Jackson 07 - Where All the Dead Lie (16 page)

She was pinned against the stone wall. Without breaking the kiss, he put his hands under her bottom and picked her up, rocking her body against his as he did, forcing her to grab hold of his arms for balance. He set her carefully on the wall. He was as hard as he looked from the outside, muscles tense, like granite under his clothes. She pulled his shirt from his pants, got her hands under the fabric. Felt his chest, his smooth stomach. He yanked up her sweater, unsnapped her bra with one hand. Her breasts spilled out into the cold air. He caught them in his hands, brought them to his mouth. He moaned, low in his throat, and she felt the answering cry start deep within her.

Oh, no.
She had to stop now. Before it was too late. But his hands were going lower, expertly moving down her ribs, unbuttoning her jeans, plunging into her panties. It felt so good. So amazingly hot…
No, no, no, no,
she had to stop.
Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop.

“Stop.” There, she’d said it aloud.

And Memphis froze.

Two heartbeats passed. He had her at quite a disadvantage, and knew it. He flicked his forefinger and she nearly came undone. She forced her mouth closed, gently removed his hand, pulled down her sweater, and slid off the wall.

She could hear the ragged breaths that escaped from his mouth. She was panting as well. She put her hand over her mouth to try and calm herself.

He whispered the words.
“‘Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, and the rocks melt wi’ the sun! And I will love thee still, my dear, while the sands of life shall run.’”

When she didn’t respond, he put on his Scottish brogue for her. “Aye, Burns is a bonny poet.”

“Aye,” she whispered. The moment was gone. Over. Her lips were raw, her skin felt like she’d been brushed from head to toe with sandpaper.

Hand still over her mouth, she met his eyes. They were deeply blue. She realized his changed colors when he was aroused. And he was most mightily aroused. The outline in his pants was hard to miss.

She’d owed him more than this. She just didn’t know how much of herself she had to give.

“I’m… It’s… I can’t… I don’t…”

Shit.
She took a deep breath, still staring into his bottomless eyes, and forced the words out.

“I’m sorry.”

Memphis looked out over the rushing water. “These lands were important. You needed to cross through here to get to Inverness. My family controlled the land. Simple as that. They didn’t live here, they just owned it. They owned a lot of it. From here all the way back down to the estate. But as the years passed, and allegiances changed, the lands were stolen, or taken legally, or traded for women. We still own about five thousand acres up here.”

Neutral territory. He had the decency to turn and look away. She took advantage of the moment to hook up her bra. She wasn’t quite sure what to say, decided to stick with his lead. Her notebook had fallen in the dirt by the wall. She retrieved it, brushing it off before writing.

So this is Highsmythe country. You should put up a sign.

“Stop your teasing. I just thought you’d think it was pretty.”

I do. God, Memphis, if you only knew. It’s lovely
.

He pushed off the wall, held out a hand as if nothing had happened, as if that very hand hadn’t just been making rather indecent proposals against her body.

“Excellent. Let’s go see if we can find Nessie, shall we?”

We’re going to Loch Ness?

She couldn’t help herself; she knew her smile went from ear to ear. It seemed wrong to be so excited to leave this place, but she couldn’t wait to get away.

“What, did you think I drove you all the way up here to look at a bridge?”

She had to make this better.

I think you drove me up here to take advantage of me, that’s what I think. Lovely area, pretty bridge, private waterfall, love poems. You’re a naughty boy, Memphis.

He smiled at her again, showing his teeth this time. They walked back to the car. It was as if nothing had happened. He was back to his normal tone of voice, and her heartbeat had finally slowed.

Memphis turned the engine over and slid the shifter into gear. “We should have just enough time to have luncheon at the Dores Inn before we take a drive down the loch. Fish and chips suit you? They have some of the best in the Highlands.”

“Mmm.”

They drove back out to the main road in silence. She was starting to sense Memphis’s moods, and noticed that they were mercurial, at best. There was something bothering him. The joking, jovial, sensitive man from the bridge was gone. Not that she was surprised. It was probably her fault. She’d given in to temptation, then yanked it away. Maybe that wasn’t fair, but had he any right to be upset about it? He’d taken advantage, too.

The silence grew too loud for her to bear.

Are you mad?

“At you? No. Of course not.” There was no sarcasm in his tone, but he didn’t look at her, kept his blue eyes firmly forward on the road.

