"What was her name?"

"Morag McKinnon."

It took Roderick several minutes to recover from his fit of coughing. "A McKinnon?"

"Ironic, isn't it?"

Roderick laughed. "Dear boy, you've no idea. Very well, so you wed yourself a McKinnon lass, but you

had no need to woo her-"

"Her father wished for peace with my clan. I grew weary of his clan trying unsuccessfully to poach my

cattle-even though the cessation of that would have robbed my kinsmen of opportunities to better their killing skills." Connor shrugged. "It seemed a simple way to end the troubles."

"No other wenches who fell victim to your charm?"

Connor scowled fiercely-in spite of his vow to be pleasant.

"Ah, I see," Roderick said quickly. "Never mind. Very well, we'll move on. I have, as you might imagine,

quite a bit of experience in this area."

"Wooing wenches? Or blinding them with your bright clothing?"

"It works for peacocks, my friend; it worked for me. And yes, I wooed them, as well."

Connor chewed on his words for a moment or two. "Were you wed?"

"Ah." Roderick sighed lightly. "Now, there is a tale. I was betrothed, it is true, but she died of

consumption a month before she was to be mine. I must admit that it did cause me grief. Indeed, 'tis possible to say that my subsequent life of complete debauchery was due to the loss of the love of my heart."

"Weren't you killed in a duel?"

Roderick nodded. "Yes, thanks to yet another episode of debauching. I had been about the business with an enemy's wife, which perhaps made it more taxing than it might have been otherwise. Of course,"

he added quickly, "the wife was more than willing. Indeed, all that passed between us was her

suggestion. But I was caught in a bit of a compromising situation." "I daresay," Connor said with a snort. "What happened then?" "I was called out, as I expected I would be. It was my honor to appear the next day at the appointed place. It was there that I met my end." "Are you so poor a marksman?" Roderick smiled a smile that even Connor had to admire. "Would you believe his second shot me while the lord in question fired early and managed to do naught but serious damage to a tree behind me? And yet," he said, brushing a bit of lint off his clothes, "I managed to catch the gun my second threw at me and put a ball into my murderer's gut before I fell."

"Well," Connor said with a nod, "that was nicely done."

"Leaving me centuries to ruminate on my wooing techniques," Roderick said pleasantly.

Connor hesitated. "And you are not bitter that your life was ended whilst you were so young?"

Roderick shrugged. "Life ends when it does and all one can do is hope that his life has been well-lived. I

had love and more than enough of other things. I have no regrets. And fortunately for you, I am here for you to benefit from my great expertise." He looked off thoughtfully into the bailey. "Indeed, I have often thought I should offer my services to the trio down at the inn. I know they are matchmakers by trade, but surely they could make use of my vast stores of romantic experience. On a strictly case-by-case basis, of course."

"I'll ask them when next we meet," Connor promised. "Now, about these wooing ideas..."

"In your case, verse," Roderick said. "Flowery sentiments. Pleasing words against the feminine ear. Nothing about death, destruction, or sword fights well executed." Connor frowned. "In truth? Why not?" "Because you want to woo the lady in question, not terrify her. I suggest Shakespeare, for a start. I'll think of other things as we go on." Connor cleared his throat. "I might be able to read a few things if you could write them down for me." "Indeed," Roderick said, sounding genuinely pleased. "Well, then, indeed I will, old man. I'll give voice to a thing or two now, and you let me know what strikes you as something your lady might like. Then I'll put pen to paper and scratch it out for you." Connor nodded, squelching the feeling of pleasure it gave him to be able to say he could actually make out words on the page.

He spent the next half an hour listening to Roderick recite several of his favorite Bardly passages, found several to his liking, and sent the Victorian Fop off to scribble them down so he could learn them more quickly.

He took another look at the keep, then decided perhaps 'twas past time he made for the inn to see what Victoria was about. He hopped off the stage and walked toward the gates. He was intercepted not five paces from them by Robbie McKinnon, the current aspirant to the lofty position of captain of his guard.

Connor frowned. "Aye?"

"My laird, I have been keeping an eye on things whilst you've been about your business."

Connor looked about him and found that, indeed, there was some truth in that. "I see we haven't been

overrun by ruffians."

"Except actors," Robbie offered.

Connor started to smile in agreement, then remembered himself just in time. He coughed roughly. "Well,

be that as it may, I'll still expect the keep to be run as I would run it. Discipline. Order. Terror, when called for."

Robbie put his shoulders back. "Of course, my laird."

Connor frowned. "Don't accustom yourself to the position. I've still not made my final decision."

Robbie bowed and scraped and made for safer ground as quickly as possible. Connor supposed he couldn't blame the lad, given that Robbie was Morag's brother and had waited centuries before he'd even dared show his face at Thorpewold. Connor shrugged with a sigh. The lad had showed himself well so far. Perhaps it was time to let the past be in the past.

He started down the path, Shakespeare's words floating pleasingly through his mind.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds...

Love's not Time's fool...

He returned to the inn, surprisingly contented.

Chapter 24.

