Highlanders (40 page)

“What are you doing here?”

Her gaze dropped to his erection, which still demanded its reward. “You should have stayed asleep another moment, darling. You didn’t take your pleasure. You were close, though, by your reactions.”

He was, and with a great deal of help from her as it turned out.

Erroll closed the robe and cinched the belt. “How did you get in here?”

“The clerk was very helpful.”

He remembered the innkeeper who had given him the key to Miss Crenshaw’s room. It seemed clerks and innkeepers were too free with information concerning their guests.

He crossed to the small sideboard near the window and poured a glass of brandy. “Laura, I am in no mood.”

“I beg to differ.”

Erroll reached for the glass, then thought better of it and faced her. He leaned his backside against the sideboard. “I have never known you to venture farther from London than Coventry, and then only when a certain young duke was sowing his wild oats.”

She waved a hand. “You are as worthy as the duke.”

“More so, but your time is wasted on me, just as it was with him.”

“Erroll, we have shared much. Do you not miss me?”

“I have not missed you for over a week.”

Her mouth pinched, but she said in a bright voice, “It is all over
Town
that you were shot by your latest paramour. I didn’t believe it, but there is the proof.”

Erroll didn’t look at his leg. “A lovers’ quarrel. You know how that is.” 

“I never shot you.”

“Only because you lacked the nerve.”

“Is shooting you how a lady keeps your attention?” She glided across the room to him. “Really, darling, are you going to stay angry at me forever?” She pressed her full lips into a pout and placed her palms on his chest.

“I am not angry,” he said.

She slipped her hands inside his robe to his chest. Erroll caught her wrists and her head snapped up.

“We are finished, Laura. I assumed you understood that last week.”

“So you are still angry. That is unfair.”

He released her and straightened, forcing her back. “I am not angry. I simply have no interest in a woman who will pit me against another of her lovers—and a jealous one at that. But I suspect that was what you had in mind.”

“You know how I get,” she sulked. “I never meant for you to get caught in that squabble. I said I was sorry.”

“And I accepted your apology. Now, if you will excuse me, I have an appointment.” She opened her mouth, but he cut her off, “You are not to interfere with my current situation.”

Ire flashed across her face. “How could I possibly interfere?”

“By putting it about that you visited me in my hotel room and had your pretty hands around my cock.”

“It would only be the truth,” she shot back.

“Just as it is the truth that you are one ball gown away from your creditors going to Italy in search of your husband.”

She drew in a sharp breath. “You would never repeat that?”

“You created the situation. I simply do not intend to be one of your casualties.”

“You did not consider yourself a casualty when I let you fuck me.”

“Be sure to remember it was you who reduced our connection to such lowly depths,” he said.

“How dare you?” She drew back her hand and Erroll caught her wrist before her palm reached his face.

“What is going on?” he demanded. “This is dramatic, even for you.”

Laura yanked her hand free and took a step back. “Nothing that need concern you, my lord.” She whirled and stalked toward the door.

For an instant Erroll didn’t move, then he reached her in three quick steps and seized her arm, swinging her around to face him.

“Let me go,” she hissed.

“Sit down,” he ordered.

She looked up and he saw tears rolling down her cheeks. He urged her two steps to the chair. Her mouth tightened in rebellion and she didn’t sit.

“If you want my help, do as I say,” Erroll said.

She hesitated, then sat down. Erroll went back to the sideboard, poured a second brandy, then picked up both glasses and returned to Laura’s chair.

He shoved one drink in front of her. “Drink this.”

She took the glass and drank half the contents in two gulps.

“You have many vices, Laura, but drinking is not one of them. What happened?”

“Henry has returned from Italy.”

Erroll sipped his brandy. His head was starting to pound, but he knew it was due more to being shocked from the relaxed state of alcohol and arousal than an impending hangover.

“So your creditors do not have to go in search of him, after all.”

She shot him a dagger-filled look.

Erroll lifted a brow. “I take it he is none too happy with your peccadilloes?”

“Oh fie,” she said. “If that were all, I would be able to handle him without trouble. No. He has seen a few of my bills and…” She sighed and took another gulp of her drink.

“I see,” Erroll said. “The viscount does not mind that his wife is seen with every rake in
Town
, but he will not countenance his money paying for her lovers.”

“That is not the worst part,” she said. “When he discovers I pawned my emeralds, he will shut me up in the country.”

“Pawned your emeralds? Those have been in Bentley’s family for generations. You will be fortunate if all he does is lock you up in the country.”

