Delight (10 page)

"
Whose father?" Douglas grinned in response to her infectious smile.
"
And what was he late to?
"

"Your father.
"
Rowena gave him a questioning look. "The dotty old earl."

"The—ah, yes. Poor old Papa.
"
Douglas
'
s grin froze on his face. Naturally, not knowing his true origins, the princess would assume he
'
d inherited
the earldom from the previous earl. Well, the odd old earl had just gained a son, and Douglas had gotten himself another father who was already closer to him than the lousy sire who
'
d abandoned him months before his birth.

"
'
Tis a good thing to jest,
"
Hildegarde said with an affectionate
smile at Rowena. Her face hard
ened as she looked again at Douglas. She stabbed a beefy finger in his face. "But I tell you I know why you have troubles in your village. The loch that surrounds the castle is haunted."

"
Haunted?
"
Douglas ignored the impulse to touch his earring for good luck. No pirate worth his salt sneered at superstition. Trust his luck to inherit a haunted castle.

Rowena sighed.
"
Hildegarde kept me up half the night with her imagination. She insists there was a water horse frolicking around in your loch."

Douglas stared back at her with a guileless expression. Ye Gods, was it possible? Had Hildegarde sighted
Delight
bobbing in the wind?
"
A water horse?" he said in polite disbelief.

"You Scots refer to them as kelpies.
"
Hildegarde crossed herself, her plump hand resting on the amulet of elf bolts she wore for luck. "Evil creatures. They devour men and breathe brimstone. I was afraid to leave my lady alone until morning light.
"

Douglas affected an unconcerned chuckle.

"
'Twas pitch-black last night, ma
'
am. What you probably saw was an illusion of waves and water grasses.
"

"
The creature had scales down its neck like a mane," Hildegarde said, her face dark with distress.

Douglas steepled his hands under his chin, his face betraying no sign of his anxiety. The water horse could only be that damned vixen
Delight.
She
'
d always gotten Douglas into trouble.

He wondered how quickly he could run down to the loch and hide her before anyone noticed his absence.

Who could he trust to keep Princess Rowena and her eagle-eyed governess occupied in the meantime? Dainty had not returned from patrolling the glen, a fact which, after the recent violence, caused him a moment of concern. Aidan had wandered off by himself. However, if any two men could take care of themselves, 'twas that unholy pair.

There was a rumble of voices as the doors opened to admit a small band of his retainers. Douglas narrowed his eyes, cringing inwardly as they approached the dais to pay their respects to the princess.

Or to shock the woman senseless.

Chances were that at least one of the troublemakers would make a fool of himself.

Gemma curtsied
and shyly inquired if the prin
cess had slept well. You
'
d never dream she
'
d been nursed on a pirate
'
s knee since the tender age of three, that the first words out of her wee rosebud mouth were, "No prey, no pay, you stupid pig.
"
Mrs. MacVittie presented the princess with a pot of heather honey tied with a tartan ribbon.

Willie bowed awkwardly. Douglas noted with relief that the man had remembered to put in his false walrus-ivory teeth.

But Douglas
'
s very heart stopped as Baldwin approached the table, staring at Rowena in awe. Silence mounted.

Douglas cleared his throat.

Finally Baldwin bowed.

"Very well done,
"
Douglas said in an undertone, waving the man away. "You may all go back to your posts now."

"Wait." Hildegarde
'
s voice rang out with authority. She reached for a piece of toast. "Perhaps one of them has seen the kelpie.
"

"
Kelpie?
"
Mrs. MacVittie looked intrigued. "In our loch?
"

"What
'
s a kelpie?
"
Gemma asked.

Douglas slid to the edge of his chain, his spine rigid, his black eyes flashing a warning.

