‘I dinna ken, man. Does it matter?’
‘No.’ Son or daughter, it would soon lack a father. Great heavens, if it was a son, a half-Sassenach Albright brat would be the heir to the Gilvry name. But that didn’t mean the clan would choose the child as laird. They wouldn’t. Drew would make sure of it. His father and grandfather would never rest in their graves if such a thing came to pass. He couldn’t believe that Niall and Logan had gone along with such a travesty.
‘Do you hear aught of my brother Niall?’
‘The lawyer? Doing well for himself. Got an office in Old Town and a house in New Town. Got himself a title.’ Morris offered him the flask. ‘More whisky? I’ve plenty more where that came from.’
Stunned, he reached for the flask. Heaven help him, he needed it after such news. But not too much. He needed his wits sharp and ready.
* * *
Frozen to the bone, Rowena looked longingly at the flicker of the fire farther up the hillside. She’d ridden hard all day, terrified of pursuit, worried that she wouldn’t find Drew on the road. But if she didn’t, she knew where they intended he should end up. She stroked the gelding’s sweating neck. ‘Do you think that is them?’
She glanced up at the sky, at the twinkle of stars that disappeared behind the occasional scudding cloud. She’d been lucky with her departure from Mere Castle; the gelding was fast and full of spirit, and she’d been lucky with the weather. But could she really have been lucky enough to catch up to Drew? Or rather, Drew and a dangerous gang of smugglers. She winced.
But she couldn’t afford to wait. At any moment, Mere’s men might arrive. She climbed down from the horse and led it clear of the road. She patted its rump. ‘If we come out of this safely, I promise you’ll have the best bucket of oats money can buy,’ she whispered. The horse started cropping at the bushes.
As quietly as possible, feeling her way over the rough terrain, she approached the fire. She could see shadowy figures, but was one of them Drew? Something deep in her bones told her he was there. A feeling she’d never had before. Dare she trust it? Heart thundering in her ears, terrified of tripping and attracting attention, she crept closer. Starlight did little more than make some shadows stand out more than others. She could only hope she wouldn’t fall over a smuggler standing guard.
She inched forward at a crouch. After what felt like a very long time, she ducked behind a clump of gorse. She was close enough to see not only that there were four men seated around the fire, but that one of them was blonde.
A horse whickered from somewhere nearby. Drew’s horse. Had it somehow recognised her?
Drew straightened, looking in the direction of the sound, and then out into the darkness. Could he see her? She froze.
He said something to the man sitting beside him. The men chuckled and the man closest slapped him on the back. Drew rose and walked directly to her gorse bush.
‘Who’s there?’ he whispered so quietly she could barely hear him. He opened his coat and undid his falls, turning half away from her. Then came the sound of a man answering the call of nature.
‘Me. Rowena,’ she whispered.
The sound stopped and then started again. ‘Good God,’ he murmured. He glanced over his shoulder, then adjusted his falls. ‘Wait here.’
He turned and walked back to the fire and sat down with the men. He accepted a metal container from the man beside him. It glinted as it caught the light of the fire.
One of the others was sipping at a steaming brew. Hot tea? She would give her soul for a cup of something hot. She huffed on her freezing fingers and hunched closer to the gorse bush, curling in on herself for warmth.
Fortunately, while the old coat she’d grabbed in the stable was coarse to the touch, it was surprisingly warm. She stuffed her hands into its pockets.
* * *
A hand on Rowena’s shoulder and another clamped over her mouth to silence her cry of alarm brought her awake.
She stared at the shadow looming over her.
‘It’s me,’ Drew said.
She collapsed in relief. He took her hand and led her away from the camp. While she struggled not to trip, he seemed to walk as if it was daylight. Finally he stopped and pulled her around to face him.
‘Gracious, lass. What are you doing here?’
‘I thought you were in some sort of trouble. Have you taken up with the smugglers, then?’
A breath hissed through his teeth. Anger? Worry? She wasn’t sure.