She tossed her head. “If he does that, I will make him pay.”

“I think he is paying now, my dear.”

“It is no more than he deserves.”

Erroll canted his head. “But of course. How much did you get for the jewels?”

“Two thousand pounds.”

“Only two thousand? The pawnbroker must have been delighted to see you.”

“I did not want to owe too much,” she said. “I was sure I could redeem them when I got my next allowance.”

“But you spent that as well.”

Her eyes narrowed. “If you asked me to stay just so that you could reprimand me I might as well leave.”

“You are right, of course. Send the pawnbroker’s direction to Wiggins. I will instruct him to take care of the bill. He will redeem the jewels, then deliver them to you discreetly. If you choose to pawn them again do not come to me. As you know, I do not dally with women whose husbands live with them.”

“Why not?” she demanded. “A married woman is a married woman.”

“Because, contrary to what you think, husbands do care when their wives flaunt their lovers about
Town
. Your charms are sweet, but not sufficiently so to risk a dawn appointment.”

Her brow furrowed in derision. “Henry would not challenge you to a duel.”

“I fear that you do not know Henry at all.” 

Laura regarded him. “Why are you being so kind?”

“Did you not come here expecting kindness?”

She gave a mirthless laugh. “You are not kind—men are not kind.”

“Some are,” he said. “But you are right, I am not.”

*****

“As I recall, you threatened to dismember me if I didn’t marry your daughter. Yet she refuses to marry me.” Erroll lowered himself into the chair opposite Tolland’s desk in his study. He felt his headache returning and half wished he’d let Laura finish him off in the tub that morning. After she left, he hadn’t been able to capture his earlier mood and was left feeling even more frustrated than he’d been to begin with.

“Eve is balking,” the baron said. “But make no mistake, if you do not marry her, I will carry through with my threat.”

“What should I do, kidnap her to Gretna Green and force her to marry me?”

Tolland reached in the desk drawer and withdrew several sheets of parchment. He set them on the desk and Erroll saw the gold heading read
The Honorable J. Philips Esquire
.

The baron slid the marriage contract in front of Erroll. “If necessary, kidnap her is exactly what you will do.”

Incredulous, Erroll lifted his gaze to Tolland’s face.

“I have arranged for Eve to attend many parties tonight,” the baron went on. “It is the perfect opportunity for you to whisk her off to Scotland.”

Erroll wondered if insanity ran in the Crenshaw family, and couldn’t help asking, “How would you have me proceed?”

“Put her in your coach and drive.”

“You make it sound simple,” Erroll murmured.

“As I will not be chasing you with a gun, it should be.”

“I must admit this is the first time I have plotted to get a woman to the altar,” Erroll said. “Usually, I’m running in the opposite direction.”

The baron’s expression darkened. “There will no running in the opposite direction once you are wed. Eve deserves a good husband.”

“Then you would do well to choose another man, for I will make a terrible husband.”

“Should that turn out to be the case, I will shoot you.”

Erroll gave him a disgruntled look. “I see where your daughter gets her charms. Do you, by chance, have relatives in Newgate?”

Chapter Three

Erroll slowed his walk when the object of his ruminations and her sister emerged from a shop up ahead. The younger Miss Crenshaw carried three large packages while the older held a single small bundle. They both wore white muslin dresses, but the elder sister’s breasts strained against the high-waisted bodice. Erroll recalled the lush flesh brushing his chest as he’d leaned over her bed and he released a slow breath in an effort to stop the thickening in his groin.

Before he allowed his passions to get the better of him, he needed a word with the lady away from the prying eyes of her meddling family. If there was a chance to extricate themselves from the situation, they needed to agree on how best to proceed.

The ladies turned up the street and strolled away from him. Erroll allowed his gaze to fix upon her rounded derrière, but lifted his eyes again before the sight further incited his mounting lust. She wore no bonnet and the afternoon sunlight glinted off her hair just as the candlelight had done last night in her room. Erroll would wager her hair was as soft as her breasts. An irresistible combination bound to keep him awake tonight contemplating.

A man walking toward them stopped to greet them. He first bent over Miss Grace Crenshaw’s hand, then took her sister’s hand. Erroll slowed even more. From this distance, he couldn’t see the man’s eyes, but Erroll was sure his head was raised a tad bit too high for his eyes to linger on her hand. Was he ogling her breasts? He confirmed Erroll’s suspicion by pressing his lips to her hand and lingering a second too long before straightening.

