“Yes,” Dennis admitted, looking somewhat abashed. “I wanted to reach you without anyone knowing. But clearly you are a difficult man to sneak up on.”
For the next few moments, there was nothing but hugs and handshakes and claps on the back, along with amazed exclamations, while the two footmen looked on with great interest.
“But, wait,” Theo said at last, stepping back and looking at his friend. “What am I doing? You must be hungry. We were just finishing breakfast. Come in and eat.”
The four of them walked back to the breakfast room, Megan’s arm linked through her brother’s as though to make sure that he stayed right there with them. Her gaze kept sliding over to the boy who walked on the other side of Dennis and who regarded her with a solemn, unwinking gaze.
When they reached the breakfast room, Theo dismissed the footman, telling him that they would serve themselves, then closed the door. There was a moment of awkward silence as they stood, looking at each other. Then the boy tugged at Dennis’s tunic and said something in a tongue Megan did not recognize. Dennis responded, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder, and turned to Megan and Theo.
“I am sorry,” he said, his words coming somewhat awkwardly. “I forgot—I wish to introduce you to my son, Manco. Manco, this is my good friend Theo. And this is my sister, your aunt Megan. You have heard me speak of them.”
“I am honored,” the boy replied formally, his words slightly accented, his manner stiff.
“Your son?” Megan’s eyes began to fill again with tears as she looked at the boy. She felt as if her insides had been turned into mush. “Oh, my.” She blinked away the tears and bent to look the boy in the eye. “I am very happy to meet you, Manco.”
She turned back to Dennis. “I—I cannot take this in. Da and Deirdre will be so thrilled. Oh!” She turned to Theo, then back to Dennis. “We must tell them at once! We must go to them! You have me so rattled, I am scarcely able to think.”
“Da is here? And Deirdre? What of Mary Margaret? And Sean and Robert?”
“They are still in New York. Only Da and Deirdre and I came to England. Mary Margaret and Sean are married. Oh, Dennis!” Megan raised her hands to her face. “I can scarcely believe that you are alive. We thought you dead ten years ago. All this time…”
Guilt covered her brother’s face. “I know. I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me. I wasn’t sure what had happened. I feared you would all think I was dead. I wanted to let you know, to send you word, but—well, I could not.”
“Why?” Now that the shock was fading somewhat, Megan’s temper began to rise. “Do you realize how we all felt? How we mourned for you?” She fisted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “And all the while, you were fine. Fit as a fiddle and raising a family. And not bothering to even drop us a line?”
He began to grin, and Megan scowled at him.
“What? Do you think that’s funny, then?”
“No, no,” he hastened to say. “It is just—seeing you with your temper up—it is just so wonderful. I have missed you, Megan.” He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it. “I will explain it all to you, I promise. But first…” He glanced toward his son. “Manco is tired from our journey. It has been very long, and he has had no time to rest or play.”
“I do not need to rest,” the boy put in, his chin tilting up proudly.
Dennis smiled down at him. “You have been strong, Manco, and I’m proud of you. But you need to eat, and then I think it might do you good to run around a bit and be a child for a little while.”
“Yes, please, have something to eat.” Theo gestured vaguely toward the sideboard. “I shall send a servant for my brothers. They are a bit older than your boy, but I am sure they will be happy to see him.”
Theo stepped out to send a servant to fetch the twins, and Megan guided her brother and his son to the sideboard, helping them pile up plates of food. Manco looked rather distrustfully at the strange foodstuffs, but he sat down at the table and picked up a piece of bacon, sniffing it, then taking a bite. He smiled and finished it in two quick bites, then settled in for some serious eating.
Dennis, too, tucked into the food, and for a few minutes there was nothing but silence as they ate. The quiet was interrupted by the clatter of feet, and then the twins burst into the room.
“Robert said—” Con began, snapping his mouth shut when his eyes fell upon Dennis and Manco.
He came to a dead halt, and his twin stumbled into his back, letting out an exclamation of irritation before his eyes, too, fell on the visitors, and they widened.
“Hullo,” Alex said at last. His gaze swung toward his older brother. “Robert said you wanted us.”
“I did, yes.” Theo carefully kept his lips from twitching into a smile at his younger brothers’ amazed expressions. “Constantine, Alexander, I would like to introduce you to our visitors. This is Miss Mulcahey’s brother, Dennis, and his son, Manco.”
“The one who’s dead?” Con blurted out, then clamped his lips shut, looking abashed. “I—I mean—”
Dennis eased the moment by smiling. “Yes, I am the one who was dead. Only, as you can see, I wasn’t very much so. How do you do, Master Moreland?”
“Very well, thank you,” Con returned politely. “I am Con and this is Alex.”
Both of them stepped forward to shake Dennis’s hand manfully, then turned toward Manco.
The boy, younger and quite a bit smaller than the other two, had crossed his arms across his chest and was staring balefully at Con and Alex. His chin lifted proudly. “I am Manco.”
Alex and Con nodded. They glanced at Megan, then back at the boy.
“We thought you might show Manco around the house and grounds,” Theo suggested. “Show him some of your animals and toys.”
Manco looked scornful at that suggestion. “I am not a little boy,” he enunciated carefully. “I am a prince.”
“A prince!” Alex and Con chorused in disbelief and exchanged a glance. Megan started to step in to try to save the deteriorating situation, but Dennis spoke before she could.
“His mother is one of the Chosen. His grandfather is a high priest, his uncle the ruler of the village,” Dennis explained. “He will likely assume one of those positions when he is grown.”
“Oh. Where do you live?” Con asked.
“Why do you wear those clothes?” Alex added.
“Boys, don’t be rude,” Megan cautioned.
“They’re not rude, just curious,” Dennis said easily. “We are from South America, where your brother Theo and I went.”
“Up the Amazon?” Alex looked intrigued.
“Yes.”
“The jungle?” Con added. “Are there parrots? And jaguars?”
Manco unbent a little. “Yes. I have seen many of these. You have not?”
“No. But we do have a boa constrictor,” Con offered.
“Would you like to see?” Alex asked.
“Very well.” Manco turned to his father, offering him a short, formal bow, then followed the twins out of the room.
Theo and Megan turned to Dennis expectantly. He sighed and ran his hands over his face.
“I hardly know where to begin,” Dennis sighed.