She had decided that if the women who hunted him could see him for who he really was, they wouldn’t give up on hunting him down. He was too handsome for his own good, but seemed absolutely unaware of it. Or maybe he knew and he just didn’t care. His friend Brian was one of the, ah, least handsome men she had ever seen, but that didn’t seem to make any difference to either of them.
“She’s comparing us,” Brian said in a stage whisper. “Finding lots to loathe about you, no doubt.”
Nathaniel snorted. “You’re no prize, either. Perhaps she’s deciding how best to run before she’s forced to spend any more time with either of us.”
“I will do the noble thing, then, and bow out first.” Brian smiled at her. “I’m sorry to leave you with him, but unlike your friend here, I’ve work to get to. Be kind to him. He has a good heart behind that pretty face.”
“I was up at five working my arse off,” Nathaniel said sourly, “so keep your whingeing to yourself.”
“Still not too late to run, Emma,” Brian said cheerfully. “I know I would.”
She smiled at Brian. “I think I’ll survive, thanks.”
He shook his head sadly, clapped Nathaniel on the shoulder, then paid for their meal on the way out the door. Emma looked at Nathaniel.
“You’re two of a kind, aren’t you?”
He smiled and toyed with his espresso spoon. “He’s generous.”
“So are you.”
“Can’t take it with you, can you?”
She leaned her elbows on the table and studied him. He stared back at her, then laughed a little.
“You’re making me nervous.”
“You’re a mystery.”
“Not worth solving, I guarantee it.” He rubbed his hands together. “Where to first, Miss Baxter? I assume you have a list.”
“I really think you’ll be bored.”
“’Tis Scotland,” he said, “which is the most interesting place on the planet. I promise you I didn’t see anything important whilst I was at school. Too busy studying.”
“Do you mind going to Holyrood, then?” she asked. “I’ve always wanted to see the inside of it.”
“I’ve never been inside, either,” he confessed. “Her Maj always seemed to be camping out whenever I had time for a tour. I don’t think she’s in residence now, so perhaps we might venture down and see what’s to be seen. The walk there is interesting, if nothing else.”
She left the restaurant with him and decided it was probably best not to mention that he seemed awfully familiar with using back alleys and side streets as shortcuts. That was no doubt from all the seeing of sights he claimed not to have done during college.
They didn’t get anywhere very quickly, mostly because she couldn’t convince herself to hurry. The ghost walk the night before had been extremely informative, though she thought she might be tempted to take another tour during the daytime when she might have a different view of things.
“Oh, look,” she said, after a quick duck inside a church, “there’s something down that side street.”
He looked faintly hopeful. “Lunch?”
“We just had breakfast.”
“Brian always kills my appetite.”
She smiled at him. “How do you know him?”
“We spent our last year at Eton down at the pub, actually, though we’ll both deny it.” He shrugged. “Two Scots trying to blend in. When he needed funds for a business venture, I invested. And here we are. Handsome, eligible, and rich.” He smiled. “That’s obviously why neither of us is wed.”
“You two are just too much man for your average girl, I guess. And before you think about that too much, what about that place over there? It looks like a museum.”
“A small one,” he agreed. “Might as well give them some business. Maybe they’ll have ideas about lunch.”
