Chapter Six
“Now, can we go upstairs?” Emily asked, her head tipped at an impatient angle.
“I kind of hate to leave this warm room.” Tess set her empty plate on the blanket they’d used for their picnic and held up the thermos. “More hot chocolate, anyone?”
“Aunt Tess!”
“Okay,” Tess laughed. “Help me clear this away and then bundle up. It’s going to seem even colder after being so warm in here.”
“Are you coming?” Emily asked Darach. “We might see Jack Frost!” A look of concern replaced the excitement in her eyes. “Do you think he’ll be mad at us for warming up part of his house?”
“I thought ’twasyourhouse.” Darach looked questioningly from Emily to Tessa.
Tess noted the confused look on Darach’s face. Maybe they called the personification of winter by some other name in Scotland. “You’re not familiar with Jack Frost? Also known as Old Man Winter? You know, the one who puts frost on the windows? Ice in the air?”
“Ahh,” Darach nodded.
Tess smiled, still unsure if he knew who they were talking about. But who knows what folklore and traditions he was raised with. She literally knew nothing about him.
So, shouldn’t she be feeling at least a little wary? Oddly, she wasn’t. Being with Darach seemed more like slipping on a warm sweater. He made her feel comforted and cared for.
Not exactly true, Tessa!
Not if she admitted to the unsettling attraction she couldn’t shake and her too-frequent stealthy glances in his direction. It couldn’t lead to anything, so what did it matter? He’d already made it clear he was only staying a day or two and she had no room for such frivolity, anyway. She had a niece to raise, a life and home to rebuild for both of them, and a career that needed constant attention to remain marketable. The last thing she had time or energy for was an attraction, let alone an actual flirtation or…more. Even with a man as appealing as the one sitting beside her.
“Come on!” Emily urged, putting on her coat and gloves. “We’re supposed to be on an adventure, remember?”
“We certainly are,” Tess agreed, preparing to get up.
Before she could stand, Darach was on his feet, reaching down to give her a hand up. “Shall we go banish the coldhearted Jack, then, and send him outside to wreak his icy havoc?”
There it was again. That magnetic smile that caused a hitch in her breath and a tingle in her belly. She slipped her hand into his, feeling his warmth and strength as he drew her to her feet and almost to his chest. “Yes,” she replied, gaining her balance just in time. “It’s a big house, but we need all our available space forinvitedguests.”
She shared a playful smile with Darach as he helped her into her coat. After adding a small piece of coal to the fire, he adjusted the length of his plaid around his shoulders and nodded to Emily. “Lead the way, lass.”
Like a tour guide, Em handed each of them a flashlight and led them from the warm library into the frigid foyer. “Wait!” Tess called before Em could race up the stairs. “We don’t know if those stairs are as solid as they look.”
“I’ll go first.” Darach gave Emily a conspiratorial wink. “That way I can be on the lookout for Jack.”
Em glanced cautiously up the curved stairway, into the shadows. “Tell him we think he’ll like it better outside,” she whispered.
Like a slow train, they moved single file up the stairs. Tess trailed a little behind, using her light to study the intricate workmanship on the bannister and balusters. If she could ever manage to restore this stately old lady to her former glory, she and Emily would not only have a beautiful home, but one steeped in family history and historical significance.
She couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for her ancestors to abandon this house to escape the aftermath of Culloden and Cumberland’s order ofno quarterfor Jacobite sympathizers.
She should feel grateful, she supposed, that some British notable confiscated this estate as his personal headquarters instead of burning it to the ground as they had so many others. Tess’s father had told her what a great deal of time, effort and money her great-grandparents and finally her grandparents, had invested to finally clear the title. But by then, her grandparents were too aged and ill to make the trip and with both her parents still entrenched in their careers, they’d placed the property with an estate administrator who’d seen to some renovations and modernizations so it could be rented. But oddly, none of the tenants ever stayed long.
Now it was hers and Emily’s, to save or sell. She blinked away the burn behind her eyes, remembering last Christmas when her father had announced his plan to bring their three generations back here for a reclamation celebration. Her grandparents had passed away and her parents were finally thinking of retirement. They’d decided to make this their home.
But first, they’d agreed to accompany Tess’s sister and her husband on an anniversary trip. None of them could have anticipated the horrific outcome of hiring that small, private puddle-jumper to take them from island to island.
It took their lives, instead.
She tried to swallow past the painful lump in her throat. She, Emily and this stranger were not quite the homecoming party her father had envisioned.
Oh, how she missed her family!
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