"The castle is under a spell,
"
Hildegarde said with such conviction that even Douglas for a moment entertained the bizarre possibility.
"
There is a water horse in the loch.
"

"
No one has sighted a beastie in that loch for
nigh on a hundred years," Mrs. MacVittie said reflectively.
"
I wonder what brought it out.
"

"
I'm afraid 'tis attracted to the princess
'
s unblemished soul," Hildegarde said in a quavering voice.
"
Purity always draws the perverse.
"

Douglas stole a look at Rowena from beneath his heavy eyebrows. He was tempted to admit the truth just to quiet the old woman
'
s fears. The princess, however, appeared unmoved.

"There are no such things as monsters,
"
Rowena said.
"
To prove this I will row out on that loch myself this very morning.
"

Douglas suppressed a shout of horror.
"
You certainly will not. This is a matter for me to handle.
"

Hildegarde granted him a look of grudging approval. "That is all very well and good, my lord, but I think I must advise my lady to leave this castle immediately. There are other dangers here."

A shadow crossed Douglas's face. He felt a wave of panic welling up.
"
Leave? But you only just
arrived."

"
What dangers do you speak of?" Rowena asked sharply.

Hildegarde lowered her eyes. "The brigands who attacked his lordship
'
s village. A young woman was raped and left for dead in the river. A boy was beaten viciously only an hour before our arrival last night. I heard the servants talking.
"

"
That matter has been taken care of,
"
Douglas said in a voice of ruthless arrogance that brought Rowena
'
s head up in surprise.
"
The worthless turd responsible for the rape will never threaten another helpless woman with his blade again. By now his tongue is probably bulging from his head, and the crows pecking out his eyes.
"

"
Douglas,
"
Gemma whispered in warning, her hand flying to her mouth.

He could not stop himself. His pirate
'
s wrath had been aroused and he was out of control. He leaned forward, looking fit to pound the table into the floor. "No one will harm your lady while I am here,
"
he shouted. "As to the other outlaws—any man who looks at her askance will find his guts spilled at his feet before he knows what struck him. I will personally draw and quarter the swine myself—
"

"Douglas
," Gemma said frantically.

"
—and I will throw his bones to the dogs with his flesh still attached.
"
Douglas sat back in his chair, his spell of anger suddenly broken.

The hall was utterly silent. His outburst overhung it like a thundercloud.

Hildegarde was staring up at him as if he had just sprouted horns.

Rowena looked utterly stunned.

He
'
d done it now, he realized in self-contempt. He had spoken like a pirate. No gentleman would
address gently bred ladies in such graphic terms. He had shocked the holy hell out of the princess.

The Earl of Dunmoral lived by tact not terror, he realized belatedly.

How much harm had he done with his wild dragon
'
s fury? How much of the truth had he unwittingly revealed with his outburst?

11

"
I
was speaking figuratively, of course," he
said with a penitent smile, hastening to repair the damage. "The reivers must be dealt with in a court of law, as the Crown has decreed. Far be it from me to take justice into my own inadequate hands. Forgive me for such offensive language. Violence will only beget more violence.
"

Rowena frowned.
"
Sometimes one must act and consider the consequences later.
"

He schooled his features into a self-righteous expression. "I am bound to obey the law, Your Highness."

"I understand that the British government has removed its troops from the Highlands,
"
Hilde
garde said in disapproved.

"
That
'
s true, madam,
"
Douglas said.

"Then who will protect the princess?
"
she asked worriedly.

He bowed his dark head. He tried to look pious.
'
Twas hard after you
'
d just spewed a tirade about worthless turds and spilling guts. "We shall trust in divine protection. And not let her wander anywhere unescorted.
"

This brought more silence. Now instead of the Dragon of Darien,
he would be called the Chicken-
Heart of Caledonia. Was this an improvement?

"And what about the kelpie?
"
Hildegarde would not let that ridiculous matter rest. "I have heard of water horses choosing human women to mate with.
"

"
Heavens above,
"
Douglas said.

"
Yes." Rowena
'
s voice was wry. "Apparently, the lustful creature came close enough to her window so she could see the fire-breathing snakes writhing in its mane."

