Courting Carolina (24 page)

Jane had been thrilled when she had approached Olivia with the idea of running both Nova Mare and Inglenook on clean, sustainable energy and her sister-in-law had not only embraced the idea but asked her to be in charge of making it happen. So Jane had spent that entire spring and summer locked away on Atlantis with several of the island’s more brilliant minds, and by the time the road Duncan was building up Whisper Mountain reached the summit, she’d been able to present Olivia with detailed blueprints for a synergetic wind and solar and geothermal energy system. She’d even included plans for indoor and outdoor saltwater swimming pools, where tidal-powered turbines would pump seawater up from the fiord through shafts cut in the granite mountain. The water would be heated by geothermal exchange before entering the pools, then would naturally cool off again on its return journey to Bottomless.

Granted, her pool design had required a bit of wizardry to create the shafts in the mountain, but apparently Olivia wasn’t above asking her dear sweet husband to use his own powerful energy when she felt the end justified the means. And Mackie apparently wasn’t above doing anything to please his wife, who had been very pregnant at the time. But only the pools had required the use of the magic—well, for
her
part of the construction, at least—because Jane had wanted Nova Mare to be a shining example of what was possible on a global scale
right now
, using twenty-first-century technology that was already available.

So she’d proudly returned to Spellbound Falls in November with blueprints in hand and quite eager to make it happen, except that her father had suddenly become unreasonably adamant that she instead turn her attention to finding a husband—hence the fight-of-all-fights that had sent her into hiding as Jane Smith. She still wasn’t sure why Sam had insisted on helping her, but she loved him dearly for
aiding and abetting her defiance, as she would probably right now be living in some ancient century, married and with a baby or two, if he hadn’t.

Jane approached the barn, still at a flat-out run, and gave a winded snort at the realization that all she’d managed to do was postpone the inevitable by two years.

“Nicholas!” she called out as she ran inside. “They told me you were here.”

He stepped out of a stall leading a horse. “I’m here.”

So was the Crusader, Jane discovered when he poked his head out of a stall farther down. She waved at Aaron, then grabbed Nicholas’s arm and started dragging him—and the horse he was leading—out of the barn. “Are you the one he gave my satchel to?” she asked in a winded whisper. “Did you talk to him? Did he look okay?” She stopped well away from the barn just as the sun broke over the mountains across the fiord. “Did you go to him, or was he well enough to make the hike up here?”

“Who are you talking about?” Nicholas asked, only to suddenly stiffen. His hands shot out and grabbed her shoulders when she took a step back. “MacKeage? He was here, on the resort grounds?” He gave her a slight shake when she didn’t immediately answer. “Did you actually see him?”

“No, I didn’t see him; that’s why I’m asking you. I found my satchel with most of my belongings on the bottom step of my porch this morning when I woke up. I thought you had put it there.”

Nicholas snapped his gaze toward the resort. “That’s impossible.” He looked back at her, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “There’s no way he could have gotten within half a league of the resort without my knowing it.”

Realizing she’d just made a serious error, Jane shot him a broad smile. “Maybe Alec gave my satchel to one of your guards and
they
set it on my step. You did bring a small army from Atlantis to secure Nova Mare for the next three weeks, didn’t you?”

He nodded, even as his gaze scanned the surrounding woods.
“They would have given the bag to me, not you.” He brought his ice-blue eyes back to her again. “You heard nothing? You just woke up and it was there?”

Growing alarmed at
his
alarm, Jane tried smiling again while this time patting his chest reassuringly. “It must have been Duncan, then. Alec must have given his uncle my belongings, and Duncan brought them to me early this morning.”

“I would have
known
it.” He lifted one of her hands and slapped the reins in it. “Take the horse back to its stall.”

Jane dropped the reins and ran after him when he started toward the resort. “Nicholas, no,” she said, pulling him to a halt. “You leave Alec alone. He’s not trying to cause any trouble; he simply returned my belongings.”