‘I thought I left you safe in the bosom of your family.’
Anger, then. ‘I decided I would prefer to go to Edinburgh.’
‘The devil you did.’
‘Besides, I heard someone say you were going to be transported to Australia. I thought you might not like the idea.’
‘What?’
‘I overheard someone speaking to Mr Jones.’
‘What someone?’
‘I don’t know his name. I wasn’t introduced.’
She could hear him breathing hard.
‘How did you manage to get free of them?’ she asked.
‘I waited until they fell asleep and cut the rope,’ he said almost mechanically. ‘Your horse?’
‘Near the road.’
‘Good.’ He gave a soft whistle. His horse loomed up out of the dark with a small whuffling sound.
‘How—?’
‘Shh. It is no’ important right now. Come on, we’ll need to be far from here before they wake.’
‘Where are we going?’
‘Where they will least expect us to go.’
‘And where is that?’ she said as he helped her to walk down the hillside.
‘Edinburgh.’
When they reached her horse, he threw her up. ‘You’d already planned to escape from them, hadn’t you?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’
Of course he had. He hadn’t needed her help at all.
* * *
After two nights and two days on the road, Drew was glad to see the lights of Edinburgh gleaming in the distance. It had taken longer than it would have by road and they’d slept rough, sharing body heat since they hadn’t dared risk a fire.
The beast inside him had wanted to do more than sleep beside her, but he wasn’t prepared to risk letting it out of its cage. She was just too tempting and he had no illusion that he could keep things normal.
He’d pushed hard, through snow and wind, and kept them both too exhausted for anything but sleep. Which didn’t mean he’d slept o’er much.
But here they were, at their destination. He pushed on until they reached the entrance to Old Town. It looked pretty much the way it had before he left. The castle crouched on the mountain, the palace at its foot and the tenements of Old Town sprawled between the two.
Their horses walked wearily up High Street. ‘What now?’ Rowena asked.
‘We can do nothing tonight but find lodgings. In the morning we will get ourselves a lawyer and find out what the hell is going on.’
She frowned. ‘I have very little money, I’m afraid.’
‘That’s more than I have.’ He’d left a fortune on Jones’s table back at Mere Castle, but even if he had accepted it, it would not have done him any good. Morris would have taken the lot, just as he had taken the few coins in his purse. ‘But I may have a contact who might be able to offer some help.’
Niall. Would he be willing to come to their aid? Niall had always been the most reasonable of his brothers. Had always listened to all sides of a story before deciding whose side to take. He could only hope he hadn’t changed. Hadn’t been influenced too much by Ian.
‘We could try the Whitehorse Inn, near Holyrood Palace,’ Rowena said doubtfully. ‘I might just have enough to pay for one room.’
‘With no
luggage, and us as dirty as a couple of gypsies?’ He shook his head. ‘One look and they’ll turn us away.’ They also needed somewhere safe. Somewhere no one would could possibly find them.
‘I don’t think my cousin would take us in,’ she said. There was pain in her voice. ‘Do you think your family—?’
‘No.’
Her shoulders slumped.
If he’d been by himself, he’d have gone to a tavern and nursed a drink all night, or slept on the floor in a stable. But he wasn’t alone. The only other place he could think of was little better. But it was better. And Belle could be relied on to keep a still tongue in her head.
‘I have a friend. She’s not exactly respectable, but if she can, she’ll give us a room.’
Rowena perked up. ‘Then let’s go there.’
And he’d tell her just what Belle was, when they knew whether or not she could put them up for the night. No sense in causing a fuss before it was necessary.
He turned into one of the narrow wynds behind the grass market and dismounted outside the back door of a six-storey-high tenement. He helped Rowena down and knocked on the door.
It was opened by a burly individual with a much-broken nose and a cauliflower ear. ‘We’re closed.’ He started to shut the door.
Drew thrust his foot in the back. ‘Bobbie. Dinna ye ken me, man?’
The man peered at his face, blinked and opened the door wide. ‘Gilvry. It’s a long time since we saw you here. What happened to your face?’
