And always the same names, cropping up again and again. The Earl of Newborough. His brother, Niall.
Evan stopped at a stall selling dried fish and leaned an elbow on the counter, adopting the posture of a man with nowhere pressing to be.
“Strange times,” he said casually, nodding toward the soldiers posted nearby.
The trader snorted. “That they are. City’s gone mad with it all.”
“And it would be madder still if it weren’t for the earl and his brother,” Evan said, gently prodding the trader. “Or that’s what the gossip says.”
The trader rubbed a hand over his stubbled cheek. “Aye, that’s what they say.”
Evan kept his expression neutral. “And I hear the younger brother is newly married?”
“Aye. Some Welsh noblewoman. Charlotte...something or other. Word is, she helped unmask the conspiracy too.”
Evan nodded slowly, forcing himself to breathe evenly, even though his heart was suddenly racing. So it was true. Charlotte, Ruby’s cousin. Married to Niall Campbell.
An ache flared in his chest at that thought—sharp and unexpected. He hadn’t known about the wedding. No letter. No word. Not that he’d expected one, after everything that had happened, but still...How far he’d fallen, that all this had come and gone without him ever hearing a whisper of it.
He thanked the trader and moved on, his thoughts a tangled knot.
He ought to be pleased at the news. With confirmation that she was married to Niall Campbell, he at least knew where Charlotte might be found. He could hand Ruby over and then disappear before anyone had time to connect the dots.
He made his way toward the more affluent part of town as the sky lightened to a dull gray and halted in the shadows opposite a townhouse. He’d not been here for many years, but the building was just as he remembered it: tall, elegant, the stonework immaculate.
But now it stood silent and dark. The shutters were closed and there was no sign of life within.
Evan waited and at last, he heard the jangle of keys. The door swung open and a middle-aged woman emerged, closing and locking the door behind her. She was carrying a broom in one hand and a mop bucket in the other.
Seizing his chance, Evan crossed the street and approached her. “Beg pardon,” he said, pitching his voice low and polite. “Is this the Campbell house? Niall Campbell?”
The woman eyed him warily, then nodded. “Aye.”
“Is the master in residence? I have business with him.”
She shook her head. “Nay. Lord Niall and his lady are away. At the country estate.”
Evan’s heart sank. “For how long?”
She shrugged. “I couldnae say. I’m not privy to the lord’s business. I just keep the place aired and see to matters while they’re gone.”
Evan forced a smile. “I see. My thanks.”
The country estate. Damn it. That meant he couldn’t simply drop Ruby off and vanish into the cracks of the city as he’d hoped.
It meant facing Niall. It meant facing the past he’d tried so hard to forget.
