“Never was a female more inaptly named,” Lady Methven said, as Dulcibella screamed something at Lachlan and ran off along the gallery, slamming the door behind her. She turned back to Mairi. “News of your betrothal only made matters worse, I’m afraid, my dear,” she said. “Lady Dulcibella does so hate not to be the center of attention, and when I mentioned that we would be holding a celebration ball for you and for Jack, she became even more shrill.”
“Oh, please,” Mairi said involuntarily, “this house party is supposed to be a celebration of Ewan’s christening, not of our engagement. I beg you not to make a fuss.”
“Nonsense, my dear.” The dowager patted her arm. “It is a double celebration. But I realize you need to rest now. Such a nasty experience with that ghastly Cardross fellow. When you are stronger we must plan something.”
Mairi felt a sinking feeling. Lady Methven was a force of nature and as cunning as she was charming. At this rate Her Ladyship would have booked the church and spoken to the minister. Mairi would not lay a wager against being married off before she had the chance to jilt Jack. When Lady Methven wanted something she got it, and Mairi could see quite clearly that the dowager was determined that Jack should wed.
A group of men on horseback clattered into the courtyard. “We need to discuss Cardross’s attack,” Robert said. “Perhaps after dinner? You look done up for now, Mairi.” He turned to Jack. “I’m sending out patrols to hunt the man down. Do you want to join me on the next?”
Mairi could see how much Jack wanted to go. She could sense the impatience in him, the desire to be outside doing something active. It struck her that in all the time she had known Jack Rutherford, there had always been that restiveness within him. He was always on the move, never settled. It was as though he did not know how to stay still.
Jack grinned. “You read me like a book, Rob,” he said. He glanced at Mairi. “I will not be away long, sweetheart,” he said. “You need to rest anyway. We will talk later.”
“Yes,” Mairi said. “We will.” She was starting to feel seriously annoyed by the casual endearments Jack used with such ease. Perhaps he addressed all his mistresses as “sweetheart” so that he did not need to remember their names. The thought did nothing to improve her temper.
“Don’t let me keep you,” she added. “I have no need of you here.”
“Always so gracious,” Jack said ruefully. He came across to her and without warning took her in his arms.
“Do I get no thanks at all for my services today?” he murmured, for her ears alone. Suddenly he was so close and his masculinity was so overpowering that Mairi’s throat was bone-dry. She had been naive, she realized, in thinking that he was using her to evade Lady Methven’s matchmaking. His grandmother might wheel out fifty eligible debutantes and he would not give a damn. What Jack wanted was to continue to use their false engagement as an excuse to carry on exactly where they had left off, in bed, in a passionate affair with no real promises given on either side. He thought he could ignore her objections and her demand for his respect and simply take her body in some sort of payment for services rendered.
Well, if he thought that he was going to be sorely disappointed. It was not that she was not tempted. She was. Very tempted. She could not pretend otherwise. Considerations of propriety held no sway with her when she was in Jack’s arms. She wanted the sex as much as he did even if it was not particularly ladylike of her to admit it. But she was also damned if Jack was going to get everything his own way. “You have had everything from me that you will be getting,” she murmured.
She saw the ready amusement spring into his eyes. He raised her hand to his lips, turned it over and pressed a kiss to the palm. She felt the touch of his lips on her skin and shivered. Before she realized what she was doing, she had closed her fingers, trapping the kiss.
“Be careful,” she said lightly. “It would spoil the festivities if you got yourself killed.”
Jack laughed. “Cardross isn’t going to be able to kill me.”
A shiver touched Mairi’s spine like a shadow. She caught his sleeve between her fingers, her grip suddenly urgent. “Promise me you
will
take care.”
She knew at once that she had said quite the wrong thing. The laughter faded from Jack’s eyes. Their expression changed completely and went blank, like a door slamming shut. He drew back slowly.
Mairi’s stomach lurched. She had no idea why she had said the words, why she had even felt them. In that moment she had feared for him. She had been terrified he might be hurt. The sensation had been so intense that she had blurted out the words without thinking. Now she was mortified, her whole body burning with embarrassment for the way in which she had betrayed herself.
But everyone was looking at her approvingly. She realized that they had overheard and that her display of wifely concern was just what was needed to reinforce the idea of a love match. Jack realized it too. After a moment she saw the expression in his eyes ease and he drew her back into his arms.
