“Not personally, no, but I think it’s a common malady of being married. I believe I’ve heard both my parents say something similar before.”
“Well, then ye’ll understand that I’m so angry with her that I doona think I can sit through dinner with everyone pretending that nothing is wrong when there verra much is.”
I pushed myself away from the island and immediately set about preparing him his own very special plate.
“I certainly do. It is my opinion that it is best to be genuine in all things. If you don’t want to be there, then there’s no need for you to show up and pretend that you do.”
“I knew that I would like ye, lass.” He reached out and took the plate from my hands.
“Wait just a second. Let me pour you a glass of wine and a glass of water. I’ll follow up behind you so that you’re not trying to balance everything with two hands.”
He nodded and waited patiently for me at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn’t until we reached another long corridor of rooms on the opposite side of the castle from my own room that Jerry spoke again.
“Thank ye for this.”
Jerry paused and opened the door next to us, stepping inside and placing his plate down before turning to collect the glasses I held out for him.
“Sydney, do ye know anyone by the name of Grier?”
I shook my head, confused. “No. Does she live here? I haven’t met very many people at the castle yet. I think my big introduction is meant to happen over dinner.”
He smiled, and I thought I saw something resembling relief, or maybe confirmation, wash over his face. The wrinkles in his brow lessened a little, and his smile seemed a little brighter as he leaned in to kiss my cheek.
“No, she doesna live here. I just had to ask ye. My wife’s a fool. Ye doona need magic to trust the words of another.”
He started to close the door, but I reached out to stop him. His statement only confused me further.
“Magic? What do you mean?”
“Nothing. I doona wish to have anything to do with it, but Sydney, please know that I am sorry if the dinner doesna go well for ye. Fear makes fools of those who let it take root.”
He shut the door in my face before I could inquire further.
Why did every new conversation in this castle seem far stranger than the last?
CHAPTER 13
When I returned to the kitchen, I could hear the sound of footsteps above me. Right on time, everyone began to file into the dining hall for dinner. I didn’t quite know the proper way to proceed with the meal. There were no waiters or waitresses, and there was no possible way I could carry all of the food up on my own. It also seemed quite rude to ask any of them to help me carry everything upstairs.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to ponder over it very long. Just as I slipped on oven mitts and prepared to carry up two of the chickens, Anne, Callum, and a man I’d yet to meet appeared in the entryway. While I suggested that Callum help me carry things upstairs, he didn’t appear to hear me as he disappeared quickly after his strange last words to me in my room. I was happy to see him here now. Obviously he hadn’t completely ignored me before.
“Is everything ready to go? It smells even better than it looks. That will be quite a change for everyone. If you’re ready, we are here to help you carry everything up. I did suggest we install an elevator down here so we could bring carts up and down easily during mealtime, but my husband and the actual owner, Gillian, wouldn’t have it. Apparently, an elevator crossed the line in terms of modernizing the place.”
Anne shrugged her shoulders apologetically and quickly came over to join me, slipping on a pair of oven mitts and grabbing another chicken from the island.
The man I’d yet to meet approached next, forgoing a handshake and just nodding his head in greeting. I knew right away that he had to be the husband Anne referred to, and the relief I felt at learning it wasn’t Callum surprised me immensely.
“Hello. I’m Aiden, Anne’s husband and the one responsible for the lack of an elevator. My apologies. I’d shake yer hand, but ye’ve got them a little full. We’re glad to have ye here. I canna tell ye how much.”
He quickly followed suit with his wife, grabbing a pair of mitts and then reaching for the large pan of roasted vegetables. I set my own chicken back down on the island as they left, giving everything a quick glance to see what would be best to have Callum carry.
“What’s left? I’ve long arms, and I’m quite good at balancing things. Let’s try to get the rest of it in one load, aye?”
I couldn’t really imagine Callum being that graceful—one of his legs pulled awkwardly when he walked, giving him a sort of pained limp that I could tell he always did his best to hide.
I waited a brief moment until Aiden and Anne were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear me question Callum.
I’d been unable to stop thinking about his strange last words to me, and Jerry’s warning on top of that left me determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on. Why would Callum believe I would say many things that surprised me over dinner? What reason would I have to not know my own words before I said them? I wasn’t a heavy drinker, and I actually did try to think about things before I said them.
“You shouldn’t need to balance anything. I already have wine and water on the table upstairs, and if you’ll just stack the five breadbaskets up and carry those, I think I can manage the two remaining chickens. Do you think I cooked too much?”
He laughed, and my stomach fluttered at the deep dimple in his right cheek. I’d not seen it before, but when he smiled wide, it revealed itself clearly. I found it ridiculously sexy.
“Ye’ve not seen most of us yet, have ye? Ye wouldna ask that question if ye had. The men among us run large, and there’s a few women—while tiny in size and stature—that can nearly out-eat us.”
“No, the only people I’ve met are you, Anne, Cooper, Jerry, and now Aiden.”
He took a step toward the stairs, and I moved in his path to stop him.
“Wait. Don’t go upstairs yet. What did you mean earlier?”
