Fear Familiar Bundle (114 page)

"An external foe instead of an internal one." Mary couldn't help but agree, even though it gave her small comfort.

"Excellently put. An external foe." William kissed her temple. "Now all we have to do is figure out who it is."

"Who stands to gain from your 'insanity'?" Mary asked.

"Obviously Erick and Kevin, if he is indeed my half-brother." He looked at Mary. "Does Erick know about Kevin?"

"I don't know." The thought was intriguing. "If he did, Kevin's claim would supersede his, wouldn't it?"

William nodded. "If his father is my father, then his claim by blood is greater. Sorry to say that the bloodline of the mother has never counted for much. Since men have always been in charge of setting the rules, we like to think we're the most important element in establishing the line of descent."

"And there's been many a man who greeted another's son as his own." Mary enjoyed the verbal sparring with William.

"That would never happen in the MacEachern line." William whispered the words against her throat.

"And how do you know that?" Mary was finding it difficult to keep up the bantering. William's lips brushed lightly across her skin, and she forgot whatever she intended to say next.

"It's always been a fact that the MacEachern men have been able to cast a spell of loyalty, fidelity and…complete surrender over their women."

"Surrender?" Mary tried to gather her wits, but her body seemed to have other ideas.

"Yes, my love, complete surrender." He kissed the pulse point at her neck and slowly began to move down.

"And once these women were in the throes of complete surrender, they were seduced and were soon heavy with child?"

"Not exactly." William's voice indicated that he knew the topic that was at hand.

"And what if we marry and I don't produce a male heir?" Mary's heart pounded. She'd dreaded asking this question, but this was the perfect time. William was physically and mentally fine. The future was not completely ironed out, but it would never be between them until this matter was settled.

"Then Erick will inherit."

"That simple?"

"That simple. I didn't tell you about the issue of an heir because I didn't want you to feel pressured. I know that you love children and want them, as do I. If we start our family in time to meet the deadline, that will be fine. If not…You see, I could have married years ago if meeting the stipulations of inheritance was all that mattered to me. Had I not met you, I would never have married."

"Surely…"

"I would not tie myself to a woman to inherit a pile of old stone. Never." He kissed her cheek. "And remember, my sweet— " his grin was infectious "— Erick has no male heir. Nor Kevin."

"That we know of." Mary made her point yet she couldn't help but smile. William was everything to her. She'd never known that love could be so full and rich.

"Even Slaytor would not settle for less than the woman he loved. I believe he was right fond of Lisette. And it was marriage he wanted, not just a romp on the furs."

"William…" She reached for him.

He kissed her lips. "It's part of the MacEachern male heritage. We want to marry the women we love."

Mary returned his kiss with all of the passion that had grown between them. For a little while they put their troubles behind them and enjoyed the luxury of intense emotions and desire. The sun dipped below the horizon again, and the lonely sounds of someone in the barn playing bagpipes marked the end of the day.

"Who is that?" Mary asked, leaning up on an elbow to listen.

They were twined together beneath a sheet, and William stroked her hip. "It's one of the grooms. At Mayfair we used to always have an employee who could play, but it's not easy to find someone with that degree of skill. I like it."

"I do, too. There are many traditions that I'm growing to like more and more." She kissed his chest. "I think we should establish a few of our own. Such as retiring to our chamber each afternoon to watch the day disappear."

"Merely to watch the changes of the light?"

"And whatever else comes to mind." Mary kissed him again, then rested her head on his shoulder. The silence between them was comfortable, and together they listened to the last notes of the bagpiper's dirge.

William broke the silence. "I've been giving it some thought. Inheritance follows the first male heir. If I'm proven ineligible, for any reason, Kevin would stand next in line if he could support his claim."

"Then Erick?"

"Yes, and possibly then Eleanor. Her relationship is distant, but the great MacEachern clan has dwindled throughout the years. There may well be more relatives in America and Australia, but I have no idea of how to get in touch with them. And I don't even know if I should try."

"There's no reason now, William. You're fine. We'll uncover who's behind this, correct it, and then you and I can be married, just as we'd planned."

"And begin to repopulate the world with MacEacherns?"

"At least three or four of them." Mary laughed.

"That's a fair start."

"When we do have children, I want to see about a different kind of inheritance." Mary spoke slowly. "You were an only child. But if you'd been the second son, you would have gotten nothing. I don't want that for our children."

"We'll get a solicitor, just as soon as we're married. For now, we'd better make our plans."

"We need to be able to trick whoever is doing this out into the open."

"Exactly, but I'm not sure how to do that." William stretched, drawing her closer against him. "Given a choice, I'd rather stay here and figure out what exactly makes you make those interesting little noises."

Mary snuggled closer. "Given my preferences, I'd like exactly the same thing." She kissed his ear lightly. "What time are our guests coming?"

"For cocktails at seven, tomorrow." William sat up. "And we're going to have to think hard and fast before they get here. I've invited everyone who was here before, along with Erick, and Kevin's parents." William swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood. "I'm beginning to doubt everyone. Except you."

"Me, too," Mary answered ruefully. "Even my best friend."

"I want to go down to the kitchen and talk with Abby about the menu. I'm going to have her help me plan it, but then get it catered in. I don't want anyone on the staff except those who will be attending the dinner to be here. Everyone else will be hired from the outside."

Mary nodded. It was a good start.

"And how do you think we can flush out the culprit?"

William's eyes brightened. "Why don't we announce at the dinner that we're getting married right away? That we'll be leaving for our wedding trip in the morning."

"Yes!" Mary swung her legs out of bed and got up, grabbing for her clothes. "That's it. We have to take the initiative, and if our calculations are correct, this person doesn't want to hurt you. I mean, not really, or they could have poisoned you with arsenic or something."

