“Ye have nae idea. The dog responds to commands better than they do.”
“They’re a right handful,” he said with an indulgent smile as he watched them. “Remind me of my own when they were lads. Come back tomorrow, if it pleases ye. They’ve spilled so much water on the stones I’ll get nothing other than mud off them for hours. When ye return, I’ll show them how the milling works. In the meantime, perhaps between the two of us we can come up with a tale more worthy of treasure before I show it to them.”
“Ye’re pure kindness, Mr. Boyce,” she said with sincerity. “Nevertheless, I should hate to trouble ye if ye’re weary.”
“A good night’s sleep is all I need.”
With that assurance, she rounded up the children who were glad to cease their labors and made their farewells.
“Thank ye again for yer time, sir, and for helping me with the children.” Aila stepped out the door. Niall and Effie were already hightailing it to the woods with Rab chasing after them. She was about to make her own pursuit when another thought struck. “Out of curiosity, what was it that yer father did to earn a reward of any sort from the duke?”
The miller tilted his head to the side and scratched the underside of his jaw. “To be honest, lass, I hae nae idea.”
Chapter 14
“Unsightly and ungainly. That’s what he said.”
He’d also said he had no idea what his father did to earn the reward. Aila wasn’t entirely sure she believed him.
She delivered Niall and Effie back to the nursery later that afternoon to take their evening meal. While her energy was flagging, the pair hadn’t missed a beat. They’d run willy-nilly through the woods and village, losing her time and again, taking great joy in the feat. Even upon returning to the castle, they’d found hiding places among the statuary and hadn’t revealed themselves until she spent close to a half hour searching.
Bloody rascals.
Along the way, she’d been fascinated by the living history around her. The people. The sights. The untouched countryside was gorgeous, ablaze with the burnt orange, gold, and bronze of autumn.
She’d also learned a few harsh lessons. First, to avoid the bailey whenever possible. The children might be used to it but her first glimpse of a chicken having its neck wrung had almost made a vegetarian of her. Secondly, same for the kitchens. They weren’t much better, inundated with a billion health code violations that would be easier to dismiss if she didn’t see them. It was either that or starve.
The village, orchard, and castle halls were safe ground as long as they were careful to avoid that prick Derne. She’d been trying to run them down when he caught them dangling from the chains to the old drawbridge. Even from a distance, she’d seen the bilious glare he’d skewered Niall and Effie with. Bright side, they’d run straight back to her that time.
Amidst all that running, they’d also circled close enough to the castle construction for her to spot Finn, not merely supervising his men, but in his shirtsleeves working alongside them. Hardly lordly behavior lifting and levering stone into place. It did explain where the delicious, massive muscle she’d explored had come from, though. She’d been almost reluctant to return to the castle after that, content to watch him for hours.
Not nearly as enthralled as she, the children had continued their explorations, leaving her no choice but to follow.
As refreshed from her day as Aila was exhausted, Jean offered to feed the pair and settle them in for the night. Thankful for the break, as they would no doubt be reinvigorated in the morning and ready to wear her down again, she decided to take her trunk back to her room for a moment’s peace and mull over the conundrum.
One more day and she’d get her hands on the treasure. If there truly was nothing noteworthy about it, then what? “I’ll know I’ve been played, that’s what.” Rab followed her down the spiral staircase, a good listener, as usual. “Aye, bloody right I’ll have a few choice words for Donell when I get home if that’s the case. Nay, they willnae be kind ones.” She rounded another floor. “I’ll no’ take such fuckery kindly, to be sure.”
“Och, lass, I feel a startling sense ofdéjà vueach time we meet.” Ian caught her elbow to prevent her from ramming the trunk into his chest again or perhaps to keep her from tumbling down the stairs.
“Ye should stop skulking in the shadows then,” Aila berated him with her heart in her throat.
“Me? I’m merely going up to visit my son,” he argued. “Ye? Ye’re the one wi’ the barmy habit of talking to dogs and toting trunks about. Here, allow me? Where are ye off to this time?”
“My room.”
Taking the trunk, he pivoted on one heel and descended the stairs. Rab dodged around him and took the lead. As if he knew their destination, the dog exited at the proper floor and trotted down the hall to her door. The canny beast. He hadn’t even been to her bedchamber yet, how could he know? Brow knitted, Aila scratched his head as she caught up with him but refrained from giving voice to her wonder given the presence of her other companion. She unlocked the door and stepped aside for Ian to enter.
He set the trunk at the foot of the bed and lifted a brow at the rumpled bedcovers. She flushed; afraid he might say something about how they’d come to be in such a disheveled state. Instead he straightened and met her eyes with a vague smile.
“While I’ve appreciated the diversion, might I hope this delightful piece of baggage will find a more permanent resting place at last?”
“I dinnae ken about permanent.”
His brow lifted at her acerbic reply. “Chasing after two lively bairns more of a challenge than ye anticipated?”
“Lively? Hardly the word I’d use.” Aila sat on the side of the bed and resumed her scratching of Rab’s ears when he leapt up next to her. “To be fair, it’s a challenge I never wanted.”
“Then why take it? Why no’ return to the Orkneys? Or better yet, box Finn’s ears for being such an arse to begin wi’?”
