Perhaps a stroll in the crisp morning air would do his lady a world of good. Ronan nodded in agreement. “Aye, Mistress Mairi. I would be happy to accompany ye.”
“Stop calling me Mistress Mairi. It reminds me of that stupid-ass nursery rhyme.”
What the hell was the woman talking about? “Forgive me, Mist . . . Mairi.” He bit back the words and huffed out an exasperated breath. He had to get her back to his time. Perhaps there he could properly woo her. This era did not aid him at all. He needed the surety of his own world around him. He looked to Eliza for help.
“Mairi!” Eliza grabbed hold of Mairi’s arm and firmly scooted her toward the staircase. “Shame on ye for such rudeness toward a guest. Hie yer arse up those stairs and when ye come back down, bring a bit of civility with ye.”
Mairi yanked her arm free of Eliza’s grasp, whipped her hair out of her eyes, and glared across the room at Ronan. “Sorry,” she hissed out in a venomous tone that suggested otherwise.
Ronan acknowledged the forced apology with a brief nod.
As the hard thudding of his lady love’s stomping feet progressed up the stairs, Eliza turned back to Ronan. “Let that be a lesson to ye. Ply the woman with liquor at night and face a snarling banshee the next morn.”
“The woman plied herself. I had naught to do with it.” He scooped his plaid off the hook beside the door and shrugged his colors around his body. “A bit of fresh air as we walk to Mistress Lilia’s shop will do our fair beastie a world of good.”
“Walk?” Eliza snorted an amused huff as she gathered the dishes from the table. “Ye’ll not convince Mairi to walk. It is over three city blocks to Lilia’s shop and the season has gifted us with a bite to the air this fine morn.”
Dread tightened its claws in his gut. “Horses, then?” He prayed the old woman would agree. It had to be horses. The only other possibility struck fear into his soul.
“Oh no, my fine brave chieftain,” Eliza said with a pointed glance at the door leading to the garage. “Yon chariot awaits. Perhaps a wee ride in the horseless carriage will goad yer wooing into the proper gear. Ye do not have forever to win Mairi, ye ken?”
“On the contrary, old woman. I have all the time in the world. I am immortal. Remember?” Ronan yanked open the garage door and peered down at the great shining beast squatting beside the stair.
“Yer Mairi is not immortal.” Eliza held out a square black bag to him. “It is the laptop. Dinna drop it.” She nodded her approval as he clutched it gingerly against his chest. “And time grows short for the curse to be broken and the evil darkness to be permanently sealed away in its final level of hell.”
At the mention of the unnamed evil, Ronan’s blood ran cold. “Father had the witch put to death. Graham oft told me of the day he watched the wicked one held beneath the waters.”
“Pure evil is never truly destroyed as long as its incantations—its curses—remain strong and active.” Eliza’s face had gone decidedly pale beneath her carefully rouged cheeks. “It can be contained only for a while—and then great care must be taken because it finds allies anywhere it is held. And it will wait. Tia is patient.” Eliza’s clasped hands tightened in front of her. “As long as the curse remains intact, the darkness knows it can rise again.”
“Rise again?” Ronan repeated, inwardly cringing against the possibility.
“Aye.” Eliza nodded slowly, glancing toward the stair as Mairi stomped her way back down. “We’ve not much time, my chieftain. On with yer wooing, afore it’s too late for us all.”
CHAPTER12
Pounding headache reduced to a dull roar, Mairi pulled her sunglasses out of the tiny purse slung across her shoulder and shoved them on her face. Of all days for Lilia to forget her stupid laptop.She pushed past Ronan and stomped down the garage steps. The only upside to having to go to the shop was that Ollie’s Grind was along the way. A double shot of the coffee shop’s strongest expresso would go a long way toward making her feel human again. She yanked open the car door and slid behind the wheel. Starting the engine, she leaned forward and glanced up at the landing by the door. Ronan still stood there, staring at the car as though it were a ticking bomb.
She partially lowered the window. “If you’re coming with me, come on.”
He didn’t move. Was it possible he couldn’t hear her over the engine? An irritated growl escaped her as she lowered the passenger-side window and leaned closer to that side of the car. “What are you waiting for? You’ve got the laptop. Come on!”
Ronan jerked as though she had shot him. He glanced down at the square black bag in his hands then slowly returned his gaze to the car. The man still didn’t move a muscle. Just stood there with anoh hell nolook on his face.
She tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel. Had she really been that big of a bitch this morning? Was he afraid to get in the car because he didn’t want to experience the brunt of her hangover fury again? She rewound the morning in her mind, cringing at the memory of how she had behaved in front of this man she barely knew. The man who hadn’t run away when she’d drank her way to puking level. He had stayed at her side and seemed genuinely concerned for her welfare. Even gone so far as to wet a cloth with cold water and press it to the back of her neck while she retched.
Mairi leaned back against the headrest. No wonder he was afraid to be trapped in a car with her. Look how snarky she’d been after he had treated her so kindly. She switched off the engine and got out of the car, pulling her sunglasses off and hanging them by the earpiece into the neckline of her sweater. He needed to see her eyes when she apologized—genuinely apologized this time.
Coming to a halt just one step below him, she held out her hand. “I really am sorry I was such a bitch earlier. Come on. I promise it’s safe to ride with me now.”
He stared down at her hand, then cleared his throat and nodded as he gave it a gentle squeeze. “Ye were nay a bi . . . unkind.” The hint of a smile tugged at his mouth as he stepped down beside her and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand. “Ye were unwell. That is all.”
Her heart double skipped with a faster beat, whether from his kind words, the huskiness of his voice, or the warmth of his touch, she didn’t know nor really care. All she knew for certain was life seemed a lot more worth the effort whenever he was around. “You’re very kind. And I’m still sorry for the way I behaved.” She tugged on his hand. “Now come on. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee on the way to Lilia’s.”
He followed her down the steps but pulled to a stop when they drew even with the car.
“What’s wrong?” She opened the passenger-side door then slid the laptop bag off his shoulder and placed it in the backseat.
He stared at the car and backed up a step. The poor man looked as though he thought it was some strange monster about to swallow him alive. “I dinna . . .” His voice trailed off into a husky cough and he jerked his head from side to side. “I dinna . . . ride . . . well.”
