Kaitlin did trust Edward. She trusted him to do his best.
But he would fail.
She was the only one who could resolve this mess.
The only way to do it was to give herself to the McCloud.
And never see Edward again.
She didn’t go upstairs to bed as he had bade her. She re-donned her gloves and coat and slipped out the door. Callum would know where to find the McCloud. Callum would take her to him.
And she would marry the brigand. Just like Fiona had.
But there would be no happily ever after for Kaitlin.
Chapter Fourteen
Colonel Sterling, in his retirement, was apparently not retiring. He answered his door at Edward’s second knock, still dressed and smelling of perfume.
He gaped at the three men standing on his stoop. Or two of them at least. Ned had been in short pants when the three had been interned together in Le Trou. “Charles Transom, as I live and breathe. And Edward Weston! You sons of whores! Come in. Come in.”
Ned shot a quizzical glance at Edward, but he was loath to explain the spurious moniker. None of his fellow prisoners had known his real identity—only that the Duke of Moncrieff had been responsible for arranging their escape from that miserable hole.
That was the card he would play when he met with McCloud. The man owed him an enormous favor.
And this would be it.
Sterling waved them into his parlor and shooed out his companion, bidding her to wait for him above stairs. He pulled out a decanter of whiskey and poured them each a drink. “So what brings you to Perth?” he bellowed. Sterling had always been something of a bellower.
“We’re looking for Ewan McCloud.”
“Och. Ewan.” Sterling stroked his beard. “He has a house right here in Perth.” Relief walked through Edward—perhaps they could finish this tonight—until Sterling continued. “Though I doubt he’s here. I heard he’d moved his, um, operations to the Cloud.”
“The Cloud?” Transom refilled Sterling’s glass.
“Aye. He, shall we say, acquired an old keep. On an island in the Firth of Tay, west of Dundee.”
“An island?” Ned’s Adam’s apple worked in his throat. He shot a look at Edward that was difficult to work out. It seemed like horror.
“Aye. Named it the Cloud.” Sterling chortled. “Because it’s usually shrouded with banks of fog.” He scratched his chin. “And because of his name, I suppose.”
“And that’s where he’d be?”
“Most likely.”
Edward and Transom exchanged a glance. Dundee was less than a day’s ride. This Cloud sounded like the perfect place to hold a prisoner.
They thanked their old friend and said their farewells, though he clearly wanted to continue the visit.
“We should leave for the Cloud immediately,” Ned said as the door closed behind them. “Violet won’t like being on an island.”
An odd thing to say. Edward had to ask. “Why?”
Ned shuddered. His face was terribly pale. “She has a deathly fear of water. Almost drowned once.” His features tightened. “We have to get her back. Now.”
It was agreed that they stop back at Agnes’ house, which was on the way, to gather some food for the journey as well as her coachman, who could drive through the night while they got some rest in the cab.
Though he was dead tired and would have liked to wait until morning to set out, Edward couldn’t bear the thought of Violet somewhere, frightened and alone. He’d come to care for her deeply and it galled him that he didn’t know where she was, or in what condition. Anything could have happened.
He had to believe Ewan would never harm her, but that was no excuse to tarry.
They all bundled into the carriage, with Transom on the box. It wasn’t until they were underway that Ned asked the question he’d been dreading.
“Why didn’t Sterling call you ‘Your Grace’?”
And hell. Then he’d had to explain it all.
Though everyone else had gone to bed, Kaitlin with them, thank God, Hortense was still awake when they arrived at the house.
Ned and Transom went to arrange for provisions and Edward would have gone with them, but his aunt forestalled him.
“What’s your plan?” she asked.
He could tell it irritated her that she could not take a more active role. She would happily have ridden the charge with them. She was a warrior at heart. The McCloud could never hold safe against that cane.
“We’re heading for McCloud’s keep. We feel strongly that he has Violet there.”
“The three of you? Against all his men?”
“I don’t anticipate I shall have to fight him for her.” He plucked a speck from his coat. “Ewan McCloud was once a friend of mine.”