Kate inhaled and exhaled slowly.
“Why do you think he was there like that, Dev?”
He shrugged. “There are any number of reasons, Kate.”
“Give me one of them.”
“James said there are many smugglers that use that cove.”
“Oh… well, I had not thought of that.”
“We have.”
She looked to Rory, who was still playing with Beth. Was it possible that he was a smuggler and something had gone wrong? The thought was not a happy one, and on that came another. Was he still in danger, and secondly, was the family?
Chapter Fourteen
When he realized his brother’s intent was to stay in the castle on Christmas Eve, Rory had asked Max for the loan of his carriage to take him back to Oak’s Knoll. He’d refused. Rory had then asked James for one of his horses—that too had been refused. He could hardly walk down the mountain himself, especially as snow was just starting to fall and his arm was aching like the devil. He’d endured worse conditions but rarely with a bullet hole in his shoulder. So he stayed. Apparently the castle had enough rooms to sleep a small village. He would just keep his distance from everyone; surely that couldn’t be hard to do.
The hell of it was he didn’t want to leave, and that should have had him running down the mountain and not looking back.
There was Kate Sinclair with her soft lips and lush body. His brothers and sisters, and of course the rest of his family. They all tugged at his heart… even Max, he had to admit. Watching his brother, he knew the man he had become was a good one. Yes, Rory still harbored resentment for what he felt was Max’s desertion—after all, such an emotion could not be eradicated overnight—but he could not fault him for the man he’d formed himself into.
“Excellent. The last of the villagers have gone, and now we can settle in the main hall,” he heard Eden say as they began to head into the castle.
“We decorate the tree now, Uncle Rory.”
The name still gave him a jolt, even though it had been bandied about all day.
“That’s exciting, Luke.”
The hall was warm, with the curtains drawn to ward off the chill.
“Tonight, we celebrate,” Wolf said, moving to Rory’s side. He was quiet, like Lord Sinclair, and Rory had noticed they had the most amazing green eyes. Vibrant was the only word he could use to describe them. Kate’s were lovely, beautiful even, but these were unsettling to look at for long periods. “It is Christmas Eve, so we decorate the tree, then eat. Presents will be exchanged, and then a toast to Alice and Nicholas as they will wed tomorrow.”
“Excellent,” Rory said with more enthusiasm than he felt.
“They are good people.”
“I know that.”
“But you are not used to this.” Wolf swept out a hand.
“No, I’m not.”
Around them, everyone was speaking over the top of the other. Children were squealing with excitement. People sat on chairs and sofas and talked, seemingly oblivious to the chaos.
Bran ran into the room with several dogs on his heels and came to see him and Wolf. While he was greeted, it was to the Sinclair that the dogs looked, all sitting on their heels staring up at him.
“Bran you know, as he’s yours. This is Myrtle, Whiskers, Zeus, and Hep.” Wolf pointed to each, and their ears lifted in response.
“They like you.”
“All animals like him. If you look closely, there will be a few rodents hovering,” Warwick Sinclair said as he passed.
“This environment does take some getting used to, but it grows on you. I would have it no other way now,” Wolf said.
“God’s blood, I have a hunger!”
