Strings of the Heart (16 page)

Standing up from his chair, Rhys gave me a beaming smile. “I’m so glad you enjoyed the concert. I’ll have to play for you again sometime.”

“I would love it.”

Without a word to any of us, Ellie closed the piano lid and rose off the bench. She then crossed the room to stand in front of the mirror. The humming started up again as she peered at the coming and going guests. Trudie smiled. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to get her to bed until the party is over. She wants to take it all in.”

“Can’t she go?” I asked before I thought better of it. When Rhys stared at me in surprise, I ducked my head. “I’m sorry. I just thought maybe we could take her for a little while. Let her see everything up close and personal, rather than from the window.”

“I think that’s a fantastic idea,” Rhys said.

I jerked my head up. The intensity of his stare caused me to shiver. There were so many emotions radiating in his eyes, but gratitude was one that I could plainly make out. “Really?”

He turned to Trudie. “Can you find her something more appropriate to wear?”

“Yes, I believe she has a few dresses in the closet.”

Rhys nodded and then went to Ellie’s side. Tenderly, he touched her shoulder. “Ellie, do you want to go with Trudie and find a dress to wear to the party? You’ll look so pretty, and you’ll get to see all the people you’ve been watching tonight.”

Slowly, she released her hold on the curtains. Turning from the window, she went to Trudie’s side. “Let’s find you something to wear, shall we?” Trudie asked. She and Ellie left the living room and went into one of the bedrooms.

When the door closed behind them, Rhys exhaled a long breath. With a gracious expression, he said, “Thank you for suggesting that.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know if it was the right thing. I mean, your mother and father didn’t think she should go.”

Rhys shook his head. “Don’t worry about what they said. They’re just trying to save face in front of their stuck-up friends.”

I hoped he was right. The door opened, and Ellie appeared in a demure, beaded black dress. Her hair had been swept back with a glittering headband.

“Don’t you look beautiful?” Rhys exclaimed, closing the gap between them. He hugged her gently, as if careful not to crowd her. She patted his back with one of her hands. “I’m so lucky to have two beautiful ladies escorting me to the party.” Glancing over his shoulder at me, Rhys’s wide smile lit up his entire face. It was good seeing him so happy, and I was so grateful that he was letting me share the moment with him and his sister.

As we started to the door, Trudie stopped Rhys. “If you need me, I’ll be here.” I could tell that although she was thrilled that Ellie was going to the party, Trudie was also worried.

Rhys nodded. “It’ll be fine. I’ll let her see everyone and listen to the music. I’ll make sure to bring her back in an hour so she doesn’t get overstimulated by the crowd.”

“That sounds good.” Trudie patted Ellie’s arm. “Have fun, honey.”

As we started up the brick pathway, Ellie walked slightly ahead of us, craning her neck to take in the sound of the string quartet coming from the tent off to the side of the house. “She’s going to enjoy the hell out of the music,” Rhys said, as we walked up the stairs and into the kitchen.

Ellie paid little attention to the people overfilling the main hallway and other rooms. She had a singular focus it seemed, to find the source of the music she was humming. Rhys, on the other hand, was the consummate Southern gentleman. He spoke to everyone he saw—shook hands with the men and kissed a few women’s cheeks. Each and every time, he made sure to introduce me. All the while as he socialized, he kept a cautious eye on Ellie.

When she had gotten to the ballroom door that led out onto the veranda, she had stopped. It seemed she had found her perfect spot to listen to the music and watch the dancing partygoers. Those who didn’t know her cast frustrated looks when she wouldn’t move aside for them.

“Excuse me, Eddie,” Rhys said to a bald man in a red and black checked kilt. He then crossed the room to go to Ellie’s side. He gently took her by the arm. “Why don’t we sit at a table, so you can see and hear better?”

While she didn’t appear to acknowledge him, Ellie did let Rhys lead her over to a table in the back of the veranda. I eased down beside Rhys. Glad to be off my feet for a moment, I, too, enjoyed listening to the quartet. My gaze flickered around the room, taking in the guests. Several were in kilts like Rhys, but most of the men wore tuxes. When a waiter stopped at the table, I gladly took a flute of bubbly. Thankfully another appeared with a tray of hors d’ oeuvres. After I greedily devoured the napkin of goodies, I craned my neck to see where another waiter was.

