Page 1 of The Tartan Trap

CHAPTER 1- CALLUM

“Dear heavens, Cal, did you get taller?” His cousin peered at him.

With Ellis standing on the stairs, their height was nearly even—an illusion that shattered as soon as he stepped down.

Callum Burnett MacMillan, the Duke of Ettrick, removed his hat and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Hullo, Ellis.”

Behind him, the grand front door stood open to the pleasant clatter of Berkeley Square. Sunlight and a crisp breeze entered the London house along with the groomsmen still bringing in his trunks.

“I always forget how big you are.” Ellis frowned as if Callum might have been a normal height if only he’d tried.

“When have you ever paid attention to the appearance of another gentleman?”

“In your case, I should have made an exception.” Ellis made a big show of slumping his shoulders even though a smile plucked at the corners of his mouth. “Perhaps it was a mistake to agree to show you around London. With you about, the feminine set won’t take a second glance at me.”

Callum raised his eyebrows and gave a patient smile. He knew Ellis well enough to know when his cousin wanted a response and when he was quite satisfied delivering a humorous monologue.

Though they lived in separate countries, they’d spent nearly every summer together, growing up. Ellis was the youngest of five. He’d arrived eight years after his sister, a late surprise to parents who’d thought they’d largely finished rearing children. His parents had cheerfully shipped Ellis off to Scotland every summer since he was old enough to walk.

“Oh well,” Ellis said. “You might as well come in, anyway.”

“How kind of you to invite me into my own home.”

“Isn’t it?” he said blithely.

Callum followed him into the comfortable front sitting room. Two tufted leather sofas faced off over a carved wooden table in front of a massive stone fireplace. Callum gave a sigh as he shucked his coat and rolled his shirtsleeves up to the elbows.

It was a relief to finally be out of that carriage, a relief to be in a house with tall ceilings and fine furnishings chosen more for comfort and quality than for showing off. It was no wonder the large city house reminded him of his home outside Edinburgh—his mother had decorated them both.

“Are you in the market for a wife too, Ellis?” he asked.

Ellis reared back, his eyes wide. “Heavens, no. Not for at least another year or two.”

“I only ask because you brought up ladies. My mistake.”

Ellis sat on one of the couches and jerked his head at the footman near the sideboard. Callum sincerely hoped he was requesting tea; the breakfast at the roadside inn had been rather sparse, not to mention hours and hours past.

“Just because I like female attention doesn’t mean I’m looking to wed.” Ellis flitted a hand through the air. “I’m perusing, not seriously shopping, as you are. There’s a difference.”

Callum grunted. Like most undertakings, the idea of getting married was the easiest part. Now that he was actually here in London, the enormity of his task loomed before him.

Ellis studied him, something like a smirk around his mouth. “You needn’t look so serious. Courtship should be a lively, fun endeavor. Especially for one such as yourself.”

“What do you mean, one such as myself?”

“One who possesses title, fortune, and that ridiculous face of yours.” Ellis rolled his eyes melodramatically.

Callum pressed his lips together. For all his cousin’s joking attempts to hide it, Callum suspected this was a sore subject, indeed. Though Ellis was objectively nice-looking, with blond curls and deep-blue eyes, Callum had always bested him in any physical competition—looks included.

Callum opened his mouth to reply—though he hardly knew what he’d say—but was interrupted. Two maids bustled in, each bearing a laden tray. One was heaped with thick-cut ham sandwiches topped with bacon and cheese; the other was a tea service, complete with biscuits.

Ellis nodded at them, then turned to Callum. “I took the liberty of having this prepared—I thought you might be hungry after your journey.”

“Thank you.”

It was a quality Callum envied, that Ellis made himself at home wherever he was. For several moments, they tucked into the spread in silence.

Callum finally said, “You wouldn’t be interfering with my plans if you wanted to find a wife yourself.”