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“Thisismy home.”
“Indeed it is,” Mrs. Baxter said quietly.
Muriel peered at the housekeeper then shook her head. “We must stop them.”
Ivy nodded. “I will not be forced from here. I made vows to my husband and whilst he might be too stubborn to follow them through, I will not frighten this easily.”
“We won’t let him send you away,” Muriel said.
“No.” Mrs. Baxter folded her arms. “No, we shall not.”
***
Apparently, Cillian’s entire household was in revolt. Or at least, the female portion of it. Shah had given him a funny look when he’d told the steward he wanted his wife’s belongings packed and a letter sent by special messenger to Ivy’s father. Whether that letter would even make it to the earl’s house, Cillian wasn’t certain.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and paused outside Shah’s office when he heard a feminine voice. If he wasn’t much mistaken it was Ivy’s maid and the woman did not much like him after she faced him down alongside Ivy and prevented him from having her clothes packed.
It didn’t matter. He’d send her away, regardless. He could have her clothes sent after she was gone. He’d return her to the Musgraves’ house somehow. Anything to keep her from danger.
“He’s a good man, Muriel,” he heard Shah say as he put a hand to the door. Cillian stilled.
“If he’s such a good man, why does he insist on sending Her Ladyship away?”
“He fears for her safety.” Shah sighed. “Hell, if it was you under threat, I’d feel the same way.”
Cillian frowned. He wasn’t aware Shah and Muriel were close friends.
“Well, if you ask me, he is a stubborn—”
Cillian shoved open the door and the maid’s cheeks turned ashen in an instant. “My lord!” she spluttered.
“Didn’t know I was expecting you.” Shah showed no signs of embarrassment at being caught talking about Cillian, though he supposed at least the man had tried to defend him, albeit rather pathetically in Cillian’s opinion.
“You are doing your mistress no good in aiding her,” he told Muriel, thrusting a finger at her. “She is not safe here.”
“She would rather be at your side,” Muriel countered, and added a swift ‘my lord’.
“You had to drag the man from the curricle, Muriel. Surely you have no desire to do such a thing again?”
Shah shrugged. “He’s not wrong there. It could have been much worse.”
“Yet we both saw him off with ease.” The maid sniffed and lifted her chin. “We are quite capable of defending ourselves.”
Except Cillian feared it was only going to get worse. Marshall’s behavior was escalating by the day. If he was willing to attempt the kidnap of Ivy, what was next?
“Damned stubborn women,” Cillian muttered.
“I cannot disagree, my lord,” Shah said.
Muriel gave him a light tap on his arm and an annoyed look. “If Lady Hartford does not wish to leave then I can only stand by her. After all, are we to have our every movement dictated to us by men?”
“I am your master,” Cillian reminded her.
“But you are not Lady Hartford’s,” she countered, “whether the law says it or not, and I do not believe, my lord, you would wish it any other way.”
He hissed out a breath through his teeth. Trust him to hire a woman just as stubborn as his wife and as outspoken as Shah. Could he not have obedient people who agreed with everything he said, even just for a moment.
“Where is she anyway?”
