Page 67 of The Wolf Queen’s Curse

“Because I know you, Cousin. You left him there as a spy.”

I turn to Bishop. “What?” Before he can answer, I wince. “Of course. I should have seen that. You want Hamish to think he’s won. It helps if one of your own Pack already turns his back on you.”

I tap his thigh. “Kenric did that very well, by the way, and in front of Caledonian witnesses.”

“Yes, I wasn’t sure how good an actor he’d be, but it was very well done.” Bishop looks at Rufus. “You wondered what potential I saw in Kenric. This is it. He is so reticent and so unobtrusive that he makes the perfect spy.”

Julius nods. “He stays behind to gather information. Meanwhile, Hamish will be too pleased to suspect a trick. To him, it’ll be a sign that any plan to depose you may succeed.” He lifts the food hamper from the floor. “We’ll be in Glasgow shortly. Any chance you’ll tell us why we’re going there?”

“Because of me,” I say. “I am in need of new hairpins. Bishop lost my prettiest ones in the forest.”

“The ones I bought?” Julius says. “Do you know how long I spent choosing those?”

“She’s having fun with you,” Rufus rumbles. “Obviously we are not going to Glasgow for hair jewelry.”

“You underestimate the importance of having a woman’s hair well tamed,” I say. “Otherwise, it flies from captivity and ensnares innocent men.”

“It kind of does,” Julius says as he opens the hamper. “It’s very odd.”

“Not odd at all,” I say. “You are accustomed to seeing a woman’s hair up unless you are in private together. If you are in private together, she is likely your lover. Therefore, unbound hair makes men think salacious thoughts. So they insist on it being bound in public, which perpetuates the cycle.”

I pop a strawberry into my mouth. “I did not lose all the clips and pins you bought me, Julius, but I did need to give two up for lost. I will replace them in Glasgow, along with visiting an old friend of my aunt’s for information on the Levines and…”

I tell them the rest of our plans.

In Glasgow, we split up, though not in the expected way. Bishop has something to do, and he takes Julius, leaving Rufus and me at a pretty little shop for lunch. It’s a lovely place, full of women dining out with female companions and friends, all of them attired in a way that makes me feel positively underdressed despite my very fine travel gown. However, I do not for one moment feel out of place, as Rufus shoulders that burden for the both of us.

“Not quite what you’re accustomed to?” I say as I peruse the menu while he tries very hard to ignore the nonstop glances our way.

When he scowls, I lift a gloved hand. “It was not my choice. I believe Bishop wanted me to have a bit of a treat, among my own sex, given that I have been surrounded by men for days.”

He allows that seems fair enough before growling, “I only wish they’d stop gaping like a sheepherder sat down in their fine establishment.”

“That is not why they gape,” I say. “You’re dressed well enough. You simply present a more…” I waggle my brows. “Strapping figure than they are accustomed to. Do you know how men ogle pretty girls, imagining them without their pretty clothes? That’s what they’re doing to you.”

He chokes so violently that I wonder whether I’ll need to pound him between the shoulders. Then he glares at me.

“What?” I say. “It’s true. All right, they might not be imagining you unclothed, but they are appreciating the sight of you. See that handsome matron to our left? She’s thinking that her husband might be of an age with you, but he certainly doesn’t look like you.”

He glances over, as if to prove me wrong, and the woman quickly lifts her menu, only to peer over the top at him.

“Stop fussing,” I say. “You’re fine, and the food will be excellent, though perhaps not in the quantity either of us desires.”

He jabs a finger at the menu. “I don’t recognize half of these things.”

“No matter. I will order for the both of us, and then everyone will stare again, and truly wonder what is our relationship, that I take such liberties.”

The girl approaches, and I save Rufus’s pride by setting down my menu between us and ordering with his “help” while exaggerating my English accent, as if we both need assistance understanding the Scottish offerings.

After we’ve ordered, we settle in, and I take advantage of the opportunity to get to know Rufus better.

TWENTY-FOUR

Bishop and Julius meet us after lunch, and we divide our small force again. Julius and Rufus will send messages to Oliver and then gather supplies while Bishop and I visit my aunt’s old friend.

Finding Beatrice is easy enough. I’ve never visited her in Glasgow, but in London she operated an apothecary shop. Lenora always considered that dangerous ground—not because she feared being recognized as an actual witch but because a woman openly dealing in medicine will always be looked on with suspicion. It’s been that way since before the witch hunts, the village healer being a figure of concern because she took paying work from male doctors.

These days, it’s harder to drive women out of business by shouting “Witch!” Other methods are required to keep them in their place, and in the sphere of medicine, it’s the specter of poison. Who knows what these ladies could be concocting behind closed doors. Surely they also deal in poison for getting rid of husbands.