“That’s Fergus MacEwen.”
“Who?” She shook her head. “How could you possibly recognize the man from this distance?”
“You recognized Mr. Fox, miss, clear as a bell. On account of him being so tall. And Fergus—I mean, MacEwen—well, look at him. No one else walks with that swagger, as if he’s God’s gift.”
She pressed her nose to the window. The second mandidlook familiar. Fergus MacEwen. “One of Kincaid’s men.”
“Yes. He and his cousin Boyd work for Mr. Kincaid. He brought them back from Scotland with Mr. and Mrs. Gibson after their wedding. Fergus has been gone from town for the last few months.”
Kincaid’s man. Who would also be her father’s man, a rough and ready man, somewhere between a soldier and a spy.
Her head pounded. Fox and his guest were heading for the kitchen entrance.
“I’m sorry, miss. Looks as though we’ve been discovered by your father.”
Found with Fox in a house with naught but a maid to shield her reputation. She would, if word got out, be ruined enough that Father would rush her and her substantial dowry into a marriage of his choosing.
Except, Father had sent one of his spies. It wasn’t her brothers raging through the door.
Of course, not a one of them would force her to marry the man she was caught with: Fox.
A thought niggled at the back of her mind. Her father had, somehow, manipulated all of her brothers into the marriages he wanted. He’d been most forthright with Bink Gibson, her eldest brother. But then, Bink, being a by-blow, was the one least under the forceful thumb of the Earl of Shaldon. Father had been devious with Bakeley, and manipulative with Charley.
Last month, he’d begun dropping the names of men he’d welcome into the family as her husband, and Fox’s wasn’t one of them.
Which, with Father, proved nothing. If she was contrary, like Bakeley, she might work directly into his plans. If he’d maneuvered her into visiting this house, as he’d set Charley on the mission that’d led him to his bride, she’d suspect Father wanted her to marry Fox. But he hadn’t.
Except…it had been easier than she’d expected to find the papers naming the property that would come to her when she married. As well, he’d joined in on a discussion of the names of Yorkshire families with Sirena’s dear friend, Lady Jane Monthorpe, and Charley’s wife Gracie. And Father knew she planned to travel north with Charley and his new bride to their estate not much more than a long day’s journey from here. And Fox claimed he was here by Father’s instruction.
Could Shaldon want her to marry Fox?
Pure heat rippled through her again, and then she remembered Bakeley’s hard stare when Fox had led her onto the dance floor the night of the ball. Fox was not goodton.Heavens, Fox had no place in London society—he was an American. And a mere painter of portraits and landscapes. As bad to some as a tradesman.
She, on the other hand, was the Earl of Shaldon’s only daughter. No matter her age, her extravagant dowry would allow her to entice a peer to the altar—if she would but forfeit all prospects for happiness.
No. Father had sent this Fergus MacEwen to ferry her back to whatever lord he had in mind for her. And she wasnotgoing.
“He’ll want a hot meal. They’ll be in the kitchen.”
Jenny pulled the ugly black shawl around herself. “Will we need the pistols, miss?”
A laugh bubbled up. She pictured Fergus MacEwen trying to carry her off into the dark night.
It wouldn’t come to that. She would refuse to return, and if they tried to force her, well, she had a set of men’s clothing packed in her bag and a very good horse. Just let them try to catch her.
“We’ll forgo the pistols tonight. What do you know about this Fergus MacEwen, Jenny?”
“He’s handsome as a devil and knows it, miss. Cocksure and full of himself.”
Something in the girl’s tone made her stop on the stairs. “A flirt?”
“Oh, yes, miss.”
Fox stirredthe embers of the fire and started a kettle. “There’s a stew in that pot over there.”
MacEwen lifted the lid, sniffed, and grunted. “’Twill do. Have you not got something stronger than tea?”
“Some rotgut brandy from the local smuggling ring. I’ll have to fetch it from upstairs.”