Rhys chuckled beside me. “What?” I asked.

“There is real food in the dining room if you’re hungry.”

Embarrassment warmed my cheeks. “I guess scarfing that down didn’t look too ladylike, huh?”

With a roll of his eyes, Rhys said, “Like I give two shits about anything ladylike.” He leaned forward. “What I do care about is if you’re hungry.”

“I am.”
And for more than just food. I’d like to have you as the appetizer, main course, and dessert
. Those were the thoughts derailing my mind in the middle of the party.

He smiled. “Then let me get you a plate.” After waving one of the waiters over, Rhys said, “Please bring me three settings of the dinner course.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the waiter hurried off, I cocked my brows at Rhys. “Wow, that was impressive.”

“What do you mean?”

“Having someone at your beck and call like that. No standing in line with the other peasants. Not to mention, you get table side service.”

Rhys laughed. “It’s basically the same thing as ordering something at a restaurant. The wait-staff always know to keep my parents’ guests happy and give them what they ask for.”

“So he wasn’t falling over himself to give you what you wanted because you were lord of the manor?” I teasingly questioned.

“Maybe.” Then he shook his head at me. “I’m not lord of the manor. I told you my branch of the family didn’t have a title.”

I opened my mouth to tease him more, but the waiter arrived with our plates. “That was fast,” I murmured, after he left the table.

“And I’m sure the fast service was because of me being Lord McGowan?” Rhys asked, cocking his brows at me.

“You can’t tell me any different.”

“Whatever,” he replied, with a good-natured chuckle.

While I dug into the deliciously aromatic roast chicken, Rhys coaxed Ellie to eat a little. His efforts went to waste when two bagpipers in full regalia strolled past our table. Ellie dropped her fork and sat up a little straighter, her curiosity piqued.

“You weren’t kidding about celebrating Tartan Day, were you?” I asked.

He grinned. “Do you think I’d be rocking this kilt if we weren’t hardcore about it?”

“Probably not.” Reaching for my purse, I took out my phone. “I should seriously take a pic and send it to Jake.”

Before I knew what was happening, Rhys had snatched the phone out of my hand. “No fucking way!”

“Why not?”

“Because he and the others will be ragging my ass for days, if not weeks, if they saw that.”

Since I’d often seen firsthand how Jake and AJ loved to tease Rhys, I knew I had to respect his wishes. “Okay, okay. I’ll put the phone away.” When I held out my hand, Rhys reluctantly slipped it into it. Once I’d put it into my purse, he seemed relieved. We sat back in our chairs to enjoy the rest of the performance by the bagpipers.

Once it had ended and the quartet started up again, Rhys looked over at me and smiled. Motioning out onto the floor filled with swaying couples, he asked, “How about a dance?”

While Ellie seemed content, I wasn’t sure about leaving her. I didn’t want to upset her by making her feel abandoned. I guess Rhys sensed my apprehension. “It’ll be fine, and we can keep an eye on her from the dance floor,” he reassured me.

“Okay, I’d love to dance with you.”

As Rhys rose out of his chair, he leaned in close to Ellie’s ear. “Allison and I are going to dance. We’ll be right back, and then I’ll take you back to Trudie.”

Once again, she didn’t acknowledge him. She just kept staring straight ahead with a serene expression on her face. She didn’t appear to be upset that we were leaving her. Taking my hand, Rhys led me away from the table. As we weaved in and out of the other couples, the quartet began playing Moon River, the theme song from one of my mom’s favorite movies,
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
.

We didn’t move far into the dance floor. Instead, we stayed on the fringes so that we could see Ellie. Once we had found the perfect place, Rhys pulled me closer to him. Of course, since we were at a society party, we didn’t dance like I was accustomed to. It was much more formal. I would have rather wrapped my arms around Rhys’s neck than to have had one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. It seemed like there was always something keeping us apart.

When the song ended, Ellie got up from the table. Both Rhys and I froze as we watched her carefully. She went just inside the door to sit at the grand piano. When she began playing along with the quartet, Rhys exhaled a relieved breath.

As we danced to the music, I tried not to think about how frustrated I was with how things were moving along. Then a thought popped into my mind, and I couldn’t help giggling. “What is it?” Rhys asked.