"
Hildegarde is convinced that it wants to make passionate love to me," Rowena added.

"I don
'
t blame it.
"
Douglas blinked. "I mean, I don
'
t blame
her
—for being convinced, that is. A young woman in your position is considered booty by every eligible bachelor in Europe.
"

A puzzled but pleased smile brightened Rowena
'
s face.
"
Booty?
"

Douglas frowned.
"
Beauty. I said that your beauty has Europe on its ear.
"

"
No, it doesn
'
t,
"
Rowena said.

"
Of course it does.
"

Rowena scowled at him. "Now you sound like your brother Matthew.
"

"
Thank you,
"
Douglas said.

"
'
Twas not a compliment,
"
Rowena said crossly.

"
'
Twasn
'
t?"

"The matter of handling the water horse must be decided today or I will insist the princess leave,
"
Hildegarde interrupted them.
"
Catching a kelpie requires a special bridle.
"

Baldwin, Willie, Shandy, Phelps and the other crew members of the
Delight
present were listening to every word in growing distress.

Like all pirates, his crew respected the powers of the supernatural. Take out your earring and lose an eye. Spit three times on your palm before firing a cannon. Never let a sea bird land to your left. They believed wholeheartedly in monsters.

Shandy, a short wiry Englishman with a black mustache, spoke for the others.
"
Something needs to be done about that creature, sir.
"

"There was a banshee in the village where I was bo
rn
,
"
Baldwin
said with a shudder. "The awful-
some beast killed five people.
"

Douglas rose from the table. "I'm certain that you have neglected your duties in your desire to see the princess, but now 'tis time to return to
your posts. As to the matter of the loch monster—
"
He paused meaningfully. "Perhaps he's a kind- hearted beastie. Perhaps, if we got to know him better, we would even discover that he
'
s a real—
Delight
."

Gemma
'
s eyes lit up in instant understanding.

The message sunk into the men
'
s heads one by one. Except for Baldwin, whose skull, Douglas lamented, seemed to be denser than the castle walls.

"
Kelpies are not known for their kindness," Hildegarde said. "They devour men on stormy nights. I think we ought to exorcise it.
"

Baldwin
'
s mouth dropped open.
"
Beggin' yer pardon, ma'am, but that doesna sound like a good idea. Best to leave the nasty thing be. Exercisin
'
it will only give the teukin beastie more of an appetite. It might take to eatin
'
women and bairns then.
"

A grin flashed across Rowena
'
s face. It faded as Douglas clamped his hand down on Baldwin's bony shoulder.

"I noticed that the torches in the corridor outside the princess
'
s chamber are low on oil. We would not want Her Highness to stumble in the dark, would we?"

Baldwin frowned, dimly aware he had done something wrong and he
'
d better make it right before Douglas killed him. Oh, hell, what was he supposed to say? Gemma had made him stud
y
that silly French book all morning. Douglas had been hammering warnings in his head for a week. And now all this talk of that mean loch monster had scrambled his wits.

Then he remembered. He was the castle steward. He was to make sure that the princess was comfortable and that the lass didn
'
t get lost.

He stood up straighter. He raised his voice to a wobbly shout. "The privy is the second door down the hall from yer room, princess—I dinna want ye to lose yer way in the dark so X marks the
spot.
"

Gemma stomped up to him, murder in her eyes.
"
Baldwin
—"

He gazed at the princess in adoration. "I marked it just minutes ago in case the urge took ye to use the head in the wee small hours.
"

Rowena
'
s eyes widened.

Douglas closed his.

"
He means use your head,
"
Gemma said forcefully.

"
I do?
"
Baldwin said.

Gemma smiled grimly.
"
Yes, you do. Why, didn't you tell me only an hour ago that you were concerned the princess would run out of candles if she wanted to read late at night?"

