She had leapt at the chance to desert her sister and come here to chaperone the Wyeths of Perth—even knowing the truth about them. That was telling.
“Nonetheless. She is on her deathbed. I shall have to go to her.”
Edward started. What? Go? Oh no. She wasn’t deserting him. Leaving him unprotected. With them.
He opened his mouth to protest, but she forestalled him with an even more horrific pronouncement.
“And you are all coming with me.”
As warbles of dissent rocked the room, panic snarled in his gut. No. No. She wasn’t taking Kaitlin. She couldn’t. He wasn’t finished with her yet. Hell, he’d barely begun.
“Silence! She’s my sister.” Hortense skated an incisive gaze around the table, goring them, each and every one. “And she is your aunt. She’s on her deathbed. You are all coming too.”
The boys groaned. Violet made a face.
“I don’t see why we should have to go,” Ned said.
“To pay your respects.”
Malcolm put out a lip and flopped back on the divan in an unbecoming sprawl. “She didn’t respect us. When our house and everything we had was sold to pay Papa’s debts, and we needed a place to stay, she turned us away.”
Hortense meticulously arranged her pearls. “She feared for her life.”
Edward swallowed his snort at the dry observation. He was really coming to like the old bat.
“Ballocks. We’re not that bad. She just didn’t want to be bothered.”
“Malcolm, watch your language.” Violet nibbled at the smile skirting her lips. She turned to her aunt. “How soon must we leave?”
Hortense grunted. “A day or two at the most. She is on her deathbed, after all. We should not tarry.”
Violet nodded, and then her gaze fell on Kaitlin. She froze. A strange expression flickered over her face and she said the oddest thing. “You cannot come, of course.”
Kaitlin flushed. Her lips parted. “Oh no. Of course not.”
Edward’s brow creased. Why could she not go?
But he didn’t ask. He didn’t want her to go.
“Too true.” Hortense narrowed her eyes. “That begs the question, where can you stay while we’re gone?”
“She can stay here.” The words were out before he even considered them. And why not? They were damn fine words. She could stay here. She should.
“Nonsense. You, my boy, are coming with us.”
“I most certainly am not.” While he did dislike lording his rank over others, there were times when it was absolutely necessary. Like now. He was not going to Scotland, not if they tied him to the coach and dragged him along behind in the dust. He was staying here. With Kaitlin.
Violet set down her teacup. “She cannot stay here with you.”
“Why do you say you in such a tone?”
Her lips flapped like a trout. “Really, Edward. You’re a single man. And something of a rake.”
“I can stay too.” This from Malcolm. Edward glared him down.
“You’re not staying if I have to go.” Ned crossed his arms.
Violet ignored them both. “Edward, I cannot fathom what you’re thinking.”
“I fail to see the issue. She’s a hired companion, not a highborn lady who needs to guard her sterling reputation.” This, he tossed out without thought. In retrospect, he should have thought. It was curious how both Violet and Kaitlin averted their gazes. He winced. He had not intended to insult her.
Then Violet’s eyes lit. “She can stay with Helena and James.”
Edward blinked at the suggestion—because it surprised him that hearing her name didn’t make him ungodly melancholy. It usually did. He rather liked the freedom from that melancholy. “They’re on their honeymoon.”
“Oh. Drat. Of course.” Violet nibbled her lip. “Then she can stay with Eleanor.”
“At Ulster House? With Ulster?” Edward’s skin crawled. Ulster was singularly the most depraved and wicked person he had ever had the displeasure of meeting.
Violet stilled. Her gaze flicked to Kaitlin. “No. Of course not.”
“She can stay here. Under my protection.” He flicked a look at Kaitlin. She interpreted it correctly and flushed. “She shall be perfectly safe.”
“I’ll be fine, Violet.”
Still, Violet balked. “There should be a chaperone.”
“I’ll stay.” Malcolm again.
“You’re not staying!” All three of them, Hortense, Violet and himself, bellowed the exact same words in a chorus. Malcolm put out a lip.
Kaitlin cleared her throat. “As his Grace said, a companion does not require a chaperone.”
“But—” Whatever it was Ned had been about to say, Kaitlin glared it away.