Dragon's Touch (Book 1 Linty Dragon Series) (10 page)

I had a pretty good idea what Cullen’s agenda was. For some reason, he’d decided to be my protector, though I couldn’t help wonder why, or what lay behind his good-guy persona. Surely he was after something—the dragons, maybe? Smythe, on the other hand, would be looking for more than dragons. I figured whatever he was after would be revealed when he was good and ready. Did I trust him? Not a chance.

When the folder was closed and neatly tucked into a portfolio that was handed to me, everyone rose. I turned to Mrs. Douglas and said I’d be pleased if she’d stay on, and then told Cairn I would be in touch soon. He nodded, offered me a strong handshake, and walked out of the room with Mrs. Douglas who mentioned a light repast had been prepared and left on the dining room table should we care to partake of it. She slapped her hat onto her head, slid her handbag up to the crook of her arm and scurried out the door, followed by Cairn.

I hesitated to enter the dining room for fear of a confrontation with the
family
. Maybe they were already at one another’s throats over who would do what, when, and how, and I’d be spared for the moment. Subtle whispers grew into a full-blown, and loud argument. Well, heck, I might as well face it.

I strode into the room, stood at the table, and gawked at them. Uncle Charles was chomping and yelling between bites, as if he was afraid he wouldn’t get another meal. Aunt Elizabeth daintily nibbled a wee sandwich while inserting her own complaints in between those of Uncle Charles. My father sat across from them and said nothing. Smythe hovered near the entrance of the dragon’s room, in quiet conversation with Cullen. Oh yeah, I was ready for an assault from my relatives, and didn’t have to wait long for it to surface.

“Linty, dear, you certainly have no intention of moving into this enormous house, do you?”

“It seems to be my calling, Aunt Elizabeth, so yes, I will make the changes needed to settle into the estate, and especially where the dragons are concerned,” I answered.

Charles stepped forward and bellowed, “You must be joking. The dragons are just statues that Mother and past generations hoarded for years. She took over the lot of them when Grandfather dropped dead in his stew. Not long after, she sent Taryn and I off to boarding school so we wouldn’t know what was going on. You aren’t planning to live here by yourself, are you? The house is enormous, the grounds unkempt, and I’m more capable than you are of dealing with the mess Mother left behind.”

“Calm down, Uncle Charles, there’s no reason to yell and make demands. It’ll take me a few days to get acclimated, and of course, should I need your assistance, or Dad’s, I’ll contact you. Please don’t make this transition more difficult for me than it need be,” I said gently, but with a hefty measure of confidence backing up my words.

My uncle blustered a bit while his crumb-laden, heavy mustache twitched. Where were those scissors? He went back to the table for a second helping of everything. Aunt Elizabeth’s attitude was far less belligerent, but then, I knew she’d take a different tack, since she’d lived with this bully for far too many years, and had learned to play his game well.

“My dear, feel free to ask for our help any time you wish. We’ll stay at the inn for the next week or so to give you time to see how this responsibility will work out for you.” Elizabeth turned a glance toward Charles, caught his attention and gave him a slight nod. If I wasn’t mistaken, they had a silent conversation only they understood. The hairs on my arms bristled, but I thanked her and addressed my father.

“Will you also be staying on for a while?”

“Not likely, but we’ll talk later this evening, just you and I,” he murmured meaningfully.

What he meant by the cryptic remark was anybody’s guess, but I imagined it wouldn’t be fun-filled.

I walked up to the two men standing in the doorway taking in the tableau of my family and said, “Thank you for being so helpful, both of you. I appreciate your assistance, Mr. Smythe,” I turned to Cullen and continued, “and of course, you have been more helpful than you can imagine, Cullen. Let me walk you out.”

 I tucked a hand into the crook of each of their elbows and marched out the front door with them, whether they liked it or not. When I glanced up at Cullen, a smile played at the corners of his lips. Smythe’s expression was cool, his glance cold, and it chilled me to think what was behind it.

As we neared their respective cars, I invited them for dinner in a few days’ time to discuss my plans for the estate and the dragons. Both men agreed to meet here around seven, and from there, I stepped back and watched as they got in their cars and drove off.

