Page 39 of This Laird of Mine

“Guests here?” His brows rose in surprise. “I can’t remember the last time anyone came to call for any purpose other than tragedy.” He fell silent a moment, then touched her chin, tilted her face, and forced her to meet his eyes. “’Tis all right, Claire. Something had to change. You were right, the house was dead, along with its keepers. Past keepers,” he corrected.

She saw a transformation in his eyes from the angry laird he had been when she’d first arrived to the strong and confident man before her. He looked at her as if she truly mattered to him. Her heart sped up.

“Shall we go see what miracles you all have wrought?” They started up the walkway together, and halfway there, he reached for her hand.

Hidden amongst the trees, a hooded figure watched as Claire and Jules entered the house. The dark figure balled her fists as frustration and rage rose within her. She desperately fought to control her temper.

Jules was in love with Claire, and yet she did not leave him. Now it was time for her to break Jules’s heart. Claire would pay for not following orders. There was no mistaking that look in his eyes. Did the girl not see what she had accomplished? Or, had she changed her mind?

Claire had been warned what would happen if she didn’t do precisely what the woman had laid out for her. Yet her orders were being dismissed. The woman smothered the venom rising within her. No matter. She would regain all the power and her revenge soon enough. There would be no more waiting and watching. No more bribery. No more force. Only action.

The woman stepped back into the woods, where she had tethered her horse. Swinging up into the saddle, she noted that the sky was leaden, clouds rolling, scudding with the wind. She lifted her head and smiled as a gust of moist wind touched her cheeks.

A storm was coming to Kildare Manor.

Jules smiled as he looked about his study. The swords no longer dominated the space. They still remained, but now seemed to blend into the serenity of the still-sparse chamber. His desk had been moved to the opposite side of the room so that he could look out the window onto the newly threshed field.

He’d been gone only five days, and the place looked better than he ever remembered it looking, despite his desperate lack of funds. When he had returned home, he hadn’t seen anything but Claire. All else had faded from view but the voluptuous vision that had come toward him in the drive. He’d had to clamp his teeth together to keep from calling out to her. And then he’d seen the look of concern in her eyes, and his heart had raced in his chest and swelled with pride.

She was his.

Jules no longer tensed at the thought of a wife. His bride. His home. His new life. What had he ever done to deserve all this? A week and a half ago, he had only wanted to be left alone. Now he couldn’t imagine a life without Claire. The part of himself that had been so empty before felt suddenly filled. And he realized his love for Jane had never been the all-consuming sensation Claire evoked.

With a sigh of contentment, he sat in his chair behind the big desk and awaited Fin. He’d asked one of his new servants to send the steward to him there.

Waiting for the retainer, Jules smoothed his hands across the spotless surface of the desk. They’d not only tamed the outside, they had applied fresh paint to the walls, swept out all the mice and cobwebs, and polished what furnishings still remained in the house to a shine.

“Milord.” A knock at the door brought him out of his ruminations.

A young woman opened the door and curtsied. “Master Fin fer ye, milord.”

“Thank you, Betsy,” Jules replied, unable to keep the grin from his face. He had servants. And food in the larder. And a home, thanks to Claire, his friends, and the slightly bent, aging man before him. Jules stood and gestured Fin toward the chair he had just vacated. “Sit, please.”

“Nay, lad.” Fin frowned. “’Tis yer chair.”

“Please, Fin, sit.”

With a shrug, the older man made his way behind the desk and sat. “What happened tae ye? Yer face looks like ye’ve taken a hit or two. Did the debt collectors find ye?”

“Not creditors.” Jules said as he waited for Fin to settle himself.

“Then who?” the retainer asked, his frown deepening.

Jules shrugged. “It matters not. I escaped in far better condition than they did.”

His brow heavy with concern, Fin said, “Ye wanted tae see me?”

Jules nodded.

“I need to know about my father’s last days.”

Fin folded his arms over his chest and nodded.

“What do ye want tae know?”

Facing his steward, Jules paused. He didn’t know where to start as one question after another filled his mind. “Why did my father never pay for my release?”

“He had not the funds fer one thing. And I think he was just as happy tae know ye were safe enough there. He mentioned tae me once that he’d made a mistake forcin’ ye tae come home from the Lennoxes. He knew how much ye wanted to learn tae use a sword, and tae train as a knight. He said he thought yer brother who wanted nothing tae do with battle would be safer with ye around.”