Sephie had felt some hope when she entered the church and saw by the candlelight that Ranulf was waiting for them, as he’d said he would be.But then the reality of the situation had surged back with the force of a blow that knocked all the air from her body.
For all that he was so tall and powerfully built, Ranulf had still only been one man pitted against a lunatic who was holding the device that could blow the inn to nothing but rubble.With her parents buried beneath it.
She knew she’d never be able to live with herself if she survived this situation and her parents didn’t.She doubted her parents would be happy either if the situation had been resolved with Sephie dead.
Instead, they had all survived, and Edgar Wallis was safely locked away in one of the dungeons beneath the castle.
Speaking of which…
She stood next to the range, absorbing some of its heat as she spoke to her parents.“Pretty impressive place, isn’t it?”
Her mother nodded.“I’ve always liked these old manses.”
Sephie sensed Ranulf tensing as he stood talking softly with his brothers across the kitchen.As if he could hear her conversation, which, considering the distance between them and the way Sephie had deliberately lowered her voice, he really shouldn’t be able to do.
“Do you like the Scottish manses too?”she asked her father.
“It’s a lovely old house,” he agreed.
A house, and not the castle that Sephie saw and had always seen.
“Perhaps Mr.and Mrs.Malcolm would like to go up to their bedroom now?”Belle prompted as she looked inquiringly at Sephie’s parents.
“Please call us Tim and Silvia,” her mother invited warmly.“And we couldn’t possibly impose on your hospitality any more than we already have.We should go back to the inn.”She gave an involuntary shiver even saying it.
“We insist you stay here,” Lachlan decreed in a voice that brooked no argument.“For the moment, we would prefer you remain here with us.”He softened his voice and words slightly, as if he realized he had sounded too harsh.“One of us will go down to the inn in the morning to tidy up and check that it’s warm enough for you to return.There’s really no reason for you to go back there until tomorrow.”
Sephie’s father frowned.“I thought you said you had dealt with the…with the danger of the dynamite.”He obviously had difficulty even saying the word, let alone contemplating the damage it could have done if it had been allowed to explode.“Do you think there’s still some danger in us returning to the inn tonight?”
“Not at all,” Hunter assured smoothly.“But it would be better if you had a good night’s sleep and returned there tomorrow.Everything always looks better in the light of day, I’ve always found.”He smiled.
Of the three brothers, Hunter was definitely the most charming.Lachlan was the most authoritative.Ranulf was…a man who hid his emotions deeper than anyone Sephie had met before him.
Except when it came to her.With her, he was…
Sephie gave him a glance from beneath her lashes, because the word that instantly sprang to mind in connection to him had been everything.
As far as she was concerned, Ranulf waseverything.
He was there for her, and for the people she loved.Not only that, he was the sexiest man she had ever met, and his kisses had completely swept her off her feet!
“If you’re sure we aren’t being a burden…?”Her mother still hesitated about accepting the invitation.“I really feel as if we’ve imposed on you enough for one day.”She frowned.“The three of you put yourselves in danger to rescue us.”
“They were just showing off,” Zoey dismissed with a teasing smile in the brothers’ direction.“Besides, we’ve already lit a fire in one of the guest bedrooms and aired the bed, and there’s plenty of hot water for you to take a shower.We’ve also put some bottled water and clean night clothes in there for you both,” she added kindly.
“You’ve all been so wonderful to us.”Sephie’s mother reached out to squeeze Belle’s arm in gratitude, tears glistening in her eyes.“I hate to think what would have happened to us all if that dreadful man had carried out his plan.”
“We were Wallis’s targets.He should never have involved any of you,” the gruff Lachlan cut in apologetically.
Sephie’s father shook his head.“I have no idea what that even means, but I think I should warn you that the man is probably insane.”He leaned forward conspiratorially.“Kidnapping us and hitting Sephie was bad enough…” He paused as a soft growl emanated from Ranulf.When the growling stopped, he continued, albeit after giving Ranulf a wary glance.As if he wasn’t quite sure of what he thought he had heard.“Putting sticks of dynamite in the inn was really out there, but the man was muttering about dragons and treasure when Sephie was outside talking with Ranulf this afternoon.”
“Totally insane,” Lachlan agreed.
But he didn’t, Sephie noted, scoff or reject the notion of dragons or their reputed treasure hoard.
Whatever the truth was, it was obvious that the Drake brothers had become the target of the attention of a madman.
“Did any of you call the police and report what had happened?”Sephie’s father now prompted.
