And then the waves turned into ripples, and the storm drifted away. In the aftermath, there was only Grant, brushing her tangled hair away from her face, and murmuring sweet endearments in her ear.
As she lay in his arms, recovering her breath, Kathleen’s world subtly shifted on its axis. For so long, she’d assumed she’d spend the rest of her life as a spinster, and quite happily so.
For once, she was grateful to have been proven wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kathleen took a sip from her teacup, and then grimaced at the stone-cold brew. A glance at the clock on one of the library’s bookshelves confirmed that the entire morning had slipped by. Stifling a yawn, she considered taking a brisk walk before joining her sister for luncheon. Several hours of researching and sketching designs for new flowerbeds had left her with a fuzzy brain.
Part of that condition could be placed at Grant’s door. Or her door, actually, since she’d been silly enough to open it to him each of these last three nights. He always left before the servants were up, giving her a lingering kiss and a stern admonition to sleep in. Kathleen was an early riser, though, even if her future husband had kept her up half the night. But if it came to getting a good night’s sleep or making love with Grant, she’d choose the latter every time.
Of course, they needed to be careful, or Kathleen might find herself with child before her betrothed had even put a ring on her finger.
Grant had initially suggested a grand wedding in London with all her friends and their extended families in attendance. Although touched by his generosity, she’d told him a smaller affair in Glasgow was infinitely preferable to the circus of a ton wedding. Helen would no doubt kick up a fuss at having to travel to Scotland, but that was no longer Kathleen’s problem.
Besides, she now firmly believed that Jeannie should spend the rest of the winter in Glasgow with the Kendricks. Jeannie had seemed genuinely happy to hear of her betrothal to Grant, but also oddly unsettled. The girl had grown increasingly quiet these last few days, avoiding company as much as possible. When Kathleen had gently probed, Jeannie had burst into tears and begged her not to abandon her just yet.
It seemed an overreaction, but it was clear that Jeannie still relied on her, and equally clear that she dreaded returning home to Papa and Helen. So for now, Kathleen would do her best to keep Jeannie with her despite the challenges of managing a moody, complicated girl.
Overarching all these other considerations was the ever-lurking problem of the bandits. Though matters on that front had been quiet since the distillery fire, none of them were under the illusion the troubles were over. Grant and Graeme were continuing their investigations, but until that issue was successfully resolved, Kathleen and Grant’s future would have to wait.
Still, despite the delay, a quiet joy to her life persisted, because now she did have a future. And it was better than anything she’d ever imagined.
Kathleen was rolling up her sketches when Hannah hurried into the library, a troubled frown marking her brow.
“Is something wrong, Hannah?”
“Very wrong. You best look at these, Miss Kathleen.” The maid thrust some crumpled papers at her.
Kathleen placed them on the desk and started to smooth out what appeared to be scrawled notes.
“They’re notes to Miss Jeannie,” Hannah said. “Secret ones, from the look of it.”
“What? Who would send her secret notes?”
Hannah pointed to the bottom of one. Kathleen felt her jaw sag.
“Captain Brown?” she gasped.
“Looks like,” Hannah grimly replied. “I just glanced at one of ’em, but that told me enough.”
“Where did you find them?”
“In Miss Jeannie’s room. I’d gone there to fetch a gown that needed repairing. Since one of the housemaids is out with a nasty cold, I thought I’d straighten up, too. When I picked up the books by her bed, these fell out of one of ’em. I couldn’t help seeing Captain Brown’s name, and I knew that wasn’t right.” She pointed at one of the notes. “Read this one.”
Hannah’s dismayed expression reflected Kathleen’s growing horror as she started to peruse the page.
“Captain Brown asked my sister to steal Sabrina’s pearls, the ones she received from the king,” she blurted out.
“And it looks like she already did.”
The floor seemed to tilt under Kathleen’s feet, causing her to grab the edge of the desk. “You checked?”
“Just now. Them pearls are gone, all right.”
“You’re absolutely sure.”
“I take care of my lady’s jewels, so I know where everything is. Because she hardly wears that set, they’re always in the bottom of her jewel case. I also searched all her drawers, just in case.”