“What an accomplished actress you are,” he said softly. “Bravo.” His gaze was cool now, remote. He gave her a brief, hard kiss and released her, caressing her cheek as he let her go. It was a sweet added touch; Mairi heard the dowager sigh in a most sentimental fashion. Soon, she thought, she and Jack would be outdoing each other in their pretense of affection.
Except for her in that moment there had been no pretense. And that was what scared her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
T
HEY
FOUND
NO
trace of Wilfred Cardross on Jack’s patrol. Later in the day he went out with the Methven men again, quartering the hillsides above the castle, searching the glens as far eastward as Kinlochewe and to Sheildaig in the west. They found nothing but a confusion of hoofprints and a burned-out fire within the shelter of an old shieling, no doubt from the previous night when the outlaws had lain in wait. Jack suspected that they had weakened Wilfred’s attack sufficiently that he would lie low for a while, but men could melt into these wild mountains as easily as ghosts. Robert had sent word to Edinburgh and soon there would be soldiers combing the countryside for their fugitive. But Cardross was wily and he had a grievance. Jack knew that they had not seen the last of him yet.
He felt frustrated as he rode back into Methven Keep. Anger with Cardross still burned fiercely in him. He wanted to string the bastard up for the way that he had treated Mairi. And one day he would hunt Cardross down and do precisely that. Mairi was under his protection now and it was a point of honor for him that he should keep her safe. He was the only one who could.
Dinner was a subdued affair that night, the grandeur of the great hall at Methven adding a somber cast to the proceedings. Dulcibella MacMorlan did not attend, much to everyone’s relief, and Mairi had pleaded tiredness to take a tray in her room. Lady Methven was also absent. Robert had told Jack that she was still weak after a recent bout of fever but that news of his engagement had lifted her spirits enormously. Jack tried not to feel too guilty. He doubted his grandmother would be as happy when she discovered that once the false betrothal had served its purpose Mairi would jilt him, thoroughly, so she had said, and with considerable satisfaction.
His mouth curved into a reminiscent smile. He was enjoying crossing swords with Mairi. She was quite a woman, brave, fierce at times, sharp-witted and with a sense of humor after all. That had surprised him. But he liked it. He liked the challenge she represented. He knew he was going to have to work hard if he wanted to persuade her back to his bed. He had respect for her now and he was going to have to show it. This betrothal was proving a great deal more interesting than he had ever anticipated.
A question from Robert on the latest consignment of Baltic timber he had imported through Leith drew him back into the conversation. Angus MacMorlan, Mairi’s elder brother and heir to the dukedom of Forres, was interested in investing and waffled on about government policy and profit and loss ratios through the removal of the roast beef and the arrival of the pudding. Eventually Lucy withdrew with her sister Christina and sister-in-law Gertrude to the drawing room while the gentlemen took port and a little while later they all took a dish of tea together. It was all perfectly exemplary and tediously boring and Jack found himself yawning the whole way through.
He had thought to have time alone with Robert later in the evening, but Lachlan MacMorlan wanted to talk to them both about Wilfred Cardross’s attack and the steps they were taking to hunt him down. Jack did not have much time for MacMorlan. He thought him weak and shallow. It had not escaped his notice that while he and Robert had ridden out with the patrols, both MacMorlan brothers had stayed behind, Angus because he thought himself too important as heir to a dukedom to risk his skin and Lachlan ostensibly to calm his wife. It seemed that the fierce blood of Malcolm MacMorlan, the Red Fox of Forres, had bypassed the male side of the family and now resided solely in the women. Jack wondered idly whether Christina MacMorlan, who was so quiet as to be almost invisible, was secretly as forceful as her sisters.
Jack sat quietly while Robert dealt with MacMorlan’s concerns. The man was plainly terrified that as Dulcibella had taken all the Cardross estates when the earl had been tried for treason, Cardross was out to murder them both. Jack did not believe a word of it, but he admired his cousin’s patience in dealing with MacMorlan’s fears.
“You are an exemplary host,” he said to Robert with a grin as the library door finally shut behind Robert’s agitated brother-in-law. “I would have told him that if he was so worried he should go after Cardross himself instead of leaving the dirty work up to other people.”
Robert laughed and went across to the side table. “MacMorlan is a lover, not a warrior,” he said. “Besides, swordplay would mean he had to adjust the set of his coat.” He picked up two glasses and the bottle of brandy, then turned to Jack and hesitated.
