7 Pay the Piper by Kate Kingsbury Read Free Book Online Page B

times.”
    “Cor, don’t I know it,” Elsie said with feeling. “But evenhe’s not as bad as that Inspector Cranshaw. Once he gets his teeth into something he won’t let go.”
    Cecily couldn’t agree more. She had the uneasy feeling that she was about to lock horns with the formidable inspector once again. Baxter would not be pleased.

CHAPTER
5
    “Come now, ladies!” Phoebe clapped her hands in a vain effort to attract the attention of the group of young girls standing chattering in the corner of the spacious village hall. In spite of the fact that her voice echoed in the rafters of the drafty building, not one of the dancers appeared to notice.
    Phoebe turned to the husky man standing next to her. She couldn’t help noticing how the light from the gas lamps turned his thick white hair to silver. She couldn’t be quite sure if the gleam in his dark brown eyes could also be attributed to the flickering light, or if perhaps a spark of interest in her appearance might have brightened his warm gaze.
    Deciding that she would accept the gleam for approval, she fluttered her eyelashes and peeked coyly up at him. “Iwonder if you could address the girls for me,” she said, tilting the enormous brim of her hat in order to give him the full benefit of her face. “I don’t seem able to raise my voice above their clatter.”
    Alec McPherson inclined his head with a smile. “My pleasure, ma’am. They do seem a wee bit inattentive this evening.”
    Basking in the effect of the smile, Phoebe watched as the Scotsman threw back his head. She jumped violently when a mighty roar erupted from his mouth, enough to make the walls tremble.
    “Will ye be quiet, ye blithering numbskulls! Can ye no’ hear a lady when she talks to ye?”
    Phoebe clutched her hat with both hands as if afraid it would blow off. “Oh, my,” she murmured.
    The sudden silence was almost as shocking as the roar. All eight girls stood staring at the piper in openmouthed astonishment.
    “That’s better,” Alec said, mercifully dropping his voice. Turning to Phoebe, he gave her a slight bow. “My apologies, ma’am, but sometimes a loud bellow works wonders.”
    “It does indeed,” Phoebe gushed, fluttering a hand at her breast. “Most impressive, Mr. McPherson. Most impressive indeed.”
    “I thought we had agreed on Christian names,” Alec said, nudging his head in the direction of the girls. “Two heads are better than one, if you remember?”
    “Oh, I certainly do … Alec,” Phoebe said, wishing she had more breath to spare. For some silly reason she found it hard to breathe when he looked at her in that roguish way.
    “Now,” Alec said, transferring his attention back to the avidly staring group in the corner, “I hope ye all remember the steps I showed ye yesterday.”
    “Oh, we certainly do … Alec,” someone piped up from the back, in a fair imitation of Phoebe’s breathless voice.
    A chorus of giggles followed, and Phoebe’s cheeksflamed. Stepping forward, she fixed her stare on a dark-haired girl with barrel hips. “Marion, I will thank you to keep your place. You are the leader of this dance troupe and as such you should be setting an example. I must ask that you show a little more respect, if you please.”
    “It weren’t me, Mrs. Carter-Holmes. I never said nuffing, honest.”
    “Very well. I sincerely hope that the rest of the girls follow your example. Now, if you will all please get into your positions, I will ask Mr. … Alec if he will kindly play the pipes for the Highland Fling.”
    A chorus of groans greeted this remark. “Why do we have to do flipping Scotch dances, just because the blinking Scotch are in town?” one strident voice demanded.
    “Will we be wearing kilts?” someone else asked.
    “I certainly hope not,” Phoebe said in alarm. “It would be most disgraceful for young ladies to bare their knees in public.”
    “Be baring a lot more than that if the likes of us do the Highland Fling,”