He took a long swig of whisky, letting the liquid sear his throat and blunt the sharp edge of his thoughts.
The singing caughtLeah’s attention first as she sat at her desk.
Then, the loudsmackof a door being flung open. Followed quickly by a loud chorus ofComin’ thro’ the Ryesung wildly off-key.
Leah easily recognized Malcolm’s deep baritone.
She surmised the rest.
Her brothers and husband were recounting the chorus again when Leah stepped into the great hall to greet them.
Comin’ thr’ the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body—
The men broke off when they saw her.
Malcolm and Ethan were leaning against one another, Malcolm grinning sloppily.
Fox held himself aside, though Leah suspected he was just as drunk.
Honestly, it hadn’t even been a full day, and here they were . . . all three drunk again.
Wasn’t it enough that her husband drank to excess? Did Malcolm and Ethan have to join him? Was Fox going to drag her brothers down his well-worn path of insobriety? Or was it more that her brothers were enabling Fox’s unsavory habits?
“Hullo, L-Leah.” Ethan belched. Malcolm caught him as he swayed, both men weaving backwards.
Leah pursed her lips.
“She’s angry,” Malcolm said conversationally to Ethan.
“Why?” Ethan shot back.
“Because—” Malcolm hiccupped. “I shu-shuspect we’re a bitfou.”
“Oh. But wehadtae celebrate. I’m tae have my poems published, ye ken.” Ethan leaned and staggered a step forward. Malcolm pulled him upright.
“Published? Celebrate?” Leah asked. “Ye have a publisher, Ethan?”
“Aye.” He beamed at her.
“But . . . why did ye say nothing of this last night?”
Ethan shrugged. Maddeningly.
“’Tis why we had tae celebrate today,” Malcolm said the words slowly, as ifthatwere the problem here.
“And ye didnae pack us a drop o’ whisky.” Ethan’s accent had slipped once more, evidence of precisely how deep in his cups he truly was.
“Aye,” Malcolm added mournfully. “What else were we tae do? We had a celebration and . . . and fishing. A man cannae fish without whisky.”
“It’s rather the point of fishing, I ken,” Ethan said.
“I thoughtfishwere the point of fishing,” Leah said.
“Och, fish are merely a happy accident.” Ethan brightened. “Excellent drinking is the only thing fishing can guarantee.”
“Besides, Malcolm caught all the fish,” Fox said, as if that explained anything. Her husband headed for the stairs. “We gave them to William for Cook to prepare for dinner.”
