When the trees stole the final glimpse of her, I flipped the mirror back up and glanced at Cynwrig. “Why were you angry with her?”

He raised his eyebrows. “What makes you think I was angry?”

I waved a hand up and down his body. “You’re very good at facial and voice control but your whole being practically bristled.”

He laughed. “It’s just as well my enemies cannot read my body language as well as you do.”

“Maybe I’m just more... intimate... with your body’s language than your enemies.”

“And maybe the connection between us goes deeper than the mere physical.”

“Wouldn’t matter if it did,” I said lightly. “And you neatly avoided the question.”

A smile tugged at his lips, but the brief glance he cast my way was contemplative. Something within twitched uneasily, though I couldn’t have said why.

“She wasn’t taking either you or the situation seriously.”

“She has never taken me seriously.”

“That doesn’t excuse her actions.” He paused as we reached the gates, waiting for a tractor to trundle past before pulling out onto the road. “Her daughter is in serious trouble, and she seemed unable or unwilling to see that.”

“And there’s nothing either of us can do about it. I did get Vincentia’s address from her, though. She lives in Dublin.”

“And you believe it’s her actual address?”

“We’ll find out soon enough, I guess.”

He grunted, then switched the conversation to something lighter. It took over three hours to get back to Dublin, thanks to the fact it was now late afternoon and we were hitting peak traffic times. I punched the address my aunt had given me into the GPS and silently crossed all things that she wasn’t playing me for a fool.

Or, worse yet, that it was a carefully orchestrated trap.

As it turned out, it wasn’t.

But it wasn’t Vincentia’s residence either, but rather a charming little bed-and-breakfast. The proprietor had never heard of Vincentia and had never seen anyone fitting the description I offered.

Either my aunt was lying to us, or Vincentia had lied to her.

“What do you want to do?” Cynwrig asked as we climbed back into the van.

I wearily scrubbed my eyes. I had the beginnings of a headache, no doubt due to the stress of the situation and a decided lack of both sleep and food, and I really wasn’t up to more galivanting about the Irish countryside, no matter how green and gorgeous it was.

But what other choice did we have? Especially when there was no guarantee my aunt wouldn’t ring Vincentia and warn her. Riayn wasn’t a stupid woman, but she was more than a little blind when it came to her now only child.

“I guess we can try Killiney,” I said. “It’s the only other place I’m aware of that they own.”

His gaze swept me, a caress of warmth I felt rather than saw. “What about we stop for coffee and something to eat first? You’re looking worn out.”