Treasure Me

by Robyn DeHart

  She blew out a breath. “That’s a damned long way to drag this bloody trunk,” she said aloud.

  “Pardon me, madam, but is that a copy of Grayson’s Exploration of Scientific Discoveries?” a man’s voice asked.

  Vanessa looked up to find an attractive and well-groomed man standing over her. “It most certainly is.”

  “Do you mind?” he asked, pointing at the book. “I have been trying to locate a copy of this for some time.”

  “No, of course not,” she said. “You’re English.”

  He smiled. “Yes, I am.” He was a tall gentleman, though not as tall as Graeme had been, not that he was the standard by which she would measure all men. She shook her head to rid her mind of him. The gentleman opened up her book ever so gently, clearly a lover of the written word as well, and thumbed through some pages. “Excellent illustrations,” he remarked. He was fair in complexion and features, with light blond hair that waved against his scalp and warm brown eyes.

  “Yes, the drawings are quite good. Overall the text is wonderful, though I’ve been told Mr. Grayson is a bit of a prig,” Vanessa said.

  He chuckled and met her gaze. “Oh, where are my manners? I am Niall Ludley, Earl of Camden. I’m a scientist, here working on a project.”

  Vanessa’s heart beat faster. “Indeed? I am a scientist as well. And my name is Vanessa Pembrooke.” She held her hand out, and they shook. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to pay Graeme’s family after all. This gentleman could certainly point her in the right direction for appropriate lodgings. “Might I inquire as to where you have found lodging? I am having a terrible time of it.”

  The man smiled warmly. “I work here in Loch Ness so often, I actually own an estate in this area,” he said.

  Her heart sank. “I see.” But if she were willing to pay Graeme’s family, why not offer this gentleman the very same deal? He was an aristocrat, more than likely from London. And she felt safe in his presence. It wasn’t quite the same feeling she’d experienced with Graeme; she doubted this gentleman could have saved her from those men last night. But she also doubted he would ever treat her disrespectfully. She took a deep breath. “Lord Camden, I don’t suppose you have a room you would be willing to rent to me?”

  She could tell her request surprised him, and for a moment, she thought he might decline. But then his features softened and he nodded. “Allow me to rescue you, then, fair lady. I would be most pleased if you agreed to join me, and no boarding is required. You would simply be my guest.”

  She had asked, and he’d agreed, and yet she felt a slight moment of hesitation. Her reputation could be sullied, that was true. But was it not already irreparably damaged simply from her taking this trip? She was damaged goods now. Nothing she did would change that.

  “I would consider it a great honor to assist you, a fellow scientist,” he continued. “People around here are not too keen on men of science.” Then he smiled warmly. “Or women of science, as the case would be.”

  The fact that he so readily accepted her as a scientist despite her sex made her trust him all the more. Not since she’d met Jeremy had she found that kind of reception in a fellow researcher. Perhaps this man was the answer to her worries. She eyed the inn down the hill and then rose to her feet. “I really do appreciate your hospitality.”

  “I even have a carriage waiting. Come along.” He held his arm out to her. “I’ll send a footman down here to retrieve your trunk.”

  They walked back up the hill to the waiting carriage. It was a shiny black landau with his family crest emblazoned on the side, just as she’d find in London.

  “I do hope you’ll allow me to peruse that book of yours for a longer period of time. I really have been searching for a copy for such a long while.”

  Chapter Five

  Graeme stepped through the back doorway of his mother’s house. The kitchen area was empty, but he was fortunate enough to find leftover breakfast still sitting on the table. He dropped into a chair and grabbed a hunk of bread and some fruit preserves. He chewed thoughtfully, wondering—as he’d done the entire walk home—if he’d done the right thing for Vanessa. Of course, there was no place for her here in Scotland. She was far too refined, far too delicate, to survive without a chaperone or guardian, and he certainly didn’t have time for such a task. He’d even slipped the train attendant some additional monetary compensation to keep an eye on the chit while she waited.

