"That's stretching the truth."
"Then I will keep you outside."
"That hurts. That really hurts. There's something else that's going to hurt if we don't get moving."
"What's that?"
"Your word of honor. Your Sean wanted us back in an hour, remember?"
"He's more yours than mine."
"I'm not the one calling him My Sean," I teased her.
Lily rolled her eyes, turned me around and pushed me toward my room. "You would try the patience of Saint Columbus."
"I try my best." I ducked a washcloth and dodged into my room.
In a few minutes we were both packed, and we hauled the suitcases out to the boat, er, car. My socks were so wet from the sunken front path that my feet swam in my shoes, and on the drive back I was ready to throw myself from the car the moment we hit a puddle too deep to cross. Somehow, perhaps through Lily's crazed, speeding driving, we zoomed across the wide rivers and oceans and made it back to the castle. I hoped tomorrow we wouldn't find that the cottage had followed us down the road and parked itself on the castle lawn.
Kelly opened the door for us and we slid inside with our luggage in our hands. The old servant and Duffy helped us up and took our bags, and Duffy caught our attention. "How did ya find the roof?" he asked us.
"You've made a very good start of the leak," Lily complimented.
"It's almost like it's not there anymore," I quipped.
Duffy chuckled and winked. "I'll be sure to have it fixed tomorrow, misses."
Sean came over and guided us to the fire. Lady Mac Brown was seated by the fire, and gave us a warm and friendly greeting by trying to burn angry holes into our skulls. "Your rooms have been prepared, but first I insist you need to dry yourselves by the fire," Sean commanded us.
"T-that's v-very kind of y-you," Lily chattered. The chill of the rain had settled on our bones for a long night's nap.
"Not at all. Let me get you both a drink."
"You know, I've been in Ireland for almost a week and haven't once had a Guinness," I spoke up.
Sean smirked. "What a travesty, but I'd rather not spoil your dinner with that healthy stout. Perhaps before we get to bed that can be served as a dessert."
"I'll keep you to that promise," I teased him. This sparring with him was starting to be a lot of fun.
He crossed an arm over his chest and bowed at the waist. "Ever your servant."
"Speaking of servants," Aine spoke up, "you've had that old one for a dreadful long time. Have you no other?"
"You're referring to Kelly?" Sean guessed.
She shrugged. "I suppose, if that's the elderly gentleman's name."
"He came to us when my father became the lord, and I don't expect to lose his services until he tenders his resignation."
"He does have a lot of life left in him," I agreed. The man was as wizened as a leprechaun and twice as spry.
Kelly came in at that moment with a small plate of fruits and vegetables. Aine at least had the decency to appear awkward after her suggestion of his being replaced. The old servant came up to Sean and offered his lord first dibs. "The ladies first, Kelly. They've all done some good traveling today and must be hungry."
"Very good, sir," Kelly replied. Though he was closest to Aine, the old man walked over to where Lily and I sat beside the fire. He bent down and smiled at his, particularly me. I had a feeling the old servant had overheard some of the conversation before he came in and was showing me some favor. Lily must have suspected the same thing because she hurriedly hid a smile behind a peeled orange.
I know Aine thought the same because when it came her turn to choose she scowled at Kelly and refused any of the delicious food. More for us, though she wasn't finished with her 'kind' suggestions. "Have you had all the castle wired for electricity? I remember last I was here that the halls were very dark when the candles were extinguished."
Sean smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid I have done many changes since last you were here."
Aine was aghast. "So you still use candles?"
"Well, I will say the local candle maker is never in want of business."
"I do not understand you, Sean. You have more than enough wealth to cover the renovation, and yet you stand here in the dark as though waiting for the electricity to set itself in the walls."
"So long as the building inspector allows the candles I'm in no need for the change."
"So the castle's been great-great-great-grandfathered into the building code?" I joked.
Lady Gesundheit was intent on disagreeing with our medieval philosophy. "That's not very wise, darling. What if a candle catches one of these beautiful portraits on fire?" I glanced around at the scowling faces and wondered if we were looking at the same portraits.