‘I ran into a knife.’
‘Careless of you, man.’
‘Aye. Is Belle in?’
Bobbie gazed over his shoulder at Rowena. ‘She’s no looking for any lasses just now.’
‘Full house, is it? She must be doing well.’
‘Well enough since the king came to visit.’
‘The king came here?’
‘To Edinburgh. Where have you been?’
‘Abroad.’
‘Och, aye.’
‘I need to see Belle, Bobbie.’
The man looked up and down the alley and then seemed to make up his mind. ‘Always had a soft spot for you. You’d best come in, then.’
He stood back and Drew ushered a very puzzled-looking Rowena in. She had set her face in stern lines and her back was straight. She looked very disapproving, but knowing her as he did, he could tell she was scared. ‘It’s all right. I have friends here.’
‘Wait here,’ Bobbie said. ‘I’ll fetch Madam Belle.’
‘What is this place?’ she whispered.
‘You ken verra well what it is,’ he said.
She gazed at the lurid red walls and the badly done trompe l’oeil images of cupids. ‘A brothel.’
He nodded. ‘Leave the talking to me.’
A few seconds later the rustle of skirts announced the arrival of the establishment’s owner.
‘Drew,’ Belle said, her faded fair face beaming with pleasure.
She stopped with a gasp. ‘Oh, your poor face.’
Drew touched the scar with his fingertips. ‘I thought it made me a touch out of the common.’
‘Oh, Drew,’ she said softly. ‘Still not one to let down your guard. Welcome back. Some of the lasses you know are still here and will be glad to see you.’
He’d always paid well for what he needed. The lasses had liked that part of it, at least.
She turned to Rowena with a guarded expression. ‘And who is this, then?’
Rowena drew herself up to her full height and looked down her nose.
Belle recoiled.
‘Belle, this is my wife, Rowena.’
Belle swung back to him with a horrified look on her face. ‘Your wife! What are you doing, man, bringing her here?’
‘I need your help,’ he said simply. ‘Or I wouldn’t have come. Will you turn me away?’
She stared at him for a moment, then reached her palm to his face. He flinched.
Rowena quickly stepped forward and forestalled the touch. She smiled and her face transformed from stern to young and vulnerable.
‘We would be very grateful if you would permit us to stay the night. We find ourselves at a standstill, you see. No one must know we are in town.’
Belle narrowed her pale blue eyes, finally smiling back. ‘Then step this way. You can wait in my private parlour while I have the maid prepare a room. My stock in trade is discretion, so you need not fear loose tongues here.’
‘Thank you,’ Rowena said with genuine warmth.
‘This way,’ Belle said. ‘I’ll have a bite of supper sent up while you are waiting. And a dram of whisky.’
‘Tea for me, please,’ Rowena said. ‘If you don’t mind?’
‘Not at all. It will be a pleasure.’ She looked at Drew. ‘You are a fortunate man. I didn’t think you’d find one.’
She left them in a small parlour at the back of the house and bustled away.
‘What did she mean?’ Rowena asked.
Drew knew. She was talking about his preferences. Not something he wished to discuss. It was bad enough that she’d endured a small part of what he liked. ‘I suppose she never thought I’d be married.’
Rowena nodded, shrugged out of her disreputable-looking coat and went to the fire blazing in the hearth to warm her hands while she looked around the room.
‘It could be anyone’s parlour,’ she said.
‘Aye. They’re just lasses, you know.’
Her face softened. ‘Yes, I suppose they are.’
Belle returned with a smile. ‘Your room will soon be ready.’ She looked at Rowena. ‘Eva will be glad to help with your dressing and such. She does it for all the girls.’
‘You are very kind,’ Rowena said.
Bobbie entered with a tray. Tea for Rowena and whisky for Belle and Drew. Rowena poured her tea, while Drew did the honours for him and Belle.
‘I havena’ seen Niall or Ian for ages. Both married well. I was sorry to lose their business.’ She trilled a knowing laugh. ‘But glad to see them happily settled.’