How long could I keep up the act of being cool, confident, and in control? I had no idea, but I knew today had been a worthy test for me. I returned to the house when I heard their voices raised in anger once more. Nose-to-nose, my father and Charles argued. I sighed, straightened my spine, and marched through the entryway bearing an attitude the size of Scotland.

“What is going on here?” I demanded.

His anger so hot, Dad’s brogue was sharp. Usually, he kept his accent under control, but he was in rare form and his speech pattern was rich. “Ye’ll not take what Mother has given the gal. Ya woon’t, Charles, I woon’t allow it, ye hear?”

It was rare that Dad spoke this way, or with a heavy brogue, and I could only remember once when it had been as evident as it was now.

“Dad, calm down. Let’s all sit at the table and behave like adults instead of fighting like children. Nothing is ever accomplished by screaming at one another, and frankly, I won’t tolerate it. Now sit down, and be rational, yeah?”

Twenty minutes later, an empty wine bottle, and bits of food left on our plates, we had come to the conclusion that each of us harbored some sort of grief against the others. The fact that we could sit and speak calmly meant we had a chance to come to terms with Gran’s great plans for the estate, and all that went with it.

“I heard you went to a dinner party last night at George Blome’s castle. That must have been interesting,” Dad said. “Who was the guest of honor?”

I’d wondered at the man’s last name, though Vaughn hadn’t said. The name meant nothing to me, but gave me an idea of where to start searching for information on these wraith-like people. “Why would there be a guest of honor?” I asked, wondering how he’d found out.

“Blome never throws a party without a guest of honor. Who was it, Linty?”

“Mr. Perkell,” I said and watched the trio closely. Elizabeth’s eyes bulged, Charles leaned back in his chair and dropped his gaze to the table, while Dad’s skin blanched to a pure shade of white. Yikes.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Uh, nothing, Linty. It never occurred to me that Perkell would be there, or even invited, never mind as an honorable guest. He has a questionable background, has tread on many dangerous toes in his time, and is a gatherer of unbelievable treasures.” A shadow of a smile flickered across my father’s face before he said, “Assuming he knows who you are, I can only guess he’ll be in line with the others who would like to acquire the dragons.”

“That might be so, but he never mentioned it when we spoke,” I lied. “Though others made their intentions quite plain.”

“Oh?” Dad and Charles spoke in unison, and I gave them a grin.

“That certainly caught you both by surprise.”

Much to my aunt and uncle’s dismay, Dad murmured, “Let’s talk about this later, shall we?”

I shrugged. “Sure, now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to rest. These past few days have been draining.”

“Certainly, we’ll check in with you tomorrow, Linty,” Elizabeth murmured while she urged Charles out of his chair.

Dad rose, leaned in and whispered, “I’ll be by around six with dinner for us. What would you like?”

Aware of Gran having been poisoned, and aware of my mistrust of my father, I said, “Oh, well, nothing really. I’m sure Mrs. Douglas left plenty of food in the fridge. I’ll throw something together for us before you get here. How does that sound?”

He kissed my cheek and said it would be fine. With that, he followed my aunt and uncle into the yard. Thankful for the peace and quiet, I watched them drive away.

No sooner had their cars disappeared down the curving drive, than I thought I saw Drake’s tail twitch.

Chapter 8

Before I knew it, a puff of smoke followed. I strode toward the beast and stood directly in front of him.

“What has you so disturbed today?” I demanded. Good golly, I was tired. And frustrated. And confused. And a whole bunch of other things I hadn’t yet identified.

A whisper came forth as Drake’s eyes began to glow amber gold.
“You’d be well advised to take heed of your surroundings and the people who fill them. I’m unable to
physically help you yet, but I will when you find the key.”

Was he talking about THE KEY? The one and only key that opened the upstairs door to the room that might hold treasures, or nightmares, beyond my wildest dreams?

“What key, Drake?” I asked.

“In a book that will bring me to life, so we can find what must be brought into the light.”

I’d not only been bombarded with a house full of tension and people willing to claw each other’s eyes out over old, best-forgotten issues, now I needed to find a key to bring Drake fully alive? Was I ready for that? Hells bells, what next?

