They talk about a few more things I can’t quite follow, and Mac chuckles heartily at a joke Tate makes. Without the other women in here, it’s a more rowdy meal, but they get along well. Shortly after the women leave, the staff brings in a tray of dessert.
“Trifle, ma’am?” one asks me, holding a tray of glasses piled high with chocolate and whipped cream. My mouth waters.
I wish I could tell him how delicious everything is. Instead, I thank him with a nod and take a little glass dish, grateful for a chance to eat while the men discuss everything.
I pay attention when they talk about my brother and their plans to scout him out. “I’ll join you of an evening and we’ll pay him a visit,” Leith says.
“What’s your purpose, son?” his dad asks.
Leith scowls. “It’s personal.”
I look at him curiously, my spoonful of trifle halfway to my mouth. Why is he interested in my brother?
We leave a little while later, and when Leith stands up from the table, he takes my hand.
“Thanks for dinner,” he says. “I’m taking her home, and I’ll see you in the morning. Mac, how have your dealings with the Irish gone?”
“Smashing,” he says with a grin, and his voice shifts. He sounds like an American gangster with his accent. “Cormac McCarthymet me at the border this morning, made me a deal I couldn’t refuse.”
“Good men, the McCarthys,” Leith says, when one of the house help comes into the dining room.
“Very best there is, sir, if you don’t mind me saying so myself.”
Leith nods at Mary. “Don’t mind at all, Mary. I know they were good to you when you visited. Anything changed in Ballyhock? Have you spoken to your sister?”
“Aye, sir, I have, and not much has changed except she’s expecting another child.”
Tate grins. “Those McCarthys will be taking over all of the fucking east coast if they keep it up.”
They chatter a bit longer until I yawn, and Leith takes me by the hand. “Let’s get you home,” he says, a note of warmth in his voice.
I’m curious why he calls it home to me. It’s his home, I know, but I’m only a visitor.
I nod and follow him, as his mum comes down the stairs. She looks as if she’s been crying, her cheeks a little bit flushed and her eyes red-rimmed. I want to hug her.
“Y’alright, Mum?”
“Aye,” she says, forcing a smile. “Had a wee bit of a chat with Paisley. I said it before and I’ll say it again, Leith, youmuststop being so hard on her.”
Leith blows out a breath. “It just isn’tsafefor her to travel like that, Mum. I don’t mean to be too hard.”
Her voice wobbles when she speaks. “Did you have to bring up Tavish?”
What happened to his brother? I want to know.
His eyes gentle, but his voice is firm. “Yes, I did. I know we don’t want to talk about it, but it’s no safer for her now than it was then.”
She sighs. “I know you’re right, I just worry.”
“I know,” he says, reaching for her hand and giving her a little squeeze. “Tell you what, I’ll talk to her in the morning and see if we can’t come up with a bit of a compromise, alright?”
My heart warms. Maybe he isn’t the arsehole some of them think he is.
Hell, I know he isn’t. I wonder, am I the only one who can see this tender side of him? Do the others know that his fierceness comes from the need to protect?
His mum nods. “Fair. And you take care of this girl.” She points to me and smiles, then her voice grows a little wistful. “Something tells me she’s special.”
I bow my head bashfully. I’ve never wanted to talk with other people more in my life than I do with this family.