Kathleen scanned the rest of the notes. There were three in all, and the first obviously inserted into the book the day the captain had presented it to Jeannie. Fury now replaced horror as she realized how thoroughly the brute had hoodwinked her sister.
“Yer both lookin’ as queer as Dick’s hatband, lassies. What’s amiss?”
Kathleen wrenched her gaze up to see Angus in the doorway.
“Do you know where Grant is?” she hoarsely asked. “Or Graeme and Sabrina?”
“Grant’s out searchin’ again with a few of the grooms. Graeme’s at the distillery, and Sabrina went down to the village to see some of the shopkeepers.”
“I have to find Jeannie,” Kathleen said, starting for the door.
“She’s not upstairs,” Hannah said. “I think she’s gone, too.”
“What’s amiss?” Angus repeated in a louder voice.
Kathleen thrust the notes at him. “Captain Brown has been using my sister to steal for him. It appears she’s taken Sabrina’s pearls.” She turned to Hannah. “Can you make sure she’s not here? Get help from Davey and come find me when you know. I’ll check the kitchen garden and stables.”
Hannah rushed from the room.
As Angus read the notes, his scowl transformed from angry to ferocious. “Scaly, nasty-faced bastard. Do ye think yon vicar is involved?”
“No, but the captain told Jeannie that David is nursing a secret affection for her, and has been held back by his scruples over their difference in station and wealth.”
As she headed out to the hall, Angus kept pace with her. “So, if the vicar only had enough money, he’d offer for our Jeannie. Is that the story?”
“Yes, and Captain Brown would sell the pearls and give the money to David, so David could then ask Jeannie to marry him.”
“Without tellin’ the vicar it was money from stolen goods? How would that work?” Angus skeptically asked. “Yer sister’s no cakedoodle, Kathleen. She’d nae fall for such nonsense.”
“I’m sure the captain had some ready explanation, and Jeannie is naïve enough to believe a cunning cheat like him. She wants to believe it, because she still thinks she’s in love with David.”
“Aye, but stealin’ Sabrina’s pearls, lass.”
“I know. It’s beyond dreadful.”
She felt sick over her sister’s actions. In retrospect, Jeannie’s troubling behavior these past days now made sense. Kathleen hadn’t wanted to push her, but it had been yet another capital error on her part.
Panic threatened to overwhelm her. One of the notes alluded to Jeannie meeting up with the captain at some point today. The thought of her little sister in that man’s clutches ...
“I swear, if Brown hurts Jeannie, I will throttle him with my bare hands,” she gritted out.
Angus opened the door to the kitchen garden. “Aye, that. But how did the bastard get to our Jeannie in the first place?”
“It probably happened that day he found her in the rain. God only knows what stories he put into her head during their ride back to Lochnagar. What I cannot understand is how he delivered all those notes. The first one, yes. That was in the book he gave her. But the others?”
“All questions that nee
d answerin’.”
“Including one about his ultimate game,” she said as they strode between the vegetable beds. “Is the captain simply a common thief and Jeannie a convenient mark?”
“Probably got something to do with his land scheme. Grant got a letter from Nick just this mornin’ with none too good a report on the captain’s investors. There’s no proof they even exist.”
Clarity struck Kathleen with the force of a slap to the cheek, bringing her to a halt.
Angus stopped mid-stride. “Lass?”
“The gang of thieves,” she whispered.
He looked blank for a moment before shaking his head. “But they were thievin’ a good three weeks afore Brown showed up.”
“That would provide him the perfect cover. He wasn’t even in Dunlaggan when the thieving and vandalism began. Plus, no one would suspect him because the blasted vicar is his brother.”
Angus shoved a hand through his bristly white hair, making it stick straight up. “The thievin’ makes sense. But the vandalism and fire—that doesna connect.”
“It’s a terrible muddle.” She took his arm and headed for the stables. “But whether he was involved in those crimes or not, Brown is endangering my sister. We have to find her.”
“And we need to warn the lads and get them lookin’ for Brown.”