"Then I will have the chance to renovate the castle, but not before then," Sean replied in a tone that showed he wouldn't tolerate any more on the subject.
As the evening wore on I could see more and more why Sean had decided to forsake his childhood vows; the woman was insufferable, nosy, and a lot of other adjectives that describe people who are, scientifically speaking, total assholes. Nothing pleased her unless it was done on her suggestion, and nothing annoyed her more than when I spoke up or when Lily called Sean by his first name.
Only dinner a few hours later gave us a break where the act of chewing our food drowned out a little of the Lady's voice. As delicious as the food was she still found fault with it. "Your cook uses much too many spices, and the meat is not quite done." She lifted a slice of beef steak and showed off a hint of pink.
"She knows how I prefer my meat, and cooks it accordingly," Sean replied. His exasperated voice showed the strain of our long afternoon, and for the first time I truly felt sorry for him. That, and his pale color was back on his face.
"I like my meat mooing, too," I spoke up, and went one further by taking another hunk of steak.
Aine's lips curled up in a sneer. "Yes, I see you've taken more than your fair share."
"Somebody's got to take one for the team. Can't let all this good food go to waste."
"I still believe it is still going to waist," she muttered as she pointedly glanced down at the point on the table that hid my stomach. It was a good thing I'd dropped my knife in favor of a drink of wine, otherwise dinner would have erupted into a duel of cutlery. Lily also stopped future carnage by grasping my arm and holding me to my seat.
Sean glanced between us both, and stopped to favor Aine with a glare. "If you ladies would please keep your sparring to a minimum it would make dinner much more pleasant."
It was too late, she'd ruined my appetite. After dinner we returned to the entrance hall fire, and Duffy came in from his tending of the stock animals kept in the pastures close to the castle. He was chilled to the bone, and I think even his soul was a little frosty. Sean invited him to sit beside the fire. "A thousand thanks, My Lord," Duffy replied, and gladly took a seat beside the fire close to Aine. She pinched her nose at his nature-enhanced attire and scooted her chair farther from the fire.
Sean leaned against the hearth close beside where I sat with Lily on my right. "Why don't you tell us some of your tales, Duffy? That would make the evening pass comfortably."
Aine wasn't pleased with the promise of more sitting with any of us other than Sean. She stood up and sauntered over to Sean, where she wrapped her arms around his neck in some sort of snake mating ritual. Her words slithered out in a disgustingly sweet tone. "Sean, wouldn't you rather go upstairs and play a nice, long game of chess in your room with me?"
"I'd rather listen to Duffy's stories, but if you feel tired you're more than welcome to retire." The boa Lady didn't feel like leaving with her victim, so Aine sullenly returned to her chair.
The evening passed more enjoyable than the afternoon, and before we knew it the clock near the doors chimed midnight. Duffy stood from his chair and stretched his arms over his head. "Ah think that be my call to be leaving you folks to yer sleeping." He
picked up his cap and bowed to us. "A good morning to you all."
"Good morning," we replied in unison, and he left to brave the storm outside. The rain had slackened, but a wind had come up that whistled through the countless cracks in the castle and made mournful cries along the hall.
It was kind of spooky, but I was too tired to believe in ghosts. Maybe after a good sleep I would be scared out of my wits, but right then all I wanted was a bed, pillow, and teddy. Sean pushed off from the mantle where he'd stood all the storytelling time and glanced at us. "I'd say a little rest is a good idea, and you two haven't even seen your rooms," he reminded us.
Aine grasped onto his arm and smiled up at him. "Lead on, darling." 'Darling' looked tempted to take her up on that request by leading her to the edge of a canyon, but this part of Ireland being short on canyons he instead led us upstairs. He dropped Aine off at her room which was conveniently located beside his chambers. "Can we talk for a few minutes before I go to sleep?" she pleaded with him.
"I need to show these two ladies to their rooms," he tersely replied. She huffed, stepped into her room and slammed the door behind her. Sean directed us to the two doors opposite Aine's and his own rooms. "The first room is yours, Lily, and this one further down the hall is yours, Miss Magee."