"No,
"
Baldwin said, looking confused. "I said nothin
'
of the sort.
"

Rowena smiled in embarrassment.
"
I
'
d hoped that we could overlook my rank and forget protocol during my stay.
"

"
That shouldn
'
t be hard,
"
Gemma said under her breath, "seeing that we never knew protocol in the first place.
"

"
X
marks the spot! Worthless turds and booty!
"
Douglas grunted in exasperation as he propelled the rowboat toward a cluster of cattails.
"
Why didn
'
t we just run up the old Jolly Roger or break open a cask of rum with our cutlasses? Why didn
'
t we knock her over the head with Simon
'
s wooden leg and announce,
'
We are bloodthirsty pirates?
'"

"
Hell, Captain," Baldwin said,
"
ye
'
ve got nothin
'
to be ashamed of. I'm proud to have served under the Dragon.
"

Night was falling over the glen. Douglas plied the oars in silence, staring at the grinning dragon on the prow. His brooding gaze drifted to the sheltered tidal island in the middle of the loch.

"Where is Aidan?
"
he asked suddenly.

"Aidan is off by himself, sir, doing whatever 'tis he does when he is all alone," Dainty said. "Besides, you
'
ve warned everyone not to offend the princess. He
'
s probably staying out of the way for fear hell say something oafish in her company."

"Aidan is not the only one who must watch his behavior,
"
Doug
las said. "The princess is chal
lenging me. All that talk about producing heirs. I begin to wonder if the woman means to bait me like an animal.
"

Dainty grinned, rowing in rhythm with Douglas
'
s broad strokes.

They had met as galley slaves on the Barbary Coast about fifteen years ago. Due to his size, Dainty had soon become the captain
'
s overseer. He had saved Douglas from a flogging or two, given him a few more, and by the time they'd staged a mutiny, they had already plotted a future of piracy together.

Douglas sighed. "She could possibly mean to divine my true nature. I wonder why Matthew has not informed her I
'
m a pirate and first-rate rapscallion.
"

"
Ye are that, sir,
"
Baldwin said.
"
The biggest bastard I
'
ve ever served."

"
I told Matthew I
'
d reformed,
"
Douglas said.
"
Could it be that he actually believes me?
"

Dainty chuckled.
"
Where are we going to hide
Delight,
sir?
"

"
In those trees over—
"
Douglas stared in disbelief at the figures gathered along the shoreline. He swore.
"
So much for privacy.
"

The two other men in the boat swung their heads around to look. About thirteen or so villagers stood at the water
'
s edge. The women wore worn loose-spun kirtles, the men age-faded plaids. Several of them doffed their bonnets in respect at Douglas.

Pirate lord or not, he belonged to them and they to him. Along with his charter for the earldom, he had assumed the burden of defending the dying clan MacAult, whose back had been broken by the tyranny of Oliver Cromwell.

A few of the braver souls waded out into the loch to help him bring the boat to shore.

Douglas expelled a deep sigh, not certain what to do with these people.

They weighed him in the silence, the pirate he
'
d been, the nobleman he now claimed to be simply because the Stuart king had put his signature to paper.

And in the end they obviously chose to believe the kinder illusion, castle laird and defender, a man with a dutiful heart.

Or no heart at all. It did not matter.

Douglas wasn
'
t sure who he was himself, and he felt faintly ridiculous as they studied him with their wry Highland humor, and acceptance of life's absurdities, each pretending not to notice the replica of the pirate ship pulled up on their shore.

The Dragon of Darien, Scourge of the Seven Seas, now in a Scottish Loch.

"
Good afternoon, my lord."

"
Out fishin', were ye, yer lordship?"

Delight
bobbed up between the weeds. Douglas sat in the boat, not having a clue how to explain her. Perhaps if he said nothing, the gentle people
of Dunmoral wou
ld continue pretending not to
notice.

They knew he
'
d been a pirate. Gemma, of the loose tongue that flapped like a topsail in a gale, had let the secret out their first night in the castle. They asked little of him—only that he protect them from the predators who took advantage of their vulnerability.