“Hello, Rushton.”

Erroll recognized the voice behind him and sighed as he turned to face Montgomery Paisley. Encountering his old friend here in Manchester only meant the gossip about him and Miss Crenshaw had reached epic proportions.

“Paisley, how are you?”

Montgomery grinned. “Better than you, I suspect. I see your two most recent dalliances up ahead there.”

Erroll scowled, but cast a quick glance at the ladies, who were once again moving down the street away from the bounder. “They are not my dalliances.”

Paisley’s brows rose. “There is too much talk for that not to be true.”

“What are you doing in Manchester?” Erroll asked. “You never leave London.”

Amusement lit his eyes. “That is not true. I am often in Edinburgh, more often than you, in fact.”

“The family properties keep me occupied in England,” Erroll said. And since his return from the navy, he’d staunchly avoided the ones in Scotland.

“I did not know your father held property here in Manchester,” Montgomery said. “Or perhaps it is your mother’s property?”

His friend knew neither his mother nor father owned property in Manchester, and was purposely egging him on. “Are you hiding from your father again?” Erroll asked.

His grin widened. “I am. He is being damned unreasonable, as I imagine your father is, too.”

“He is determined,” Erroll agreed.

“You cannot fully blame him,” Montgomery said. “You have created quite a stir this time.”

Erroll grunted. “I am innocent. For once.”

“You have not been innocent since the schoolroom.”

“As we met during my university days, you cannot comment.”

“Quite right,” Montgomery agreed. “I do have a specific reason for seeking you out. Cunningham asked me to give you this.” He pulled a letter from inside his jacket and handed it to him.

Erroll recognized Lord John Cunningham’s seal and frowned. Parliament was not yet back in session and the young marquess was seeking counsel?

“Bad news?” Montgomery asked.

Erroll slipped the letter into his coat pocket unopened. “I imagine it is more along the lines of Cunningham feeling uncertain in regards to some inconsequential detail.”

“The marquess didn’t strike me as a man prone to nerves.”

“Sitting in the House of Lords does that to a man.”

“How is he doing?” Montgomery asked.

“Quite well. He’s young, but enthusiastic, and smart as the devil.”

“I would think it might be better to be as cunning as the devil.” Montgomery laughed. “But that is what he has you for. So, what are your plans while in Manchester?”

Erroll eyed the earl. Montgomery was the only Englishman he’d truly trusted while at Oxford, and one of the few men he trusted at all. “What are you doing tonight?” Erroll asked.

“Attending a party or two, I suppose. There seems to be a sudden rash of soirees taking place. I cannot imagine why.”

“How about meeting me tonight?”

“Am I to run interference?” Paisley asked.

“Something like that.”

“You’re mistaken if you think I can be trapped by even those fine specimens of femininity.”

The sisters had disappeared down the street, but Erroll knew who he referred to. “You might find you like one of them.”

“I have no doubt I would like both of them.”

Erroll wasn’t sure he liked that idea.

“I might take one of them off your hands,” Paisley waggled his brows, “for the evening.”

“They are not those sorts of ladies.”

“Really?” Montgomery said. “When have you dallied with any other sort? The more reputable ones can be…complicated.”

“That is one way of putting it,” Erroll muttered.

Paisley studied him. “You are not actually smitten with one of them? The last time a lady captured your attention was your final year at university. That was what, five years ago? Not long before you signed up for the navy, if I recall. You navy chaps have a wench in every port. Perhaps there is someone you failed to mention?”

“There is not,” Erroll said with emphasis. “And there is not anyone now. I am simply intrigued.”

“Intrigued?” Paisley laughed heartily. “Poor fellow. That is exactly how it starts. You have my sympathy, and my agreement. I will make the rounds with you tonight. That should prove more interesting than hearing third hand accounts of your antics.”

“There will be nothing of consequence to hear,” Erroll replied.

But that didn’t mean he might not redirect Miss Grace Crenshaw’s attention onto the Earl of Paisley. If her attentions could be diverted to another man, and the elder Miss Crenshaw remained steadfast in her refusal to marry him, he might escape the ladies’ father with his bollocks intact.

Erroll was torn between jumping onto the first ship leaving port and the lust that had persisted on his walk back to the hotel. Paisley was right. Being intrigued by a woman could only lead to trouble. Erroll climbed the final flight of stairs to his hotel room. His wound ached just enough to remind him of his folly, and he entered, his mind on the sherry he knew waited on the small table near the parlor window. Erroll stopped short at sight of his father sitting before the hearth, the sherry decanter on the table beside his chair. He supposed he should be glad the intruder was his father and not another disgruntled paramour. Though he might prefer an angry woman to the marquess.

