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“And how may I help you on this—?”
He heard Edilean’s voice but couldn’t see her for the wing on the chair, but he knew she’d stopped when she saw Malcolm, Shamus, and Tam.
“Oh!” she said, and there was delight in her voice. “Oh, how lovely! I never thought I’d ever see you again. I—”
She broke off when she saw Angus in the far chair.
Slowly, he bent forward and looked at her. She was as beautiful as ever, maybe more so. She had on a long linen smock over her dress, and her hair was disarranged so that wispy tendrils hung about her face. He wanted to hold her, kiss her.
“You!” Edilean said, then she turned and ran from the room.
With a groan, Angus started to get out of the chair.
“Sit!” Malcolm said. “You said you’d do this and you’re going to.”
“She hates me.”
“I didn’t hear that in her voice,” Malcolm said. “Did you, Tam?”
He was starry-eyed, looking as young as he had when Angus last saw him. “She’s prettier than I remembered. How could you do anything to hurt her?” Tam glared at Angus.
“I didn’t hurt her on purpose!” Angus said. “I hurt her to save her from something worse.”
“And what would that be?” Tam asked, his voice hostile.
Before Angus could answer, they heard the scurry of feet in the hallway.
“She’s coming back,” Tam said and he sat up straighter.
It wasn’t Edilean who entered the room, but three serving girls carrying huge trays. They set one on a table in the center of the room, then pulled two other tables beside it and put the other trays on them. It was a lavish tea, with huge blue and white china pots full of steaming hot tea, and dishes covered with little sandwiches, scones, cookies, and cakes with colored icing.
As soon as the girls had set the trays down, they left the room, shutting the doors behind them.
Malcolm was the first to recover his astonishment. “Don’t look like she’s mad at you at all. Come on, lads, let’s have something to eat.” He picked up a teapot and filled four cups.
Shamus and Tam eagerly took plates and began to fill them, but Angus held back.
Tam ate three little tea sandwiches in rapid succession, then turned to look at Angus in admiration. “Whatever you did to her, it couldn’t have been too bad. Look at this food.”
Angus was still frowning, but part of him was beginning to relax. Maybe Edilean had seen the handbills. Maybe she’d realized why Angus left. Perhaps she even thought more of him for having given up so much to protect her.
Malcolm held out a cup of tea to Angus. “Come on, lad, drink it while it’s hot.”
Angus reached for the cup but halted when he heard a thud outside the parlor door. It sounded as though something heavy had been dropped on the floor.
“Unless I miss my guess,” Malcolm said, “that was a piece of baggage. Looks like this time she doesn’t mean to let you leave alone.”
Angus took the cup of tea and downed it in one gulp as two more thuds came.
“She’s certainly planning something,” Tam said, now looking at Angus as though he were the epitome of manhood. “What did you do to make her... well, to want you.”
“I ain’t so sure it’s baggage,” Shamus said, his mouth full. “These cakes are good.”
“It’s all good,” Malcolm said as he settled back, cup in hand, a full plate on his lap. “I can see why you’d want to stay here, lad. She sets a good table.”
Angus put the teacup down and went to stand in front of the fireplace. Another thump came. “I don’t like this. I want to know what she’s doing.” He took a step toward the door, but both of the doors flew open, and there stood Edilean—with a rifle in her hands. Two women stood behind her, and on the floor was an arsenal of firearms. The only thing missing was a cannon.
Angus’s mouth dropped open in surprise, but he’d had too many years of dodging bullets to stand still when a rifle was aimed at him. “Get down!” he yelled while he dove for cover behind a chair. Tam hit the floor, but Malcolm and Shamus sat where they were, not hesitating in their eating.
