Authors: Gloria Harchar
It wasn
'
t what he
'
d expected.
"
Ramsey? What does your leaving have to do with him?
"
She pushed away and gazed into his
eyes
.
"
There
'
s going to be another Luddite uprising at the end of the week, and I
'
ve got to stop Ramsey from participating.
"
He saw the panic in her
eyes
.
"
How do you know?
"
"
The pixies—"
Her answer frustrated him.
"
Why don
'
t you merely tell me that your father sent a missive or that you read it in the Times?
"
"
Because that would be a fib.
"
"
Nicola
—
"
She broke away, a bundle of nervous energy, as if she couldn
'
t stand still.
"
Botheration, I don
'
t have time to debate with you about the existence of the
pixies
.
"
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"
A missive for my lady,
"
the tiny maid said as she held out a letter.
Nicola
rushed across the room and took it.
"
Oh my, it
'
s from Papa.
"
"
Why didn
'
t
I
guess that?
"
Malcolm
responded, barely noting the maid had once again left.
He watched her gaze flit across the masculine, slightly shaky scrawl.
"
He heard from one of Ramsey
'
s friends that the trouble is to occur tomorrow!
"
"
What? Your pixies were wrong?
"
"
Perhaps the Luddites changed the date. Oh, I don
'
t know, but I
'
ve got to go now!
"
She tossed the letter aside, closed her bag and hefted it off the table.
Not for one more momen
t could he bear that stricken
look of hers.
"
Hold.
"
Something in his tone must have penetrated her panicked thoughts, for she stopped and glanced at him.
"
I
'
m going with you.
"
"
What?
"
"
You heard me.
"
The way he gritted his teeth caused his head to hurt.
"
What about your business deal? Your meeting with the Prince Regent?
"
"
Forget Prinny and any
bloody
uniforms,
"
he grumbled, then couldn
'
t believe he
'
d lost sight of his goals. What was he doing catering to his wife when he should be attending the ball?
Nicola
gave him a wide-
eyed
stare.
"
But what can you say to dissuade Ramsey? You
'
ll just teach him another one of your eastern fighting techniques.
"
Grinding his teeth, he stalked toward the bedchamber and bent to get his boots.
"
Have
confidence in me,
Nicola
.
"
Following, she watched him pull on first one boot, then the other.
"
Why are you doing this?
"
"
Because I remember how you tried to stop your cousin in the workroom with that axe. He doesn
'
t listen to you too well. Somebody has to save his neck. And yours.
"
Hell, he didn
'
t know why he was doing this.
He expected her to protest more, but she didn
'
t. With a gentleness he
'
d never expressed to anyone in his life, he took her by the chin and stroked her cheek.
"
Besides, I
'
m not finished with you
.
"
Her lower jaw dropped.
"
Remember how I told you we must be
together frequently?"
"
Ye
s.
"
"
How can I be with you if you are in Nottingham and I
'
m here?
"
Taking her by the hand, he led her to the fo
ye
r where he found his butler.
"
Have the phaeton brought around, please. We are going to Nottingham. And have my belongings sent to me later.
"
"
Yes
, my lord.
"
As he assisted
Nicola
into the high carriage made for speed, he wondered when his life had become so convoluted.
"
Nothing you can
say will
induce me to leave the Rebellion,
"
Ramsey announced.
Frustration swept through
Malcolm
. They had arrived in Nottingham the previous night, and
Malcolm
had insisted they wait until morning to visit. From across the drawing room in
Nicola
'
s father
'
s home, he gazed at the younger man and wondered what would penetrate his stubborn head. He remembered a long-ago day when he
'
d been so young and idealistic. What could he do to prove Ramsey wrong in his approach?
"
You would turn down the chance to own your own ship?
"
Mr.
Moore
exclaimed.
"
Bloody hell, Ramsey, use your noggin. You could import whatever you want for the stockingers
'
looms.
"
"
It's not enough
, Uncle, and you know it.
"
"
You can
'
t save the whole world,
"
Mr.
Moore
retorted.
"
The Earl can,
"
Ramsey murmured.
"
What do you mean?
"
Malcolm
pretended at nonchalance. He knew. Parliament. With a sense of doom crowding his chest,
Malcolm
stared at the younger man. Why doom? He
'
d always sworn he would never go back to Parliament, so why was anything different now? Because of
Nicola
. He wouldn
'
t do anything to disappoint her, and he knew she would be vastly upset if he didn
'
t support her cousin.
"
You told me once that getting involved in politics is the best way to curb the tide of injustice. Make a law that prohibits the making of inferior cloth. Fine the hosiers for selling inferior cloth to the public. And make it so that stockingers get paid decent wages for their hours of work.
"
"
That
'
s true. And that
'
s why you must stay at Oxford and become a solicitor. Then you can run for the House of Commons.
"
Ramsey scowled.
"
But the schooling will take too long. You can attend Parliament at any time.
"
Malcolm
didn
'
t like being pressured.
"
I could get Gaspar to lock you in the stables until the rebellion is over.
"
"
I
'
ll get out, I vow. There will be another rebellion, and you can
'
t lock me up forever.
"
Ramsey
'
s expression held youthful appeal.
Pacing the floor,
Malcolm
finally pinned Ramsey with his glare.
"
All right, I
'
ll approach the Duke of York about introducing a new bill to vote on.
"
"
Thank you,
"
Ramsey said.