A Most Dangerous Profession(76)
The coach turned a corner, and it was dark, except for the moonlight and the lanterns that hung from the coach front.
Moira said, “I think the danger is over now. You can release me.”
Robert laughed softly, his breath warm against her ear. “There was never any danger. That man couldn’t hit the side of a barn.”
“So why are you holding me?” The scent of his starched cravat tickled her nose.
“Ross’s parting shot was wonderfully dramatic, wasn’t it?”
She snuggled deeply against Robert. “You shot him, didn’t you?”
“We had a duel. Unfortunately, he lacked the honor to wait for the ten paces.”
“He shot early?”
“Yes, but his bullet hit the wall beside my left ear.”
“That blackguard!”
“Exactly. Then it was my turn. Because I knew it would please you, I didn’t kill him. Instead, I gave him the chance to select which limb he wanted my bullet in.”
Moira had to smile. “That was very good of you. Astoundingly so, considering he tried to trick you with a false artifact, too.”
“I thought so.”
She suspected that Robert wasn’t completely honest about how close of a call he’d just faced. “You took a foolish risk for nothing. If my honor was impugned, it was my job to satisfy it, not yours.”
“As long as our marriage stands, I will protect you.”
As long as our marriage stands. That implied it was temporary, which made her chest ache, as if her heart were struggling to beat. Don’t be ridiculous. As soon as Rowena is free, Robert will ask for an annulment and I will see that he gets it. Still, her eyes stung, and she had to blink back tears.
Robert reached into his cloak and withdrew a velvet bag, which he placed on her knee.
She opened it, her fingers trembling. “The onyx box.”
“The real one. I found it, along with the fake, in Ross’s secret chamber.”
“How on earth did you find it?”
“Buffon charmed the location from a besotted chambermaid. Now we are ready to take on Aniston.”
Moira looked down at the box. Was Robert right? After all these months, would she finally win Rowena back?
Unaware of how her heart was racing, Robert added, “It will take us a week to get back to Edinburgh, then Rowena will be free and you and I can—”
Moira threw her arms around him and kissed him passionately. Surprised, he kissed her back with equal enthusiasm.
A soft thud broke them apart.
“What was that?” Robert asked, voice husky.
“The onyx box fell. Perhaps we should put it somewhere safe?”
“An excellent idea.” He retrieved the box and put it under the seat across from them, then he settled Moira back in his lap. “We should talk about what will happen after we rescue—”
She placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. “Hurst, has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?”
And all of his words fled, chased away by a redheaded vixen with eyes the color of a Scottish glen.
CHAPTER 22
A letter from Lady Caitlyn Hurst MacLean to her sister Triona Hurst MacLean.
You would think, since we wed brothers, that we would not be forced into secret stratagems to spend some time together, but thus it is. Pray inform Hugh that the Earl of Tunbridge has been forced to sell all of his horses because the new Countess Tunbridge has decided he spends too much time in the stables. Hugh has always coveted Tunbridge’s gray matched set, and he will instantly wish to go to Edinburgh for the sale.
Meanwhile, I shall inform Alexander that the countess is also selling many of the furnishings in their various houses, because they once belonged to her mother-in-law. Alexander cannot refuse a good estate sale.
By the way, when we get to town, the Countess Tunbridge wishes us to go to tea with her. You’ll like her very much; she is ever so charming.
It took a week and a day to reach Edinburgh. The closer they got, the more anxious Moira became. Robert did what he could to while away the time—he told stories, played cards, made up silly games, shared court gossip that made her chuckle. But mostly he drew Moira into telling him stories about her life with Rowena.
He learned a lot, seeing Moira in a new light. It astounded him that a woman who could trick the entire polite world into thinking her a Russian princess had the gentleness of spirit to be a devoted mother. But her love for Rowena showed in every sentence as she told of the dolls and flower chains, the colds and bruises, and the laughter and sadness of a normal childhood. Moira obviously loved her cottage in the country, and Robert wondered if Hurst House was the right sort of place for a child. Or for Moira.