"Her name is Maggie," Lily betrayed me. I shot her a glare to end all glares, and received only a smirk for my efforts.
"Maggie," Sean repeated. "A very Irish name."
"My parents had a sick sense of humor and wanted my name to rhyme. The name Maggie Magee was as close as they could get."
"I applaud their efforts, but if you two would like to see your rooms." He opened the doors and we stepped inside. The furnishings were much like his own bedroom, and there was a shared bathroom between the rooms. I opened the connecting door and smirked when Lily opened hers. "Dibs on bathroom tomorrow."
"You mean later today?" she laughed.
"I'll mean just about anything so long as I get the shower first. I don't want to give Kelly a heart attack if I wander into the hall looking like a zombie."
Sean came up behind me and chuckled. "I'll be sure to keep the servants downstairs until you shuffle your way to breakfast," he promised. "But how do you like your rooms?"
"Simple, comfortable, but lacking in secret passages," I mused. I knocked on a nearby stone wall, and all I got were some bruised knuckles and a stupid shirt. Actually, I didn't even get a stupid shirt.
"There are a few secret passages, but those are family secrets," he replied.
I cracked an evil smile. "Want to get hitched for a day?"
"Maggie!" Lily scolded.
Sean stepped back and cupped his chin in one hand as he looked me over. "Perhaps I'll take you up on that offer someday."
For the first time since I met him I was flustered with embarrassment. "I-I was just joking."
Sean smiled. "I know it's all in good fun." Then he leaned in close to me and dropped his voice to a whisper. "But I may not be joking." My face felt on fire from the affect of his words, and he left the room chuckling over his triumph.
Lily hurried up to me, and glanced between my red face and the door to the hall through which Sean had left. "What did he say to you?" she whispered.
"H-he said something about, uh, the plumbing. Yeah, the plumbing. Something about we couldn't use all the hot water or he'd boil us alive in what was left."
She raised an eyebrow. "He said all of that with those few of words?"
I shrugged. "He's talented?" Lily frowned and I held up my hands. "All right, all right, he said he might not have been joking."
"About the marriage?" she guessed.
"I think so."
"You do know what this means, right?"
"You want to be the you!"
"That, or he has a strange sense of humor."
"Maggie!"
I gave myself three feet between my friend and me. "I know, you and your strange theory about him liking me."
"It's not a theory! How else can you explain why he's been so kind to us?"
"Were you listening at all to that woman? She'd make anybody lose faith in humanity."
"But he kept staring at you," she pointed out.
"Maybe he's studying me for science."
"Maggie!"
I clapped my hand over her mouth and glanced at the door; there wasn't a sound out in the hall. "Do you mind keeping it down? I don't really trust that Brown lady. She might be listening in on us, and I'd at least like to keep her and me on a last-name basis."
She yanked my hand off her mouth and scowled at me. "So you'll agree with me that he loves you?" she insisted.
"I wouldn't go-" Lily opened her mouth and I clapped my hand back over it. "All right, I believe you! Just don't alert the whole place about my parents' name fetish!"
Lily's face was a look in triumph. "Good. Now let's get some sleep."
"You know you're evil, don't you?"
"I've picked up a few things from you."
"Ouch. Usurped by my own apprentice. Like some bad Star Wars script."
"It was a Star Wars script."
"Oh right. Well, goodnight, Lily."
"Goodnight, Maggie."
Chapter 12
We shut the adjoining bathroom doors to stop our rooms from sharing drafts, and I jumped into my bed with a thick set of pajamas on me. In a few minutes the faint lights from the hall candles were snuffed out by a shadow with Kelly's skinny frame. Somehow in my shivering I managed to fall asleep, but it wasn't more than an hour later that something woke me. Being in a new place with ancient halls and rooms made me nervous, and my eyes were easily awakened by a weak light beneath my door.
