AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Grandda, she can’t see you making faces,” Royal said, torn between amusement and exasperation.
“I fancy she was peeking out at me, dinna ye ken?” He wriggled his fingers at the obviously still-sleeping infant.
“You’re taking this exceedingly well,” Nick said to Angus in an irritated voice. “Did you know about this?”
Their grandfather simply rolled his eyes.
“To the library,” Victoria said, giving her husband a little shove.
She herded Nick and Angus ahead of her, who started arguing with each other. Shaking her head, she dropped back to join Royal.
“Are you all right, dear?” she asked quietly. “You look exhausted.”
“It’s been a trying few days,” he admitted. “I’ve not had much sleep.”
“How is your leg holding up?”
“It’s fine,” he answered automatically before he realized it was true. He’d barely thought about the leg, nor had it bothered him very much. He’d simply had too many other things to worry about.
“How is Ainsley?” Victoria asked.
Clearly, his sister-in-law wasn’t fooled by his Banbury tale. “As well as can be expected.” He wasn’t yet ready to talk about Ainsley. “Where is Kade?”
“Upstairs. I gave him a new piece of music to work with, so he’ll be up there for hours.”
“Good. I need to figure out what to say to him about all of this.”
“The truth might be the best, at some point.”
He eyed her as they followed their quarreling relatives down the hall. “And here I thought I was so clever in my letter.”
“You were suitably vague, I assure you, as you can tell by your brother’s mystified response. I take it you didn’t know until you arrived at Underhill Manor?”
“To say I was surprised would be an understatement.”
“Well, you seemed to have recovered quite quickly, if your little companion is any indication.” Victoria touched his arm to stop him before he followed the others into the library. “Are you sure about this, Royal? Really sure?”
He sighed. “Far from it, to be honest. But I have to do it for Ainsley and the baby. I’m afraid that their safety depends on it.”
She looked startled for a moment, but then nodded. “Then we will do whatever is necessary to help.”
“You’ll convince Nick?”
“No, dear, you will,” she said before preceding him into the library.
Nick was already behind his desk, looking stern and every bit the laird. He’d spent the last few years doing his utmost to reform his scapegrace brothers, keeping scandal at bay, and this would certainly throw a fair spanner in the works. Royal couldn’t blame him for being annoyed.
Victoria went to stand behind her earl, while Angus sat in one of the club chairs in front of the desk. Carefully, Royal took the other club chair, wincing when the frame loudly creaked under his weight.
“I’ll hold the bairn, if ye like,” said the old man. “Ye’re looking a bit puggled, lad, and ye don’t want to be droppin’ her when Nick starts yellin’.”
“Nicholas will not be yelling at anyone,” Victoria said firmly.
“No, he won’t,” Royal said, “because that would wake up the baby.”
“I promise I will not yell,” Nick said. “Besides, Angus is always a great deal noisier than I am.He’llwake the baby, not me.”
“Och, I’ll do nae such thing,” Angus said. “But I’d still like to hold her.”
