them.”
“Or while our first sighting of the banshee was Miss O’Flaherty, the subsequent appearances were made by the real spirit of Una Malone.”
Cross regarded Pip with a sinking feeling. “You don’t honestly think that likely?”
Pip pressed a hand to his face, stroking his chin as he contemplated his answer. “Likely? No. I will admit that it is no end of a coincidence to find a real and a fake banshee in the same place… But the banshee has a well-documented history even before Miss O’Flaherty came to live here. If her performance had been glimpsed anywhere else, it is likely she would have been identified. It was only because of Connaught Castle’s history of the banshee and of the recent sightings following the death of the late Lord Connaught, that she was mistaken for the banshee at all—sightings that she had nothing to do with.”
“So she says.” Cross sat on Pip’s bed.
“And I believe her. Moreover, on at least two occasions when the banshee appeared to Lord Connaught, Miss O’Flaherty was absent from the house. I’ve looked into the thing thoroughly, Thomas.”
“It’s just too coincidental.” Cross patted the bed beside him. “Miss O’Flaherty was the banshee. You must let her go, Pip. Resign yourself to looking elsewhere for your banshee.”
Pip sighed, sitting down beside Cross. “I suppose you’re right, it is pushing the boundaries of chance… But the circumstances of the subsequent appearances! How do we explain the wind that whipped the banshee’s clothing and hair, even your curtains, but that was not felt by any of us? Or the putrefying smell that heralded her arrival—and her stance in mid-air? That cannot be Miss O’Flaherty, I am sure.”
“Then it is her very clever mother.” Cross took Pip’s arms, tipping him backwards onto the bed. He caressed his cheek, enjoying the realisation in Pip’s eyes as he came to the same awareness as Cross: Julian was occupied and likely to remain occupied for some time, and they were alone. “Enough of the banshee, Pip. I do not want to hear another word on that subject tonight.”
Pip had a trick of raising both eyebrows in a way that on anyone else would have been intolerable sauce, but on him was pure invitation. “It seems you have hit on another means of occupying ourselves.”
Cross chuckled, leaning in to press his mouth to Pip’s neck. “I intend to reconcile you to the loss of your banshee, and remind you that there are plenty of advantages to an early return to Foxwood Court.”
Pip’s body arched up to meet his, seemingly independently of its owner. “I am sure I can think of some explanation of the banshee’s absence for O’Flaherty… But is this wise?”
“Wise?” Cross propped himself up on one elbow, surveying the man before him. Pip’s cheeks were flush, and his breathing flatteringly rapid for such a short interlude. It amazed Cross that even after so much time together and with so many years between them, Pip still desired his touch, still craved his company. “I did not think love had anything to do with wisdom.”
The blush that spread across Pip’s cheeks went all the way to his eyes. “I was thinking of your health. The last time we attempted this…” He hesitated. “I would not hurt you for the world.”
Cross remembered the heart, concealed in the pouch around his neck. He could not allow Pip to see it. He would guess at once that something was very wrong. “I feel much better. As long as there is no pressure on my stomach, I shall be fine.” He stood, giving Pip a nudge.
He took the hint, rolling onto his stomach. “You’re very forceful tonight. Is this why you’ve been so eager to return to Foxwood?”
Cross leaned over Pip from behind, claiming his mouth in a kiss. “You are the reason I want to return home. As long as I thought you were in danger here, I could not be entirely easy. Now that I know you are safe, my relief knows no bounds.”
Pip gasped, shutting his eyes as he pressed back against Cross’s body. “Thomas…”
They had both changed much since that first frenzied kiss in Cross’s library, but one thing never changed—the fire that overtook him when Pip placed himself entirely in his hands.
All the banshees in Ireland could have visited Connaught castle that evening, but neither Pip nor Cross would have noticed.
17
Cross would have liked to have left immediately the next day, but Pip felt that too abrupt a departure would raise questions. “Besides