“Oh, so you think I’m beautiful do you?” she asked in a teasing voice.
But Niall did not play along. There was no humor in his voice, only a strange intensity as he replied. “Aye, I do.”
Heat flushed down Charlie’s neck and she realized that Niall was far better at this game than she. If she wasn’t careful she’d end up kissing him again and where would that leave them? He wasexactlythe kind of man she did not want to get involved with.
She cleared her throat and looked around. “I...um...I’ll have to clean it up a bit.”
Niall laughed softly at her understatement. “Aye. Just a bit.” He picked up a broom leaning against the wall. “No time like the present.”
And so they set to work, dusting off shelves and sweeping up the remnants of clay that littered the floor. As they worked, Charlie found herself stealing glances at Niall. Only moments ago he’d become the suave charmer she’d met in Edinburgh but in the blink of an eye he’d become the down-to-earth laird again, happy to muck in and sweep up the mess in his mother’s old workshop.
She watched as he bent over to pick up a broken piece of pottery from the floor, his muscles straining under his shirt. It was a simple gesture, but it spoke volumes of the man he was. It made her heart flutter in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Damn, damn, damn. She knew better than to let Niall’s obvious charms affect her. No doubt he knew exactly what he was doing and put on this little performance with all the women.
Cynical again, Charlie, she asked herself.Not cynical, she thought.Just careful.
They worked together in companionable silence until finally, panting slightly from the exertion, Charlie paused to admire their work. It wasn’t perfect; there was still a lot that needed doing for it to function as a proper workshop, but it was a start.
She gestured at the room with a sweeping motion of her dusty hand. “I think your mother would be pleased.”
“Aye,” Niall said softly, his gaze lingering on her face. “She’d be happy to see someone breathe life back into this place.”
“Let’s get out of these dusty clothes,” Charlie suggested, glancing at her dirty dress.
Niall curled an eyebrow and smirked. “Why, Mistress Charlotte, is that an invitation?”
She scowled at him. “You know what I mean. And I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”
“Aye,” he agreed. “I reckon we’ve earned our supper today.”
They left the workshop, the door creaking shut behind them, and made their way towards Glennoch. As they walked, Charlie found her mind whirring with everything she’d need to get the pottery workshop up and running. Clay, of course, would be the first thing, although the fact that Niall’s mother had set up a workshop in the first place suggested there must be a ready supply somewhere nearby. She could do with some brushes and she’d need to source materials for glazes. Wood to fire the kiln. A water supply. Molds of different sizes and designs—
“There ye are!”
She looked up to see Flora emerging from the house. The housekeeper held something in her hand as she hurried towards them, her worn boots crunching on the gravel. It was a scroll sealed with a blob of red wax.
“I’ve been looking for ye,” she announced, glancing between her and Niall. “The two of ye have been gone a long time.”
There was a slightly disapproving tone to Flora’s voice as if she was wondering exactly what the two of them had been doing alone together all afternoon.
Niall didn’t bother to explain. “What’s that?” he asked, nodding at the scroll in her hand.
Flora thrust it towards Niall. “That’s why I was looking for ye. Courier just brought this. He was in an awful hurry and didnae even want to wait for ye.”
Niall took the scroll and glanced at the wax seal. There was an impression stamped into the wax that looked to Charlie like a thistle and a lion. Niall’s expression hardened as he saw it. His hand tightened around the scroll, crushing it slightly.
“I have to go,” Niall muttered. “Flora, send the word out that I’m not to be disturbed.”
Then, without another word, he strode into the house, leaving Charlie staring after.
