The Laird's Forbidden Lady, page 17
No doubt he thought she should be grateful he would let her speak to her father at all.
‘Ready to go,’ Logan said.
Ian turned to Niall. ‘You two stay here and make sure things stay calm and reasonable.’
‘You aren’t going up to the keep by yourself,’ Logan said, his face shocked.
‘I am.’
‘What if he strings you up out of hand?’
‘This is the nineteenth century,’ Selina said crossly. ‘Not seventeen hundred. My father would never do such a thing. And without evidence, there can be no trial.’
Logan didn’t look convinced, but shrugged and stepped back beside Niall. ‘You’re a fool to trust an Albright. It wouldn’t surprise me if he wasn’t involved in what happened to Drew.’
Ian’s expression darkened. His lips narrowed. ‘Don’t you be a fool. His death is no one’s fault but mine.’ Pain filled his voice and his expression. Guilt, too. And deep sadness. He set the horse in motion, leaving his brothers to turn back and enter the inn.
Selina gazed at him curiously. ‘What did you do to Andrew?’
He inhaled a deep breath and let it go slowly, as if planning what he would say. ‘I made him board a ship for the New World. I sent him to see if there was somewhere the clan could settle should we be forced off this land.’
‘Because of my letter?’
‘I would not have known, if you hadn’t written, to be sure.’ He clicked his tongue at the horse to encourage it up the hill. ‘But what he did to that young woman was wrong. It brought dishonour to our name and so I told him.’
She winced. Hadn’t he just done the same thing with her? Perhaps it wasn’t as dishonourable to trick an Albright as it was to trick a perfect stranger. Drew had been awful to Alice, pretending to love her when all he really wanted was her money. He’d pretended he was wealthy and seduced her to ensure she could not refuse to marry him. Worst of all, he’d circulated gossip about it as a sort of insurance.
Alice had refused to be blackmailed, and when Selina realised just who it was who was breaking her best friend’s heart, she’d written to Ian and asked him to intercede with his brother. Drew had left town within the week.
‘He didn’t want to go. I had Carrick force him onto that ship. When months passed with no word, I assumed he was still angry. Then we got a letter. He had joined a group exploring new lands. They never returned. Drew always was reckless. He couldn’t resist the adventure, I suppose. He went off to see more of the country instead of undertaking my commission. An acquaintance wrote and told us how it was. My mother blames me for his death.’
‘That is hardly fair.’
‘I should not have sent him away. He was my younger brother.’
‘What he did was heartless.’
‘Aye, but with the best of intentions. But I never told anyone it was you who let me know what he was up to.’
‘Oh.’
‘And nor should you.’ His expression was fierce. ‘They will never forgive you.’
Chapter Fifteen
The sound of galloping hooves behind them had Ian turning in his seat.
He cursed.
Selina turned to look and her heart sank at the sight of red uniforms and glittering accoutrements, the jingle of which drew ever closer.
Ian stopped the horse. ‘We don’t want to give them the idea we are running away,’ he said wryly. ‘One bullet wound in a week is enough for any man.’
More than enough. She steeled herself for the coming meeting.
The horses passed them and then circled around. Their leader broke rank and brought his horse close to the carriage. Lieutenant Dunstan, of course.
Dunstan’s blue eyes had dark circles beneath them and his face looked weary. The pistol in his hand pointed at Ian’s head. He bowed. ‘Lady Selina. Ian Gilvry, in the name of the king, I arrest you for the crime of abduction. You will come with me quietly or risk further charges.’
‘And just who am I supposed to have abducted?’ Ian asked.
Dunstan glanced her way. ‘This lady.’
‘This lady is my wife.’
Dunstan frowned. His cheekbones flushed pink. The pistol lowered. He looked at Selina again. ‘Is this true? Are you married?’
‘Yes.’
The pink turned to red, the pistol coming up again. ‘Under duress?’
This was her chance to be rid of a husband who had tricked her into marriage. Ian was looking at her, waiting for her to deny him, but it was too late for that. No doubt he’d haul witnesses in who would say exactly what she’d done. She shook her head. ‘Not under duress.’
