Page 63 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
“I-I—”
A hand appeared on Adriano’s shoulder. “May I cut in?”
Briony and Adriano turned to see Niall standing there. He looked even more mysterious in the light of the fire, and his dark eyes seemed to glow with flames of their own.
“Certainly,” Adriano replied, stepping back. The grin on his face was so tight it looked painful, and his eyes begged Briony not to say anything as he bade her goodbye.
Briony nodded at the young man and watched him wander over to a group of sailors who elbowed him in the ribs and threw their arms around his shoulders. They seemed to either be teasing him or congratulating him on his short dance with Briony.
Niall drew her attention back to him when he held out his hand. Briony hesitated for a moment before taking it. She tried to conceal her annoyance at his interruption, but it didn’t seem to work, for Niall’s first comment was “I hope I’m na too much o’ a disappointment as a dance partner.”
Briony coughed a little, embarrassed he’d noticed her lack of enthusiasm. “Nay, ’tis na that at all! I’m sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”
I have to find out what Adriano was talking about! Surely Costa did na have something to do with Santiago’s injury, right?
“Well, I hope it does na take too long to bring yer mind back to the present. The next song is about to start, and I’ve been looking forward to dancing with you.”
The man’s words wove a strange spell over her, and what Adriano had said suddenly seemed far less important. All that mattered was this instant right now with Niall. “Do you dance often?”
A brilliant smile lit up Niall’s face. “’Tis one o’ my favorite pastimes. I saw how beautifully you danced earlier, so I would guess ’tis one o’ yer favorites as well.”
“Aye, you could say that.”
“In that case, let’s give the others something worth talking about, shall we?” Niall offered with a gleam in his eyes. He pulled her closer just as the music picked up, drawing Briony into the most exhilarating dance of her life. He moved them in time to the music, forward, side to side, and backward. Briony twirled around and around, reveling in Niall’s company as much as in the dance itself. The flames beside them leaped, almost as if they were keeping in time with the music as well.
Others near the couple laughed and clapped their hands. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time—
Except for one person. Briony’s gaze fell upon someone who didn’t seem nearly as happy: Santiago. He looked out at the dancers with a troubling grimace, pausing when his eyes met Briony’s.
“Have you been thinking o’ what I said?” Niall asked, glancing in the direction Briony was looking. He scowled for a brief second at the merchant, but then he smoothed his brow as he turned back to her.
“Maybe. Are you ready to tell me the truth?” Briony countered.
“Aye, but you won’ like it.”
Briony sulked, tired of him skirting around the issue. “Just tell me, Niall. I don’ want any more games.”
Niall sighed and pulled her away from the other dancers until they were out of earshot. “Very well. When we first met, I was na entirely honest with you. I did na come to Everton to thank you fer what you did all those years ago. I came here to save you.”
“Save me? From what?”
“Do you truly na remember what happened that day?”
“You mean the day we met? I only remember bits and pieces. I remember finding you and telling you to run. I remember punching Adaira in the face and my mother wanting me to apologize when she found out. But then Adaira apologized instead, so we started to become friends… The rest o’ that day is hazy.”
“I suppose it makes sense fer you to forget. ’Twas a terrible day—”
“But if you ran away, how do you know more than I do?”
Niall turned away awkwardly. “I did go fer help as I told you before, but I lied about returning too late. My parents and I did find you, and we weren’ the only ones.Yer father was there too.”
“My father? But he’d been gone fer years already. That does na make any sense, Niall!”
“Yer father was part o’ the same…clanthat I am. He was with my parents when I found them. The three o’ them went to rescue you, and…” Niall’s voice broke off.
Briony put a hand on his shoulder and spun him around to face her. There were tears in the man’s eyes. “What happened then, Niall?”
“They killed him.”