“Of course, this would be the day when everyone has gone off in different directions,” she groused as they hurried through the open doors of the stables.
The stable boy came out of the tack room. “Can I help ye, Miss Calvert?”
“Have you seen my sister, Brian?”
“She went out on one of the ponies an hour ago. I saddled Betsy myself.”
Kathleen grimaced. “But none of us are supposed to go without an escort.”
Brian nodded. “I offered to go with her, but Miss Jeannie said she was only goin’ to the distillery to see the cat, and that she had yer permission. It’s but a mile, and the workmen repairing the damage are using that path all day. She’d nae be out of anyone’s sight.”
Kathleen pressed a hand to her suddenly perspiring forehead. “Oh, my God.”
“Och, that girl is too smart for her own good.” Angus patted Kathleen’s shoulder. “Steady on, lass. We’ll find her.”
She nodded and forced herself to think. “Brian, please saddle the mare for me. A regular saddle, not a lady’s.”
The boy eyed her morning dress. “But miss—”
“Hop to it, lad,” Angus barked. Then he cocked an eyebrow at Kathleen. “We’re goin’ to the vicarage, I take it?”
“Yes. The captain has been staying there, so it’s the best place to start looking.”
“I’ll saddle up.”
Angus followed Brian into the tack room. A moment later, Hannah and Davey rushed into the stables.
“She’s nowhere in the house, miss,” Hannah wheezed. “I’m sure of it.”
“I know. She left an hour ago.”
“We found out how she was gettin’ the notes,” Davey said. “The kitchen boy told us the captain’s man was passin’ them to him, to give to Miss Jeannie.”
Kathleen frowned. “The captain has a servant?”
“His batman,” Hannah said. “And a pert fella he is, too. He made a show of courting one of the housemaids. That was why he’d drop by, all casual-like. The kitchen boy’s a bit slow, Miss Kathleen, so he wouldn’t know it was a wrong thing to pass them notes.”
“The captain certainly thought of everything.” When Kathleen found him, she would wring his blasted neck.
“Davey,” she continued, “go to the distillery and tell Sir Graeme what’s happening. Since Captain Brown is staying at the vicarage, Mr. MacDonald and I will ride straight there and start looking about.”
“I’ll run, miss. Be faster than waitin’ for a horse.” The footman took off at a dead run toward the distillery path.
“Hannah, does Lady Sabrina have an escort?”
“She took the coach, so there’s a footman and the coachman.”
“Good. If we see her in the village, we’ll tell her what’s happened. You keep an eye out for Jeannie. If she comes back, send word to the vicarage.”
“Aye, miss.”
Brian led the mare out of the stall.
Hannah grimaced. “You can’t go riding in that outfit, miss.”
“I’m wearing my gardening boots, so they’ll do. I just need a—”
“Coat.” Hannah disappeared into the tack room.
“Brian, do you have gloves?” Kathleen asked.
The boy pulled out a pair of plain leather gloves from his jerkin. Then Hannah returned with a wool jacket, the sort grooms wore in colder weather.
Kathleen pulled on the gloves and shrugged into the coat. It swamped her, but would keep her warm. “Hannah, hold the bridle while Brian gives me a leg up.”
The maid looked scandalized but did as she was told.
Brian boosted Kathleen onto the mare just as Angus led a saddled bay out of its stall.
“Ridin’ hell-bent for leather, are we?” he said to Kathleen as she settled, draping her skirts over her legs.
“That we are.”
“That fella’s skittish, Mr. MacDonald,” Brian said, eyeing the bay’s twitchy behavior. “Mayhap ye should take one of the mares?”
Angus scoffed. “Och, there’s nae horse I canna handle, lad.”
The old man nimbly mounted, and quickly brought the fidgety horse under control.
Kathleen led the way to the stable yard and around the house. Once they passed through the courtyard and onto the main drive, she prodded the mare into a gallop. Angus kept pace, easily controlling the big bay.
As they raced toward the main road, Kathleen’s heart pounded, seemingly in time with the mare’s hooves. When they reached the estate’s gates a few minutes later, they slowed to make the turn to Dunlaggan.