Beside her Ian relaxed. Good Lord, had the man planned to make a fight of it?
The expression of anger on Dunstan’s face dissolved into one of disappointment. He returned the pistol to its holster. ‘I see.’
She felt terrible. ‘I’m sorry.’
For a long moment he just looked at her and then he bowed. ‘I, too, am sorry.’
Sorry he’d lost her dowry, no doubt. There wasn’t a pin to choose between him and Ian. She felt a bit like a bone between two dogs. One a foxhound and the other a wolfhound. She had no doubts about which one would win.
Ian shifted in the seat beside her and she glanced at him. He was glaring at Dunstan. A bone indeed.
‘We were just on our way up to the keep to see my father,’ she said.
‘My men and I will accompany you,’ he said. ‘To ensure you arrive safely.’
‘I am quite capable of driving half a mile to the keep,’ Ian said grimly.
‘And a great deal farther, I am sure,’ Dunstan said in arctic tones. He gave a brief order to his sergeant and the men fell in behind the carriage. Dunstan walked his horse alongside Selina.
‘I gather your courtship was of the whirlwind variety,’ Dunstan said after a few moments.
Ian made a sound like a growl low in his throat. A warning.
Selina nudged him with her elbow. The lieutenant could easily take it into his head to arrest him for some trifling offence, given the opportunity. ‘Indeed, lieutenant,’ she said, batting her lashes. ‘A positive tornado. Although Mr Gilvry and I have known each other for a very long time. It wasn’t until we met again that we realised our affections were still engaged.’
Not a bad story. Romantic. The kind of thing the ton might forgive after they recovered from the scandal.
Not that the ton’s opinion would matter, living here in the wilds of Scotland. But they did matter to her papa and Dunstan made a good sounding board for its effect.
He seemed to take it in stride, because he continued to smile even if his usually warm blue eyes seemed more like a wintery grey.
She slanted a glance at Ian. His expression was thunderous.
He probably preferred her to remain silent. She leaned a little closer to Dunstan. ‘Were you able to catch the smugglers?’
The soldier flushed. ‘You know I did not. I did hear there was a woman involved. Quite the adventuress, some are saying. I doubt it myself.’ He raised a brow.
Was he trying to trick her into saying it was her?
Ian shot her a look that would make a lesser woman quake, but not one who had learned how to deal with the barbs issued by the ladies of the ton.
She shuddered. ‘I can’t imagine any lady doing such a thing.’ She smiled up at the lieutenant. ‘It is very kind of you to take the time to escort us when these criminals are still on the loose.’
Ian snorted what sounded like a muffled laugh.
Dunstan glared at him and let his horse fall back.
‘You will get burned if you play with fire,’ Ian muttered.
‘He tried to trip me up.’
They passed through the heavy wooden gate into the keep and Ian drew the horse to a halt on the cobbles. The soldiers halted behind them in a clatter of hooves.
What had Ian said the day he brought her home last time? Oh, yes. He would not enter the gates while the keep was owned by another. Well, soon it would be his.
Dunstan once more brought his horse alongside. ‘One question for you, Gilvry.’ His voice was sharp, his hand on his pistol. ‘How did you manage a wedding in less than two days?’
Ian looked over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed. She turned to look at the soldiers guarding the gate behind them. There was no way out. Oh, dear, they were effectively trapped. She glanced at Ian in consternation.
He raised an arrogant brow and looked at the other man. Was he planning on fighting for her, after all? If Ian was him, he would have. He held the other man’s gaze. ‘Scottish law doesn’t require banns or a licence.’
Dunstan frowned. ‘There are some formalities, though, surely?’
‘All addressed and very nicely, too.’ Ian’s smile widened and his eyes showed a knowledge the other man would instantly understand.
Selina blushed.
The horse beneath Dunstan pranced sideways at a sudden tightening of the reins.
A palpable hit, Ian thought. Not quite a bullet to the arm, but close enough. Ian turned his attention to the portly gentleman coming down the steps into the courtyard. Albright. His father-in-law.
