The Vampire Laird (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Mystery/Romance) (6 page)

“What can you tell us about the history of this place?” Charlie asked with a smile.

Sitting on the stoop, watching the chickens scratch in the dirt, the sisters listened to Dougal’s tale. The village had been larger in its day, but a fire caused by a “bluidy cow” had destroyed much of it some two hundred years ago. And there had been a long history of smuggling…mostly staple goods that were heavily taxed like tobacco, tea or salt for preserving meat and fish. Apparently, there wasn’t a market in the Highlands for the luxury items smuggled from France along the south coast of Great Britain, but that was “all a lang time past,” Dougal told them, “Nou thare be ither things afoot Ah dinnae want to ken.”

Which certainly interested Charlie, but she couldn’t pry anything more out of him. Meg gave it her best effort with the same result. “Ah’ve already said morrren an auld mon should say iffen ah wad see oot the dae. Will ye be stayin fer a wee bite of dinner wi’ me?”

“Is haggis involved?” Meg asked with a wry smile.

“Nae. A nip of guid whiskey, some hard cheese frae mah own cow and bread frae mah own oven. Och, and a dill pickle frae the widow Potts who has takin a loikin’ tae me.”

They thanked him but declined. Tilda was expecting them for lunch and despite the threat of more haggis, it would have been impolite not to show up.

He stood by the gate waving as they left. “Dinnae be walkin’ aboot after dark, lasses. Thare’s much ye should be afeart of in the nicht. Beware the Baobhan Sith…the Lady in White…she walks again since thay moved into the manor,” he called after them.

They waved over their shoulders and kept moving. “I got less than half of what he said to us and nodding and smiling only takes me so far. Please translate that last part. It sounded kind of a creepy,” Meg said.

“He said not to be walking about in the dark because there’s ‘much to be afraid of at night’. And to beware the Lady in White. He also gave us the best advise he knew how to give.”

“I know…get out and take Allyn with us. Now how easy is that going to be?” Meg asked with a grimace.

Charlie frowned thoughtfully. “We’ll know a lot more after tonight.”

They staggered their baths so each would have enough hot water. Afterwards, their thoughts were on Allyn as they dressed for dinner at the manor. “What do you think is going to happen when he sees us?” Meg asked.

“He had plenty of notice by now that we’re here. I’m wondering why he didn’t stop by some time today,” Charlie mused.

“I wish we could just snatch him out of there.”

“He’s a big boy now. We’ll have to be very careful how we handle him. If he’s in love with this…whatever she is…it may not be so easy to rescue him if he doesn’t want to be rescued,” Charlie told her with a grim smile. “I’ve been through this before with him and, believe me, there’s another side to his sunny disposition!”

Meg’s little blue dress hugged her in all the right places, but she was eying Charlie, wistfully, as she slipped on her black sling back stiletto heels that were perfect with her deceptively simple black dress. It had looked great on their sister Rayne, but even better on Charlie with her long silver blonde hair that she had twisted into an elegant coil at the base of her neck.

Meg sighed. She hated to admit it because it made her sound …well…petty, but she envied her sister many things. She envied her confidence…her hair that always hung like silk while hers was a riot of curls that turned to frizz at every opportunity…which, thankfully, wasn’t now. Most of all she envied her slim litheness…her grace, while she felt like she had been born with two left feet…maybe even three…and a couple of extra thumbs to boot. She sighed again. “You know you are pushing six feet in those heels, which is taller than any man we’ve met so far with the exception of our host tonight.”

“I stopped being self-conscious about my height in the eighth grade, when I was teased by every male shrimp in my class,” Charlie told her with a grin.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just feeling vertically challenged as usual and.a bit envious. You look gorgeous. Really gorgeous! I want to ask you something and I have no one else to ask…or I would… and I don’t want to put you on the spot and have you lie so as not to hurt my feelings.”

“What is it, Meg?” she asked, giving her sister her complete attention, knowing that whatever Meg was about to ask was very important to her.

“Well, Mr. Marley called me ‘lovely’, but he was just being whatever he was being, and he didn’t mean it and that worm at the pub spent the whole time figuring out my cup size and…..”

“And?”

“Am I…you know…am I, well…pretty?”

Charlie grabbed her arm, spun her around and pointed her at the mirror. “Haven’t we been through this before? Just look at yourself! You’re beautiful, Meg! Really beautiful! Inside and out!”

“That’s just big sister talk. I want the truth,” she said in little more than a whisper.

Charlie laughed and tilted Meg’s chin up till they were eye to eye. “What will it take to convince you that I’m telling the truth?”

Meg thought for a moment and then said, “What I’m going to ask will make you seem really silly.”

