Page 30 of When the Rogue Returns
He was still thinking it through when he caught Gordon staring at his phaeton. The man’s gaze snapped back to Victor. “Yer equipage?”
Victor’s guard went up. “While I’m in town, yes. Why?”
A carefully blank expression crossed the man’s face. “It’s a handsome rig. Very nice. Veryexpensive.”
“It belongs to my host,” Victor said warily.
“Ah.” Gordon nodded to it. “Well, perhaps you should drive back to wherever you came from. Because ye’ll find no scandal here for smearing Mrs. Franke.”
Victor stared him down. “I only want the truth. If you’d just tell me where she lives, I could get all the answers I want from her without bothering you again.”
Gordon lifted an eyebrow. “If his lordship hasna told you where Mrs. Franke lives, and Lady Lochlaw doesna know, then I damned well won’t invade the woman’s privacy. Ye’re on your own with that, laddie.”
“Then you can expect to see me here first thing in the morning, when Mrs. Franke returns.”
With that, Victor climbed into the duke’s phaeton and drove off. But as he made his way back to the villa, he wondered if Isa had already slipped the net.
No, she wouldn’t leave until she got what she wanted. And if what she wanted was the Lochlaw diamonds, she wouldn’t get away with it this time.
7
FOR THE FIRSThour of her trip home from Carlisle, Isa did nothing but cry. It was always so hard to leave her baby at school. Oh, she knew it was necessary, even more so with Victor in town, but it still broke her heart every time.
Amalie never fussed over being left, which only made it worse. Was she just being stoic? Was she secretly grieving the loss of her mother and her home for three more months? Or was she so happy to be back at school that she’d already forgotten her mother?
That thought sent Isa into another bout of tears. Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one crying. Two other inhabitants of the mail coach had left their children at school, so they commiserated together.
By the time she reached Edinburgh, she’d found some measure of peace. In truth, it was much better for Amalie to be away just now.
It was dark when the mail coach pulled up at the inn. Mr. Gordon was waiting for her, the dear man, as he always did. He’d offered before to drive her and Amalie to Carlisle, but she wouldn’t hear of it. No point in closing the shop on a day they were generally open.
He helped her down. “How’s our girl? Settling in well?”
“She was her usual buoyant self. I swear that she...” She trailed off when she noticed he wasn’t paying attention. The look in his eyes definitely boded ill. “What’s wrong?” she asked as he led her to his carriage. “Has something happened?”
“A man came looking for you today at the shop.”
Her heart sank. Victor. It had to be. What if he’d revealed himself as her husband? “Who was it?”
“Some damned cousin of the Lochlaws by the name of Cale.”
Mr. Gordon surely wouldn’t call Victor a Lochlaw cousin if he knew the truth.
Her partner scowled. “You know he’s been asking the other shopkeepers about you, don’t you?”
“No, but I’m not surprised.”Blast him.
“You know him?” Mr. Gordon asked as he handed her in.
You could say that.“We’ve met. What did he want?”
By the time Mr. Gordon got done relating the entirety of their conversation, Isa wanted to scream. HowdaredVictor hint at the old theft? Was that his sly way of threatening her? Was he implying that if she didn’t cooperate with whatever his blasted plans were, he would ruin her?
Oh, she was going to throttle him with her bare hands the next time she saw him!
“I didn’t tell him about Amalie, though,” Mr. Gordon added. “No point in letting that witch Lady Lochlawlearn that you have a child. She would never approve a marriage between you and her son then.”
Not bothering to remind him yet again that she and Rupert were merely friends, she let out a long breath. “I appreciate your discretion.”