His colour was an unhealthy red. He rushed to the gig and helped Selina down, holding her in a tight embrace.
Something rushed through Ian’s veins in a hot tide. He forced himself to step down slowly and walk around the front of the horse and stand behind his wife.
Albright held her away from him, his gaze travelling over her. ‘Thank God you are safe. You gave me such a scare.’
Tears brightened Selina’s eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Father.’ Scarlet rose in her cheeks.
Ian waited for her introduction.
Was she ashamed to admit her newly married state? He would not be surprised if she was. A little disappointed, perhaps even a trifle pained, but not surprised.
Albright became aware of his presence. His frantic gaze went to Dunstan, who hung back with his men. ‘Arrest this man. He is a smuggler. He abducted my daughter.’
The blond soldier curled his lip. ‘There has been no abduction, I am sorry to say, my lord. He has cleverly ensured your daughter cannot give evidence with regard to the charge of smuggling.’ The starchy prig gave a stiff nod. ‘If you will excuse me, my lord, I will be about the king’s business.’ He brought his horse’s head around and moved off.
Selina frowned.
Ian held his breath, waiting for her to realise what Dunstan meant. For her to realise his real purpose for the marriage. The one thing he could not deny.
Her puzzled gaze followed the soldier, then comprehension filled her eyes, followed swiftly by fury as she turned on him. ‘So that was part of your game, too. You really are despicable.’
His anger flared. ‘Tell your father our news, Selina,’ he said harshly, ‘or I will.’
Her shoulders sagged as she turned back to the old man also watching the soldiers leave, his jaw slack with astonishment.
She took a deep breath. ‘Father, I would like you to welcome my husband, Ian Gilvry.’
‘What?’ he said, his mouth opening and closing, his jowls wobbling. ‘What?’
Ian thought the old man would drop dead on the spot of apoplexy.
‘I married Mr Gilvry.’
‘No.’ His gaze shot to Ian. ‘It is not possible. There hasn’t been enough time.’
‘Under Scottish law it is quite possible,’ Ian said. He was getting quite weary of explaining his country’s laws.
Albright’s wife came running down the steps, her face full of happiness. ‘Selina, dear. You are safe.’
‘Apparently not,’ her father said. ‘She has married this fellow.’
He didn’t like being called a fellow, either.
‘My ancestry in the Scottish nobility goes back far longer than yours does in the ranks of the English,’ he said. ‘You can address me as Gilvry, or Laird. But I do not answer to fellow or you or lad.’
Albright reared back. ‘You are insolent, sir.’
‘Sir is all right, too.’
‘Father, Papa,’ Selina said in soothing tones, her voice light and breathy. ‘I am married to Ian Gilvry. There is nothing anyone can do to change it.’
There went the twang of his conscience again. It wasn’t as if she’d been asked for her hand and had accepted. Not in the sense a young woman of her rank would expect to be asked. He’d tricked her, just as she’d said. Not that she hadn’t been a willing participant in the resulting seduction, he thought darkly.
‘May I say how pleased I am that Lady Selina accepted my suit,’ he said politely.
The old man looked ready to explode. He kept his face fixed on Selina. ‘Why? When you could have had so much more?’
‘It is too late for regrets,’ she said, but regret showed on her face.
Ian wanted to hit something.
‘You could have had a duke or an earl.’
‘Before the accident, Father.’
‘I would have settled enough on you to make it happen. I told you that. But you said you wanted Dunstan. And now this? A criminal. And Scottish to boot.’ He glared at Ian. ‘What have you done to my daughter?’
‘Melville,’ his pretty wife whispered, putting a hand on his sleeve. He looked at it and seemed to gather himself. It stopped his tirade at any rate.
Selina’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m sorry, Father. It was all my own doing. There was really no other option.’
So she wasn’t going to tell her father how he’d tricked her.
Albright’s face reddened further. ‘You should be ashamed.’
