“Is there a reason you think it couldn’t continue to be a farm?”
“No,” Joe said. “But if your father was named the heir instead of your cousin, do you think your dad would move here to farm this place?”
“Never.”
Darius repeated the observation about it being more ranch than a farm.
“It’s still not something my dad would want to do, and my grandfather’s valet said Graham wants to sell it.” Eve glanced around the area and her voice turned sad. “I guess after over a hundred years, it’ll go out of the family.”
“Have you done what you came here to do then?” Darius asked. “If you’d like, we can drive back to Edinburgh today. There’s still plenty of sightseeing we can do before the plane returns.”
“If you want to go back, you can. I want to stay at least for the night. My grandfather might come to dinner, and I’d like to see how he and my cousin interact.” Eve turned to face the house again. “We can leave early in the morning if that’s all right.”
“We’ll stay then. I’m interested in meeting this cousin too.”
They walked around the house to the front and paused to look at the expanse.
“Such a big house for a small family,” she said. “It really does feel like a step back in time. You’d almost expect the servants to wear livery.”
The front door opened, and a man stepped outside. He didn’t appear to notice them as he paused and lit a cigarette.
“My cousin,” she said softly.
Graham looked up then and startled. As his gaze went from Eve to the men on each side of her, his already sour expression turned into a glare.
“See what I mean about a living stereotype?” she whispered.
Darius wondered if she was going to introduce them or if she was waiting for her cousin to make the first move. He must have been mentally debating the same thing, but he finally swaggered over and stopped before Joe.
“You must be the fiancé.” Graham glanced at her with a sneer and asked, “A little old for you, isn’t he?”
“He would be if he were my fiancé.” Eve looked up at Darius and gave him a smile that set his pulse racing. “Thisis my fiancé: Darius Dimitriou. Darius, I believe this is my cousin Graham. This other gentleman is Joseph Brooks.”
Darius didn’t know if he should extend his hand, so he waited for the other man to make the first move, glad that he’d waited when the cousin ignored him.
“Why don’t you just go back to where you came from?” Graham asked.
“We’re planning to tomorrow.” Eve, as though the man’s rudeness and hostility meant nothing to her, instead took Darius’s hand and they headed toward the house, leaving the cousin to stare after them.
“He still didn’t confirm that he’s your cousin,” Joe observed when they were inside.
“If he’s been here for almost a month,” Eve said, taking off her jacket, “I don’t blame my grandfather for taking to his bed with migraines.”
“Could he have an eating disorder?” Darius indicated the solarium, and they went in there again.
“Possibly, but I’m pretty sure it’s a drug addiction.” She went to the window and watched her cousin, who was pacing while he talked on his phone. “You must have noticed the sores on his face.”
“And smelled him,” Joe said.
“Does it have to be drugs?” Darius asked. “Can’t poor nutrition give you bad skin?”
“It can, but those particular sores make me think he’s a meth addict. It’s obvious that he’s been picking at them. That frequently happens when they imagine that they have what’s calledmeth mites. People think they have bugs crawling on them, swear they can see them, and become obsessed with getting them off. Studies show that a user must have taken meth five days or more per week for six months to hallucinate like that.”
“So you think he’s into it bad,” Joe said.
“It’s ironic then that you were talking about this being a great locale for a drug rehab center,” Darius said. “Too bad it hasn’t helped him.”
“Ah, I thought I heard voices,” Mrs. Campbell said, poking her head in the room. “Your grandfather prefers to eat early, so tea will be at five. When he has guests, he likes a formal meal.” She left but paused in the doorway. “He’s decided to have a dinner party tomorrow night in your honor and has invited some of the neighbors.” She left.
