a swift marriage was arranged. Though he had been resolute to see it done for the past several months, Haddington hadn’t been able to stomach the actuality of the solution, much as he admitted to Kitty the day they had met.

  Th
e earl had attended any number of events since then, had mothers determined to catch a title for their daughters corner him into meeting said daughters, had the fathers approach him with settlement offers that would see him nicely through his problems, or at least see him clear through investing for the future. He had danced and dined with all of them.

  And offered for none.

  The problem, he felt, was the extreme youth of most heiresses with fortune enough to clear his debt. At three and thirty years, Jack simply couldn’t imagine taking for a wife a lass who was fifteen years younger than he. It made him feel like a randy old degenerate to even consider it. So, he had considered widows, as Evelyn had recently been, sure that a more mature woman might do much better for him. And she had been, until Francis had snapped Evelyn up, leaving him again on the hunt but coming up short of another widow of substance.

  Then Katherine Hayes had arrived. Jack eyed her now as she sat across from him waiting patiently for an explanation. What might he say to her? That he had come up with a wonderful plan to befriend and seduce her, in the hope of luring her into an alliance with him, but had never expected to want her so badly? It just wasn’t the sort of thing one might mention to a lady in polite conversation. “I have much on my mind because of it,” he offered at length.

  Her brow rose doubtfully, much as it had the previous day. “Would this be the same business which occupied you so yesterday?”

  “It is.”

  Kitty humphed in disbelief. “I’m sure it is.” The words held an edge of skepticism as she turned her head away to watch the city streets go by for a moment, before turning back to him. “Tell me, Jack Merrill, why it is you feel you must lie to me.”