Page 13 of First Light

There was not a single mention of Lachlan, and Carys didn’t bring him up, but she was silently judging a family that had numerous family portraits with one son and not the other. Was Lachlan illegitimate?

How did you have an illegitimate twin brother? That wasn’t possible. What the hell was going on with this family?

Then again, Lachlan had failed to mention a lot. He hadn’t told her his brother was a laird. He hadn’t said much about his family, but she’d definitely gotten the impression they were closer than they appeared.

“Mary!”

They were in the library when Carys heard Duncan’s voice.

“Mary!”

Mary rolled her eyes. “The way he bellows, you’d think I was deaf.” She motioned toward the door. “I’m sure the tea is ready, and the man is clearly ready for company. Don’t yell at me, old man!” She gave Carys a cheeky smile. “He never had a sister, so I try to needle him as much as I can.”

“I think he needsit,” Carys murmured.

Mary smiled. “I like you. You don’t come from a grand family, do you?”

Carys almost laughed. “My dad was a high school woodworking teacher, and my mom was a somewhat successful artist. No blue blood in these veins.”

“Right.” Mary nodded. “Like you even more.”

Carys followed the housekeeper back into the large central corridor that ran down the center of the house and back toward the entryway.

Duncan was glowering in the entry, his pants caked with mud up to the knees. “Your damn husband had me pushing his tractor out of the back meadow when he knew I had company coming today.”

Mary laughed. “He told you about that days ago. Not his fault you were too busy with your hammers and your fire.”

“Will you…” His eyes found Carys. “Miss Morgan, good morning.” His voice held more propriety than it had the day before. “Excuse my appearance. My groundskeeper is an ogre who enjoys tormenting me.” He turned back to Mary. “Pour Carys a cup of tea while I change. She and I need to speak privately.” He lowered his voice. “Lachlan.”

“Of course.”

So Mary did know about Lachlan.

Carys followed Mary into the front room, which had warmed up considerably since she’d arrived. A carafe of tea was waiting, which Mary poured from before she left the room.

Carys sat by the fire, trying to digest the revelations that morning.

Duncan was a laird, which basically meant he was rich, which likely meant that Lachlan was also rich. The “disgustingly wealthy prince” line hadn’t really been a joke.

Still, there was something odd about all this. Mary knew about Lachlan, but none of the family portraits in the house, covered with blue, green, and red tartan, showed two boys’ faces. There were plenty of pictures of a younger boy who could have been either Lachlan or Duncan, but none of the boys together.

The door open and Duncan walked in. “Carys Morgan.”

Duncan had clearly taken a shower because he smelled like spiceand leather. His beard was freshly trimmed, and he was dressed in clean khaki pants and a worn olive-green sweater that brought out the color of his eyes. Somehow his massive shoulders didn’t look out of place in a room like this one with rich wood, armor in the corner, and swaths of tartan decorating the throw pillows.

He didn’t look like a brute—he looked like an ancient warrior come home.

She rose. “Duncan, thank you for agreeing to take me to Lachlan.”

“You’re the lady.” He walked over and stood across from her. “I rise when you enter the room, not the other way round.”

Carys sat down. “I’m not a lady, but I feel like you’re… some kind of lord or something,” she said. “Is Lachlan one too?”

Duncan sat. “We’re not lords in the English way, thank God. I’m a laird, which means my family owns the estate here and we have for… many years. And Lachlan…” He huffed out a breath and leaned forward. “Can I convince you that Lachlan is fine? He’s healthy and he’s fine. And it would be far better for you to leave him to his life and continue with yours?”

“Can I convince you that my next stop is going to be the police station if I don’t see him today?”

He closed his eyes. “Fill the fetters,” he muttered. “I’ll take you to Lachlan, but this isn’t a simple thing.”