  His mother walked into the room and right up to him. Without so much as a good morning, she slapped him on the back of his head.

  “If you’re going to keep doing that, I’m going to start wearing hats made of iron,” Graeme said, rubbing the abused spot.

  “Do you know what I heard this morning in town?” she asked.

  “How am I supposed to know?” Graeme frowned at her and set his bread back down on the plate.

  Moira shoved his plate to the middle of the table. “A handfasting ceremony? In a bloody pub?” she asked, her voice rising in volume with every word. “And then you don’t have the decency to tell me that that charming woman is my new daughter-in-law?”

  But she didn’t pause long enough to allow him to answer. “How do you think,” she asked, jabbing him in the shoulder with every word, “it makes me feel to hear that my eldest son has gotten himself a new wife and doesna even tell me?

  “And I had to hear it from Mary McDonald.” Moira made a sound that resembled a growl. “Mary McDonald. How embarrassing. You’re lucky your grandmother wasn’t with me. She’d have done more than smack your head.”

  “Mother, calm down. It was nothing. We’re not really married,” Graeme said. “It was a foolish ceremony in the pub, not even overseen by a priest.” Frankly he didn’t want to be reminded of how he’d succumbed to Angus and the rest of those men ribbing him. He should have taken a stand and rescued the girl without allowing them to bully him into an unwanted marriage.

  He’d rescued the chit, and first Vanessa herself had ridiculed him about it, and now his mother. Would they have felt better about the situation had he stayed out of it, minded his own affairs, and looked the other way as those brutes molested her? He doubted that. No, he’d done the right thing.

  “Where is the girl now?”

  Graeme shrugged and pulled his plate back to him. “I dropped her off at the train station. She should be heading back to London very soon.” He sopped up some preserves, then popped the bite in his mouth, but he tasted nothing.

  “Aye. So that is how it is. You marry the girl, then you ship her back to your house while you continue to play in the hills.” She shook her head while clucking her tongue.

  Graeme continued to eat. Perhaps he should have told his mother about the handfasting, but he hadn’t realized that the gossip mill was as active here as it was in London. He’d never imagined she’d actually find out.

  “Disappointed, that’s what I am,” Moira continued. “What’s the matter, Graeme? You don’t think we’re good enough for your fancy London wife? Are you embarrassed by your simple Scottish family?”

  “First of all, I am not now nor have I ever been embarrassed by any of you,” he said. “Secondly, we aren’t truly married, not really. There was no priest. It was only the handfasting ceremony, nothing more. And there’s not a court in all of England that would deem that a legal marriage.”

  “Ah,” Moira said, holding her hand up in the air. “But you’re not in England now, are you?” she asked, her tone dangerously close to yelling.

  “Are you trying to tell me that people still believe in that old ceremony?” he asked.

  “Not only do they believe in it, it’s a legally binding marriage. In the eyes of the civil authorities, the church, and everyone in that pub, you and that girl are husband and wife.”

  Graeme opened his mouth to argue, then shut it. He felt his frown increase. “That is ridiculous.”

  “Ridiculous or not, it’s a fact.” Moira paused and pressed her lips together, clearly hiding a smile.
r />   “I’m glad you find this so amusing,” he said.

  “Didn’t think it all through, did ya, boy? What happened anyway?”

  Graeme relayed the story of the men who were bothering Vanessa and then the goading he’d endured. “At the time, it seemed the only option.” He didn’t explain how the men’s taunting had gotten to him, how their childish teasing had pushed him into action. Admitting to that wouldn’t solve anything.

  “So you married her.” Moira was quiet for a few moments before she nodded knowingly. “You made the right choice, I suppose. But now you have to live with the consequences. You’d best be off.”

  “Off where?”

