Declan, who didn't usually think of women as 'chicks,' had an honest-to-God moment of confusion where hedidwonder why it would be good for Tara to protect other women. Then he realized the bird meant babies, and a shiver of anticipation ran through him. He managed to say,We're a long way from discussingchicks,to the peacock, but the idea thrilled him. And he'd never really thought of himself as a family man before, so it surprised him just as much.
You never had a fated mate before,his peacock said reasonably.
By then Tara had…encouraged…Colette to stand up straight, well and safely away from Declan's tail feathers. The designer still looked like she'd been hit by a lorry. "You're supposed to be helping me get feathers!"
"And if we can convince some peacocks to drop them, I will," Tara said icily. "But you willnotabuse these animals by pulling their feathers out. That's horrible."
"They're just birds!"
"How big is the shaft of a peacock's feather?" Tara demanded.
"I—half a centimeter?" Colette's outrage was now mixed fully with bewilderment, though the anger flashed through again as Tara snapped a hand forward and caught a small section of the designer's hair, wrapping it around her fingers.
"There, I'd say I've got about half a centimeter's worth of hair roots now. Want me to rip that out?"
"What? Are you feckin'mental? Get your—stop that—you—!" Colette flailed and smacked at Tara's hand, although Declan couldn't help noticing she was very careful not to pull too far away.
"Oh, so youdon'twant me to pull your hair out? Why is that? Do you think it would hurt?Gosh," Tara growled, "imagine how the peacocks feel."
"They're just birds!" Colette shouted again.
Tara released her hair. "They're living creatures and you'll treat them with respect or I'll call the guards on you for illegal animal trafficking."
The designer's jaw fell open again. Declan's just about did, too. He hadn't really considered going straight to direct threats. His peacock did a smug little dance in their minds, and it was all Declan could do to keep it from doing a physical one, too. He didn't want to distract Colette from Tara just then, especially as the designer's eyes narrowed. "I thought you were on my side."
"That honestly remains to be seen."
Colette stared at Tara a long few seconds, then, clearly trying to reset the whole relationship, said, "I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot. I do know, of course, that I'm notsupposedto be collecting peacock feathers. It's just that the real thing is so much better than the manufactured ones, so much more vibrant, so much more exclusive. And you…"
Declan could practically see the woman scraping her memory, trying to recall what Tara had said about herself. After a moment, Colette landed on, "You're a photographer," with a note of triumph for remembering.
She's carrying a camera,his peacock said dryly. Declan snickered, but tried to swallow the sound, and gradually took a few steps away. He didn't want to be any closer to Colette in peacock form than he had to be.
I'll step on her.His peacock sounded serene now, and Declan had to admit, he also enjoyed the idea of shifting into their largest form and, if notsteppingon the designer, at least scaring the bejeezus out of her.
"Now, love, you wouldn't be interested infashionphotography, would you? Because I could use someone with a good eye and a talent for bringing out the depth of colors innaturalmaterials, like peacock feathers."
The way Tara's breath caught suggested Colette had actually hit on a secret desire of hers. Declan wasn't worried for even a heartbeat, but Colette pounced, verbally, like a cat with a mouse.
Excuseme!His peacock was actively offended.Like apeacockwith a mouse!
Declan, with some actual embarrassment, said,Right, of course.It wasn't like he didn't know peafowl ate mice, although it wasn't a delicacyhehad ever tried, and didn't want to.
"It's an interesting offer," Tara was saying, her voice faint. "But I'd only be interested if everything is absolutely ethical and above-board."
Colette put on a brittle smile that made Declan want to peck her. "Then that's what we'll do. Tell you what, why don't we go find some more peacocks and…you can take pictures while I try to collect feathers."
Tara said, "Mmm," neutrally, but gestured for Colette to lead the way. Once the designer was ahead of her, Tara caught Declan's eye and made anI'm going to be sickface that had him chortling to himself as they went to find the peacocks.
Chapter 9
The grounds at Blarney Castle werestunning. Even in winter, with a lot of the greenery gone, they were absolutely beautiful. The castle, which was much more square and blocky than what Tara thought of as a castle, was still impressively tall, maybe a hundred feet, and that was almost the smallest part of the whole place. The castle was settled right on the river, with battlements that still stood along the pathway and, among other things, a sign that pointed, intriguingly, to a 'poison garden.' Apparently there was an arboretum somewhere, and a lake somewhere else, and…
…and Tara decided she resented Colette Snootypants for wanting to steal peacock feathers when Tara could otherwise be enjoying a wonderful day on these magnificent grounds with the charming, handsome, and kind Declan McCarthy.
He had disappeared somewhere while she and Colette walked up toward the castle, which made sense. It would be weird for a peacock to follow them around like it was a pet dog. But he reappeared, back in human form, as they worked their way around the battlements, and offered Tara a smile. "Thepeafowl were just released from their pen and are all just up a little ways at the lookout tower, if you want to come see them?"
"Peafowl," Tara said with unexpected delight. "Right, you're not—they're not—all peacocks, are they? The females are peahens. I didn't know they were collectively peafowl, though. The poor hens," she added. "They've got pretty throats, but they're just not as magnificent."