You’re awfully quiet.

He sighed deeply, both hands gripping the steering wheel of the Aston. “I don’t know if I should tell you this.”

Tell me what, Memphis?

He didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was strained, and he wouldn’t look at her.

“Taylor. I am hopelessly, desperately in love with you. Everything about you. And I know you feel something for me as well. You can’t deny that.”

She didn’t bother. Her body had given away all her secrets when they kissed. Yes, she did want him. But love? No. Not that. Not ever that.

She shook her head. He took that as a sign that she was agreeing with him, reached over and took her hand. Damn Brit, misinterpreting everything.

“If this was a mistake, I’m very sorry. I hadn’t planned it at all, to be honest. We had tickets for the noon ferry tour around Loch Ness. I was driving by the roundabout and stopping at the bridge seemed like…the right thing to do.”

She sensed he was telling the truth, that he hadn’t planned to make a move on her. She didn’t care what he said, he wasn’t over Evan, not by a long shot. And she was afraid he was going to try to make her a substitute. She’d be a poor one, at that, but safe. And very much alive, as she’d proven less than a quarter hour ago.

You’re forgiven. But Memphis, I’m engaged. We can’t do this.

God, she was going to have to burn these pages as soon as she got back to the castle.

“You’re wrong, Taylor. We most certainly can. But it’s not right for me to take advantage of your situation, either. So you’ll accept my apology, my lady. Please.”

Of course.

She touched him on the back of the hand, briefly, amazed at the shock that ran through her body.

You stupid, stupid girl
.

Memphis changed the subject as they drew closer to Inverness, talking of the history of the land they were driving through. The Jacobites had fought and died here, on Culloden field, which appeared on her left. Taylor knew the sad history of that battle. The last stand of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s men, ragged, wounded, starving. They fought for their freedom on the moor, died there, nearly all of them, and were buried where they lay. She saw the blue and the red flags from the road—the lines demarking where the British and Scots had stood, facing one another across Drumossie Moor in the cold dawn, before the final charge that would end so many lives.

She felt her skin crawl, goose bumps parading up and down her arms. She was surrounded by death. All she wanted to do was get back to the castle, away from this sadness.

But Memphis was determined, and fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the Dores Inn, on the northernmost tip of Loch Ness. It was eerily beautiful, mist rising off the water, the gray skies lending themselves to her introspection. A rosebush outside the door still sported the remnants of heavy pink roses.

The building was warm and cozy, a fireplace pouring out heat. The staff was obviously happy to see them; it was certainly too chilly to be doing much besides staying inside, warm by a fire. This wasn’t exactly high tourist season, though there were people out sailing the loch—Taylor could see the tour boats powering down the murky water. It must be freezing out there, especially with the breeze.

Taylor needed a little something to take the edge off, so she ordered a Guinness. Took a Percocet. Let the edges blur. Tried to stop watching his hands. Tried to forget the bridge.

Memphis made an effort to be cheerful, but he too was distracted. They ate in silence, a strange veil of discomfort surrounding them. The food was delicious, though she couldn’t finish it all. After an interminable thirty minutes, they bundled up and went back into the cold to drive down the loch a bit then head home. Taylor was more than ready for this side trip to be over.

Memphis turned the car south, pointed out a few landmarks, then grew quiet. After a few moments, he said, “I’m sorry. I should never have taken you to the bridge. I’m not quite sure what I was thinking.”

She didn’t know what she was thinking, either. Or what she’d been thinking when she succumbed to his charms. She rubbed her forehead, feeling the small scar on her temple. Her headache was worsening. She slipped another Percocet into her hand, and a Fioricet. There was a bottle of Highland Spring in her bag. She downed the pills and grabbed her notebook.

Memphis, I’m getting tired. Why don’t we just head back?

He smiled in relief, as if he’d needed her permission to abort their journey.

“Of course. Let’s go home.”

They were down near Fort Augustus. It took over an hour to make it back to Dulsie Castle.

They passed the time on a much safer topic. The case Memphis was working on, the enigmatic Urq, and the three missing girls. Crime was the one place Memphis and Taylor truly had common ground.

When he pulled through the gate that led to the castle grounds, it was three o’clock. The snow had held off, and pink streaks of sunset were burgeoning through the clouds to the west.

“Let me make it up to you,” Memphis said suddenly.

