He glanced down the beach. “Your brother and Sir Leslie appear to be having an argument.”
“You go on ahead. I’ll fetch Johnny.”
“I can go,” he offered. “I’m happy to play errand boy.”
“No, it’s fine.” She flapped her hands, shooing him. “Now, please go. I’ll take care of it.”
Kade narrowed his gaze. “Charlie—”
“Go—I’ll be right there.”
Ignoring his irritated expression, she turned and hurried down the beach. It was something of a revelation that Kade Kendrick could be the bossy, overprotective sort.
She nodded to the boatmen as she passed. They politely tipped their caps, although their attention was on the little scene between Johnny and Sir Leslie. Her brother and Sir Leslie were clearly engaged in some sort of dispute, and Johnny was doing most of the talking, in an agitated manner.
“Ho, Johnny,” she called while still several yards away. “You mustn’t linger. Everyone’s waiting for us.”
When Sir Leslie glanced over, she got a bit of a shock. The man had always struck her as a cad, but a rather genial one for all that. Right now, he seemed anything but genial. His mouth was flat and unforgiving, and anger crackled in his hard gaze.
Then he blinked and his nasty expression vanished, replaced with a smile. Charlie could almost doubt what she’d seen. And perhaps she would have, if not for the look on her brother’s face. Johnny was pale and clearly rattled. When their gazes met, he turned away from her.
“What’s going on here?” she asked.
“Why, nothing, Miss Charlotte,” Sir Leslie replied in a friendly tone. “How kind of you to come fetch us.”
She propped her hands on her hips. “Really? Because it didn’t seem like nothing.”
“It was nothing, Charlie,” Johnny said. “We were just talking.”
She knew her brother’s every intonation, his every expression. Right now, she’d bet ten bob that he was anxious, even scared.
Sir Leslie wagged a finger at her. “You’re too perceptive by half, my dear. Johnny and Iwerehaving a little dispute, but I promise it was not serious. The dear fellow wishes to depart for Edinburgh tomorrow, but I was explaining to him that your father asked us to stay for several more days, and I feel it would be rude to ignore Lord Kinloch’s kind invitation.”
“Is that true?” Charlie asked her brother. “You wish to leave tomorrow?”
“The blasted wedding is over,” he replied in a surly tone. “No point in hanging about, which I was trying to explain to Sir Leslie. Unfortunately, he seems to think several more days in Ballachulish would be just the thing, instead of the complete bore that it actually is.”
“Come now,” responded Sir Leslie in an indulgent tone. “It’s the perfect retreat from the heat and the dust of the city, especially at this time of year.”
Johnny scoffed. “If you say so.”
Charlie gave him an encouraging smile. “You’ve hardly been home these last several months. Don’t you want to spend more time with us?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I suppose.”
“And you must admit it’s the perfect place to rusticate.” Sir Leslie winked at Charlie. “Sometimes us fellows need a bit of rustication, you know.”
Rusticationoften meant a forced retreat from society.
Charlie tilted her head. “And why would you need to rusticate, Sir Leslie? Or why would Johnny, for that matter?”
He put up his hands. “Just a figure of speech, dear lady. And you’re perfectly right. We mustn’t keep the others waiting. Come along, Johnny.”
When he turned and headed along the beach and Johnny started to trudge after him, Charlie caught her brother’s arm.
“You go ahead, Sir Leslie,” she said. “I’ll walk back with Johnny.”
“As you wish, my dears.” He waved a cheery hand.
