Page 76 of When the Rogue Returns
As the four of them set out for Kinlaw Castle, Isa breathed in the crisp autumn air and thanked God that the day was so cloudless and clear that she could see for miles. That was a good thing, since only a madman could have kept pace with Rupert.
Victor let out a curse as Rupert pulled ahead, the phaeton careening a bit on the road in front of them. “Why didn’t you warn me that Lochlaw drives like a cavalry officer vaulting into battle?”
“I thought about it, but I was afraid he wouldn’t go otherwise. And that would have sorely disappointed Mary Grace.”
“She might have preferred disappointment to death.”
Isa laughed. “Oh, he’ll get them there in one piece. He always manages to avoid accident, though I don’t know how.” She touched Victor’s arm. “Thank you for being so sweet to him.”
Victor merely grunted and increased the speed of his horses. The carriages were still far enough apart that both couples could talk without overhearing each other, which was good, since Isa had a number of questions for her husband.
“Did you find Jacoba and Gerhart?” she asked.
“Regrettably, no, but I did discover where they’d been staying. They’d rented rooms in the Old Town. I tracked them that far the night I left here. By the time I got there, they were gone—without paying the rent, which lends credence to your sister’s claim that they need money.”
Isa snorted. “They always need money. It doesn’t mean I’m going to give them any.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that you would.” He maneuvered the curricle far more smoothly than Rupert ever had. “I’m just saying that Jacoba wasn’t lying about that. Though I suspect we were right about Gerhart’s not really being sick. The man who’d leased rooms to them said that he saw no signs of illness in the man staying there. So that was probably just a lie to squeeze money out of you.”
She stared blindly at the mud flats they were passing. “Do you think they’re gone for good?”
“I doubt it.” His face looked grim. “But until I have some whiff of where they’ve landed, there’s naught I can do about it.”
“Perhaps they gave up.”
He eyed her askance. “And perhaps this curricle will fly up to the moon tonight, but somehow I don’t expect that. They’re not going to stop until they get what they want. And I’m not going to stop until I getthem.”
That was what worried her. But it wasn’t the only thing. “Did Lady Lochlaw really insist that you attend the house party?”
“Actually, now that I’ve separated you from Lochlaw, she has hired me to do something else that required my attendance. It seems that she worries about all the ‘strange science people’ her son has invited. She wants someone ‘brawand manly’ standing about to keep them in line.”
Isa smiled in spite of herself. “That sounds like Lady Lochlaw.”
“That’s the reason she gave. But I think the real reason is that she wants to rub poor Lochlaw’s nose in the fact that you and I are together.”
“Oh, dear. Then she isnotgoing to be happy to discover that her son has new plans of his own.”
“No, I don’t think she is.” He grinned at her. “And you’ll enjoy this: She also wants me to keep people from stealing her jewels.”
A laugh escaped her. “I suppose it’s a good thing she doesn’t know anything about our past.”
“I daresay it will be a very interesting week at Kinlaw Castle.”
To put it mildly. “So are we presenting ourselves at this affair as Mr. and Mrs. Cale?”
He cast her a sidelong glance. “Might as well. You’ve told Gordon and Lochlaw, and I’ve told the baroness. But with all these people knowing, do you think Amalie will get wind of it before we can tell her?”
“I doubt it; not in Carlisle. But just in case, I’ve already sent a letter explaining as much as I could to her headmistress. And I told her that we would come there as soon as we could get away. So if Amalie does, by some chance, hear gossip about us, the headmistress will know how to handle it.”
His jaw was rigid. “I hate that I’ve missed so much of my daughter’s life.”
“I hate it, too.” She covered his hand with hers. “But we will make up for lost time as best we can.”
A terse nod was his only response.
Time to change the subject. “So I gather that Lady Lochlaw wasn’t upset by the news that we’re married.”
“She took it quite well, though not entirely because it meant that her son was no longer in danger from you.” He shot her a bemused glance. “It seems that she chose to see our marriage as an explanation for why I rebuffed her attempts to... er...”