Jack shook his head. He wanted the drink, wanted to feel it burn, but he knew he could not risk it.
“I’ll take a glass of capilliaire,” he said. No one at Methven questioned his odd drinking habits. Elsewhere his preference for coffee and fruit juices raised eyebrows but he never explained himself. He did not give a damn what people thought.
He felt unsettled tonight, on edge. It was something to do with Mairi. He knew that she was safe within the walls of Methven Castle, so he was not sure why he still felt disturbed. He had been disappointed when she had failed to come to dinner. He wanted to see her, talk to her. Again he was not sure why; he was not even sure what he wanted to say to her. He frowned, taking the glass from Robert and swallowing half the contents without even really noticing.
“I think MacMorlan’s concerns are groundless,” he said abruptly. “I think Mairi was Cardross’s target all along.”
Robert took the wing chair opposite and set his own glass down gently. “Why would Cardross seek to kill Lady Mairi?” he said.
“He didn’t want to kill her,” Jack said. “He was trying to abduct her.” He raised his gaze from the contemplation of the cordial to meet his cousin’s dark eyes. “I heard him telling her that he had a friend who had an interest in her.”
Robert’s brows snapped down. “What did he mean by that?”
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “But Mairi once told me that the reason she travels with half an army is that plenty of men fancy wedding her for her money.”
Robert sat back in his chair. “I suppose someone who did not want to be identified might pay Cardross to abduct her,” he said. “You’re right—it would not be the first time a man has tried to force Mairi into marriage to get his hands on the MacLeod millions, but...” He frowned.
“What is it?” Jack said urgently.
Robert shook his head. “I’m not sure. I have a bad feeling about this business.”
“It’s not like you to be superstitious,” Jack said.
“I know,” Robert said gravely. “That’s why I have a bad feeling about it.”
Jack laughed, but sobered quickly. “Well, Cardross will have to get past me first,” he said. “I don’t give much for his chances.”
He could feel Robert looking at him with interest and wondered what his cousin had read into his words. It was true that he felt inordinately protective of Mairi. It was the main reason why he was not prepared to allow her to break their fictitious betrothal. He was committed now, she was his responsibility and he was not going to be the one to tell Lord MacLeod that he had failed in his bid to defend her. It was nothing to do with emotion and all to do with his reputation. Or so he told himself. Having undertaken to give Mairi his protection, he would not break his word.
“Jack,” Robert said. “Please don’t feel you have any obligation to tell me anything at all, but Lucy is worried about your relationship with Lady Mairi, and I...” He paused. “Well, I admit to a certain curiosity. The last time I saw you, you were reluctant even to escort her here to Methven. As I recall, you said that you disliked her extremely.”
“It’s complicated,” Jack said evasively.
“You astound me,” Robert said dryly. “Your relationships with women are never complicated.”
“And I am not sure that I said I disliked Mairi,” Jack added. “You might have inferred it. I never said it.” It gave him a shock to realize just how much his feelings for Mairi had changed. In Edinburgh he had considered her a spoiled and disdainful creature. Now he realized how complex she was. There was so much warmth and passion and sweetness in her as well as that strength and confounded stubbornness. He felt it every time they made love. His body tightened at the thought.
Robert raised his brows. “There was a certain degree of antagonism between you,” he murmured.
“I’ll grant you that,” Jack agreed.
“Furthermore,” Robert said, “you were completely besotted with a mysterious lady you had met at an Edinburgh masquerade—” He stopped dead, an arrested expression entering his eyes. “Hell and the devil, Jack,” he said. “Surely it wasn’t Lady Mairi—”
“I wish I’d never told you about that,” Jack said fiercely. He felt another surge of protectiveness toward Mairi. He did not want Robert thinking any the less of her because she was his mistress. And even he could see how contrary that attitude was. Cursing vehemently, he ran his hands through his hair. He was starting to resent the way that Mairi seemed to be able to engender all sorts of emotions in him that he did not care for. He was determined to get back to desire, impure but simple. That was all he understood. That was all he wanted.
“It’s forgotten,” Robert said. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes.
Jack’s tight muscles eased a little. “Thank you.”
“Tell me to mind my own business if you wish,” Robert said, after a pause, “but this betrothal between you—”
“It’s temporary,” Jack interrupted. The tightness was back; he could feel it in the muscles of the back of his neck and in the tension in his shoulders. “Neither Lady Mairi nor I have any desire to wed.”
