Their carriage rattled into the courtyard, and the wheels had no sooner stopped than the door opened to reveal Robert MacAndrew. Grace had last seen him years before, of course, and he had been quite a lot smaller than Fergus. However, instead of growing, it seemed to her that he looked even shorter. At eighteen, Fergus had already been taller than his brother, and it looked as though Robert had not grown at all since.
Robert smiled widely as he greeted her, but unlike Fergus, he ignored Crissy, who had to make her way out of the carriage by herself. Grace felt a stab of irritation go through her; Robert had never been one of her favorite people.
As soon as her feet were on the floor, Grace looked around for Fergus. She spotted him in a moment, at the entrance to the stable, where he was standing with his hands crossed in front of him, looking solemn. She was mystified. Why had he not come to greet her? Why was he not smiling?
“I am so glad to meet you again, Grace,” Robert gushed. “You look beautiful. And how you have grown up!” His gaze slid over her suggestively, and Grace suddenly felt dirty.
She summoned up a polite smile. She was not so naïve that she could miss the sound of empty flattery when she heard it, and Robert's leering made Grace’s dislike for him start to turn into complete disdain. Nevertheless, she did her best to ignore her feelings and be civil.
“Thank you, Robert,” she said, looking around. Her gaze met Fergus’s and she smiled, raising her eyebrows, and began to walk towards him, holding out her hands.
Her eyes roved over every delicious inch of him. He had grown at least two inches taller since their last meeting, and his shoulders and chest had broadened. However, he still had an athletic rather than a muscular build, which Grace preferred. Her greatest surprise was his beard. It was neatly trimmed to fit his face, and suited him very well, but she had never imagined that he would grow one.
“You are looking very nice,” she breathed, her eyes shining as she looked up at him, smiling. She wanted to rub her palms along his beard and throw herself into his arms, but something inside her warned her against it. Why was he looking at her so strangely?
“So are you,” he remarked, giving her a slight, formal bow. He took her hands in his but held them for only a moment before letting them go. His gaze dropped to the floor. “Excuse me, Grace. It is good to see you, but I have duties to attend to.”
Fergus turned away, leaving Grace to stare at his retreating back, utterly astonished. Had she said something in their letters to hurt or offend him? He had given her no hint that there was anything amiss, so why was he behaving this way?
For a moment, she contemplated running after him, but she felt a tug on her arm and saw Crissy behind her. She drew Grace back a little, before staring at her with a warning in her eyes. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, then turned her around and walked back towards Robert.
Robert was looking distinctly annoyed, but as soon as he saw her, he pasted a bright smile on his face and walked forward to greet her. “Come,” he said graciously. “Fergus has to be somewhere else at the moment, but he will join us later. In the meantime, we can make ourselves comfortable with a glass of my best Languedoc wine. I had it specifically imported, just for this occasion.”
‘Just for this occasion?’She doubted it, somehow.
He turned to Crissy. “The manservants are bringing in your mistress’s trunks and will show you her bedroom, so you can unpack her things.” He began to turn away but Grace grabbed his arm, annoyed at Robert’s casual dismissal of her friend.
“Crissy comes with me,” she declared. “If you send her to my room then I will go with her. Oh, and in case you worry about sharing your ‘best Languedoc wine’ with someone who has never drunk good wine, let me tell you that Crissy has a well-educated palette. She has been drinking good wine for as long as I have. She is also the chaperone I keep with me at all times, as all young ladies should. Now, would you prefer to sit with both of us or neither of us?” Her tone was icy.
Robert shook his arm free, then gave her a tight smile. Grace could see that he was struggling to keep his self-control. “I want to sit with you of course, and Crissy is welcome too.” He turned away and walked towards a small parlor, then ushered them inside.
It was a small, cozy room, furnished with gleaming wooden furniture and soft upholstered chairs. A fire was burning in the grate because even at the end of August, the nights were becoming chilly. It was welcoming and warm, and the two women sat down gratefully.
When they were all comfortably seated, Robert opened his mouth to speak, but Grace put up a hand to interrupt him. “Where is Fergus?” she asked. “I thought he would greet me properly, and I am sure that a few duties around the estate could have waited until we had all had our wine.”
Robert gave an exasperated sigh. “There has been a change of plan,” he said uncomfortably as he ran his hands back through his hair, in a gesture of agitation.
“Then tell me what it is!” Grace demanded. “Because everyone around here is acting very strangely.”
2
Robert frowned. “Fergus will be back in time for our dinner.” His voice was tense and uncomfortable. “We will discuss it then.”
Grace was about to demand an answer, but once more, Crissy took her hand and shook her head.‘Wait an’ see,’she seemed to be saying.
Grace took a deep breath and counted to ten. “Very well,” she said calmly. “In the meantime, Robert, I am interested in the workings of the estate, since I will soon be living in it. I see that you have some fine horses. Are you going to start a stud farm?”
She had chosen her words deliberately because she knew that one of Robert’s great passions was horses. He adored them. As he began to wax lyrically about his plans for the horses in his stable, Grace nodded and pinned a smile on her face in all the right places, even though he was boring her to tears.
When she felt as though she had been polite enough for a long enough time, she put down her wine glass and gave Robert a tired smile. “We have traveled a long way, Robert,” she said, rubbing a hand across her eyes. “May we rest for a short time before our dinner?”
Robert jumped to his feet. “Of course, you may!” he answered. He looked a little too happy to be getting away from them. In fact, he looked relieved, as if he wanted to be rid of them, Grace thought cynically. He was not an unattractive man, she observed, but he wasn’t the type of man she would like, either. Where was Fergus, for goodness sake? Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.
Grace trudged upstairs and entered her room, then flopped down on the bed. “I am so sorry, Crissy, but I can’t stand that man.” Her voice was tired and bitter.
“I ken, hen. But ye will have to learn to live with him when ye marry Fergus. But never mind that now! You look as though ye could do wi’ a bath.”
Grace smiled. “That sounds heavenly!” she breathed. “And after me, you, Crissy. No arguments!”