“And when has that ever stopped me?”

“Okay. Remember when we were kids and we were lying if we couldn’t say ‘cabbage’ ten times without laughing or smiling? Do it, Charlie. Say cabbage ten times and I’ll believe you.”

Since Charlie was already laughing, Meg’s challenge wasn’t as easy as it used to be. “Okay, Meg, here goes.” Taking a deep breath and pinching herself really hard she managed the ten ‘cabbages’ without even a smile.

Meg waited till she was finished then grinned widely. “Thanks. You looked utterly ridiculous by the way. Besides, if you were lying your nose would grow and it’s not exactly pert now.”

Which earned her a pillow thunk. Their scrimmage was brief and required extensive repairs to both hair and makeup, but both were ready when the vintage Rolls Royce pulled up at the front door, where Tilda just happened to be sweeping. She muttered something neither sister wanted to hear as a uniformed chauffeur opened the car door and bowed them inside, then climbed into the front.

Settling back in the deep leather seats Meg smiled. “I feel like Cinderella on her way to the guillotine, since neither of us knows what we’re getting into tonight. About your nose,” she said with a sideways glance at her sister.

Charlie smiled and asked, “The one that’s too long to be pert?”

“That’s the one. It looks good on you.”

Charlie laughed and squeezed her sister’s hand. “And I was so worried,” she replied dryly.

***

The butler led them across the entry hall, where their heels clicked loudly on the black and white marble floor. “Not our best stealth mode,” Meg whispered.

“I have a feeling that Mr. Marley would be a hard man to sneak up on,” Charlie whispered back, as they continued on past the twin staircases that swept, gracefully, upward to a long gallery at the top. A large vase of purple gladiolas sat on an antique table beneath an Empire mirror, where they each, surreptitiously, glanced at their reflection as they passed. The butler led them down a side hall, where a Persian runner muted their footsteps, then opened a paneled door at the far end and intoned, “Your guests have arrived, your lordship.” With that, he moved to one side and they stepped into the manor’s library, where floor to ceiling bookcases covered the walls. It could easily have swallowed the library at Hensley Hall whole and still have room for dessert. They found their host pouring over a map he had spread over the top of a large mahogany desk. He looked up when they entered and smiled. His green eyes swept over them both, as he rose and crossed the room.

Meg sucked in her breath. He really was a gorgeous man! Dressed in Highland black tie attire, he was resplendent in short black jacket with matching waistcoat, white shirt and black tie. He wore a kilt with matching plaid slung over his left shoulder and pinned with the amethyst and silver brooch they had seen earlier. His shoes had silver buckles and a silver chain supported the fur sporran he wore around his waist. A jeweled dirk hung against his thigh. “He’s prettier than we are, ” Meg muttered sotto voce. Charlie smiled her reply.

“It is a pleasure to see you both,” he told them, taking their hands in turn and holding Charlie’s just a tetch longer than she thought necessary. “You grace my simple home. Please have a seat.”

Charlie smiled what she hoped was a friendly smile and said, “Thank you for inviting us. Now tell me that Allyn will be here tonight. We have yet to hear from him.”

He lifted one brow and returned her smile. “He and Orianna will join us for dinner. I thought we could share a drink and perhaps get better acquainted before then. What is your pleasure, ladies? A glass of wine perhaps? I keep and excellent cellar.”

“Perhaps a glass of Chablis,” Meg said, as she settled into an antique chair she strongly suspected was an original Chippendale.

Charlie took the seat next to her. “Nothing for me, thank you.” she told him.

A shadow flickered in his green eyes. “As you wish,” he told her, crossing to the bell pull and summoning the butler. While they waited for the wine, Charlie and Meg looked around the room. The furniture was definitely 18th century and worth a fortune.

He apparently noticed their interest. “This manor was a ruin when I bought the Lairdship of Blackcreag, which included this manor, all the surrounding land, the village and the castle you see up on the black crag for which it was named. The title of ‘Laird’ came with it for the right price…one I was happy to pay. The furniture is authentic…most of it original to this house, though I had to search for a lot of the pieces through various dealers and auction houses in order to recover them. Though they were on the ‘right side’ of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745 and did not have to forfeit their land and title, it seems one lack penny laird after another bled this estate until there was little left. I would have loved to live in the castle, but it lacks any and all creature comforts so I focused my efforts on restoring this place, which is a veritable rabbit warren of additions and add-ons that are detrimental to the original builder’s intent. But it is what it is and I find myself quite at home here.”

“So you are officially the laird, if not by blood, by the right price. Just how did you find this place?” Meg asked, as the butler entered discreetly and left the tray on a side table.

