Chapter Twenty
Connall woke feelingenergetic for all that he got very little sleep. That’s what Mairi did to him. She energized him even when they were fighting. Especially when they were fighting. But last night had returned him to the place where they’d once been as friends, before adolescence had muddled his thinking. Back then, they could talk about things, share things big and small, and laugh until their sides hurt. Certainly, Liam had been part of their trio, but Connall had always enjoyed a special connection with Mairi and now it seemed they might be approaching that point again.
Maybe.
If only the damned woman would talk to him. Something kept her from marrying him, and he was determined to find out what.
But first he had to find out what Sadie and Iseabail were up to last night. Which meant it was time to wake them in a very Scottish way. He knew both women had adopted the English way of sleeping well past noon. It made sense given how late the countess kept them out. But this morning, they were about to have a rude awakening.
He dressed quickly and even made sure to shave. He planned to visit Aaron’s cousin today at Carlton House. A third visit to deepen the acquaintance. He still thought the man would be an excellent match for Sadie, but Mairi had sown doubts in his mind. It wouldn’t hurt for him to do more investigating there before he pushed Sadie in that direction.
Then once he was dressed, he crossed the hall with a great deal of pleasure. He rapped loudly on Sadie and Iseabail’s door, then strode right in. He thought to startle them. He thought to impress upon them that he was the one paying their bills and they would damn well confess all or he’d make their lives miserable. He meant to intimidate them.
He got exactly one of those things. He certainly startled them both awake. What he didn’t expect was that both women would leap out of their beds and attack as if he were the devil come to claim them. Sadie was the fastest, but Iseabail was the most vicious. His cousin leapt from her bed and landed on him with a screech so loud that it left his ears ringing. She didn’t hurt him per se. Her fists didn’t carry much punch, but they were very well placed. A tap to his eye, another to his neck, while the bulk of her weight landed on his torso. The combination was enough to have him staggering against the doorframe like a lumbering ox.
That’s when Iseabail made her mark. There was plenty of power in her fist as she clipped him across the jaw. And then she kicked straight at his bollocks. He wished he could say he saw it coming and avoided the punch to his groin. Truth was, he couldn’t see anything with Sadie still aiming fists at his face. He avoided Iseabail’s kick because he was ducking away from Sadie. But together, the women had him scrambling out of their bedroom like a teenage boy caught sneaking in where he ought not be.
In less than a minute, he was on his arse with an arm raised to protect his face. He could have defended himself better, but he had no intention of fighting the women. All he could do was protect his important parts and pray they realized he didn’t mean to hurt them.
Fortunately, they figured that out fairly quickly. But he didn’t lower his arm until he heard Mairi’s dry voice cut through the hallway.
“And let that be a lesson to you, Connall Aberbeag. You’ve no call to be bursting into anyone’s bedroom much less two Scotswomen who know how to fight.”
“I only meant to…” he began, but he quickly cut off his own words. What could he say? He meant to shock them? Intimidate them? Clearly, Scotswomen didn’t intimidate so easily.
“Exactly,” Mairi drawled. Then she cut the girls a hard look. “Get dressed. He’s got a right to hear what nonsense you’ve been up to. You’ve punished him enough for being an arse. Now it’s time to face yer music as well.”
Sadie and Iseabail nodded, their fearsome expressions fading into guilt. “We’ll be down—”
Slam!
One room to the right, the countess’s bedroom door burst open, and the lady stood there in a pink, heavily flounced dressing gown. “What manner of idiocy is this? Screeching when the sun’s barely up? Is this a Scottish holiday no one told me about? A ritual to wake the dead?”
No one spoke and absolutely no one mentioned that the sun had been up for several hours.
“Well?” the woman demanded as she glared at them all. “And why is his grace on the floor? Have some self-respect, Your Grace. Get up. You’re a duke.”
“Not yet, he isn’t,” drawled Mairi.
“As if that makes the least bit of difference,” the countess snapped. “You’re in my house and I’ll not be woken in such a manner again.”
Connall rose to his feet and bowed deeply to the countess. “It was all my fault, my lady. I was trying to get their attention.”
“You got the whole neighborhood’s attention, I shouldn’t wonder.”
“I meant to demand an accounting.”
The countess glared at him. “For what?”
“Whatever they did to infuriate you last night.”
The woman turned her hard stare at Iseabail and Sadie, and then finally to Mairi. “Very well,” she said firmly. “You may discipline them. And while you’re at it, tell yourself to act appropriately when you waltz. Do the steps assigned as a proper duke or take yourself back to Scotland where such madness is probably considered normal.”
What could he do but bow deeply again? “Yes, my lady.”
The countess gave them all one last hard look, and then turned on her heel and went back into her bedroom. Connall waited until all was quiet in the lady’s room. It took several moments. And then he turned hard eyes to his cousin and her friend.
“Downstairs. Library. Five minutes. That will be your last chance to convince me.”