They weren’t going to be so happy when they realised he was back and why. ‘What about Logan? He must be up-and-coming.’
Belle shook her head in mock sorrow. ‘He never came here. Nor anywhere else as far as I know and him as beautiful as you were in the old days.’
Drew raised a brow. Not about his brother’s good looks, but about what Belle’s words implied. ‘Too bad,’ he said non-committally.
‘He’s married.’
He swallowed his surprise and adjusted his thoughts. ‘Logan? He’s still wet behind the ears.’
‘Married a widow, I hear. I have never seen her. They are rarely in town. Well, if you are ready I should be able to show you up to your room.’ She looked at Rowena. ‘Drew will have to play ladies’ maid tonight, I’m afraid. Eva will be busy getting the girls ready for this evening.’
Drew clamped his mouth shut on the urge to say it would be a pleasure. It would be. But that didn’t make it right.
Rowena blushed. ‘I’m sure I can manage.’
They followed Belle past a downstairs drawing room where some of the girls were gathered waiting for their customers, up the stairs and along a corridor on the third floor. She stopped by a door at the end. ‘It’s probably not what you are used to, Mrs Gilvry,’ she said, ‘but I hope it will do. You’ll find it clean and tidy. The young lady who used to be here found herself a protector a month ago and I have been waiting to see if she would come back or no’.’ She flung open the door to reveal blood-red walls, curtains and bedcovers. ‘A bath is waiting.’
He ushered Rowena inside. ‘I’ll owe you a debt for this, Belle,’ he said, turning back to her.
She shook her head. ‘You were always good to
my girls, Drew. I am glad to return the favour.’
She turned and headed back down the hallway. Drew closed the door. The perfume of roses filled the air, clearly coming from the hip bath in the corner.
Rowena was standing in the middle of the room, looking about her with an odd sort of expression. One he couldn’t interpret. He winced. ‘I’m sorry.’
She shook her head and gave him a hesitant smile. ‘I find it...interesting.’ She coloured.
She was embarrassed. He looked at the bath. Of course she was embarrassed, if she thought he would stay.
‘I’ll leave you to bathe in peace,’ he said. ‘There are public baths nearby for me.’
‘Oh,’ she said. Was that disappointment he heard in her voice, or simply wishful thinking? More likely the latter. But then she turned her back before he could be sure.
‘Would you unlace my stays before you go, since the maid is busy?’
‘Aye,’ he said hoarsely. He put down his hat and undid the strings of her gown and then the tapes of her stays. The temptation to kiss the silky skin of her shoulders tingled on his lips, but when he glanced up he realised she was watching him in one of several mirrors strategically placed around the room. He bit back a curse and stepped away. ‘I’ll be back. Lock the door behind me.’
He paused outside the door until he heard the key turn.
Chapter Twelve
Erotic. It was the only word Rowena could think of to described the chamber as she soaked in the tub, with the scent of roses filling the air and the warm water making her feel sleepy.
She hadn’t been at all surprised when Drew had declined to play lady’s maid. She’d seen his expression of distaste when he undid her gown and stays. She wasn’t the sort of woman a man liked to look at. Too tall. Too angular. Not enough meat on her bones, Samuel had said. It wouldn’t surprise her one little bit if he decided to spend the night with one of the buxom creatures she’d spotted below.
The thought sent a piercing pain through her chest. Tears blurred her vision. She squeezed her eyes shut. Forced the hot moisture back where it belonged. Unacknowledged.
What had happened in that cold little bothy had been the result of the terrible events of that night. They’d sought comfort from each other. It meant nothing. Not to him, certainly, since he’d found no relief in her body. Or to her. Not really. She’d revelled in the shattering bliss he’d given her and the brief sense that she could let him shoulder her worries. But in the cold light of day, she didn’t want a man ruling her life. She certainly wasn’t going to give another one the opportunity to break her heart.
Return of the Prodigal Gilvry Page 16