“Never said you weren’t,” Niall said, lazily crossing an ankle over his other knee. “Although it can’t be denied this lass went willingly.”
He braced himself, obviously prepared for Duncan’s wrath, but Duncan turned to look out into the frigid London evening. Niall’s words chafed at him, but he couldn’t rebuke them — for they were, quite sadly, the truth.
“What are ye going to do when you find them?” Niall asked, standing and walking over to the pitcher of ale on the sideboard. “You’re going to retake a woman who’s freely given herself to an Englishman, choosing him over you? Never would have thought you’d be satisfied with another man’s seconds.”
“Nay!” Duncan shook his head forcefully. “I’ll return her to her father and be done with them.”
“Your family’s been friends with the Campbells for years,” Niall said, his voice growing louder as his footsteps approached from behind Duncan, who only turned when he felt the touch of a cool glass on his bared arm, and he accepted the drink from his friend with a nod.
“They have. And we will continue to remain friends. ’Tis not the father’s fault that the girl became flighty.”
“Perhaps you frightened her.”
“She’s not the type to be scared off,” Duncan said, shaking his head before biting out, “and I barely spoke two words to her!”
Niall shrugged. “That could have been part of the problem.”
Duncan swore and turned from the window, draining the amber liquid in his glass in one long swallow.
“What do you know? It’s not like you’ve ever had a woman attached to your name.”
“By choice. Although—”
Just then the door of the rented house banged open behind them and Keith came stumbling through.
“I’ve found her.”
Duncan and Niall turned as one.
“Ye have?” Duncan asked, and Keith confirmed his words with a nod. He seemed somewhat the worse for wear, ale on his breath and rouge on his collar, though he was no longer warmed by whoever’s embrace he had found, for he was shivering from the cold air that had entered into the room with him. “Where were you?”
Keith smiled sheepishly. “A few clubs. I had to search out information. Took a while to find someone who had heard of your woman and her minister.”
“She isn’t my woman any longer.”
“Well, the woman you’re searching for,” Keith said, shrugging. He had known Duncan since they were babes and was one of the few not affected by his gruffness. “They live in a vicarage just a few neighbourhoods away. I walked by. ’Tis small — a couple of stories. Not much to look at, but tidy. Quaint. Shouldn’t be much trouble to find in the morning.”
“In the morning?” Duncan repeated, raising his eyebrows. “I’ll not wait ’til morning.”
“What are you meaning to do, Duncan?” Niall asked, eyeing him with equal parts suspicion and interest.
“I’ll do what any good Scot would do.”
Niall began muttering to himself as he turned away and picked up his plaid, throwing it over his shoulders.
“We’re going to go steal back the woman.”
Jane stepped out of the front door, the wooden boards creaking beneath her weight.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the cool night air as she gazed out over the small houses that lined Mary’s neighborhood. She rubbed her hands over her arms as the skin turned to gooseflesh. The air held the scent of moisture, and she wondered if snow here would be much the same as it was in the Highlands.
Home.
She sighed. It had only been a few days, and she missed it already. It would be weeks, or perhaps a couple of months, however, until she would return. She had a most important task to complete first.
“Jane?”
She turned her head, forcing a smile on her face when she saw her sister’s silhouette in the doorframe.
“Mary. I thought you were sleeping.”
“I couldn’t,” Mary said, shaking her head before holding out a wool blanket to Jane. Tears pricked at Jane’s eyes when she saw that it was a plaid from home. “Here. If you’re going to be out here risking catching cold, then you should try to stay warm.”
Her sister stepped forward and wrapped it around Jane’s shoulders, leaning her cheek on Jane’s back for a moment.
“Thank you for coming, Janey,” she said softly. “I know how hard this must be for you, being so far from home and in less than ideal circumstances.”
“It’s fine,” Jane said, patting the hand that rested on her shoulder.
“It’s not, really,” Mary said, “but I appreciate it all the same.”
“We’ll get through this, Mary,” Jane said with all the reassurance she could muster, “that’s why I’m here. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Mary nodded before returning into the house, leaving Jane alone with her thoughts and the chill of the winter London air.
If only she believed the words she just told Mary. It wasn’t that she didn’t think there was a chance that everything could be fine. It was only that she didn’t wish her sister had put all of her faith in her.
For Jane was lacking most of that faith in herself.
Duncan peered through the bushes from the opposite side of the road, taking a good look at the nondescript brick house that was, apparently, the vicarage. The church sat nearby, slightly larger than the houses that surrounded it but equally non-imposing.
Smoke puffed out of the house’s chimney, soon swept away by the chilly wind before more filled its place. The scent of fires from the entire neighborhood filled him, making him wish he was at home at Galbury Castle, sitting in front of the hall’s welcoming fireplace.
Instead, he was freezing his bloody arse off as he waited to rescue a woman who wanted nothing to do with him.
“Are we going to move, or sit out here and freeze to death?” Niall complained from beside him, while Keith let out a slight belch followed by an “Excuse me,” on the other side.
“We’re going to wait until the candle goes out inside,” Duncan said, before placing his hand on Niall’s arm to still him. “Look, someone is on the front step.”
“A woman or a man?”
“I can’t tell. We’re too far, and it’s too dark.”
“Someone else has come out now,” Keith added. “They look quite close.”
Duncan nodded, steeling himself against the simmering anger that often threatened, surprised when none was forthcoming.
“Is that the dodger?”
“I have no idea,” Duncan said, suddenly needing to be free of his friends. “I’m going to circle around and take a quick look in the windows. The two of you stay here.”
“But—” Niall began to rise.
“Stay here,” Duncan said, slowing his words. “I will be but a moment.”
He pushed himself out of his squat position, crossed the street, and crouched low once more as he made his way to the brick structure with its cone-shaped roof. He poked his head out around each corner before going by, and then stood on his toes in order to see within each window that he could find. He couldn’t forget Niall’s words — it seemed he was acting the bloody burglar, comparable to a common criminal, but he was only reclaiming what had been taken from him and his people.