“We were doing perfectly fine until you showed up.”
“About to kiss her, were ye? She seems a mite skittish now. Ye’ll have to work on that.”
“I’m not working on anything.”
He tried to tell himself that his grandfather’s intervention had been a blessing in disguise. If Kade had kissed Charlie, who knows what it would have led to.
You know what.
Which was precisely why moonlight kisses in romantic gazebos were so dangerous.
“Are ye tellin’ me yer not helpin’ that puir girl?” Angus exclaimed, outraged.
“Of course I’m going to help her, but as a friend. She’s under enough pressure from her family as it is. Besides, the entire thing is ridiculous. Charlie has no marital intentions, something she has made abundantly clear.”
“Och, she’ll nae be able to withstand yer charm once ye actually start usin’ it instead of prancing about like a die-awaySassenach.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Yer a Highlander, so start actin’ like one. That’s what the lassie needs.”
Kade hoisted his grandfather up from the bench. “As is too often the case, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Which suggests that you’ve had too much whisky.”
“I have not,” Angus indignantly replied. “In fact, I could do with one right now.”
“Splendid. Let’s get one. And while we’re having that drink, I’ll explain exactly why we need to approach this situation with caution. If we’re not careful, we’ll end up in a right mess.”
And he might very well end up in love.
CHAPTER11
The length of the corridor was shrouded in darkness but for the small circle of light cast by Charlie’s candle. Since there were no family rooms in this wing, lamps were never left burning, and the junior footman who kept the night watch spent most of his time in the kitchen, making his rounds once on the hour.
Everyone was now in bed, including Johnny, who’d developed the unfortunate habit of playing cards with Sir Leslie late into the night. Her brother seemed more changeable lately, no longer the sunny, even-tempered lad of his youth. Charlie was convinced Sir Leslie was a bad influence. Unfortunately, no one agreed with her, because Sir Leslie came from an old Scottish family that was above reproach.
Charlie would have to sort out her brother herself—once she got her own life in order.
She slipped into the music room, her bare feet silent on the polished floorboards, and crossed to the mahogany, glass-fronted cabinet. Papa had once been an avid collector of Chinese lacquered boxes and had amassed several dozen specimens of very good quality. Eventually, though, he’d lost interest and had moved the collection case to a corner of the music room, where it now collected nothing but dust.
Setting her candle down, she pulled the cabinet key from her wrapper. As she bent over to insert the small key into the lock, she heard a quick scratching sound. When light flared behind her, she whipped around and tripped over the edge of the area rug. Biting back a yelp, she waved her arms for balance but went arse over teakettle, landing with a thump on the floor.
“Bloody hell,” she muttered.
A moment later, Kade crouched in front of her and studied her with concern. “Are you all right, lass?”
She glanced across the room to the reading nook. A candle now softly shed its light on the armchair where he’d obviously been seated.
Or lurking.
Charlie narrowed her gaze as she stared up at him. Normally, she’d be entranced to be only inches away from his too-handsome face. Right now, though, she was tempted to give him a good shove and puthimon his arse.
“You’re spying on me,” she accused.
“No, I was simply waiting to talk to you.”
“And you didn’t feel the need to talk to me when I came into the blasted room?”
“I didn’t want to startle you while you were still holding the candle.”
