Page 54 of A Rogue in Twilight
“Lord Struan!” he boomed. “So good to meet you, sir!” James stood to clasp his hand. “Welcome to Kilcrennan!”
“Lord Struan will be our guest for the night, Mr. MacArthur,” Mrs. Graham said, sounding more like a wife than a housekeeper.
“Excellent,” MacArthur said, sitting beside Elspeth to accept a cup of steaming tea, heavily sweetened, from Mrs. Graham, and then a plate of cold meat and rolls.
“I appreciate the loan of the clothing, sir,” James said. “My things got quite wet as we crossed some high water.”
“Down by the Durchan Water, Grandda,” Elspeth supplied. “It was very floody but Lord Struan got us safely across.”
“We are even further in your debt, sir,” Donal MacArthur said. “Souls have been swept away in lesser floods than we’ve seen this week. I had the de’il of a time coming back from Edinburgh. Would have arrived sooner if not for the high waters and poor roads. I saw the Buchanans along the way and heard that Elspeth had been caught stranded at Struan House. That worried me. But I see all is well.”
James caught Elspeth’s glance and looked away. “All is well, sir.”
The man leaned forward. “I understand you are a professor at the university.”
“I teach natural philosophy, specifically geological sciences, and do some exploration and research as well.”
“Rocks and such, hey! A good subject of study. You are new to Struan House, I think? You were named viscount when your grandfather passed a few years back, yet Lady Struan, who I considered a friend, said that her grandson kept to the city.”
“Struan House was my grandmother’s home, and she kept the estate. I would not usurp that, and my lecturing duties and research keeps me very busy.”
MacArthur nodded, spearing another roll with a two-pronged fork. He glanced at Elspeth. “The Laird of Struan stays much in the city,” he said, popping a chunk of buttered roll into his mouth.
“I know,” she said tersely.
“Where’s the yarns from Margaret, then?” Donal MacArthur asked. “Is your cousin well? How did Lord Struan come to take you home?”
“I never made it over to Margaret’s.” Elspeth set down her tea, cheeks high pink. James saw bravado spark in her eyes. “I was at Struan House, stranded there by the weather.”
“Ah. The Buchanans thought so.” Donal looked from her to James and back again. James felt like a boy caught out at school. “And the MacKimmies away and all.”
“What do you mean?” Elspeth asked warily.
“Reverend Buchanan and his father told me you were caught out in the rains, and that they suspected you and Lord Struan were together in interesting circumstances, were his words. Is there something I should know?”
James sat straighter. “Sir, if may I be frank. Miss MacArthur stayed at Struan House, aye. She had a mishap and was injured, and with the rains, could not travel.”
“She twisted her ankle, Donal MacArthur,” Mrs. Graham said. “I looked at it myself today and made her soak it in a salt bath. She must rest and cannot walk about the hills for a while. Did you not see her limping in the yard?”
“I did see,” Donal said. “Injured. Go on, sir.” He fixed James with a stern stare.
“Given the storm and her injury, I offered her hospitality at Struan House. My housekeeper and servants were detained elsewhere, unable to return yet.”
“The storm and the fairy riding,” Donal MacArthur said. “And then?”
“Grandda, it could not be helped,” Elspeth said.
“Alone together,” her grandfather murmured.
“Lord Struan was a cordial host.” Elspeth lifted her chin. “The Buchanans have no right to suggest otherwise.”
James saw temper flaring in the older man’s leonine eye, but MacArthur held his composure. So Elspeth got her temper, her spark, and her dignity too from this man.
“She turned her ankle, Donal,” Mrs. Graham reminded him.
“I fell in the mud,” Elspeth said. “I could hardly walk. It was unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate,” MacArthur repeated. “For two days!” he thundered then.