I could see in his eyes that he knew exactly what I referred to. I could also tell by the slight twitch of his bottom lip that he was going to lie.
“I doona know what ye mean. There are people waiting upstairs. Everyone is anxious to meet ye. We should be on our way. Ye can sit next to me, and I’ll tell ye who everyone is as the meal begins.”
I shook my head, grounding my feet. Unless he intended to douse me with wine until my lips were so loose that I just started spouting out whatever thoughts popped into my head, his words before made no sense.
“Nope. You know what I’m talking about. You almost said something different. Why would I be surprised by anything that came out of my own mouth? The only reason I was foolish enough to hurt Cooper’s feelings before was because that coffee was so bad it shocked me into being stupid. It doesn’t make sense to me at all. I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
He waited a long moment. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to make up a believable lie or if he just hoped that I would give up and get out of his way. The latter was never going to happen.
“Sydney, I promise that ye doona wish for me to show ye what I meant. Let’s just go and join the others.”
“Show me? What does that mean? You have to show me now because I am not moving. I will stand here all day and let the food grow cold and let everyone wonder where we are if you don’t tell me now.”
He chuckled and crossed his arms smugly, leaning against the counter as he stared back at me with amused eyes.
“Fine. What do ye think of the castle?”
I frowned and shook my head at him, confused. I couldn’t see what that had to do with anything.
“What?”
“Just answer the question.”
“I think it’s amazing. I’ve lived in Italy for the last three years. They have some of the prettiest buildings in the whole world, and I don’t think any of them are as beauti
ful as this. Satisfied?”
“No, lass. I’m only getting started. When ye first saw me this morning…what did ye think?”
I always thought of myself as the sort of person who thought before I spoke, but words started spitting out of my mouth before I had the chance to make up a lie. The proper response would’ve been, “I thought you were professional and kind, and I appreciated your warning.” All of that was true, but it wasn’t what I thought first. Instead, I blurted words so embarrassing that I feared I would never recover.
“All I could think was holy crap, I’d like for that man to spread me across the back of that car. I could scarcely breathe looking at you.”
When I stopped vomiting words, I nearly fell back into the refrigerator. I was shaking all over from shock, fear, and embarrassment, and he just stood there grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
“What the hell was that? How did you make me do that?”
I leaned back against the refrigerator for support. I would’ve crawled all the way inside if I could’ve. Callum took one long step toward me and spoke again.
“I dinna do anything, lass. Ye are the one that said the words. Ye wished to know what I meant, and I’m showing ye. What is yer greatest fear?”
I wanted to say something meaningless like spiders and heights. Instead, I said, “Ending up like my grandmother.”
He took one more step, and I flattened myself against the cool stainless steel surface behind me. I didn’t care that the handle buried itself in my back. His proximity made me nervous. His power over my words frightened me.
“Are ye angry with me, Sydney? I’m only doing what ye asked.”
I wasn’t angry. Only confused. “No.”
“Good, I doona want ye to be angry with me.” He took another step closer, leaving only inches between us. “Would ye be angry if I kissed ye, lass?”
I whispered my answer. This time, with my heart pounding so hard inside my chest that I could hear the sound of it in my ears, I didn’t want to say anything other than the truth. My legs were weak. My hands were trembling, and all I wanted was for him to gather me up in his arms. “No.”
He leaned so that his mouth brushed up against my ear as he spoke. It only made me shake harder.
“Do ye want me to?”
My answer was breathless, needy. “Yes.”
I could feel him smile against my ear, but instead of moving his lips to my own, he gripped my arms and stepped away, turning quickly to gather the baskets of bread laid out on the island into his arms.
I stared after him, and my anger escalated quickly.
“Well, now I’m angry. I still haven’t a clue how you did that. I’m rather frightened, and you’re going to go through all of that and then not even kiss me?”
“Aye, lass, precisely. I willna be kissing ye now. Though it pleases me to know that ye’d like me to. Get yer chicken and follow me upstairs. Ye have lots of people to meet and so much more to learn. Doona worry, though. After all that I just asked ye, I suppose the rest of the evening willna be so hard.”
He took the stairs two at a time. I knew he did so just to escape before I could question him further. It took me three more minutes to breathe deeply enough that my legs quit shaking.
He sure knew how to ruin a moment. Now I wanted to punch him in the nose more than I wanted to kiss him. I hoped he would give me the opportunity.
CHAPTER 14
Callum’s entire body was tight with need. Never had it been so difficult for him to walk away from a woman, but he didn’t want to kiss Sydney when her decision to tell him her desires wasn’t her own. His questions were disrespectful enough. He wouldn’t take further advantage of her spelled state by kissing her.
Still, it thrilled him to know that she was attracted to him in the same way he was to her. He would have to apologize to Morna—he was no longer as angry with her as he was before. Perhaps there were some benefits of hearing words that were most assuredly the truth.
“Where is she? Does she need more help?”
Everyone sat quietly at the table, all of them waiting curiously for Sydney’s arrival. Anne was already standing as she asked her question.
“No, Anne. She’s fine. She’ll be along shortly.”