Victoria looked in the mirror and pinched her cheeks to try to bring some color to them. She was wearing makeup, but she doubted anyone could have told as much, thanks to the pasty complexion she was currently sporting. Being a redhead left her fair-skinned enough as it was, but closing-night jitters had exacerbated the condition beyond reason. She usually had a small case of nerves, but tonight those nerves had morphed into full-blown panic. She laid the blame for that at Thomas's feet.

Her family had returned to the inn the day before, arriving from their various destinations well-rested and ready to celebrate the closing night of a successful run. Victoria had shared a late-night snack with Jennifer and their grandmother, during which they had spent quite some time determining all the sights in Scotland they would have to see before Victoria had to return to Manhattan to start rehearsals for her fall schedule. They had been joined eventually by the usual suspects and the evening had passed most pleasantly with conversation including a discussion of the state of the National Trust of Scotland's care of important historical landmarks.

Of course, all those warm and fuzzy feelings had disappeared earlier that morning at breakfast when Thomas had told her that Megan's father-in-law, the current Earl of Artane, was theater-mad and would be arriving later that day to catch her last performance. It was possible that, based upon loving her show, the earl would be willing to make all her theater dreams come true.

Victoria had thought she just might throw up.

She wasn't one to get nervous. She'd rubbed shoulders with the rich and the wish-they-were-famous and had no especial regard for deep pockets. But she didn't have a theater space to return to.

And she was desperate for a reason to stay in England.

She took a deep breath. She didn't take a second one, though. The last thing she needed was to greet her potential backer with a paper bag over her mouth and nose.

Besides, he was probably just all bluster, anyway. She'd had plenty of people over the years frothing at the mouth with enthusiasm until it came time to pony up the cash. No offense to Megan's father-in-law, but Victoria had learned never to count her monetary chickens until they'd hatched in her bank account.

She dragged a brush through her hair, pinched her cheeks one more time, then left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. She nodded to the men there lingering over their drinks. Connor rose when she came into the chamber. She paused and looked at him with a frown.

"What?"

"A gentleman stands when a lady enters the chamber," he said with a pointed look thrown at his companions.

Ambrose popped up immediately, as did Hugh. Fulbert crawled to his feet with a heavy sigh and a hearty rolling of his eyes.

"Oh," Victoria said. "Well. Thank you. I'm heading up to the castle for a last light check."

"But, my dear," Ambrose said, "the curtain isn't until eight o'clock tonight."

"Closing-night jitters," Fulbert said wisely, sitting back down with another gusty sigh. "Be off with ye, then, gel, and do your last check. We'll keep an eye on things this afternoon for ye."

"Thank you, Fulbert," Victoria said, surprised and gratified. "That's very nice."

"Parting is such sweet sorrow," Connor blurted out.

Victoria looked at him with consternation. "Are you sick?"

He scowled. "I'm being polite."

"Oh. Well, thanks." She nodded to them, then made her way out of the kitchen, through the garden, and up the way to the castle. Obviously, she wasn't the only one with a case of nerves.

She took a few deep breaths, because she couldn't help herself. Everything would be okay. All her actors were in perfect health. She'd been tempted to lock them all in their rooms, but that had seemed like overkill, even for her. They had every reason to want to finish strongly, for their own sakes. Even Michael was back to fighting form. The doctor had been there the day before and given him a clean bill of health. Victoria had spent most of yesterday fetching and carrying for him, just so he didn't strain himself too soon.

One more day, and then she could tell him to go to hell. Which she would do. Silently. She didn't want repercussions from Bernie the Bardmaker, after all.

"Victoria."

She stopped two hundred yards from her destination, surprised to find Michael lurking along the side of the road.

"Michael," she said with a smile. "How are you? You're up and wandering around. Feeling strong?"

He shoved a piece of paper at her. "Here. Sign this."

"What is it?" she asked. Good heavens, what next? Was Bernie faxing post-illness nursing demands now?

"Just sign it."

She looked at him in surprise. Gone was the smooth, suave actor she had thought was so perfect on so many levels. In his place was a man who looked just the slightest bit wild-eyed. Was he still delirious from his Elizabethan fever, or was he just freaked out for general reasons? Victoria wondered why she hadn't thought to bring along a ghostly bodyguard or two. Would they hear her if she started to scream?

"I don't have a pen," she stalled.

He threw one at her. She caught it and did her best to fumble around with it for a moment or two until she had her feet back under her. She looked at the contract-weight set of papers she had in her hand.

"A contract?" she asked in surprise. "Do you want to sign on for an entire season?"

"No, I don't want to sign on," he said disdainfully. "I want you to sign over."

"Sign over? Sign over what?"

"Your theater troupe."

Victoria knew she had to look as completely baffled as she felt. "My troupe?"

"Yes," he said impatiently. "Sign it over or I don't go on tonight."

"I'll have you blacklisted," she said immediately, before she thought better of it.

He only laughed.

It wasn't a pleasant laugh.

"Will you?" he said scornfully. "Try it and see what Bernie leaves of you-if he leaves anything at all.

Now, don't be dumb. Just sign the damn paper and let's get this business behind us." He gestured impatiently at the contract she held. "Put the name of the company down and sign it."