Taylor just wanted to go lie down and let the aching stop. She wasn’t all that sure she wanted to indulge him anymore, but good manners and a bit of curiosity won out.

All right. What do you have in mind?

“Follow me.” He jumped out of the car, rushed around to her side and got the door open. “Button up your coat, it’s getting cold now.”

Cold was an understatement. It was downright frigid, and damp to boot. She felt it through the coat, carefully put her hands in the pockets, gun-shy after the morning’s adventure. In answer, her finger gave a dull throb.

“We’re heading up here,” he said, then strolled across the gravel forecourt onto a small path. Fifteen feet in, there was a large arched wooden gate, over eight feet tall. Memphis unlocked it and beckoned for her to step inside so he could lock it behind them. The path widened and started up a slight incline. Taylor could see a statue ahead, probably a football field length away. She looked back at the house, realized that there was a straight shot from the front door up this rise.

What’s that?

“You’ll see,” Memphis replied.

She was a little tired of surprises, but followed dutifully anyhow. There was a seven-foot-high stone wall to her left. She couldn’t figure out what was inside. A graveyard, maybe? That uneasy feeling she had from the afternoon returned with a vengeance.

A few minutes later they were at the top of the hill. The statue was of a woman, holding a bow and arrow in one hand. A small owl perched on her right shoulder. It only took Taylor a moment to place her; the plaque at the woman’s feet gave it away.

Athena?

“Yes. She is my father’s favorite. And mine, of course. The sixth earl had this statue commissioned from a minor sculptor, Rama Nardi, in Florence back in the 1500s. He apprenticed with Niccolò di Piero Lamberti, but never lived up to his initial promise. He had a problem with scale that he couldn’t overcome. Look at her feet. They’re much too large for her body. Nardi died before his twenty-fifth birthday, sadly. This is only one of ten pieces of his known to exist in the world. There are four more inside the wall.”

The statue was old, weathered. Small cracks at the base had been repaired.

Doesn’t that make it valuable?

“Certainly. But Nardi wasn’t terribly famous, or good, for that matter. And we’re in a private area of the estate. It would be hard to walk off with her. She weighs quite a bit.”

What is all this?

“Come see,” Memphis said, and steered her around the statue, back to the stone wall.

She was able to see over the edge now. Extensive, beautiful gardens, bordering a small lake in the center.

A secret garden.

It’s lovely.

She could tell he was pleased to surprise her with something good this time.

“Isn’t it? There are several sections, tiers, really. The public is allowed to enter at the bottom but can only come up halfway. There is a small house on the grounds, back over here, where the gardeners live. They’re a couple. Suited to it. It’s been in his family for a couple of centuries. He’s a Dulsie legacy— Oh, see the swans?”

She could, three of them. Two white and one gray, all three big.

“Mute swans. That’s William and Harry. Harry’s short for Harriet, of course. And the gray one, that’s their cygnet, Charles. He’s not quite full-grown, he’s just starting to turn. They’ve been here for years. I like to visit them while I’m home, though Harry tried to bite me once when I went in the water.”

He was trying to distract her. She smiled at him, nodded. She understood. She wasn’t comfortable, either.

The sun was setting now, nearly gone, and the first flakes of snow started to fall. He turned her around and pointed out the view from the other side of Athena, a glorious spill into the valley below. Taylor took a deep breath, and felt the flakes hit her tongue.

I love it.

Memphis pressed something into her hand. It was an iron skeleton key, big and old-fashioned. “Then you must come here anytime you’d like. As you’ve no doubt realized, your rooms face the mountains, not the gardens, which is why you hadn’t seen them yet. But it’s yours to explore. Taylor, I think it’s best… I’m afraid I need to head back to London tomorrow. I have work to do. Will you be all right here on your own?”

Her emotions split in two. She didn’t want him to go, yet she didn’t want him to stay. It would be easier without him around, she was sure of it. She shoved the key in her back pocket and wrote quickly, heedless of her degenerating scrawl. Got it on paper before she changed her mind.

Of course. That’s why I came, isn’t it? To work with Maddee and heal. This is perfect. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done, Memphis. I’m sorry today was so…difficult.

He shook his head. “That was my fault. I don’t know what possessed me to take you to the bridge.” He brushed a piece of snow from her hair. “It wasn’t all bad. No sense in pretending it didn’t happen. Are you sorry?”