Shadows and Light

hadn’t banged heads, but he suspected Nuala, who obviously knew her granddaughter very well, had the right of it. Dealing with Breanna was similar to dealing with a goat—if you weren’t careful, getting knocked off your feet would become a regular occurrence.
    “What can I do for you, Liam?” Elinore asked.
    It was a simple thing, really, but he suddenly felt awkward. “The council of barons is meeting at the end of the week.”
    “I see,” Elinore said in a voice that gave him no clue about her reaction to that news. “So you’ll be leaving in a couple of days?”
    “Tomorrow. It’ll give me time to take care of some business in Durham before the council meets.” I’m not meeting a mistress, he wanted to shout at her when he saw the way her face seemed to close him out. And even if I was looking to spend time with a woman, I’d be breaking no vows since I’ve made none. “Is there anything I can bring back for you while I’m there?”
    “No, thank you.”
    “Books?” Liam prodded. Elinore loved books.
    She shook her head, then paused. “Well... Perhaps a book of stories suitable for Brooke?”
    He walked over to her chair, knelt on one knee beside it, and rested his hand lightly on her arm. Her eyes widened, and he wondered if she were going to scold him for kneeling by her chair now that he was the baron. Oh, she wanted to. He could tell by the way she lightly caught her tongue between her teeth to keep herself from saying anything. He grinned at her.
    “Come now,” he coaxed. “It would be a shame for me to be standing in a bookshop and only come away with one book. Just one book for yourself?”
    She looked away from him. A bit of color rose in her cheeks. “There was mention a few months back that Moira would be having a new book out soon, and I do enjoy her stories—and not just because she’
    s my cousin.”
    “Done.” He kissed her cheek, then stood. “I’d better see to the rest of my arrangements if I’m going to leave early tomorrow morning.”
    He was glad she didn’t ask him what arrangements. He wasn’t sure how to explain the decision he’d reached.
    As he left the manor, intending to go to the stables to have Oakdancer saddled, he saw a young man riding toward him and waited.
    The young man raised a hand in greeting. “Good day to you, sir.”
    “Good day,” Liam replied.
    “Could you tell me where I would find Old Willowsbrook? When I inquired in the village, they directed me here, but this isn’t quite the place. It’s been a few years since I’ve been there, and I seem to have forgotten the way.”
    A few years ago, the man before him would have been a boy—certainly too young for courier work.
    Which meant he was lying about having been to the Old Place before, and that made Liam uneasy. “
    What business do you have there?”
    “Begging your pardon, sir, but it’s none of yours.”
    “I’m the Baron of Willowsbrook,” Liam said, his former courtesy turned cold. “So it is my business.”
    The young man paled a little. “I’ve a letter for one of the ladies there.”

    “Which one?” Why was he pushing? It truly wasn ‘t any of his business. If the man hadn’t lied in the first place, he might simply have given him directions and let him go.
    “Mistress Nuala.”
    Liam extended one hand. “I’m going that way. I’ll see it gets delivered.”
    The young man paled a little more. “My instructions were to place it in Mistress Nuala’s hand personally.
    Tisn’t important or anything,” he added hurriedly. “You understand how ladies can be at times about making sure letters reach the right person, although why they make such a fuss is beyond me. My sister is a right fusser about things like that. I happened on a letter a friend of hers had written to her. Hand delivered it was, too, so I thought— Well, I was younger then. But there it was, four pages, sir, filled with discussion about ribbons and the length of sleeves and the different shades of green needed to do some embroidery. Four pages! And they, my sister and her friend, always got right stiff about having their letters delivered properly.”
    “Probably because your sister’s friend also had a younger brother,” Liam said coolly. The man was lying with every breath. Oh, he was telling the truth about having a sister, Liam was certain of that, which only made the lie about the letter’s unimportance more damning. Whatever he was delivering to Nuala was something he