William buttoned his shirt. "Right. They could have killed me instead of making me believe I was crazy."

"So if that's their goal, our marriage would be the worst thing that could happen. Even if you were institutionalized, if we were married and I produced an heir, Mayfair would be passed on to your child."

"Exactly my thinking."

The light of excitement and happiness dimmed slightly in Mary's face. "I wish I could ask Sophie to help me." She rolled her eyes at William and gave him a crooked smile. "It's just difficult. Sophie has been so much a part of my life…."

"By all means, involve her. If she's innocent, she'll have great fun helping you. If she's involved with Kevin somehow, then she'll pass our plans on to him."

Mary took a breath. "It's sort of deceitful to do this to her."

"If she's innocent, she'll never know. If she's guilty…"

"You're right." Mary tucked her shirt into her pants and slid into her boots. "Shall I help you talk to Abby about the meal?"

William's smile also dimmed. "No, I'll do this. Abby has been with the family since she was a young girl. This is hard on me, too. I'd never imagined how difficult it might be to suspect someone you loved and trusted."

Mary went to him and hugged him close. "We can only hope that it's Clarissa or Chancey. That way we won't feel too badly when we see them carted off to jail."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather see them flogged in the square at Edinburgh?"

Mary knew he was teasing, but he'd struck a cord in her. She looked up at him, her green eyes suddenly brimming with tears. "I thought I was losing you, William. I thought something terrible was happening to you and there was no way I could help you, or even get close enough to give you comfort. If I can find who did this to you, to us, I'd be delighted to see them flogged. Publicly, privately, or any way I could manage it."

William kissed her nose. "You are a bloodthirsty little wench," he said. "Perhaps it's that fire in you that has brought Slaytor out in me."

"Perhaps," she said, thinking back to the savage and tender moments they'd shared. "We're both capable of great passion. And great tenderness."

"And great love," he said. "We're going to have a glorious future together, Mary."

"Why don't we really marry?" Mary's brain spun with the possibilities. "It isn't a bad idea at all."

William kissed her forehead, her nose and her chin. "Because I want a proper marriage here at Mayfair. I want you to be introduced as who you are— Lady MacEachern. I don't want to run away and marry in haste. I want to do it with all the pomp and dignity and splendor that you deserve."

"And that the people of Mayfair expect?" She was teasing him, but she didn't really mind. It was so like William to want to meet the expectations of those he cared for. And in doing so, to firmly establish her role in his life.

"They do expect it, and I want them to know you are my bride, my love, my wife. With nothing to hide or hurry."

"Ah," she said. "I'd forgotten that. A hasty wedding might signal a match made of necessity."

"To those with hard spirits, it would, and I don't want that for us. But no matter, the illusion of a speedy wedding will serve our purposes for the moment."

"Go and make your plans," she said, "and I'll involve Sophie. It won't be long before it will be all over Mayfair what we're planning to do."

"That's exactly what I'm counting on," William said as he kissed her one last time before heading to the kitchen to seek out Abby.

A
PLAN
! At last, they have a plan. After Mary has been knocked on the head at least once, and William has gone into fits a number of times. Just let me point out that if a cat had suffered such abuse, a plan would have been conceived a long time ago. But then, humans have never been as nimble-witted as a cat. I shouldn't be so critical. After all, they're just rather large, lovable animals who have to be trained to meet a cat's needs.

Case in point. I've sniffed around this room and discovered where I'm certain there's a hidden passage. Both Mary and William, in the throes of passion, have forgotten to look for the way someone sneaked into her room and stole her evidence.

I, the ever vigilant detective cat, have continued my sleuthing, immune to lust or weariness or…Well, I did take a little break for some broiled chicken livers Abby made just for me. But it was only for a few brief moments, and now I'm back on the trail.

Look at Mary. She's sitting on the bed all starry-eyed and dreamy, thinking about her wedding and her future. She is a beautiful sight. It does even my jaded old cat heart good to see such love.

Too bad I have to interrupt her daydreams for a little business, but I need someone to trigger this door, and then I need to figure out where this passage goes. It's a blow to my ego to admit that I need a human's help, but…

Here goes, a little meow and a dig with the claws!

"F
AMILIAR
." Mary jumped up. The cat had planted all of his claws in the top of her foot. She looked down. He hadn't drawn blood, but his tail was twitching as if he intended another attack. "You'd better not."

The words were hardly out of her mouth before Familiar sprang forward, swatted his sheathed claws across her toes, and darted back.

"Why, you little devil, you're wanting to play." Familiar darted behind a sofa. Mary followed. She found him digging frantically at the wall.

"What is it?"

"Meow."

She knelt beside him and began to press where he was digging. In a moment there was a soft grinding sound and the wall in front of her began to slide in, revealing another passage.

"So that's how he stole my port and the pestle," she said aloud.

"Meow." This time Familiar answered with a definite note of impatience in his voice.

"Let me get a light and we'll find out where this goes." Mary's voice was filled with excitement. She hurried to her bedside table and found the flashlight. The beam was good and strong, and she darted back into the passage before she thought to prop the door open. The soft grinding noise sounded much more ominous as the door closed behind her.

In the total darkness of the passage, Mary felt faint with sudden fear. The light picked out the narrow stone walls and floor, and the two golden eyes that let her know Familiar was with her.

"Boy, am I glad you're here," she whispered as she slowly worked her way along the narrow tunnel, following the black cat.

"N
O
,
NO
. I insist that you and John and Kevin join us." William gently pushed Abby into a chair at the kitchen table. His heart twisted at the expression on her face, one of doubt and apprehension. When his mother had been too busy with social engagements, it had always been Abby who'd sat with him while he ate his cookies and told stories. Often Kevin would be sitting right beside him, just a baby, but so much a part of the warmth of the kitchen and the woman who now sat in front of him.