“Why, Declan? What’s the matter with you, son? You look like there’s a mountain lion chasing after you!” Ned said, getting up from the porch where he’d been carving an arm rest for his wife’s new rocking chair.
“No, no. Nothing like that,” he answered. Instead of approaching his cabin, he turned on his heel and headed toward the barn.
“Oh no, you don’t! You’re not getting away from me that easy! What in tarnation has gotten into you?” Ned put aside his carving and followed after Declan, matching his stride despite his older age.
Declan sighed and stopped where he was, letting his head fall forward until his chin almost touched his chest. He waited until Ned had caught up with him before answering.
“I’ve done something horrible,” he said without looking up. “I went over to your place this morning, thinking to leave a small token on the steps of the cabin. I saw Mrs. Jackson hanging the wash so I thought I’d leave it on the back porch.”
“So what? It’s a kind thing to do, even if it’s a bit unheard of. Your future wife is there, I bet she’d have felt right welcome to find a gesture like that!” Ned smiled, but his face fell when he looked at Declan’s sorrowful expression.
Declan took another deep breath while he thought about how to explain. His skin grew hot with flush as he remembered the horrified look on Margaret’s face.
“That’s not the worst of it. I went around the back to leave it on the porch… and Margaret was out there.”
“Do you think she saw you?”
“Oh, I’m sure of it!” Declan declared, shuddering at the memory of her blood-curdling scream.
“Well, that’s no matter! So what if she saw you? You, her future husband? You two are half-betrothed, it’s not like you’re not supposed to see the bride. Besides, you’re going over to formally visit this afternoon, you know she’d see you then. As for the surprise, sure, it didn’t turn out as you’d thought it would, but that’s no—”
“She was taking her bath!” Declan finally yelled, interrupting the old man. Ned stopped talking, blinked once, and took one small step back. His eyes opened wider in astonishment. He let out a long, slow sigh.
“And you’re sure she saw you?”
“I’m sure of it. She screamed and everything, and it brought Mrs. Jackson running around the house. It was awful! Now what am I gonna do, if she thinks I’m nothing more than a lowly peeping Tom who lurks around other people’s property, hoping to spy on ladies in their undress!” Declan threw his hands in the air and started pacing back and forth while Ned simply thought through the dilemma.
“Well, son… you’ve got to go explain yourself! You can’t have Miss McGreggor—or my wife, for that matter—thinking you’re some kind of odd fellow who’d do a thing like that!” Ned waited for his words to sink in.
“Oh no, I can naw! I know she’ll naw see me, not after what I’ve done! I’ve got no choice, I’ll just have to write a letter stating my apologies, and offer to pay her passage back home. I can naw believe this, how could I have been so horrible to her? I was only trying to do something kind, to let her know how happy I am that she’s come here!”
Declan looked as miserable as Ned had ever seen him, and the old man couldn’t help but feel the deepest sympathy for him. He patted his shoulder kindly, then brightened.
“Well then, perhaps she’ll listen to me! Let me go. I’ll talk to Clara and tell her what happened. I’ll even bring over that token you were aiming to leave behind, it’ll be proof that you’re telling the honest truth.”
“Would you really do that? Would you go to her and try to help her see reason?” Declan asked, grabbing Ned’s hand and shaking it firmly.
“Why sure! It’ll give me a chance to peek in on my own bride, too, and make sure everything’s okay up at my place. I need another piece for the other arm rest I’m working on anyway. I’ll ride up there just as soon as you fix us some dinner; I got so busy working on this chair for Clara’s birthday that I didn’t eat while you were off spying on ladies.”
Declan rolled his eyes at Ned’s light-hearted jab, but couldn’t help but grin. Surely they’d listen to Ned, he thought hopefully. Declan knew in his heart they’d never even let him speak long enough to apologize, but there was no reason not to listen to Ned, an innocent man in all of this. He raced into the house with a renewed sense of hope and a feeling of gratitude for goodly neighbors.
Chapter Eight