Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (16 page)

“
Sorry. I thought you
preferred wearing my shirt.”

She frowned at him; her
hands tightening about the towel at her chest. “I need proper
clothing.”

Alec put his arms around
her thighs and lifted her up.

“
Alec!” she
gasped.

He walked to the door with
her in his arms. “You didn’t wear your own clothing last
night.”

She put her arms on his
shoulders to balance herself. “I can walk, you know.”

“
Aye, ma’am, you can
limp,” was his reply. He put her down on the bed and went back to
pick up the suitcase.

He started opening the
suitcase when Ruby said, “Please don’t.”

He looked up, his eyes
questioning.

“
They’re my personal
things. I—I don’t like people seeing them. Please go, I want to
change alone.”

He stood up. “As you
please.” Then he left the room.

Once the door was shut,
Ruby slid down to sit on the floor and sort through her clothing.
She found her skinny jeans and a light purple jersey. Yes, she’d
feel much more comfortable wearing her own clothing.

As she picked up the
jersey, she glimpsed a notebook. Her heart started to beat faster,
and her hand shook as it moved toward the small book.

She picked it up and opened it. It was her address and
phone book of overseas contacts. She thought she lost
it.

Clutching the book to her chest, she glanced at the door to
make sure Alec was not there, or about to enter. Flipping through
the contents, she found Brian’s number.

Ruby felt content that
morning after breakfast. She lay on the sofa that was serving as
Alec’s bed and read. Then, just when her tummy started to grumble
with hunger, Alec came into the room. Without saying anything, he
took the book from her hands, picked her up in his arms, and
carried her out the door.

“
Where are you taking me?”
she asked curiously. “I thought I was forbidden to go
out.”

He grinned at her, his
eyes twinkling.

Stop fluttering so much, you stupid heart!
she cursed silently, biting her lip
as she stared at his face. Her heart didn’t listen to her scolding,
however. In fact, it was doing exactly the opposite. It sped up,
and now and again, a good somersault was deftly
performed.

“
Of course, you can go
out, as long as I’m with you.”

She emitted a loud hum as
they came down the stairs. Instead of taking her into the dining
room as she expected, he directed her toward the front
door.

“
Where are we
going?”

“
Outside.”

Of course, she could very
well see that they were going outside. She was hoping they’d be
having lunch in the dining room, since there would be a telephone
in the dining room; of that, she was sure.

The sun was very nice.
Finally, the storm moved on and now the sun came out to dry
everything off. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air
was cool and clean.

“
Has it been that long?”
he asked, watching her.

Ruby opened her eyes and
looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“
You like the fresh
air?”

“
I love the fresh air,
thank you,” she said. “Oh, look!”

Alec’s gaze was on their
destination, which Ruby had just noticed. On the other side of the
garden, near the pond, Mrs. McKenzie and Lizzie were laying down
the plaid blanket and putting out food and a bottle of chilled
champagne. Captain Snow, who was running about wildly, barked
loudly once he saw them coming.

“
How exciting! Hello,
Westies!”

“
Who’s Westies?” Alec
asked.

“
The dog. Isn’t he
cute?”

“
Hmm,” Alec responded. He
put her down on the plaid blanket and sat beside her. Captain Snow
came over to lick Ruby’s hand. She patted him. The dog seemed to
love it and climbed onto her lap. She laughed.

Alec watched in
fascination. The blasted dog had never been so friendly to
him.

“
Anythin’ else ya want,
Master Alec?” Mrs. McKenzie asked.

Alec shook his head in the
negative, and Mrs. McKenzie and Lizzie left them.

Alec reached for the
champagne and poured the contents into two glasses. Ruby picked one
red grape and popped it into her mouth.

“
Why does she call you
Master Alec?” she asked curiously. “Do you have another name before
Alec?”

Alec glanced at her and
wondered if she knew anything about the nobility. But, of course,
since she read so many history books, she must’ve understood how to
address them, unless she couldn’t understand Mrs. McKenzie’s thick
Scottish brogue.

He gave her a glass. She
looked at him and then at the bubbly libation.

“
I don’t
drink.”

“
You don’t?”

She shook her
head.

“
Try it. It’s nice,” he
urged. “Just one sip.”

“
Okay.” She took the
glass, and looked at him for a second. She saw him nod for
encouragement and hesitantly took a sip. She tasted grapes. But it
was also quite sharp and sweet.

“
Well?”

“
It’s okay. Do you have
any siblings?”

Alec raised his brows as
he reached out for the sandwiches. “A sister.”

“
A sister? I’ve got four
sisters. I beat you.”

“
Any brothers?”

She shook her
head.

“
So what do you do at
home?”

She turned to look at him.
“This and that.”

“
What
is
this and that?”

“
I work part time, and I
run the family business part time.”

“
You run the family
business?”

“
My, my, so many
questions. What about you? What do you do? I mean, apart from
kidnapping me and preventing me from running away?” she asked,
looking at him.

Alec thought she was
trying to get at him. Oh no, he wanted to enjoy today with her, and
her sarcastic question was not going to rile him. He sat up and
said, “This and that.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes at
him and snatched a sandwich. “So if you own the castle, that makes
you very rich.” She took a bite. “It means that either you’re a
businessman, gaining bucket loads of profits; or you inherited the
money and this castle came from your parents. If you’re a
successful businessman and you bought this castle, of which I do
not know the name of, you probably spent a ridiculous amount of
money. If you inherited this castle, that means,” She paused and
looked at him, “either you’re related to some dead, distant cousin
from the nobility, or you, yourself, are one.”

