A Time & Place for Every Laird by Angeline Fortin (ebook reader TXT) 📕

made ye—naejust ye but all these people—lazy, I daresay. Ye cannae even walkthe stairs any longer or take pride in the craftsmanship of yerbuildings and furniture. There is nae adornment, nae real style.Nothing seems tae be built tae stand the test of time. Yer peopletake all that ye hae for granted.”

“You’re right. We are spoiled,” Claireagreed as he guided her back into the flow of bodies moving alongthe sidewalk. There was no way to deny it the truth of his words.“But weren’t you once spoiled as well? You had money, servants todo everything for you. By your own admission, you had no job.”

“In my frustration, I was less than truthfulin saying that I had nae occupation.”

“I can imagine that as a duke you hadresponsibilities,” she said. She had seen enough of the Britishroyals to know that having a high rank didn’t free a person fromburden. “But then and now, that is the one constant. You work hardand you get rewarded. Only the reward has changed a little overtime.”

“And what will be my reward in thistime?”

“That depends. What do you want badly enoughto work for?”

Silence met her question and Claire lookedup at Hugh to find him looking at her now instead of the cityaround them. His blue eyes were deep and penetrating as they methers, telling her without words what he wanted and a bolt ofexcitement zipped through her veins. “Oh, well … um,” she stammeredwith a blush, uncertain what to say, given their recentconversation on the subject. “We’re here.”

Claire nudged him toward a crowded doorway,pushing the moment aside.

“This is a restaurant?” he asked,pronouncing the new word slowly, and Claire cast Hugh a bright—ifsomewhat forced—smile.

“Like it?”

“’Tis even more deafeningthan the city beyond.”

Another fine point that Claire could notdeny. The Crab Pot was housed in the Waterfront Arcade, a buildingthat also housed a couple tourist gift shops as well as an actualarcade. The entry hall was exceedingly loud and bursting withpeople. Some were shopping while others were sitting on benchesthat lined the way. It was Saturday afternoon on the waterfront,Claire realized with a grimace. Surely, there would be a wait toget in.

Grabbing Hugh’s arm, Claire pulled him to ahalt before he could just saunter pass the hostess podium into therestaurant and take any table. “Wait.”

“Why? Ye cannae expect me tae wait inqueue.”

“Sure I can. You just can’t walk right inthere like you own the place.”

Hugh raised a brow. “I can do anything Iplease.”

“Really? Anything?” she scoffed. “Youcouldn’t just walk in there naked.”

“I probably could, if only just the once,”he said with a straight face.

Claire studied the harried hostess as shetook the name of another among the waiting patrons. A half-hourwait, at least. Slanting a speculative look at Hugh, she said,“Care to prove it? Prove that you can do what you want? That youare the greatest flirt ever to come out of Scotland?”

“A wager?”

“Call it substantiation.”

Hugh turned to the hostess thoughtfully butdidn’t move.

“Here, I’ll even get you started.”Approaching the hostess station, Claire cleared her throat. “We’dlike a table please.”

“How many?” she asked without lookingup.

“Two,” Claire answered as the girl draggedher finger down a list of names on the sheet in front of her beforestopping at a blank space. “Name?”

With a sweep of her arm, Claire invited Hughto take over, whispering “Impress me” as he passed.

With a grin, Hugh leaned against the podiumand drawled in a seductively deep brogue, “I’m called HughUrquhart, lass. What is yer name?”

The hostess’s head shot up so quickly thatClaire was certain the girl would feel the strain of it later. Shewas a pretty, petite girl of about twenty, but in that moment shemight have been a pre-teen with her favorite teen idol in hersights, and what happened next so astonished Claire that later shewould be certain she had imagined it all. The beleaguered hostessstraightened, a blush spreading across her pale cheeks as shestammered out, “I’m J-Jessica.”

“Jessica, lass, might I beg ye for atable?”

“Oh, sure,” she sighed and tore her eyesaway to look at the list before looking up at him once again. “Ijust love your accent. Are you Scottish?”

Hugh leaned in and smiled an amazing,roguish grin that Claire had never seen him display, and thehostess all but melted on the spot. “Aye, lass, I am. A verrahungry Scot aboot tae waste away tae skin and bone.”

“Oh! We can’t have that, can we?” Jessicagushed with a flirtatious smile of her own.

“God, no,” Claire drawled under her breath.“We can’t have that.”

Hugh shot Claire a wicked glance and a winkbefore he turned back to the hostess with a flash of white teethand a definite smolder in his eye. “Can ye secure us a table, lass?If it wouldnae be too much of a bother?”

“Oh, no bother at all,” Jessica repliedwithout hesitation as she shuffled out a pair of menus. “Will youfollow me?”

“Anywhere ye lead, lass,” Hugh said with agallant sweep of his arm, indicating that the hostess should leadthe way. She did. As she led them around the main floor and up thestairs, Jessica flirted with Hugh over her shoulder, askingquestions that required answers, which Hugh gave in thick teasingtones, exaggerating his brogue.

“I just love your accent,” the girl cooedagain as they arrived at a prime table near the windows.

Claire rolled her eyes. “Oh, brother.”

“Will this do?” Jessica asked.

“Verra nice. Thank ye, Jessica,” Hugh said,shifting to walk around the hostess just as the girl turned. Thepair collided and Hugh reached out to steady her.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!”

“Nae at all,” Hugh said smoothly. “Meaculpa.”

Jessica giggled uncertainly and Clairetranslated drily. “That’s kind of like ‘my bad.’”

“Oh!” the hostess said brightly, setting themenus on the table while Hugh held out Claire’s chair and movedaround the table to the other side to sit. “Well, anyway, here’syour menus”—Claire was inwardly surprised that the girl rememberedthat there were two people present, since she’d hadn’t torn hergaze away from Hugh the entire time—“and Becky will be your server.She should be right with you.”

“Yes, I’m sure she will,” Claire said underher breath once again, gaining another devilish grin from Hugh. Asplit second later, her eyes were rolling once again as Hugh