  “To claim your bride. Go find her at the train station and bring her back. Whether you wanted to or not, you are married to the girl. For now. The two of you can decide on what to do next. Get an annulment if you like.” Then Moira slanted him a look full of mischief, and perhaps a tad more satisfaction than he’d like. “Or perhaps you’ll decide to keep her.”

  Graeme swallowed hard, unable to fully comprehend what his mother was suggesting. He didn’t want a wife, let alone one that would no doubt cause him more trouble than she was worth. “Keep her?” He came to his feet. “Why in blazes would I want to do that?”

  “Well, you’ll need a wife eventually. An heir for your family name. And I’d like grandchildren. Don’t you want to be married, boy?” Her eyebrows rose, and then her lips quirked in a half smile.

  Clearly his overreaction had not gone unnoticed. He took a steadying breath. “Not particularly.” He grabbed a chunk of bread for his walk. “Marriage certainly didn’t work out so well for you.”

  “That was my own stubbornness.” She turned away from him and busied herself with stacking some dishes.

  More like his own damned father had chased her away. Had never accepted her Scottish heritage and hadn’t made it easy for her to fit into Society. Vanessa, though, would fit perfectly in Graeme’s world, the English side at least. She was a well-bred lady, attractive, tall—not that her height had much to do with anything, but she was an appropriate height for him to reach down and kiss if he so chose.

  But Graeme had never wanted to marry. His parents’ terrible marriage was enough proof to him that people shouldn’t join in a union they didn’t intend to keep, especially if they brought children into it. Graeme had no desire to be a husband, for all of those reasons and plenty more. They would get an annulment.

  But he supposed his mother was right. If Vanessa was legally his wife, then he best go and find her until the annulment was legal.

  Graeme had started searching for his errant bride at the train station, but had found no sign of Vanessa. The attendant had reluctantly admitted that she’d doubled Graeme’s original fee, and the man had looked the other way when she’d left the train station. He hadn’t seen her since.

  Damned stubborn girl not to heed his warnings. He’d told her this place wasn’t safe for her alone, yet she’d stumbled off, dragging that trunk of hers behind her. Admittedly, though, he was glad that he didn’t have to board a train himself to chase the girl down to London.

  Graeme made his way to the inn where he’d found her two nights before, but he found no sign of her there, either. Of all the damned ways he could be spending his time. He had work to do, not only on his own research, but now this business for Solomon’s.

  He searched the only store in the village, and she was nowhere to be found. But as he was stepping out the door, a man remembered her. He’d seen her sitting on her trunk in the middle of the hill for a long while until a gentleman had come over to her, and they’d disappeared in his carriage.

  In Graeme’s experience, only one man used an enclosed carriage in this village, but to be certain he asked, “What did the man look like?”

  The grizzled man shrugged. “That English lad. The one who has that house up on the hill.”

  That certainly sounded like Niall. “What color hair?”

  “Fair. He was fair. They left, went that way.” He pointed to the right.

  Niall. Well, at least this was one way to make contact with his cousin. But what would Niall want with Vanessa? If his cousin was involved in some dangerous undertakings, the last thing Graeme needed or wanted was for his temporary wife to be involved. Wasn’t Niall married himself? Until now he’d always assumed his English cousin was as harmless as a mild English winter. He hated being wrong. It seemed that he could no longer ignore the English side of his family.

  Graeme thanked the man, then left. It took him nearly twenty minutes to make his way to Niall’s house. It would have been faster on horse, but he hadn’t thought that he’d needed one. Niall’s estate was just outside of the village. It still overlooked the loch, but did so from above the rest of the town.

  Graeme walked down the drive. The red brick manor with large white columns boasted three stories and a perfectly manicured lawn. He made his way up the staircase and slammed the knocker against the shiny door.

  The butler answered the door and nodded at the sight of Graeme. He stood aside and allowed him entrance. “Your Grace,” he said with a nod. “My lord is in his study. He has company.”