I kept my eyes open at a squint and watched the door slowly creak open. The hinges needed oil, and the silhouette in the doorway winced. The person stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind them, eliciting another complaint from the hinges. They then turned to the bed and crept over to me. There was a small candle in their hand, and by its weak light I glimpsed Sean's curious face. He hovered over me with the flickering light casting shadows across the lines of his features.
I thought I'd given him enough of a free look. "If you're not sleepwalking then you have some explaining to do," I spoke up.
He jumped back, and his curious expression turned to a sheepish grin. "S-sorry about that. I, uh, I was just, um, admiring your similarity to, um-"
"I hope I don't remind you of your mother."
Sean shrugged. "A little. She was a very husky woman."
"Are you calling me fat?"
"Would a man ever call a woman fat except in anger?"
"If he has a death wish."
"But I would like to live to see tomorrow."
"Then I suppose you didn't call me fat, but that still doesn't quite explain your prowling your own halls sneaking into guests' bedrooms."
"Guest, and only one bedroom," he corrected me.
"Not going to visit Lady Brown?"
"She applies a great deal of moisturizer to her face before bed, making her a frightful sight."
"That sounds like a good way to be frightened to death."
"Nearly so, but as to your question, I wanted to see what you looked like in your sleep."
"That sounds slightly creepy."
"It does, doesn't it? Still, I couldn't fight myself and meant only to come in here, catch a glimpse and sneak out."
"Your sneaking could use some work."
"So I noticed."
"So now that your sneaking career has been cut short what are you going to do?"
He sat down on the edge of the bed and I sat up. "I'm afraid I hadn't thought of this possibility."
"I suppose since I caught you I can demand a forfeit."
"Turning my own game on me?"
"All is fair in love and wardrobe, and since I caught you near mine I am definitely turning your own game on you."
"So what does your forfeit contain? Money? Jewels?"
I waved away his
suggestions, and changed my tone to a snooty, sophisticated woman; like Lady Brown. "Nothing so ordinary, my dear. What I want is to know why you were sneaking in here. The truth."
"The truth?" he repeated, and I nodded. Sean sighed and turned away. "I...I can't get you out of my head."
I blinked. "Come again?"
He took a deep breath. "Since the first I saw you I haven't been able to forget you. Not for one single moment of any day."
I looked him over. He didn't seem to be injured or ill. "Maybe the stomach flu?" I suggested.
Sean chuckled and shook his head. "No, though many illnesses crossed my mind."
"Thanks."
"No offense was meant, but I must admit I doubted my own senses for a few days."
"And what swept that doubt away?"
"Another look at you." He turned to me and gently cupped my chin in his hand. "I can't stop looking at you, that's why I bought your portrait." He chuckled. "Though I must admit I would like one that features your face more prominently."
"Oh no, you'll have to catch me to make me sit for another portrait, especially if you want me to get into some of the dresses your ancestresses are wearing."
"I won't force you to wear any of those dresses, and I will catch you."
I pulled out of his clutches and out of his arms' reach. "You're not getting off to a good start."
"You're not helping me."
"I can't make it too easy for you."
He turned toward me and made a weak dive to wrap himself around me. I squeaked and slid to the other side of the large bed, evading his clutches. Unfortunately, I overestimated the amount of bed and found myself performing a levitation trick. I was a novice in levitation so the trick only last for a second before I fell down to the rock-hard floor. It was a literal description of the floor and my rump showed its complaints with a shot of pain up my back. I tried to cushion the fall with my hands, and my injured wrist put in its two cents with a spring of pain up my arm.
"Damn it!" I hissed.
Sean climbed over the bed and jumped down to my side. He unfurled the covers around my body and I tried to sit up, but he pushed me down onto the cold, hard floor. "Stay still. You could hurt yourself further."
"My pride is the most bruised part of me, so you may as well let my body up" I quipped.
"Are you sure there's nothing broken? Do you need me to call Doctor Jacob?"
"No, I need you to help me up onto the bed." Sean lifted me up and onto the bed, and looked me over. His efforts were a little too thorough, and I batted away his hands. "I'm fine in all the places you're searching."