Seth poured her a glass of chilled Chablis, as he replied, “Orianna and I were sailing along the coast on a particularly fine day and I saw the castle up on the cliffs. I was enchanted. The view of it from the sea is even more spectacular than from the landside. The manor house was a bonus, as was what was left of the village. It was pure coincidence that my name, Marley, so closely resembled the MacMorleys. I had hoped for a blood connection somewhere, but could find nothing unless you consider my love for this old place a tie to it.”

Charlie smiled. “As good as any, I would imagine. You have a slight accent…barely noticeable. May I ask your point of origin?”

“I was born in the States, but I’ve lived all over the world. This is as close to a permanent home as I’ve ever had, but even so, I come and go quite often.”

“I’m sure it’s terribly gauche to ask…maybe unforgivably so… but how in the world do you afford all this?” Meg asked, eying one beautiful and probably priceless antique after another.

He smiled at her over the rim of his glass. “I manage.” A bell rang from the bowels of the house and his smile deepened. “Saved by the bell from further interrogations. It appears supper is served. If you will allow me, ladies?”

They followed their host to the formal dining room with its long burled walnut table, matching chairs for twenty and enormous sideboard. He seated them on either side of him and frowned…his lips tightening in irritation. “Orinanna and your brother should be here shortly, but there seems to be a mistake in the seating arrangements. I specifically ordered that we all be seated on this end of the table.”

The words had barely left his mouth, when Oriana and Allyn appeared through the double pocket doors and took their places on the opposite side. With the candelabras and centerpiece of white mums and pink roses between them, there was little they could see of their brother, but what they did see was alarming. He was pale, thin, and his eyes were…well, haunted was the word that came to both their minds.

Orianna watched them through half closed eyes from her place next to Allyn. She was very beautiful; both sisters hated to admit, and had moved with a fluid almost boneless grace that gave her an ethereal quality. Her smile was both cold and knowing, as her long, white fingers, absently, toyed with Allyn’s shirt sleeve.

“Orianna,” Seth called. “Why are you seated so far away? These ladies are Allyn’s sisters…Meg and Charlie…I told you about them yesterday.”

Her smile deepened. “I ordered it. We are comfortable where we are. Allyn is quite tired today and does not want the strain of making conversation, isn’t that right darling?”

Allyn looked directly at his sisters and smiled. It was a caricature of his usual boyish grin. “Orinanna is right. I wonder why you are even here,” he said in the remote voice of a stranger. “No one invited you.”

“I’m afraid, Allyn, you are being rather rude,” Seth told him. “Your sisters have come a long way to see you!”

“Allyn is not feeling well enough for a family visit…especially if they are here to admonish him for some reason. I’m sure you understand,” Orianna purred as her smile turned sly. She shrugged and brushed back her long dark hair with one hand. “I do not control him. If he had asked them to come, it might be different. Come, Darling. I think we will have our meal some place, where we aren’t treated like lackwit schoolchildren. It was a…pleasure?…meeting you both.” With that she took Allyn’s hand and they both rose from the table.

Charlie bolted from her chair and hurried to intercept them. “Allyn,” she cried, as Orianna pulled him towards the door. “Allyn, why are you doing this? What’s happened to you?”

She grabbed his arm, but he, roughly shook himself free, then looked at her. His eyes were dead…that was the only way she could describe them. A flicker of recognition flared, briefly, then died as quickly as it had come. He mumbled something she couldn’t begin to understand, as he allowed Orianna to lead him away. A smug smile accompanied the triumphant look she flung over her shoulder, as she slammed the door in Charlie’s face.

Shaking her head…her hands balled into tight fists…Charlie returned to her seat and exchanged looks with Meg who was also ready to explode. Seth watched them with interest and said, “I was hoping he was better, but, as you can see, today is not one of his good days. But there will be other chances. I really do want you to get Allyn out of here. Orianna likes to play games and doesn’t always care that others may not share her sense of playfulness…or may get hurt. Her liaisons don’t usually last long and have always ended badly. I rather like your brother. That’s why I disapprove so strongly. He is too susceptible. Now try not to let that little scene spoil your appetites. One of our courses is fresh trout I caught in the burn only this morning.”

But neither sister had any appetite at all. They both sat there in shocked silence until Seth grimaced in irritation. “You’re upset. I was afraid of this very outcome. I have a suggestion for you. Why don’t you both move up from the manse. That way you will see Allyn more often and may prove an antidote to Orianna.”

“You say that as if she is a deadly poison, which I wouldn’t find hard to believe at all from what we just witnessed,” Meg murmured, badly shaken by what she’d seen.