“Where are Ian and Tam?” Fiona ducked her head into the reception room with a frown. “They were supposed to be here to check up on you.”
“What?”
“What?” she reiterated innocently as she glanced around the hall. “Where is everyone?”
“As I said, there’s something pressing I need to talk to ye about,” Connor repeated as they traversed the entry hall.
In reality, if the newlywed couple refrained from visiting Aylesbury or catching up with London’s gossip, he could probably go a few months or more before bringing up the subject or having the truth come out. For the time being, between his sister’s distraction with her new spouse and this sprawling monstrosity of a manor, secrets could be kept a while longer.
Until everyone was ready to expose them…
“Good God.”
Connor spun around at Harry’s harsh exclamation to find him standing stock-still and staring up the central stair as if he’d seen a ghost.
On the other hand…
* * *
Piper stood at the window overlooking the front drive. The carriage bearing her brother and his wife rattled up the endless avenue. With every jolt and distant grind of the wheels, apprehension took a tighter hold of her. She hadn’t decided if she was prepared to face Harry yet, though she had no objection to Connor telling him the whole truth on his own.
It had been difficult enough to confront her mother. With no anticipation for a happy conclusion, she hadn’t been disappointed by Celeste’s explanations. Her mother’s pleas of innocence, which snowballed to accusations that none of it would have happened if Piper had complied with her wishes, were much as she expected.
Between angry rants and bouts of tearful hysteria, Celeste finally confessed to being complicit in the duke’s vengeful plan. As an innocent pawn, no more. Rutledge had approached her—after Harry exposed Dormer’s assault on Edgerton’s daughter, a coincidence she hadn’t noted—commiserating with her reduced circumstance when Aylesbury had cut her off beyond a modest allowance. He’d offered her a loan to ease her well-known financial woes.
From there came a tangent about how it had all been Harry’s fault.
If he hadn’t left her without funds…
If he hadn’t brought Dormer’s scandalous behavior to light…
From there, she’d reverted back to blaming Rutledge. He’d played on her weakness for wealth and position. Provided money, and more money, only to call in her loans without notice. He suggested there was fortune enough to be had in Piper’s dowry. Celeste claimed her daughter hadn’t been old enough to wed…
“I promised you a Season, darling,” she cried through crocodile tears.
From there, Rutledge offered Celeste a duchess’s tiara and a forgiveness of all she owed if Piper were to marry Dormer.
She’d had no choice. No alternative. She was too afraid of the duke to dispute his wishes.
That she felt the circumstances warranted her actions, left Piper with a heavy heart. Nothing could rationalize a mother turning a blind eye to attempted rape. No amount of apology could make it better. Celeste never offered one, either. Though the emotional display her mother exhibited upon seeing her left Piper conflicted, she—backed by Connor and the entire household—had sent Celeste packing. She hadn’t wanted to hear any more excuses.
She wasn’t certain she wanted to hear them from her brother either. True, Harry hadn’t been a part of the duke’s plan, rather the object of his revenge. She now had confirmation, thanks to the conversation Connor had been privy to between Celeste and Rutledge, that Harry hadn’t known of her disappearance from London until months after the fact.
Celeste admitted to hiding or intercepting her correspondence with him in the months before she ran. Initially, to cover the forced marriage until it was too late. Later, to conceal Piper’s absence with the hope of retrieving her before he was the wiser. He’d known nothing of the events surrounding her flight from London.
Some things…most of them, he still didn’t.
Piper wasn’t certain she was ready to tell him everything. Connor had made no argument, but had gone down alone to greet Harry and his sister. Ian and Tam had taken to their room to “recover” under the tender care of the entire female staff.
As she watched, a smile touched Piper’s heart and lips as her new sister-in-law flung herself into Connor’s arms. He offered no protest, though she did see his wince. That ‘scratch’ on his arm had taken a half-dozen stitches and pained him still a fortnight later. Fiona’s joyful laugh penetrated the windows to reach Piper’s ears. He was his sister’s favorite. Connor had once thought that was all he had to recommend him, however, Piper knew he was coming around to a different way of thinking. A better way.
Her way.
Her smile faltered as Harry descended the carriage and offered his hand to Connor. Her brother slid an arm around his wife’s waist and smiled down at her with affection and tenderness that harkened back to Piper’s youth. She’d missed his smiles. His brotherly hugs. That sense of utter security that had once been hers.
Until it hadn’t been for so long.
Piper swung away from the window, a tear tickling as it traced a path down her cheek.
How she’d loved him.
Missed him.
“Good God.”
The astonished exclamation claimed her attention and she stared down at her brother with the same wonder she saw in his familiar eyes. She hadn’t even realized her feet had carried her to the stairs.
Now they carried her down them at a run.
“Oh my God! Piper!” Harry caught her in his arms and twirled her around. A sob shaking his broad chest. “Oh, my sweet girl,” he whispered in her ear, the words trembling with emotion. So thick she could hardly understand them. “You’re here. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I’m here.”
She was crying, as was he. Tears of joy and sobs sent his ecstatic rotation off-kilter until they were both laughing. Pangs of happiness and regret ricocheted against her ribs. He set her on her feet and stared down at her as if he couldn’t comprehend her presence.