Kathleen’s breath caught when she saw a rider coming toward them from the village, still several hundred yards out. “Can you tell who that is?”
“Looks like a man.”
Drat. Not Jeannie.
She shielded her eyes from the afternoon glare. “Maybe it’s Grant.”
Angus peered forward and then spat out a curse. “Nae. It’s the scaly bastard.”
Brown was riding straight toward them at an easy canter. It seemed almost impossible to believe.
Kathleen gathered her dumbfounded wits. “At least Jeannie isn’t with him, so I hope that’s a good sign. He doesn’t seem the least bit disturbed, does he?”
“Happen yer right about that.”
A moment later, the captain waved his hat in greeting.
“He obviously thinks we don’t know what he’s up to,” she said.
Angus glanced at her. “What’s the plan, lass? Shall we take him?”
She grimaced. “I didn’t think to bring a pistol.”
The old fellow patted his pocket. “I got a nice popper from the tack room. No worries about that.”
“Thank goodness one of us is thinking ahead. Let’s slow down. We can’t rush in unprepared.”
This might be their only chance to capture Brown. More importantly, they didn’t yet know where Jeannie was. If Brown had done anything to her, they couldn’t afford to let him get away.
“We’ll take him,” Angus said.
“Agreed, but wait till he’s close before drawing your pistol. You can’t afford to miss.”
“Och, I never miss.”
Grant had once commented that his grandfather was a terrible shot. She had to trust that, for once, he’d been exaggerating.
“We’ll simply act like friends who happened to run into each other,” she said.
Angus nodded. “Then I’ll pull out my popper and make the bastard get off his horse. He’ll be easier to control that way.”
“That . . . that sounds fine.”
It actually sounded horrible, but she didn’t have a better idea.
“Good day to you, Miss C
alvert,” the captain cheerfully called out as he approached.
Kathleen reined in her horse. Angus did likewise, staying close. His bay sidled a bit, but the old fellow kept him under control.
Captain Brown came to a halt about a dozen yards away. Was he suspicious already? Still, he seemed his usual jovial self, so she managed to pin on a smile.
“Good afternoon, sir,” she said. “Are you off to Lochnagar?”
“Yes, to call on Lady Kendrick and the rest of you ladies. I must make my departure tomorrow, so I’ve come to say goodbye. Business calls, I’m afraid.”
“How unfortunate. I’m sure your brother will miss you.”
“Yes, I’m afraid he will. Especially since he’s nursing a broken heart, eh, Miss Calvert?” He gave her a knowing wink.
Kathleen returned a polite smile. Blast the man, though. Why wouldn’t he come closer?
Angus glanced at her before pulling out a horse pistol and leveling it straight at Brown. Obviously, he’d decided the captain was close enough.
Brown’s eyebrows shot up in exaggerated surprise. “Is this a jest? Miss Calvert, has the old codger lost his wits?”
“Ye’ll hold yer bleedin’ tongue and get doon off that horse,” Angus snarled.
Brown adopted an outraged expression. “I’ll do no such thing. What the devil is going on, here?”
“You’ve been using my sister to steal for you,” Kathleen snapped. “Where is she, you bounder?”
“Hell’s bells, that’s a jolly rude thing to say to a friend.”
“We found your notes. Jeannie was to meet you this afternoon, bringing Sabrina’s necklace. My sister had best be unharmed if you don’t wish to get shot.”
“I’ll shoot ye anyway, ye blasted varlet,” Angus said. “Now, get off yer damn horse.”
Brown’s gaze darted between them. Then, oddly, he smiled and held up a hand. “I think not.”
Boom.
A thundering shot echoed nearby. It startled Kathleen’s mare, though she didn’t lose control. But Angus’s nervous bay shied badly, nearly dismounting him. Struggling with the reins, he dropped the pistol.
When it hit the ground, it discharged. The bay reared again and sent the old man tumbling backward onto the grassy verge. The horse then jumped a low wall and took off across the field.
The Highlanderâ??s Irish Bride Page 36
