The other man grinned. “No trouble at all.” His brogue was even thicker than Alec’s. “We’ve been looking for an excuse tae kick some Sassenach arse—er, warlock arse.”
“Well, there’s only one we know of,” Reed said. “And he’s not a warlock. He’s a mage.” He quickly explained the difference to his new guests. Seeing as Elise was quite passionate that the two be differentiated, he wanted to make sure they knew. Speaking of Elise … “Uncle, you look exhausted. You should get some food and then rest.”
“I’ve got the strength of a man twenty years younger than me, boy,” he protested.
“Still, you’ve been riding hard for five days,” Reed said. “And we’ll need you at full strength tonight.”
“I suppose yer right, boy,” he conceded. “A warm bed would do me good. It would do all of us good.” There was a murmur of agreement among all the other men. “All right boy, we’ll get rested up for tonight.”
Reed called in Neville and instructed him to get their guests settled in. He spoke for another few minutes with Uncle Alec before he finally bid them goodbye. Eager to get back to his room, he practically sprinted back upstairs.
“Elise?” He called as he approached his bed. But it was empty. Had it not been for her lingering scent mixed in with the smell of sex, he would have thought he’d dreamt it all. A foreboding thought entered his head, but he brushed it aside. It was already eight o’clock and the servants were up and about and soon so would his grandmother and sister. She probably woke up and realized that she had to get back to her own room before anyone found her.
It was unnerving to say the least that she would creep out of his bed. But it didn’t matter. As soon as this whole mage affair was done, he would offer for her hand in marriage. He would need a special license which he could easily procure as he would not wait a second longer than he had to. Cross might object, but he was not waiting another three months or so to obtain her father’s permission. Not if she could be carrying his heir.
Not if, he realized. She was already carrying his pup. Elise was his True Mate.
The thought elated his wolf, and, hell’s bells, he was damned happy too.
“Er, Your Grace?”
He turned his head toward the door where Morgan was standing, his mouth open. “Good morning, Morgan,” he greeted.
“Uh, good morning, Your Grace. Are you, er, quite all right?”
“Hmm?” he said absentmindedly. “I’m fine, what is it?”
“Er, I thought maybe there was someone else in here … the maid or something, as I heard whistling.”
“Whistling?” He chuckled. “Yes, that was me. I just had an … urge to whistle.”
The valet stared at him as if he said he wanted to go on a murder spree across London. “Er, so would you like the navy or the tan jacket today, sir?”
He shrugged. “Whatever you pick is fine.” His mind drifted off to Elise as his valet went about his business. Once he was dressed and ready, he thanked Morgan and headed downstairs to breakfast. He wondered how Elise would react to him this morning. He had an urge to sneak into her room, but seeing as her guardian and her cousin was in the same wing, he couldn’t risk it. Not that it would matter, seeing as they would be married soon enough. Still, he didn’t want to risk any scandal to the future duchess of Huntington.
When he came to the dining room, he was disappointed that only Jeremy, William, Cross, and Signori Rossi were there. “Where is El—I mean, the ladies?”
“Grandmama whisked them away to Madame Marie’s,” Jeremy explained. “She said that they had to have new gowns fitted for tonight, and”—he lowered his voice—“she mentioned something about not being too fond of our new guests.”
He let out a laugh. Grandmama and Uncle Alec got along like oil and water. No wonder his grandmother chose to leave for the morning.
“Er, are you all right, Hunter?” Jeremy asked.
“Me?” As he came up to the head of the table, he ruffled William’s hair affectionately. “I’m fine. Why?”
“I’ve never seen you this cheerful early in the morning,” Jeremy remarked. “Or, uh, anytime.”
“I’m just … having a good start,” he said as he sat down. He even managed a smile at Cross and Signori Rossi. “How is your painting going, Signori?”
“Eccelente, Your Grace, it is almost finished,” the Italian declared. “I do hope Her Grace likes it enough that she will allow me to do your portrait.”
“I’m sure it will be amazing.”
Jeremy looked at him strangely again, but he ignored it. They resumed their normal conversation, and as soon as breakfast finished, he, Jeremy, and Cross went to his office to continue their planning for the evening. Sometime before noon, their Scottish guests joined them so they could be updated on their strategy.
“We want the mage to think that he has a chance to hurt Reed,” Jeremy said. “Otherwise, if he thinks we are too protected, he might not take the risk.”
“That’s why, except for Uncle Alec and one or two of his men, we’ll be asking most of you to stay hidden around the house,” Reed continued. “Once the mage reveals himself, then we can contain him. The males will attack, while the females have been instructed to get the humans and other vulnerable people out of the room and keep them safe.”
“What powers does he have?” Alec asked.
“As far as we know, he can create fire with his hands,” Cross said. “There are mages who have the ability to take the power of other blessed witches and warlocks, so we must be prepared for any eventuality.”
They continued their discussion, with Connor adding a few smart suggestions that they incorporated into their strategy. It was two o’clock when they finished, and they left for the dining room where Neville had set up a late
