He meant to leave the decision to her. Some of this new independence she’d found was rather intimidating. But she’d always liked Lady Aldriss, and had never heard anything but kindness and understanding from the countess. “I’ve seen your mother walk through a room and with a glance stop an argument or quiet a rumor,” she said. “She is formidable. If she says she can help, I think we should believe her.” She shrugged. “At the worst, we travel for another week back to London and then up here again.”
“I dunnae ken if my backside can take that,” Niall said with a faint grin. “I didnae expect this, though, and I reckon I like the idea of it.”
Amelia-Rose nodded. “As do I.” The idea that she might gain London again, be able to visit every so often, didn’t mean as much as it once would have, but having the freedom to go if she chose to do so—that appealed to her.
“And that’s our next dilemma,” Aden put in. “Hurst. Back in England. Heading for London, I imagine, on the same road we’ll be taking.”
Niall rubbed his chin. “Wait here, lass.”
She grabbed his arm as he turned away. “You are not going to murder him. That will follow you wherever you go.”
“I’m nae that cold-blooded,” he returned. “I’d at least make it a fair fight.”
“N—”
“Come and listen, then,” he interrupted. “I’ll nae have ye worried that ye’ve married a lunatic.”
Without waiting for her, he walked back to Hurst’s tree and stopped in front of it. Amelia-Rose hurried after him, lifting her skirts over the long grass. Lionel didn’t look any happier, but his face had returned to its usual shade of pale.
“Hurst,” Niall said, his hands on his hips, “I’m feeling generous today. Mrs. Baxter offered ye ten thousand to take her daughter. I’ll give ye five thousand to keep yer mouth shut about ye getting yer coach borrowed, this chase up to Scotland, ye getting tied to a tree, and my brothers wanting to cut yer balls off for insulting my lass.”
“I—”
“If ye see any way this story would make ye look the better, I’d like to hear it, because all I see for ye is being laughed at and nae having any blunt to make up for it.”
The marquis frowned, his eyes narrowed. He glanced at the two men who’d accompanied him, neither of whom would meet his gaze. Whatever the MacTaggerts had said to them, they wouldn’t be talking about anything.
“I don’t seem to have much choice, do I?” he finally snapped.
“I’d agree with that. Ye stay here for another day, then head back to London. Say ye had business somewhere. We’ll see it all sorted, and ye’ll nae have to do a thing but nae have any idea why that engagement announcement appeared in the newspaper.”
“And the money?”
“Will be at yer door within a day of ye returning to London. Do we have an agreement?”
“How do I know you’ll abide by it, you heathen?”
“Because if I wanted to do someaught permanent to ye, I reckon people go missing up here all the time. Like Amy said, ye got pulled into this. So at the end ye’ll be a bachelor with an extra five thousand pounds ye wouldnae have had a fortnight ago. I ask ye again, do we have an agreement?”
Hurst took a breath, wincing as the ropes tightened around his chest. “Yes. We have an agreement.”
Niall pulled the knife from his boot. With a swift cut he sliced the ropes, then walked over to do the same for the other two men. “The blue inn there, The Copper, has a fine kitchen. They’ll put ye up for the night, as well.”
“Don’t expect me to thank you, MacTaggert.”
“I dunnae. Just go.”
When he turned his back, Amelia-Rose joined him, wrapping her hands around his arm. “You are a very good man,” she whispered.
“I’m a man who doesnae want blood spilled on my wedding day,” he returned, lowering his cheek to her hair. “Ye heard me, aye?” he asked his brothers.
Aden nodded. “Ye’re assuming Francesca will hand that rat over five thousand quid, though. And that he’ll nae ask for more later.”
“Once our mother does whatever she’s promising, I’ll deal with him again if I have to. He’ll nae like it as much, though.”
“I wanted to eat at The Copper,” Coll stated, scowling.
“Come along, lads,” Niall said, heading them back toward the village well behind Hurst and his men. “I reckon I know a place where we can get some fresh bread. It may cost us a fortune, though.”
So this was her married life. Amelia-Rose sighed as she walked beside her tall, handsome husband. Her Highlander. She’d expected to find marriage to be a dull duty. Judging by her first hour of being married to Niall MacTaggert, she was in for a grand adventure. She looked forward to every moment of it—even if they returned to London only to have to leave again. Because she would be with Niall. She would be a MacTaggert.
Chapter Eighteen
Francesca rose early. Her son—all her sons—should arrive in Gretna Green sometime today, and at any time now Niall would be married. She did see the irony of it; he’d done as she’d ordered all those years ago when he’d been a very independent seven-year-old and she’d wanted a way to keep her boys in her life; he had, or he would shortly, marry an Englishwoman. His choice and his methods, though, had effectively removed them both from England. From her.
Hannah arrived at her bedchamber, and while she always dressed carefully, this morning Francesca chose a silver-and-blue ensemble, something a bit too fancy for a day she meant to spend in Oswell House. She and Eloise had spent the past three days at home, in fact, not receiving visitors and declining the invitation she’d already accepted to a small soiree honoring a friend’s birthday.
“The pearls, or the onyx?” Hannah asked, the maid holding up the two necklaces.
“The pearls. The onyx is more formidable, but I couldn’t wear it before sunset without looking overdressed.”
When they’d finished, Francesca stood to eye herself in the dressing mirror. The last time she’d dressed this carefully had been the day Coll, Aden, and Niall had arrived in London. That had been a battle that for a short time she hadn’t been certain she would win. She still wasn’t certain she could call it a victory, though all three had now referred to her as their mother. From Aden and Niall, at least, she’d begun to sense a grudging respect and even a smattering of affection. That meant everything, and gave her enough hope to keep pressing the far more jaded and caustic Coll.
As Hannah left the room, Eloise slipped inside. “Do you think they’re married yet?”
“According to Aden, they should be at Gretna Green sometime today. So not yet, but soon.”
“I know it’s scandalous, but it’s so romantic.”
Francesca eyed her daughter. “You are not going to elope. If you wed before any of your brothers, I will have to abide by the agreement.”
“I want a grand church wedding,” Eloise said. “With Papa to walk me down the aisle.”
That wasn’t likely to happen, but Francesca didn’t say anything about it now. Several miracles had happened already, after all. “Mm-hm.”
“Mama, may Matthew at least call on me today?” she asked, lifting the folded letter she held in one hand. “He thinks I’m angry with him over something.”
“Perhaps later,” Francesca returned. “I believe I will have some callers shortly. If everything goes as I hope, then Matthew may join us for dinner.”
“Everyone else has seen the engagement announcement by now,” her daughter returned. “What does it matter if we’ve seen it or not? Or if we go out and chat about it?”
“Deniability. We haven’t been asked if we’ve seen it, and we haven’t been asked to comment about it. Therefore, we can claim we knew nothing about the silly thing. That will be important, Eloise. Don’t forget. We know nothing about it.”
“I still don’t see why that matters. We’re not mentioned in it. Amelia-Rose and Lord Hurst are. Whatever you’ve planned, we can’t stop Lord Hurst from speaking out, certainly.”