“Oh nothing,” I muttered, refusing to meet his eye. I couldn’t believe I had laughed out loud.

Rhys eyed me with a skeptical look. “Come on. You expect me to buy that? It was obviously something amusing, or you wouldn’t have laughed.”

At his imploring look, I decided to come clean with him. “Dancing as close as we are, I couldn’t help but wonder about Cassie’s question from earlier.”

Rhys’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

Lowering my voice, I asked, “You know, when she asked you about your kilt?” When he still looked clueless, I sighed. “Are you wearing any underwear under that kilt?”

“My, my, that’s awfully intrusive of you. What’s gotten into you tonight?”

“Nothing. I was just curious.”

He then gave me a sexy little grin that ignited the lacy panties I was wearing. “You really want to know for you or so you can tell Cassie?”

“For me,” I whispered.

“Well, you could always be daring and reach under there to see for yourself,” he taunted.

I stared at him unblinking and unmoving for a moment. For one, I was shocked that he had even suggested such a thing—it was so uncharacteristic of him. On the other hand, was he actually suggesting that I touch him so very intimately in the middle of a crowded dance floor? “I, uh,” I muttered incoherently.

Rhys chuckled. “Too scary of a prospect for you, Allie-Bean?”

His somewhat condescending tone irked me. “No, it’s more the fact that I don’t think your mother would approve of me groping you in the middle of her fancy fling.”

“I really don’t give a damn what my mother thinks.”

“Yes, well I do. Besides, I have my reputation to contend with. I’m going to have to pass this time.”

“Pity then,” he replied, his eyes twinkling mischievously. He then ducked his head to where his breath warmed my earlobe. “I’ll be nice and put you out of your misery. I’m wearing boxer briefs.”

“Oh,” I replied, unable to hide the disappointment in my voice. I don’t know why it really mattered to me.

Pulling back, Rhys eyed me with an intense expression. “You know, I think we’re entering dangerous territory.”

I swallowed hard. “W-We are?”

He slowly nodded. “I’m saying things to you tonight that I really shouldn’t. It’s not right.”

“I don’t want you to say or do anything different, Rhys,” I countered.

“You don’t?” he asked, his brows rising in surprise.

“No, I don’t. I like you just as you are—the good and the bad.”

The sound of a shriek, followed by breaking glass, snatched us out of the moment. Rhys dropped his arms from me and raced back into the house. I followed right on his heels. When I got to the doorway, I froze. In the middle of the room, Ellie was throwing a tantrum, crying, pulling her hair and stomping her feet. Most of the partygoers in the ballroom had scattered to the opposite end of the room and were whispering behind their hands.

Elliot and Margaret made a half circle around Ellie as if they were trying to contain her. They spoke no soothing words of comfort. Instead, they eyed her with contempt. Rhys, however, barreled right past them to try to calm Ellie down. “Ellie-Bellie-Mellie, please don’t cry. I’ll make it right.” His words, coupled with his expression, broke my heart for him. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. No one is going to hurt you,” he said soothingly.

Ellie’s crying quieted to whimpers, and she no longer stomped around. Instead, she swayed back and forth, humming the tune that the quartet was playing.

“What did you do?” Rhys demanded, his eyes narrowing at his parents.

Margaret’s face was the shade of an eggplant from anger, not embarrassment. “We couldn’t hear each other talk over her playing. I simply asked her to stop. When she refused, I closed the lid to force her to stop.”

The veins on Rhys’s neck bulged in fury. “How could you? She wasn’t hurting anyone.”

“She was ruining your mother’s party. She should have never been here in the first place,” Elliot replied.

Ignoring his father, Rhys tentatively put an arm around Ellie’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get you back home. You can play the piano all night if you want to.” When Ellie started to resist, Rhys began humming the same music she was. It seemed to calm her, and she willingly let him lead her out of the house. I followed close behind them, unsure of what to say or do. Part of me felt responsible. I’d worried about suggesting she come to the party. Of course, I’d feared some stranger ridiculing her. I never could have imagined her own mother would have treated her so horribly.

When we got to the doorway of the carriage house, Ellie balked and pulled away from Rhys. She started walking across the lawn to the garage. “She wants to go home,” Rhys murmured.