“Where were you? Where have you been?” He swiped the tears off her cheeks, his gaze retracing her features as if to memorize, or recollect, every feature. “Why did you leave without telling me?”
“Oh, long story that.” She gave a watery chuckle and swiped her fingers over her wet cheeks with one hand, gripping his tightly with the other.
She should have done this long ago. An eternity of gratitude would never be enough to repay Connor for making this moment happen.
“Did Granger find you?” Harry demanded. “I’ll kill him for not telling me straightaway.”
“Actually, he pulled a gun on me.” She laughed again.
“He what? My God, I’ll kill him for that as well,” he swore in all seriousness.
Piper waved her hand before her face as a rush of emotion overtook her. She glanced at Connor for help and he hurried to her side.
“Do ye need me to…?”
She shook her head. “No, I’ve got it.”
He turned to Harry and raised a conciliatory hand. “Dinnae browbeat her, aye? Why dinnae I call for Hilde to bring ye some tea in the drawing room so Piper can tell ye about it in her own time?”
Harry looked between her and Connor for a moment and nodded. He addressed his wife. “Darling, I should love to finally introduce you to my sister, Lady Phillipa Brudenall.”
“Piper,” she corrected, as she was enveloped in a warm hug. She returned it for she’d never heard anything but complimentary things about this sister-in-law of hers. One twice over.
“I’m delighted that you’re home,” Fiona said for her ears only. “He has grieved for you for so long.”
“I have missed him, as well,” she assured her.
Fiona drew away with a bright smile. “I’m pleased to have you here. What happened?”
Connor offered his arm to his sister by way of distrac
tion. He’d warned her Fiona was the straightforward sort. “I’ll take ye up to visit the twins and tell ye all about it while Piper talks to Harry.”
Gratefully, Piper watched them go. She didn’t know what she planned to say to her brother, though she definitely didn’t want an audience for it.
In the end, it all poured out of her without hesitation. Every detail right up until she and Connor boarded the train to Scotland. Fifteen minutes later over a hot tea laced with Hilde’s whisky, Piper brushed another tear away as Harry buried his face in his shaking hands.
“My God. I’ll kill him.”
“I can’t say I’m sorry you’ll be denied the chance.”
“I never knew you were missing until near the end of April.” He peeked up at her between his fingers, eyes glassy with shock. “It was months before I knew. Celeste hid your absence from me.”
“I know that now.”
“She’d didn’t write me with the truth—rather, her version of it—until she was desperate.” He sounded a trifle dumbfounded, but then the whole thing was mind-boggling.
Setting aside her teacup, Piper went to the sideboard and poured a healthy portion of Connor’s favorite Scotch into a glass and brought it to him. It sloshed over the rim as he took it and tossed it back. Poor Harry, the story had hurt him more than it had hurt her at this point.
Then again, she’d had time to heal, to reflect, and… if not forgive, at least be willing to set it all behind her. With the threat of the duke forever banished, she was well on her way to regaining the bits of herself long buried and anticipating a happier future.
Harry would get there, too.
“I knew nothing of her arrangement with Rutledge. Nothing of his revenge.”
“I know.”
His fingers whitened around the empty glass. “Then to take his wrath out on you rather than facing me himself!” He lifted his head, his expression bleak. “I didn’t learn of Sedmouth’s passing until much later. I would have come…I should have long before then. I could have wed a dozen times over, but after what Father suffered at Celeste’s hands, I couldn’t bring myself to wed where I had no affection. Thought I’d finally found someone I could marry without reservation. I followed her to Scotland to try to get it done. She married another and I knew I’d failed you again. When you stopped responding to my letters, I thought you were cross with me for not taking you away from Celeste sooner. I was angry with myself.”
“I was. Quite cross.” Piper resumed her seat next to her brother on the settee and sipped her tea before adding, “And heartbroken.”
“You had every right.”
“I’m simply gratified to know that you didn’t give up on me, after all.” She reached out to take his hand. Her love for her brother, so long tarnished, recovered some of its polish with his admission. A golden glow that bathed her in its light. “You didn’t fail me.”
He covered her hand with his and offered a sorrowful shake of his head. “Yes, I did. To my eternal shame. I knew Celeste couldn’t be trusted. I should have questioned everyone myself instead of believing her. I was frantic with worry, I initially didn’t care why you ran away. My primary concern was in finding you. I scoured the whole of London. Went to the door of every friend you ever mentioned in your letters from school. I went to the school, dash it all.”
“You never came to Dinton Grange.”
“It is the single place I never thought I should have to check. Honestly, I was certain you were anywhere but here, and I didn’t dare waste time when there were so many other places you might have gone. You see, I never knew you ran from me, too. If you had come here searching for me, come home, I was confident you would have found a way to let me know. Moreover, I assumed someone would tell me if you were here.” Rising, he made the short journey to the decanter and refilled his glass. Raising it, he scanned the room as if seeing it for the first time. “I can’t believe you were right here all the while. I should never have trusted what I thought I knew, any more than I should have believed Celeste’s claims that she’d interrogated the staff. I understand Miss Langston keeping your confidence, however, it astounds me that none of the servants ever said a word. Any of them could have written and told me. I ought to sack the lot of them. I thought they were loyal to me.”