He gently pulled free. “I’m not worried about MacKeage,” he growled. “I’m worried about how he got on the grounds
without my knowing it
.” He reached out and touched her cheek, his eyes suddenly softening. “I won’t hurt him, Lina, unless he forces me to. I just need to find out how he got—”

“You’re right on time, princess,” Aaron said, leading another horse past the one she’d abandoned. “It looks to be a fine morning for our hunt. I’ll help you mount then go get your hawk, so you two can become acquainted before we leave.” He stopped and gave a slight bow, the rising sun making his beady brown eyes appear golden. “I don’t doubt you’ll find her beauty and spirit matches your own, princess.”

“Please, last evening I asked you to call me Caroli—”

“The hunt’s off,” Nicholas interrupted.

“Off, you say?” Aaron snarled, his eyes shooting to Nicholas before he obviously remembered he probably shouldn’t act like a buffoon, and looked back at Jane with concern. “Are you not feeling well this morning, princ—Carolina? I must say you do look rather flushed.”

Nicholas grasped her arm and started leading her toward the resort. “Take care of the horses, Devonshire,” he said with only a cursory glance over his shoulder. “And she’s
highness
to you.”

Chapter Fourteen

Seemingly endless days of smiling and nodding, batting her eyelashes, politely laughing at lame jokes, and demurely avoiding sometimes blatant but more often awkward attempts to lure her away from Nicholas’s watchful eye were starting to take their toll on Jane’s resolve. Damn, she’d forgotten how tiring acting clueless could be.

Speaking of which, she was one second away from either punching Nikki in his rock-hard belly or deliberately sneaking off the resort grounds just to wipe that stupid grin off his face. The man was enjoying her command performance way too much.

By the gods, her father’s hand-chosen warriors were ancient-minded. Well, except for Niall MacKeage. Jane didn’t know if Niall was deliberately avoiding her to pique
her
interest in
him
or if he had accepted her father’s invitation simply to get to this century. Oh, three days ago he’d dutifully taken his turn alone with her—and Nicholas, of course—but instead of expounding on her beauty and pleasant demeanor,
Niall had spent their entire four-hour ride talking about automobiles.

The man was fascinated by anything with an engine, apparently, and had been sorely disappointed when they’d taken horses instead of one of the “amazingly silent little carts” that he was constantly zipping around in. And she’d noticed that not only was Niall spending more time with his MacKeage descendent than trying to catch her eye, he’d somehow managed to persuade Duncan to let him drive one of the large earth-moving machines working up on the site of the fourth hotel.

Jane figured that after the ball, Nicholas was going to have to ambush Niall in order to send him back to twelfth-century Scotland—assuming the highlander didn’t run off to Pine Creek to seek sanctuary with Winter MacKeage Gregor. Winter was a powerful drùidh—who just happened to be married to Matt Gregor, a nefarious magic-maker better known as Cùram de Gairn. In fact, Winter was the first
female
drùidh, and if not for her intelligence and courage and womanly insight, the Trees of Life would be facing extinction—much to Titus’s consternation. But apparently Providence didn’t have her father’s worry about putting such powerful magic in the hands of a woman.

As for Niall MacKeage…well, he was over an hour late for their picnic.

Jane absently tapped her fingers on the steering wheel of the amazingly silent little cart she was sitting in—the picnic basket stowed in back and starting to smell of pungent cheese—as she glared at Nicholas grinning at her from atop his horse. He had opted for
one
horsepower instead of several, because he claimed the carts couldn’t race and weave through the woods if he needed to whisk her to safety.

“You know what I think, Nikki?” Jane said through a tight smile.

“I usually prefer not to know what you’re thinking, princess.”

“I think you’re afraid of modern technology.”

He merely arched a brow.

“And that’s why I haven’t seen you driving or even
riding
in a cart.”

He dismounted and walked over. “You want to know what I think, Lina?”