He’d had enough of listening to the father castigate his wife. ‘Whatever your opinion of me, my lord,’ he said stiffly, ‘your daughter is now legally my wife. As is usual under these circumstances, I believe there are certain settlements to be made.’
The colour drained from the old man’s face. And from Selina’s too, he saw. What? Did she think he wouldn’t insist she receive her dowry? Did she think he would allow her to live in poverty?
‘Very well,’ Albright said. ‘Come to my study, Gilvry. Take your spoils.’ He glared at his wife. ‘Lady Albright, be ready to leave in an hour. As for you, daughter, I would prefer not to look on your face before I depart.’
She reached out a hand. ‘Papa, can you not understand that this could be a good thing?’
Her defence surprised him, but he could see it was hopeless.
‘I see nothing of the sort.’
The stricken look in Selina’s eyes gave Ian a pain in his gut.
Albright, his arm linked through his wife’s, turned and walked heavily up the steps. ‘Come now or come not at all, Gilvry.’
Much as he would have liked to stay and comfort Selina, he had to get this business done. He gave her a quick hug. ‘Wait here.’
She looked ready to argue.
‘Wait.’
Chapter Sixteen
Selina stared up at the old stone walls that were about to become her home. Permanently.
Years ago, dazed by his kisses, she’d dreamed of this. Now the dream of a foolish schoolgirl had come true. But not in the way she had imagined. There was no love involved. Just advantage.
What a fool. One smile, one look at his face and the defences she’d built up over the years had instantly crumbled.
What if Father never forgave her for this last piece of folly? What if he refused to see her ever again?
Perhaps Chrissie could soften his anger.
She looked up at her father’s study window. No doubt her husband and father would be engaged for a while. She ran up the steps and headed for Chrissie’s chamber with hope in her heart.
She passed through the chamber with the oriole window overlooking the courtyard that would have once been the lord’s chamber and now served as Chrissie’s sitting room and into the bedchamber where she heard sounds of movement.
Chrissie was directing her maid with the packing.
She looked up at Selina’s entry with a small gasp. ‘Oh, Selina,’ she said, looking sorrowful. She glanced at the maid and walked into the sitting room before speaking. ‘Your father was out of his mind with worry. And now this?’
‘I know he’s upset and disappointed, but perhaps in time he will forgive me, don’t you think?’
Chrissie looked at her. ‘Not for a long while, I think. His heart is wounded, he had great hopes of Dunstan.’
It was more likely it was his pride she had wounded. A footman knocked. ‘Come for the baggage, my lady.’ They remained silent as he carried out Chrissie’s trunks and boxes, the maid following along behind admonishing him to be careful.
‘Will you write to me?’ Selina asked. ‘Tell me how he fares from time to time?’
‘If he does not forbid it.’ Chrissie smiled her sweet smile. ‘But then, I will not ask his permission, I shall assume it. And I will speak to him on your behalf, when he comes down from the boughs.’
It was time to say farewell. Selina held out a hand. ‘Oh, Chrissie, I am truly sorry for spoiling your visit to Scotland.’
Chrissie shook her head a little ruefully. ‘It has certainly been a good deal more … exciting than I expected.’
Chrissie clasped her hands together and paced to the window, then swung around to face Selina. ‘I wish I’d never asked Melville to bring us.’
‘Me, too,’ Selina said. She couldn’t help her sigh. ‘I thought I had the future so carefully planned.’ And she had given it all up for a devil’s kiss.
A noise at the open door brought her head up. She winced as she saw Ian standing there looking like thunder. ‘I thought I told you to wait,’ he said.
‘I wanted to bid Chrissie farewell.’
‘Well, do it now. Her ladyship’s carriage awaits.’
Tears glinting in her eyes, Chrissie threw her arms around her and hugged her close. ‘I’ll speak to him for you.’ Head down, not looking at Ian, she whisked out of the room.
Ian’s hard expression softened. ‘Your father doesn’t like this wedding any more than does my family. We can only hope they both come around. Come.’ He held out his hand. ‘We will watch them depart from the ramparts.’
