Eileen stuck her tongue out at him and sorted her cards in her hand.
Evie recalled how Alec had gone still when he’d beheld Iris at the restaurant, not Miss Carmichael. Evie believed him when he said he had no designs on the heiress. Well, well, this could be interesting.
Jamie was watching her again. While the others babbled about Miss Carmichael, he gave her a slow wink.
Why did her blood begin to heat? Evie should remain cool and then depart as planned after her sojourn here. She could not allow her confusion to keep churning.
“Never mind Miss Carmichael,” Alec’s brother, Mal, was saying. “Miss Letitia O’Keefe is more who I have in mind. Dark-haired beauty.”
“Mmm,” Gavina said warningly. “I’d be careful there, Mal. She’s out for a title. A courtesy title won’t do, I think. She’d want the heir, not the spare.”
“Och.” Mal scowled at his cards. “Ye know too many ladies, Gavina. You always spoil it.”
He protested a bit too much, Evie observed. While Alec had been floored by Iris, Mal had been watching Miss Carmichael quite avidly.
“I know which are predatory and which are sweet, is all,” Gavina said. “Miss O’Keefe will set her cap for Alec, not you.”
“No, she will not,” Alec rumbled. “I’ve met her, Malcolm. She’s got that hunter’s gleam in her eye. I’ll stay far from her, thank you.”
“Don’t disparage a lady, Alec,” Jamie admonished. “It’s likely her mama who is pushing her at a dukedom. Not her fault.”
“Yes, be kind to her, Alec,” Gavina said, reversing her warning.
Alec threw down his cards. “I’m not going to rush to the altar with a lady to avoid being rude to her.” He shook his head. “You all are mad.”
In the general laughter, Jamie shot Evie another look, this one with the hint of a smile. My family, he seemed to be saying. I love the whole exasperating lot of them.
Evie returned the glance, her heart warming from its shaky coldness.
As the night wore on, the cousins one by one departed to turn in. Evie was surprised it had gone two in the morning when Gavina declared the game officially over. Evie couldn’t remember when she’d had such an enjoyable night.
She helped Gavina tidy the card table then scooped her farthings into a bag Gavina lent her and departed for the long walk to her chamber.
Jamie leaned on a pillar in the wide hall outside the sitting room, pushing from it to fall into step with her as she passed.
“I can buy quite a lot of penny candy with this.” Evie nervously jingled the bag. She had no idea what to say to Jamie that didn’t sound inane.
“I might help ye,” Jamie said, the hint of smile returning. “But I’m off home tomorrow.”
Evie halted, the coins clinking. “Home? You mean your flat in London?” She did not like how the floor seemed to drop from beneath her feet at this news.
Jamie shook his head. “To my family’s home, not far north of here. Where I grew up. I have a few things to take care of.” He stepped in front of her, his strong body barring her way. “Will you come with me?”
Chapter 28
Jamie met Evie in the cool of the following morning in a coach he’d convinced Uncle Hart to lend him. He’d been surprised when Evie agreed to travel with him to the home where he’d spent happy days, but he didn’t argue.
“We can ride most of the way, though it’s rough,” Jamie explained. “The last half mile we’ll walk. Much easier on the horses and carriage, not to mention our backsides.”
Evie consented serenely, and off they went.
Even the weather cooperated. The mists and rains that had dogged them since they’d arrived lifted, revealing Scotland at its most beautiful. The high mountains around Ian Mackenzie’s home glowed in the sunlight, blue sky softened by wisps of cloud.
Ian’s house was not as grand as Kilmorgan, being about one quarter the size, but Jamie found it just right for him. Here he’d learned to walk and ride—one following closely upon the other—run wild in the woods and on the hills, fish, and dream.
A lawn had been put in behind the garden, though it was difficult to maintain with the rest of Scotland trying to grow in. The garden itself was a riot of plants that Beth and Megan tended, with a path leading from it to the stables.
Evie walked sturdily next to Jamie as they tramped the last bit of road to the house. She’d said little on the journey, and Jamie had not prodded her. They’d been polite and neutral, like strangers who happened to be traveling the same direction.
Evie halted outside the back garden, taking in the house’s golden bricks, many gables, and deep eaves. Flowers had begun to bloom, his mother’s daffodils and tulips springing up in a mass of colors.
Jamie clasped her elbow as the back door opened. “I forgot to warn you. Do you like dogs?”
“Indeed, I do.” Evie sent him a puzzled glance. “Why are you asking? There are plenty of dogs at Kilmorgan.”
“Aye, and they dozed in the garden or by the fire. These were kept home for a reason.”
The house’s caretaker, Murray, would have seen Jamie coming and known that Molly and Fergus would howl like banshees if they weren’t let out to greet him.
They came at him now, two streaks of black, barking a joyous welcome. They were bird dogs, large and friendly, slobbery, and strong. Fergus leapt with vigor, landing against Jamie with all four paws.
Jamie caught him, trying to lower the dog before they both fell to the ground. Fergus wriggled his hundred-pound body in great excitement, bathing Jamie’s face in doggy kisses.
Evie laughed in pure delight. Then she squeaked as Molly, no less enthusiastic than Fergus, reared up to plant her large and muddy paws on Evie’s chest.
Instead of screaming with horror and batting her away, Evie dropped her handbag and patted Molly with both hands, declaring she’d never seen a prettier girl.
Jamie at last shoved Fergus from him, then caught him before he could jump on Evie.
“Fergus, and Molly.” Jamie seized Molly’s collar. The dogs quieted the slightest bit in his grip but wagged tails so hard they swayed from side to side with the momentum. “This is Evie. Ye be good to her, now.”
“They’re adorable.” Evie leaned to stroke both, one hand on each. “We have dogs at home, not quite so large or eager, I’ll grant. I miss them.”
Her melancholy caught at Jamie’s heart. Well, there was something he could do about that.
He finally managed to calm Fergus and Molly long enough to lead them and Evie into the house.
“You’ll have to take them for a good run,” Jamie instructed Murray, the large, silent man with a wide smile who waited for Jamie and Evie with obvious pleasure. “This is Miss McKnight. Will you show her to a room where she can freshen up?”
Evie’s gown had become a mess of mud, and black dog hairs clung to her fawn-colored gloves. She was flushed with pleasure, however, and greeted Murray with her warm-hearted friendliness.
Murray, without saying a word, led Evie inside and down a hall toward the guest suite that was always ready for visiting family or friends.
Jamie patted the dogs until Murray returned, then relinquished them to the man, who whistled at them to follow him out.