“Callum, why are your cheeks all red? Are you hot, because I’m freezing in here?”
Callum pulled out his chair and sat in his usual seat next to Cooper, leaving the seat on his other side empty for Sydney. He found the castle’s halls chilly as well, but he wasn’t about to tell Cooper the real cause of his reddened skin.
“Aye. I’m rather warm. Always am.”
Anne spoke up, ignoring him as she headed toward the kitchen. “I think I’m going to go help her anyway. It’s probably a lot for her to walk into this group unaccompanied. I’ll be right back with her. Don’t all of you just start talking to her at once when she gets up here.”
“Ah!” I screamed as I saw Anne bounding down the steps in my direction. With a roasting pan balancing on each arm, I knew if she didn’t look up, we were bound to collide at any moment. “Anne, stop.”
She halted immediately.
“Oh geez, that was almost a disaster, wasn’t it? Let me take one of these birds for you. When we get upstairs, I’ll introduce you to everyone. There’s a whole bunch of us, so don’t be too concerned about remembering everybody’s names. It will take you a while.”
I nodded, passing one of the chickens off to her and ignoring her suggestion completely. I wanted to remember every name and face, and I was certain I could. It was sort of my thing. I made a huge effort to pay close attention to everyone I met at first greeting.
Everyone fell silent the moment we entered. I pulled my shoulders back and walked as confidently as possible behind Anne.
“Okay guys, I’m not going to make this real formal since we’re among friends. Everyone say hello to Sydney. She’s going to be the new chef around here, which means I’m going into leisure mode for at least the next few weeks in celebration over not having to cook for you ungrateful fools anymore.
“Sydney comes to us from Italy. She attended one of the best culinary schools in the world and has spent the last three years running a very popular restaurant in Tuscany.”
Anne turned to me, and I knew she expected me to say a little something.
“I just wanted to let you all know that I really am so happy to be here. And while Anne’s introduction was lovely, please don’t let my culinary training frighten you. I know how to cook the fancy stuff, but I really prefer simple and tasty meals. I’ve found that most people feel the same way when it comes to food. I look forward to getting to know all of you.”
I smiled and nodded at the table to signal the end of my speech, and it was only half a second before Anne took over once more.
“Great. Okay. I’m going to introduce Sydney to everyone. All of you just sit back and wave when I call your name so she knows who is who. We can deal with more thorough introductions later. I’m starving.”
Anne took a breath, reached behind her to grab my hand and pull me closer, and began pointing quickly around the room.
“We’ll start on the left side. The empty seat there is for you, followed by—you already know Callum and Cooper—next to them is Cooper’s mother, Grace, her husband, Eoghanan, Cooper’s father, Jeffrey, and his wife Kathleen…”
The names went on and on. Despite my skill at remembering, there were so many in attendance that I feared a few of them would slip my mind from time to time. I made special note of the woman named Morna who sat at the very end opposite where I stood. She intrigued me more than any other at the table.
With Callum’s warning that she was mad, I expected her to look very different. She wasn’t the eccentric, frazzled, old-looking woman that I imagined, and she didn’t appear to be out of her mind in the slightest. Instead, I felt like she looked into my soul with the clarity of her stare.
She was older, but she looked far younger than her husband. The beauty of he
r youth hadn’t faded. Gray hair suited her, and she exuded an ethereal quality that made me see why Cooper had seen fit to cast her as the witch in his story, though I would be very much surprised if she was indeed crazy as Callum suggested.
She held herself with a sense of poise and grace that those riddled with memory problems did not.
When Anne ended what seemed like an endless stream of introductions, a collective laugh spread through the room as a great many of them wished me luck remembering a single one of them. The woman nearest me reached out to squeeze my hand in greeting as she spoke.
“Doona worry, not a one of us will be offended if ye call us a name other than our own.”
I looked over at Blaire, smiling at the sight of her pregnant belly. I remembered her name not only due to her pregnancy but also because of the similarity in both appearance and name she bore to the girl, Bri. I assumed they were twins.
“Good, I’m glad no offense will be taken, but I will do my utmost to figure out who’s who by the end of the week.”
Blaire smiled. As she laughed, her pregnant belly lifted with each chuckle. “I used to know everyone’s name, but it seems this babe has stolen my brain for I forget names all the time now. I hear it’s common during pregnancy. Go ahead and sit so we can eat. This babe has me hungry all the time.”
With that, everyone started to fill their plates with food, and the casual atmosphere around the room made it effortless for me to feel at ease among them. There were two empty seats at the table—one next to Callum and another next Morna. I didn’t wish to sit next to either of them. Morna’s gaze made me hesitant—I didn’t think her eyes had left me since I entered the room, and I knew what sort of danger I was placing myself in if I sat next to Callum.
Deciding my best course of action, I walked over to the empty seat next to Callum and leaned around him to tap Cooper on the shoulder.
“Hey, you want to sit next to me? You’re the only one at this table that I’ve had much of a chance to visit with. It might make me less nervous if you did so.”
Love Beyond Belief (Book 7 of Morna’s Legacy Series) Page 7