  Graeme didn’t bother to comment. Instead he simply walked past the servant and into Niall’s home. Niall’s study was the second door on the right, and though the door wasn’t precisely closed, it was nearly shut. He nudged it open and immediately Niall came to his feet. The situation, however, was completely innocuous, with Niall behind his desk and Vanessa in a chair opposite it.

  “Graeme,” Niall said, clearly surprised. “How did you know I was here?”

  “I am not here for you,” he said, never taking his eyes off Vanessa. Though he certainly had business with his cousin, he wanted to follow him first, see what he could discover without simply asking the man. To further muddle things for Graeme, now he had this business of a marriage to handle.

  Vanessa’s eyes rounded in surprise, then a frown settled on her face. She stood. “I have nothing to say to you.” Defiantly, she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You have to come with me,” Graeme said.

  “Why? So you can drop me off at the train station again?” She turned abruptly to face him fully and faltered, her pale hands gripping the chair in front of her. “No, thank you. Niall has offered to be of assistance to me. Take me into the caves.”

  “Is that so?” Graeme eyed his cousin, who in turn was glancing from Graeme back to Vanessa, looking not in the least manner guilty. “Still, you must return with me.” Graeme made his way to stand next to her, but did not touch her.

  Niall straightened some papers on his desk, and Graeme couldn’t help noticing how the study looked precisely like every other English study he’d ever seen. All the accoutrements of home brought here to make Niall’s stay in the wilderness more comfortable. The man might be fascinated by Scottish lore, but he didn’t have a drop of true Scottish blood running through his veins.

  “I don’t have to do anything with you,” she said. “You made it abundantly clear earlier you were finished with me. And now I am to follow you? I think not.”

  “Graeme, it appears the lady is not interested in going with you,” Niall said, coming around his desk. “Perhaps you could come back at a later time and visit with her.” He smiled. “Perhaps we can arrange some dinner or a tea.”

  “No. We don’t need a bloody tea,” Graeme said. He turned his attention to Vanessa. “We can argue about this later, but now, come with me.”

  She shifted her body away from him. “Are you going to toss me over your shoulder again?”

  “If I must. You are behaving like a child.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He knew Niall was watching him carefully, ready to step in should the moment call for action. Graeme only hoped his cousin wouldn’t, out of some misplaced gallantry, challenge him to a duel to defend Vanessa’s honor. He lowered his voice before speaking again. “That subject we discussed this morning. It appears as if I’ve m
ade a mistake,” he whispered.

  “To what do you refer?”

  “Our little ceremony,” he gritted.

  “And?”

  “It appears as if it was in fact legitimate,” he said.

  Delicate brows arched over her cerulean eyes. “Truly?” she asked.

  “We need to rectify this issue. Or at least discuss it more. Please come with me.” Graeme loosened his hold on her arm.

  She was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “Very well.”

  “Vanessa, you aren’t required to go with him if you feel at all, um, uncomfortable,” Niall said.

  “Nice, cousin.” Graeme rolled his eyes. “I won’t hurt the girl if that’s what you’re worried about. And believe me, she’s more trouble than you have the skill or energy to manage.”

  “I take great offense at that,” she said. Vanessa held her hand out to Niall. “I appreciate your kindness, and I do look forward to seeing you again.” She handed him her book. “You are welcome to examine my copy of Grayson’s. Return it to me when you are finished.”

  The Raven stood in the darkened closet waiting for Niall’s guests to leave. He’d caught a glimpse of the man as he’d entered the room. Once the loud talking had begun, The Raven had cracked the door to take a peek. After the man and woman had left, he stepped out of the pantry. “I know that man,” The Raven said as he entered Niall’s study.

  Niall started and released a string of curses. “Why the hell are you here?”

  “To keep track of you and ensure you remember what you’re looking for and why,” The Raven said. He had arrived that morning on the train and had been given instructions on how to get to Niall’s estate. At the time, Niall hadn’t been here, so he’d helped himself and taken a look around. It was perfect, with all the comforts of home. Niall knew how to live.