Page 22 of Highland Jewel
Still, since he’d last seen her, there’d been so many times when he wanted to show up at one of their meetings. He knew their schedule because of his sister. But he’d held back and made himself stay away. Maintaining a little distance from Maisie, he was able to behave as he should. But when he was in her company, his good intentions flew out the window.
Angry shouts in the street drew his attention. A carter was trying to drive his loaded wagon through an intersection, but he was hindered by a half-frozen shepherd and his flock.
Beyond them, across the way, he was surprised to catch a glimpse of her. Maisie.
As she disappeared into a shop, he considered crossing over and joining her. He quickly changed his mind. A man with long, bushy side-whiskers and the flattened nose of a brawler followed her to the door. He glanced inside before backing away and signaling to the driver waiting up the street. The men were in civilian clothes, but the wagon was an army transport, its canvas bonnet recently painted black.
They were waiting for her to come out.
In the decade since the formation of the Edinburgh police force, many soldiers had found employment with the city. But these men were not wearing the distinctive black coat and white trousers of the constabulary.
What he’d learned from Sir Rupert Burney and Colonel Tolley came back to him now. They were setting up an organization to infiltrate and entrap radicals and reformers. But they also planned to arrest and prosecute the organizers of the protests. Niall already had warned his sister, but Fiona scoffed at his concern, telling him that what she and Maisie did was insignificant. Any forcible government suppression would surely exclude them, she said.
But she was wrong. These blackguards were part of that gang, and a hot flash of fury coursed through him. If Flatnose harmed a hair on Maisie’s head, if he so much as touched her, he’d be ankle-deep in his own blood so fast that Waterloo would look like a schoolyard by comparison. Niall raced across the street, thoughts of tearing this man limb from limb blotting out every rational thought.
Before he could reach the other side, Maisie emerged from the shop. She was carrying a satchel that hung from her shoulder. Immediately, she was confronted by the man. He said something and gestured to her satchel. She shook her head and stepped back.
“You’re coming with me,” Flatnose growled. “And you’ll be bringing what you picked up at the printer’s shop.”
“I’ll not go anywhere with you. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
As he reached out to put his hand on Maisie’s arm, Niall stepped between them, wrenching it back and shoving him away bodily.
The bruiser staggered back a few steps and quickly righted himself, glaring fiercely at Niall. They were similar in size and build.
“Out of the way, you.” From inside his coat, he drew a short, weighted truncheon. “This is government business. Step away or it’ll go worse for you. That I promise.”
Niall pushed Maisie behind him, never taking his eyes from his opponent. “I’ll not have you or anyone else lay a hand on my wife.”
“Your wife, you say?” Flatnose sneered before glancing past him. A flicker of doubt passed across his battered face.
“My wife.” Niall leaned toward him, his voice sharp, barking at him with a voice he saved for reprimanding soldiers under his command. “Neither you nor I are in uniform, but I could pick you out for a regular with my eyes closed. Do you know who I am?”
“Now, how would I—”
Niall blasted him. His full name. His rank. His regiment.
Every foot soldier, militiaman, and dragoon in Scotland knew of the 42nd Royal Highlanders. They knew how much French blood Niall’s regiment was responsible for spilling and the honors its men had received. And this one was no different. With each word, his eyes grew wider. Niall pressed forward, encroaching on his space and backing him off, inch by inch. “And when we’re done here, I’m going to drag what’s left of your carcass up to the Governor’s Office in the castle, where I’ll be filing a complaint with General Gordon, a friend of mine, about you personally.”
Flatnose paled and took a step back.
“What do you have to say to me?” Niall barked.
“I… I… My apologies, Lieutenant.”
“And what do you have to say to my wife?” he bellowed in the same sharp tone.
The man whipped off his hat and bowed politely. “My mistake, Mrs. Campbell. My sincere apologies, ma’am. We were following the wrong… we were given bad information, ma’am.”
He bowed again and backed away, hurrying down thestreet and climbing onto the wagon. Niall continued to glare at them as they turned around and rolled down the street.
He turned and saw Maisie was as pale as a corpse.
“Do you understand what almost happened here?” He wanted to shake her, but he had a stronger desire to take her in his arms and hold her. Fighting both inclinations, he did neither. “They have spies everywhere.”
“I know.”
“For a ha’penny, they turn folks against each other. They’re arresting everyone who speaks out.”
