“Point me in the direction of your barn, men. I’ve a cart and horse to make acquaintance with.”
Liam didn’t agree to the very reasonable request. “You stay here and keep our sister company—honorablecompany— and the three of us’ll bring the cart ’round.”
“Three?” Finley looked up at the man as though he’d marched his brain clear out of his head. “Why would it take three people to do something so simple?”
Kieran slipped a hand under Finley’s arm and pulled him out of his chair. “What we’ve undertaken, man, isn’t simple in the least.”
The two brothers all but marched their neighbor from the cottage.
“It seems Liam and Kieran have it in their minds to play matchmaker, Maeve.” Sean looked back at her, half expecting a look of horror. What he saw was pondering— deep and uncertain pondering.
“Does that frighten you?” she asked quietly.
“It does a bit,” he admitted. “But not enough to send me running back to Kilkenny.”
Maeve shrugged. “You’d likely get lost if you tried.”
“Troublesome woman,” he muttered.
“Admit you love the ribbing.”
He didn’t bother hiding his grin. “I’m beginning to.”
Some women blush elegantly and adorably, with perfect pink patches bringing a rosy hue to their complexion. Other women blush in a way that vaguely resembles the measles and makes a fellow worry that something’s terribly the matter. Maeve, for all her prettiness, did not fall into the first category.
“Where do you keep your coat and warm blankets?” Sean asked. “’Tis a mighty cold evening out there.”
“Blankets are in the chest against that wall.” She pointed across the room. “My coat is hanging on a nail in my bedroom.”
When Liam peeked his head inside once more, she had her coat on and the blankets were at the ready. “Your cart awaits,” he announced. “And we’ve a lantern for you. The evening’s growing dark already.”
Sean turned back to Maeve. “Can you walk at all, or do you need me to carry you?”
“I can walk a bit, but not far and not for long.”
“Well, then, if your brother hasn’t any objections, I’ll carry you out to the cart.”
Liam motioned for him to do so, something that, frankly, surprised Sean. He had two sisters of his own, and he and his brothers had been quite protective of them, perhaps overly so.
“You seem to have decided I’m trustworthy,” Sean said.
Right on cue, a deep, rumbling bark sounded from just outside the door. “Rufus is going along,” Liam said.
So perhaps the Butler boys weren’t entirely decided on the matter of Sean’s worthiness. Still, they were allowing him to ride with their sister.
“Why is it only old Rufus is sent out as chaperone?” Sean asked. “I recall with perfect clarity that you’ve a few other hounds equally as large lurking about the place.”
Maeve’s slow-forming smile spoke of amusement. “Rufus is the meanest of the lot, but only when he’s alone. If all three came along, you might manage a bit of mischief before they noticed.”
“I doubt that. I’ve attempted to outrun them, you’ll remember.”
She shrugged a single shoulder. “I did say you would manage only ‘a bit’ of mischief.”
Sean bent down, slipping an arm under Maeve’s knees and another behind her back. She slid an arm around his neck, holding fast to him. After standing and making a few adjustments, he carried her to the door and outside to the waiting cart.
Blankets were situated. The lantern was hung on the cart’s hook. Rufus took up his position directly beside the cart, eyes narrowed at Sean.
“Where would you like to go?” Sean asked Maeve. “This outing is for you, after all.”
