Chapter Seventeen
For Mairi, thetrip home from the ball was bizarre. She had no idea why the countess called for their wraps and the carriage while Mairi and Connall were dancing the next set with new partners. Indeed, the lady stood at the edge of the ballroom, her expression thunderous, and gestured them out the door as they were stepping off the dance floor.
Mairi complied meekly, knowing that she and Connall deserved a thorough dressing down. From the countess’s perspective, they’d behaved abominably with that wild dance. But that was not what happened when all five of them were finally in the carriage.
Instead of glaring at her and Connall, the countess turned her wrath on Sadie and Iseabail. “Have you two lost your minds?”
The girls each opened their mouths to say something, but neither got a word out. The countess lifted her hand to silence them and began listing the stories surrounding girls who wandered away from their chaperones. Every one came to an unfortunate end.
Clearly Sadie and Iseabail had done something risqué, but no exact details came out. Eventually, Connall spoke, his low voice easily interrupting the countess. “I will hear the details of this tomorrow first thing. You are both under my sponsorship, and I will know the truth.”
That was a mistake, especially since the countess was already furious. They all knew that Connall was paying for their Season, but money wasn’t enough to get one into ahaut tonball. It was the countess who was their entrée into society. Without her, they’d get no invites, and whatever they did reflected strongly on her.
And so she told them in no uncertain terms.
“Your sponsorship!” the countess cried as she turned her fury on Connall. “You’re hardly an example of moral fitness with that dance.” She shook head in despair. “After all of you leave, I shall be the one back here having to face my friends after this day. It is I who am sponsoring all of you, and I expect every one of you to remember that.”
Nothing to say to that, except to assure her they understood and would be on their best behavior from now on. Even Connall had the wherewithal to apologize for any offence. The countess received their words with skepticism, and who could blame her? Neither Mairi nor Connall regretted the spectacle of their wild dance. Whatever Sadie and Iseabail had done had put them in high color. Both seemed very pleased with themselves despite their bowed heads and demure expressions. And so it was no wonder that the rest of the ride home was filled with tales of women and a few men who had not listened to their elders and came to regret it.
As soon as they entered the home, the countess declared a headache and took to her bed. The girls took one look at each other and dashed up to their room. That left Mairi and Connall staring at each other in absolute silence.
Connall broke the silence first. “Do you know what the girls did?”
“I have no idea.”
He nodded grimly. “Then it’ll wait until tomorrow.” His expression softened. “Mairi—”
“Wait.” She said the word quickly, her heart pounding in her throat. She looked upstairs to where the girls could be heard bumping around in their room. “Let everyone settle first.”
“I won’t wait long.”
“I know.”
They were talking in a code that she didn’t truly understand. She’d said yes to something. He was impatient for it. And though she wasn’t stupid, the evening and their dance were too new for her to have fully adjusted to what had happened.
“I’m confused,” she confessed.
“I’ll explain it.”
“You’ll tell me what to do,” she countered. “And you’re always wrong.”
“No, Mairi. I’m always right, but I have to wait eons for you to realize that.”
She snorted her derision, but part of her knew he spoke the truth. The two of them never saw things exactly the same way. He was a man who negotiated multiyear agreements with neighboring clans. He balanced disputes between his clansmen, and he brought wealth to his people far beyond what any other clan had achieved. She looked to the immediate actions, at who was drunk, who needed to be fed, and who should do the work while another rested.
None of their skills translated to a London ballroom or the search for a mate. And yet here they were. She’d felt so lost before tonight, as if she floundered in a place that made no sense. But when they were together, sensations overcame her, and she had no control over anything.
Going from floundering to overwhelmed was not a good progression. She should turn him away, close the door, and gather her strength to make sense of the Marriage Mart one more time.
“Don’t lock your door,” he said in an undertone. “I’ll come when the house is quiet.”
She looked at him, not knowing what to say. He looked at her, his expression inscrutable, but then his lips curved in a way she knew so well. It was half mischief, half delight, and he brushed her jaw with his knuckles.
“Don’t run away, Mairi. You’ve just arrived.”
“I’m not running anywhere,” she snapped, though she knew she lied. Inside she was running in circles. Nothing made sense and he was her only touchstone. And yet, surrendering to him meant madness.
He winked at her as he held out his arm. It seemed he meant to escort her upstairs, and who was she to refuse such a courtly gesture? She set her hand on his arm; he covered it with his own. And together they climbed the stairs. They were halfway up when she realized what they were doing. It would be much the same climbing the stairs out of the great hall in his castle. Lord and lady heading to bed.