“Should I be worried about a book, the key, and you coming to life?”

No word of a lie, Drake seemed to smile at the question. I took a cautious step backward and left the room. Maybe he wasn’t the childhood playmate I’d thought, but something much more scary. The notion nearly rocked me off my feet, especially when a long-ago memory sneaked into my consciousness. There was a time when I’d hauled Drake from his stand, lugged him around held tightly in my arms and chattered to him incessantly until Gran stormed into the room and said I’d better put him back where he belonged and not fool around with a dragon I had no right to. I cried when she sent me to my room as punishment for having dragged the beasty from his perch and done what she considered unthinkable. Little had I known then, that he’d warmed from my touch, but that’s a story for another day.

Try as I might, I couldn’t find the key to the damn door, and frustrated in my efforts to do so, I tossed each room upstairs, and then began a major search of the first level of the house. Painstakingly, I went from room to room, removed every drawer from desks, antique cabinets, and tallboys. The dining room sideboard was a particular challenge since the drawers stuck fast and it was all I could do to pull them out, let alone remove them. Not one single key did I find, and frustrated anger took hold.

I glanced at the clock, figured I’d best ready dinner before my father arrived and then straighten up the mess I’d created throughout the entire house. The rooms above were in shambles as though a thief had ransacked them. On a hefty sigh, I stretched, rubbed my tired back, and went into the kitchen to cook.

Dinner was in the oven, while I raced upstairs to straighten the rooms, and then repeated the same on the first floor. I’d just finished as a knock on the door announced my father’s arrival. He smiled when I bade him enter, and glanced around oddly. What or whom he expected to find, other than me and the dragons, I didn’t know, but wondered aloud. “Is something wrong?” I asked.

“No, no,” he denied and gave a wide smile as he asked what was for dinner. Dad had never come to dinner or visited my own residence, so this would be a first for both of us. I motioned him into the kitchen, where I’d laid places for us at the table. He glanced at me, and then sat obediently when I pointed to a chair.

“Whatever you’ve made smells wonderful, Linty.”

“We have assorted leftovers from today, and I put together a quiche I learned to make while in America.”

The food went quickly, both of us eating in a relaxed manner instead of having to be proper. I picked at the last bits of food on my plate as I neared the stuffed-full of good food stage. 

Dad chuckled and said, “You always did that as a child.”

“What?”

“Pick at your food when you’d eaten enough, but thought you wanted more.”

“Since we rarely ate together on a regular basis, I’m surprised you realize that about me.” I put forth my resentment of not having had the same type of life many normal, or what I thought of as normal, families had.

“You’d be surprised at what I know about your habits, Linty.” Dad leaned back, set his fork down and stared at me. “You’re an adult, a smart woman, and you should put this ridiculous resentment aside. I did what I had to do for your safety, and that meant removing you from Scotland. What lay awaiting you in this house was worth taking you away to the States, where you were safe and you got a good education. I know you might have been lonely for the family, but I can’t tell you how unhealthy it would have been for you to grow up on this side of the Atlantic.”

I gazed at him as though he were a stranger, instead of my father. What the hell was he hinting at? Why wouldn’t I have been safe? Would it have been due to the dragons that I would have been in jeopardy?

“You might want to explain that to me, because I haven’t the slightest idea of what you’re talking about,” I remarked dryly.

His gaze locked onto mine and he pushed his plate away. He pulled his cup of coffee closer to him and sipped while he seemed to contemplate what to say. Clearly, he was having difficulty.

“I do wish someone would clear up all the shit that’s gone on since I was summoned to Scotland from Boston. You, Smythe, Cullen Vaughn, and others have acted weird, and to be honest, I’m sick to death of it. So speak up,” I insisted.

“You inherited quite an American attitude, and their way of saying things while you lived stateside. I’m sorry you weren’t allowed to live in Scotland, or England, for that matter while you were young. As I’ve said, it wasn’t a healthy environment for you. Mother had taken over as dragon keeper when Grandfather passed away, and she became quite odd where the dragons were concerned. Charles and Elizabeth wanted to have her committed due to her beliefs, but I insisted she be left alone.”