Alec was
impressed.

“
What’s the name of the
castle?”

“
Hasting
Manor.”

“
And your full name
please?”

“
Alec James
Hasting.”

She smiled; her eyes
becoming brighter. “So you’re the son of the Earl of
Hayward?”

“
No,” he said. “I
am
the Earl of
Hayward.”

Ruby gasped. “Oh God, I’m
sorry. What happened to your father?”

Alec picked another
sandwich. “My parents both died in an accident in
Greece.”

“
I’m sorry.”

“
It was a long time
ago.”

She nodded her
understanding.

Ruby enjoyed the rest of
the lunch. Once the food was nearly finished, and a chilly wind
started to blow from the south, Alec carried her back into the
house.

He was leading her up the
stairs when Ruby said, “Please, Alec, I’m sick of staying in the
bedroom.”

Alec reluctantly nodded.
“So am I.”

Ruby smiled as he carried her into the drawing room. She
looked about her new surroundings with candid interest. This was
the first time she saw the place properly. It was very big and
elegantly furnished with thick, velvet drapes and heavy upholstery.
The walls held beautiful paintings of nature and animals, except
for the one that hung above the huge fireplace. It was a portrait
of four people. There was an elderly man standing, a woman sitting
on an armchair, a boy standing in front of the man, and a girl
standing beside the woman. The elderly man looked handsome and very
much like Alec right now. The woman was beautiful with her dark
brown hair and elegant dress. Then there was the boy. Ruby assumed
it was Alec. Even at that age, he must have broken many hearts with
his good looks, although oddly enough, he looked awfully familiar
to her. It was as if she knew that boy, as if they were close
friends at that innocent, tender age. And the pretty blond-haired
girl must have been Alec’s sister. The more she gazed at the
portrait, the more she was certain she had also seen the girl
somewhere before.

Alec lay her on the
antique chaise, and Ruby made herself comfortable. When she glanced
up to thank him, she spotted the antique telephone sitting on the
round mahogany table near the wall.

“
I trust you won’t run
away?” he asked.

Ruby focused her gaze back
on him, and narrowed her eyes as she said, “Supposing that I did,
what would you do?”

“
Chase after you, of
course.”

She cocked her head to one
side. “Assuming that you found me, what if I refused to come back
with you?”

“
Then I would have to
kidnap you again, wouldn’t I?” he replied playfully.

“
I refuse to be kidnapped
twice. Once, let me tell you, is quite enough.”

Alec changed the subject.
“I’m going to the village. Do you want anything?”

Ruby raised her eyebrows. “Am I allowed to have
anything
?”

Alec caught the drift in her meaning. “Not exactly
anything. You are allowed to have
something
.”

“
I would like to go to Brian, is that
something
allowed?” she asked, watching him carefully.

The muscle on the side of his left cheek twitched, but he
kept his face passive when he replied, “
That
something,
I’m afraid, is not allowed.”

“
And why not?”

“
Because I said so,” Alec
said as he turned to go.

Ruby realized that every
time she brought Brian’s name up, Alec reacted as though he were
pissed. “Is Brian your arch enemy?”

Alec halted mid-stride,
and turned to look at her. “Nay,” he said before walking out the
door.

* * *

Ruby watched from the
window as Alec drove his car around the water feature and then to
the distant gate. Odd that her heart seemed to be pumping louder
and faster the further the car moved away.

Am I excited at the prospect of using the phone?
Of course, she was. Finally, she
could contact Brian and tell him what happened.

Lizzie came into the
drawing room, carrying a tea set.

“
What ya lookin’ at, Miss
Ruby?” the maid asked as she walked toward the table near the
chaise lounge.

“
Alec driving away,” Ruby
replied.

The maid smiled knowingly.
Ah, Miss Ruby, you miss Master Alec already, and he hasn’t
yet left the premises. The lovebirds must have been in that
blissful state when they can’t bear to be apart from each
other.

Ruby was rather curious,
so she asked, “Why is Alec going into the village?”

The maid lay down the tea
tray. “To talk ta the builder, I imagine. That window needs
fixin’.”

Ruby widened her eyes.
Of course, you ninny, the window. The one you broke during
your escape.
She suddenly
felt guilty for breaking it.

Talking to the builder, is he?
Negotiation,
Ruby thought from past experience,
usually took at least an hour or two.

“
How long will he be
away?” She turned to stare out the window again even though the car
had already disappeared from view.

“
A few hours, I imagine,”
the maid said. “Miss ‘im already, do ya?”

Ruby wasn’t listening.
Yes, it should be long enough for her to make a telephone call, or
maybe two.

“
Lizzie, can you close the
door when you leave? I have a headache. I want to rest in here,”
she lied.

“
Of course, Miss Ruby,”
the maid replied and turned to the door. “Joost ring if ya need
me.”

Ruby nodded and Lizzie
left, closing the door behind her. She stood there for a few more
moments, to assure herself that no one would barge in and interrupt
her.

Silent.

Rushing to the telephone,
her hand shook as she picked up the receiver. She punched in the
numbers she memorized by heart that morning. A second later, it
started ringing. The sound echoed in her ear as she impatiently
waited.