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Grant smothered a grin. Brown would have to do better than that to keep up with his sweet lass.
Och, yer doin’ it again.Kathleen was most definitely nothis.
“Ye canna blame us,” said the young man tending the hearths. “Them bloodySassenachsalmost bled us dry.” Then he bobbed his head at Sabrina. “Beggin’ yer pardon, milady. I mean, the bloodyEnglish.”
“Never mind, Dickie,” Sabrina said. “I’m used to it.”
“Don’t forget you’re half Scottish, love,” Graeme added.
“And it’s that proud we are to be workin’ for ye, Lady Kendrick.” Dickie smiled at Grant. “And a pleasure it is to be seein’ ye again, sir.”
“And you as well, Dickie. You’ve done a splendid job, here. I’m mightily impressed.”
The young man blushed. “Och, it’s all Magnus, sir. I just does what he tells me to.”
Dickie was cousin to Magnus Barr, Graeme’s chief distiller. The cousins were part of the smuggling ring that had operated on Lochnagar lands. Graeme had put an end to it, primarily by asking Magnus and Dickie to join him in setting up a legal operation. Magnus was a genius at coaxing a fine elixir from his stills, which he lovingly tended like they were his bairns. His talent, combined with Sabrina’s money and Graeme’s leadership, had spurred Lochnagar Distilleries to be on its way to turning a profit by next year.
When Grant happened to glance at Kathleen, her polished-pewter gaze was fixed on him with intensity.
“What?” he asked.
“You really were a smuggler?”
He frowned. What the devil was she getting at?
“Yes.”
“But you should know that I was the true mastermind of our evil doings at Kinglas,” Graeme quickly said. “Grant was simply watching over me and trying to ensure that I didn’t kill myself or end up in prison.”
For some deranged reason, Grant was annoyed at such a lackluster description of his contribution to their youthful indiscretions.
“Angus came up with the original idea,” he pointed out. “Although I was the one who developed the plan and designed the still. Graeme was simply the muscle.”
“I was more than just the muscle,” Graeme indignantly stated.
Grant raised an eyebrow.
“I was also the chief taster,” his twin said.
“You certainly drank up more than your share of the profits.”
His brother heaved a dramatic sigh. “Och, stabbed in the back by one of my nearest and dearest. It’s a sad life, ye ken.”
Sabrina patted her husband’s arm. “It’s certainly true that you have very nice muscles.”
He snorted. “Thank you. And Grant is correct. Hewasthe brain of the operation.”
“It all sounds quite jolly,” Jeannie enthused.
“I had no idea you were so dashing, Mr. Kendrick,” Kathleen said, flashing Grant a cheeky smile.
In other words, she’d continued to think him a dead bore until now.
“Grant can certainly be dashing,” Graeme said. “I remember one time, just before we were sent down from school—”
Since Grant knew exactly which embarrassing tale his brother was about to relate, he elbowed him in the side. “Definitely not.”
“Let’s have that tour then, shall we?” Sabrina tactfully interjected. “Dickie, perhaps you could do the honors.”
