“You’re dressed to go outside,” he noted, clearly wanting to change the subject.
“Yes, Maeve mentioned some gardens.”
“Let me show you,” Niall said.
They walked outside, following the walls of the keep. Niall led her down a narrow path that suddenly turned around the northwestern corner of the building, where the original outer wall had been lowered to allow those in the garden to have an uninterrupted view to the west.
The garden itself was lovely, with a collection of roses and many more flowers in carefully marked beds, separated by white gravel paths.
However, the vista commanded the most attention. The land behind the keep dropped away precipitously, rolling away to the west to a distant ocean horizon, just visible behind a shoreline of hills and islands.
“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Heather said.
“Aye, that it is. MacNair land all the way to the sea,” he noted.
“You’re very proud of your heritage.”
“Well, it’s about all we have left,” Niall admitted. “I think one of the reasons I was hesitant to tell you about my family and the title coming to me is that, to be honest, there’s not much to any of it. If you’d seemed to be the sort of woman who’d be impressed by a title, I might have. But if you were, I somehow doubt I would have found you standing in a village street with no shoes.”
“True,” Heather agreed with a laugh. “I never set my sights on marrying for a title, and Uncle Cyril never hinted that he’d care about it either. Though I wonder now if that could have been a way to evade his plans. If I’d said I was hellbent on becoming Lady Something or Other, would he have put aside his own goal of pawning me off on his friend?”
“The aristocratic marriage mart can be expensive,” Niall said. “And you mentioned that your uncle was a miser.”
“True again. I guess I’ll never know. And it doesn’t matter anyway. What’s done is done…until it’s undone.” She smiled at him. “Our little deception is going to surprise a lot of people once it’s revealed, you know. I can’t imagine what your father will say when we tell him that we’ve annulled the marriage. I saw him this morning, and he all but called me whore. And swore up and down that he’d find a way to end the marriage. Out of spite, I refrained from telling him that all he had to do was wait.”
Niall nodded. “He told me essentially the same thing last night. He’s still trying to make Brenna the next Lady MacNair. I thought that he’d have an apoplexy over it."
“Speaking of that,” Heather said, “You should have told me your father was so ill.”
“What do you mean? He’s not ill,” Niall protested. “I mean, he’s under the weather now with some ague. But it will pass. It always does.”
“It’s consumption,” Heather said bluntly. “He admitted it to me.”
Niall looked offended now. “Why would he tell you that?”
“He only confirmed it when I guessed. He’s coughing up blood, Niall. When that happens, the cause is consumption.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Do I seem like someone who exaggerates?”
Niall frowned at her. “No. But this is serious. I think we ought to talk to Maeve. She’ll have been the one who was with the doctor most often. And if you’re in this house, you’ll need to know how the laird’s health fares.”
They returned inside and Niall asked where Maeve could be found. The answer, it seemed, was anywhere. Maeve was an indefatigable worker and patrolled nearly every corner of Carregness while she checked on the various servants and verified supplies and asked for reports.
They finally found her in the kitchen, discussing the week’s meals with the cook. Heather asked Maeve if she could spare a moment, and the three of them stepped into the hallway.
“Now what?” Maeve asked. “If you two are having your first lovers’ spat, I’m not the one to solve it!”
“Nothing like that,” Heather assured her. “It’s about your father.”
“Heather said he has consumption,” Niall said abruptly. “That’s nonsense.”
That way Maeve looked at Niall, that long moment of silence, nearly broke Heather.
“It’s not true, is it?” Niall asked his sister.
“I’m sorry, Niall.” Maeve reached for him, but he stepped away.
