Page 13 of Highland Jewel
“Well, since no answers are forthcoming, I’ll return to my patients. Kindly offer the gentleman some refreshments. It’s the least we can do, since he went out of his way to return the reticule you left behind in his sister’s carriage.” She turned to their visitor. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Lieutenant.”
The devil take him, she thought, noticing for the first time her reticule on the table near him. She’d given the bag to Fiona on the platform. It had been the last thing on her mind after the chaos broke out. And later, his inquisition in the hackney cab had driven it completely from her thoughts. That was the excuse he’d used to come and torment her.
Isabella started for the door. “I’ll ask Morrigan to join you.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Doctor, but I can’t stay.”
Maisie felt relief wash through her as Isabella went out. He’d finally said something that she couldn’t object to. She could only imagine how difficult it would be to converse if Morrigan were to join them now.
She gestured toward the door. “Allow me to show you out.”
Maisie could feel his eyes on her as he followed her out into the hallway. The polite thing to do would be to thank him for returning her reticule. But he’d turned an act of courtesy into a problem for her; he’d successfullyraised Isabella’s suspicions. No doubt, that was his entire design in coming.
As they made their way toward the front door, Archibald stepped out of his consulting room with several medical students he was conferring with. Thankfully, it was not the moment for an introduction, and Lieutenant Campbell’s slight bow as they passed was mirrored by her brother-in-law. In the small foyer, they waited as a servant fetched his hat, coat, and cane.
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Please convey my gratitude to your sister for sending you with my reticule.”
“She didn’t send me. I volunteered to bring it.”
Maisie had already decided that his arrival here had been a warning. She looked up to his face and wished he weren’t so handsome. “I’m grateful for all you did for me yesterday. And I’m better prepared now. I’ll know how to react in similar situations.”
“React in? Or avoid?”
“We’re little more than strangers, Lieutenant. We shouldn’t be having this discussion.” She motioned toward the servant appearing with his things. “Thank you again.”
The door opened, and a blast of cold air hit her. As warm as it had been yesterday, the Scottish winter had returned today.
As he stepped out the door, she called to him. “What was it that you told my sister? What was the danger you spoke to her about?”
He bowed and, with the hint of a smile, put on his hat. “We’re strangers to each other, Miss Murray. Perhaps that’s a discussion you should have with Dr. Drummond.”
CHAPTER5
Milne’s Court, off High Street opposite Bow Head, had seen better days to be sure, but the rooms Niall had taken on the first floor of a tenement building there suited him perfectly. Not far from the castle, the place was clean and furnished, and his elderly landlady on the ground floor was happy to have him.
He’d made the decision to live there the day he arrived in Edinburgh. Fiona had expected him to move in with her and the girls, for the house she lived in off Leith Street belonged to him. After their parents died during an influenza outbreak two years ago, Niall inherited it and immediately moved his widowed sister in. But now that he’d resigned his commission, he still had no desire to live there.
Niall was happy she was there, and her two daughters needed a place to call home. But his sister and the girls were the only family he had left, and he knew if he were living in the same house, he’d be excessively worried about them. He and Fiona were very much alike, especially in temperament. No, living there would be overlyconfining for everyone, and he had no wish to be a constant intrusion on her life. Fiona’s mother-in-law was there to help out, and that was enough.
Threading his way between the vendors’ booths in Hunter Square, Niall turned his thoughts to Maisie Murray. His trip to Infirmary Street had been interesting, if nothing else. His instructions from his sister had been clear. Leave the reticule with a servant along with his card. He couldn’t help himself, however. The devil in him made Niall ask to see Maisie. And it wasn’t only because he thought she was beautiful and he wanted to see her again. She was in over her head with her political activism, and the thought that there was no one in her family who was aware of it was troubling.
Niall was satisfied when he left the house, however. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. Maisie had to be thinking that he wasn’t beyond exposing her secret life to her family. Which, of course, he hadn’t done. He knew he was crowding her a little, but she’d be better off if she was forthright with them. A family couldn’t stand together and protect one another if they didn’t know about each other’s interests and activities. Especially ones as potentially dangerous as Maisie’s.
She might think she could live an independent life and control her own destiny, but these were unsettled times. People were angry and wanted change, and that didn’t set well with the powerful moneyed classes. Niall saw how harshly the government was cracking down on the Irish. They would be just as brutal here. The massacre of peaceful protestors in Manchester and yesterday’s violence in the Grassmarket were only the beginning.
A grey sky had clamped down on the city today, and he turned up the collar of his coat against the damp, chill wind. Plans regarding his own future began to edge their way into his mind as he climbed High Street.Happily, Fiona was in a secure financial position, and though the girls had small dowries invested, he knew that when the time came, he could supplement the little their father had left for them. At least, he didn’t need to worry about them right now.
Ever since Niall decided to resign his commission, he’d been casting about for direction. He had his writing, which he loved, but that was a pastime and hardly an occupation that would provide a secure future. He had enough money to keep himself afloat, but only until he made a start somewhere. New industries were developing all the time, and he’d been exploring the possibility of getting a stake in one of them. Fortunes were being made in Australia, and trading stations were being established in New Zealand. Restored relations with France presented possibilities for business as well. Possibilities definitely existed in the world, but he was unsure where he wanted to apply himself.
As he passed St. Gile’s Cathedral, the bells in the tower tolled the hour. He picked up his pace, not out of enthusiasm for his scheduled meeting, but out of courtesy.
While dining a few days ago with Colonel Tolley, a former commanding officer in Spain and France, Niall had been informed that a government official had recently arrived from London and wished to meet with him.
They’d been trying to lure him back into the military, but he was finished with that. The colonel told him over dinner that exciting things were happening in government service, and that a position was available in which a man of Niall’s talents and skills would flourish. Only out of respect for Tolley had he agreed to the meeting, but he was not looking forward to it.
Years on the battlefield made Niall a master at the art of war. He’d served with great distinction with the 42nd Royal Highlanders. His superiors recognized hisvalue. His men were fiercely devoted to him and had many times followed him into the gaping maw of Death. But what set him apart from many others was that he also excelled in the area of diplomacy when he chose to employ it.
As he climbed the hill, the parapets of the castle loomed ahead. Several English regiments were barracked there, but the only Scots were yeomanry militia such as the dragoons who’d broken up the protest assembly yesterday. An undisciplined lot, he thought.