“They were loyal to me,” she countered in their defense. “They are my people. My friends. My family. They did as I asked because I convinced them that it was for the best. They became convinced of it, too, when you never came around. Don’t blame them.”
Harry appeared taken aback by her tirade, though he nodded in agreement. “I don’t. I blame myself. I always have.”
“I’ve discovered there is only one person who is to blame for all of this.” She took his hands to console him. Console them both. “He has had his punishment and will face a far different sort of judgment than I had foreseen.”
Her brother shook his head. “I blame myself. I shouldn’t have given up the search. After that first year, I spent the better portion of my time in a drunken stupor, mourning you when I should have scoured the world for you. I began to see you everywhere. A ghost to haunt me for my mistakes. I’d lost everything I had left to love.” Staring into the depths of the amber liquid thoughtfully, he set it aside untouched and smiled. “Then I met Fiona. She brought joy back into my life. Gave me something more to love.”
Piper shook her head, denying the words. “Something else, you mean.”
“No. Something more.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders in another fierce hug. “Though I lost all faith that I’d ever see you again, I never stopped loving you. Not for a single moment. You were forever in my heart.”
Hers leapt with his admission.
Then sank. She bit her lip as same old hurt rekindled. “Why didn’t you come after then, that day you saw me in Aylesbury?”
“Staying would have cost Fiona her life. It was a terrible choice.” His chest heaved with a heavy sigh. “I’ve a story of my own to share another time. Suffice it to say, I felt I had few options in that moment. I went to her, nevertheless, I had renewed hope that I would find you. That’s why I hired Granger. He’ll pay dearly for threatening you when the whole of his duties was to assure me that you were safe.”
Piper slipped her arms around her brother’s shoulders and rested her cheek there. “He’s probably feeling remorseful enough. The weather in the Shetlands is said to be brutal this time of year.”
“What?”
He tried to pull away, but she clung tight a while longer, savoring his presence and content with the knowledge that all was finally right in her world.
“So, what now?”
Harry lifted a quizzical brow. “I saw that look Connor gave you. I’ll have words with him next, however, please don’t think you have to settle. Let me take you to London. You can have your Season and be courted by the ton’s most eligible bachelors.”
Piper drew on her bottom lip to hide a smile, wondering how to break the news. “Oh, I think I prefer farmers to gentlemen these days, Harry. I’m afraid I’ll never fit into a ballroom.”
“You never had the chance to try,” he insisted.
“No, I’ll never be a society miss again,” she told him. “I don’t care for frills and foibles. I’m afraid I have no idea how to be retiring anymore. I’m too independent and forthcoming for the ton.”
Harry shook his head. “How would you know? You’ve never even attended a ball. Never danced a waltz.”
Piper peered over his shoulder to see Connor leaning against the door frame. Arms crossed over his chest. One leg across the other. He was so handsome it took her breath away. He always would. One dark brow arched over his knowing, gorgeous moss-green eyes.
No, she’d never danced. He had made a similar point many times on the long train trip north. Persisting in his belief that she should see the world, explore all the possibilities it offered before she settled for a gentleman farmer with a rotting estate in the middle of the Highlands.
What her life would become if Connor hadn’t come to Dinton Grange and swept her off her feet was a question she needn’t ponder any longer. Or ever again.
Her heart clenched and warmth radiated through her. She smiled at him with all the love she possessed and earned a heart-stopping grin as her reward. There was no doubt for the first time in her life, she had made the right choice.
“Oh, don’t worry, Harry,” she began lightly. “I’m certain I can get my husband to dance with me.”
“You have to be proposed to first,” Harry chided.
The bliss inside softened her outward smile. She had been. A romantic gesture amidst heather, ferns, and a herd of long-haired cows in the Highlands. The question asked.
A question for the ages.
The answer simple.
“Wait a minute…” Harry’s head jerked toward the door, following her tender gaze. “What…? You…?”
Connor cast her an exasperated glance and strode forward, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed. “Sorry, Harry old chap. Do ye mind if I kiss my wife one last time before ye fatten my lip?”
h
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading A Question for the Ages. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
While success for me personally is measured in bringing you joy, a moment of emotion, and escape from the hectic thing that is life, it is also measured by the quality and quantity of the reviews my books receive. They don’t just help other readers decide to spend their time and money on a book, they help me, too. I read each one that is posted. I take what you say to heart and use it to improve and grow.
If you would take a few minutes of your time to leave a review, I’d be grateful.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading Connor and Piper’s story as much as I did writing it. The details of this tale have been lingering in my mind for a long while. Since long before I completed Fiona and Harry’s love story, in fact. You may have noticed it actually ends up taking place before Jamie’s story A Question Wirth Asking ends. I had originally planned for it to be set another year or two on but decided I could not let Harry or Piper suffer for so long.
A Question for the Ages (Questions for a Highlander Book 7) Page 30