Robert was studying his brandy with sudden fascination. “I won’t interfere,” he said, after a moment, “but among other things you are misleading our grandmother.”
“I know,” Jack said. He clenched his jaw. “But I cannot marry to oblige our grandmother just because she is ill and wishes to see me settled before she dies.”
Robert sighed. “As long as you do not wilfully hurt her,” he said. “Nor Lady Mairi for that matter,” he added. “She may act like a fast widow, but she is not.”
“I know,” Jack said again. Conscience stirred in him again. “Damn you, I know that.”
“Well, then,” Robert said, “be careful.” He smiled a little. Glass clinked as he refilled his brandy. He gestured to Jack’s glass. “Another?”
“No, thank you.” Jack said. There was only so much fruit juice a man could take.
“So if it’s temporary,” Robert said, after a moment, “what is the point of it?” He cocked an eyebrow. “I take it you are offering Mairi your protection? In both senses of the word?”
“Bloody hell, you’re asking for it tonight,” Jack said abruptly. It was interesting how his cousin’s words seemed to catch him entirely on the raw at the moment. Interesting and troubling and yet another thing to lay at the door of Lady Mairi MacLeod.
“Since when is my sex life your business, Robert?” he asked.
“Since it involves my sister-in-law,” Robert said. “I’d hate to have to call you out for ruining Mairi’s reputation.” His words were mild, but the look in his eyes was harder than granite. Jack had seen that rigidity in Robert before. His cousin had a stern sense of morality and an equally strong sense of family, neither of which he shared. It seemed, however, that Robert was intent on imposing his own principles on him in this case. Jack was sure they would be a very bad fit. Principled he was not. Nor did he have any intention of being dragooned to the altar.
“I suspect you would have to stand in line behind the Laird of MacLeod,” he said. “He may be elderly, but I’ll warrant he still knows how to shoot straight.”
Robert smiled reluctantly but refused to be deflected. “Is MacLeod involved in this? Did he broker the betrothal?”
Jack sighed. He wished fiercely for brandy. He had had no notion this interview was going to be so tough. Sometimes it almost killed him to be so abstemious.
“MacLeod asked me for my help,” he said. “Lady Mairi is being threatened by his heir. There is a whispering campaign against her, unpleasant gossip. Worse, MacLeod believes the heir, Michael Innes, will try to dig up old scandal to get his hands on Lady Mairi’s fortune. I said I would offer her the protection of my name until the situation is resolved.”
“How gallant of you,” Robert said dryly. “And how out of character.”
“What are you saying?” Jack said. “That I’m some lazy bastard who doesn’t give a damn about others?”
Robert’s lips twitched. “Don’t you define yourself in precisely that manner?” he asked. “You’re not lazy,” he added. “You just don’t get involved.”
“I had an incentive,” Jack said pleasantly.
The smile died from Robert’s eyes. His mouth tightened to a thin line. “Lady Mairi. Yes, I understand. Sometimes you
can
be a complete bastard, Jack. And yet—” His hand checked as he reached for the brandy bottle and he cast his cousin a thoughtful look. “The more you protest, the less convinced I am.” He smiled suddenly. “Shall we change the subject before we come to blows? Do you think there is any connection between Wilfred Cardross and Lord MacLeod’s heir? Two men with a grudge who might join forces to exploit the situation?”
“I don’t see where Cardross fits in,” Jack said, frowning. He felt as though he was missing something. There was a pattern, but he could not see it. And if he could not see it, he could not keep Mairi safe.
“We’ll have to find him and ask him,” Robert said, his tone giving no doubt that the nature of the questioning would not be friendly. “We’ll keep up the patrols and no doubt they will send a troop from Edinburgh, but it will take several days to arrive and out here in the wild glens...” He shrugged expressively. “Well, it’s going to be a challenge to capture him.”
“I intend to call on Michael Innes when I return south,” Jack said. “MacLeod told me that he is out of Edinburgh at present on business, but when he returns I will get a measure of his involvement. Perhaps he can shed some light on where Cardross fits in.”
Robert grinned. “I imagine that is one interview you will enjoy.” He looked up, meeting Jack’s gaze. “I almost feel sorry for the man.”
“Don’t,” Jack said. “He doesn’t deserve it.” He thought of the danger to Mairi. Until they could get to the bottom of this business, she would be forever under threat. He thought of her gallantry and felt another pang of protectiveness. He would kill for her, he realized.