“Not particularly.”

“I think you’re more pissed that your highland suitor hasn’t been completely taken in by your little performance than you are that he’s not really interested in courting you.” His grin turned tender as he ran a finger down her cheek. “You’re not losing your touch, Lina; Niall is just more enamored with this century than with marriage.”

Jane gripped the steering wheel with both hands, hunching her shoulders on a sigh as she stared out the windshield at the restaurant. “He’s the only one of them who’s not a buffoon. I actually enjoyed our ride the other day. We conversed as equals, and not once did he brush off anything I said as mere woman-talk. I can’t believe he’s from the twelfth century.”

“There’s a reason Providence decided its first female drùidh would come from the clan MacKeage; they’ve always been forward-thinking and open-minded for their time. And from what I understand, they still are.”

Jane glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. “Do you know where Father’s gone off to? I haven’t seen him around for the last two days, and Mom was vague when I asked where he was.”

“If Rana’s not saying, what makes you think I will? I serve both of your parents.”

Jane suddenly straightened. “Please tell me he’s not seeking revenge on Alec.”

He smiled, even as he shook his head. “He’s not.”

She dropped her forehead to her hands on the steering wheel. “I miss him.”

“Your father or MacKeage?” Nicholas asked with a chuckle.

She rolled her head just enough to shoot him a glare, only he didn’t see it because he was looking toward the other end of the resort.

“I guess it’s true that nature abhors a vacuum.” He gestured in the direction he was looking. “If one suitor stands you up, then another one rushes into the void.”

Jane lifted her head, only to growl in frustration when she spotted Jacoby—the Prussian prince—smiling like the village idiot as he strode toward them leading two horses. “Damn, he’s a full-of-himself horse’s ass.” She glared up at Nicholas. “I swear if I hear his whiny voice say ‘Oh, highness, you mustn’t exert yourself like that’ one more time, I’m going to punch him right in his whiny nose. What in the name of Zeus was Father thinking to invite him? I thought he wanted my husband to be a fearless
warrior
.” She gestured at Jacoby, lowering her voice as he drew closer. “I’m tempted to plant a big hot kiss on the toad just to watch him faint dead away.”

“You’re not the only proficient actor in this little drama, Lina,” Nicholas said quietly, turning and mounting his horse.

“Good morn, highness,” Jacoby chirped in old-world German—which Jane didn’t have any problem understanding because every Atlantean spoke and read all the languages, including varying dialects. Heck, they’d
invented
some of them.

Jacoby gave a slight bow. “It’s come to my attention that Laird MacKeage had some pressing matter he needed to attend to this afternoon, and fearing you would be left at loose ends, I thought I might interest you in a gentle ride through the lovely autumn foliage.” His grin tightened as he looked up at Nicholas. “Assuming your stalwart protector approves.”

“You’re in luck, Jacoby, as her highness just happens to have a food basket already packed,” Nicholas said far too cheerfully, making Jane stifle a smile when Jacoby’s eyes narrowed at her stalwart protector’s refusal to address
him
has highness.

But heck, Nicholas called the king and queen of the drùidhs by their first names, because the man had
earned
the right—and had the scars to prove it.

Jane jumped out of the cart far more cheerfully than she
felt. “Why, I do believe I would love a gentle ride through the foliage.” She grabbed the basket out of the back of the cart and shoved it at Nicholas, then quickly spun away when she noticed something leaking out of the bottom of it. “Nikki will carry our lunch for us. Can you help me mount, please?” she asked sweetly, batting her lashes as she walked to the fidgeting stallion instead of the half-asleep mare. “I hope you chose a gentle horse for me.”

“No!” the prince snapped as he grabbed her arm and pulled her away, only to immediately let go as he shot a concerned look at Nicholas. “I mean, this is your mount, highness,” he said, moving the mare up beside her. He cupped his hands together and bent toward her left foot. “Your safety will always be my first concern.”