Erroll closed the door. “I did not expect you, sir.”

His father finished the last of the sherry in his glass, then set it on the table. “Then you are a fool.”

Careful not to favor his leg, Erroll crossed to the table where the glasses sat and picked one up. “Only an hour ago I told Tolland that I was not a fool.” Erroll went to the decanter, refilled his father’s glass, then poured his, and seated himself on the settee to the marquess’ left. “To what do I owe the honor of your visit?”

“I am here to oversee your marriage settlement.”

So much for a getaway. Erroll considered telling his father about the marriage contract in his jacket pocket but, instead, finished his sherry in one swig. He would need a second and a third before this conversation concluded. “You are being a little premature. The lady is not cooperating.”

“Which one?”

“You heard about last night’s events, I take it?”

“All of England has heard. Your mother will be none too pleased.”

“You were not so cruel as to inform her?” Erroll blurted.

“I did.”

Of course he did. What better punishment could he have meted out?  “I doubt even her energetic persuasion can induce Miss Crenshaw to marry me,” Erroll said.

His father hmphed. “Which Miss Crenshaw?”

“The elder.”

“Then marry the younger.”

“Tolland is quite adamant that I marry the elder daughter. It seems I tarnished her reputation even more than I did the younger’s—though, I must point out, as I told you in Coventry, I did not sully that lady’s reputation. I never met her until last night at the inn where I, er, caught up with her party.”

“She lied?” his father asked.

“Exactly.”

The marquess shrugged. “You’ve pled innocence too many times in the past to be believed.”

Erroll poured himself another drink, then lifted the glass in salute. “Quite right.” He took a deep sip.

His father watched him with a critical eye. “If you insist on being a complete dissolute, the least you could do is dally with Scottish women.”

And risk falling in love with one as you did?
Erroll wondered. He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Scotland is rather a long way to ride for a beautiful woman. As the family properties in England will not run themselves, I must satisfy myself with the willing ladies of London society.”

“And you think England is too far away for me to set you straight?”

Erroll held his gaze. “It is my mess, after all.”

“You should have married a Scottish woman, you fool.”

Erroll wasn’t married yet, but decided against saying so. “Great Britain has come a long way since
The Forty-Five Rebellion
, sir, but I would not ask a Scottish wife to live among the lovely female wolves of the ton.”

“Yet you bed them as if you were Pope John the seventh himself,” he shot back.

“I think you give me too much credit. After all, I have not bedded your mistress.”

His father’s features hardened. “I advise you not to try. I made you. I can make another just like you.”

Erroll had no doubt of that, and the third son would be even better than the second had been and far superior to the first.

“I shouldn’t be surprised to find you had a dozen bastard sons running about,” the marquess muttered.

“I am quite careful.”

“Not careful enough to marry a Scottish woman. That would have made a man of you. But that is of little consequence now. You will marry one of the Crenshaw sisters and settle down. You did not survive war only to drink and whore yourself into an early grave.”

“No need to worry, sir. I have many good years ahead of me, unlike—” Erroll broke off at the realization of what he’d been about to say. His father had finally managed to rattle him. Erroll suddenly felt very tired. ”You have made the trip for nothing.”

His father released a heavy sigh. “You must let him go, Erroll. I have.”

Erroll went cold. “I beg your pardon?”

“Your brother’s death was a blow to all of us, but it has been over a year. What would he think if he saw you now?”

“He would recognize me as the same man I always was.” Five years his brother’s senior, and not the better of the two to carry on the title.

“Be that as it may, it is time you set aside your feelings and marry.”

“And beget an heir, post haste.”

“That is only part of it,” his father said.

“The part that most concerns you.”

“You are the eldest. It is your duty to have sons.”             

“I will no doubt have them.” Then which world would he raise them in?

“You may care little for your future,” his father said, “but if my property falls to Lydia, she will ruin your sisters and mother.”

Erroll wished he could argue, but his elder sister was quite capable of wreaking vengeance on his siblings because their father had sired two children with his mistress Moira while married to her mother.

“As you said, you can produce another son,” Erroll said. “Not to mention, you have provided the ladies an ample dowry and allowance. Mother’s jewels alone will keep her and the girls comfortable, and my mother does have property of her own.”

“Would you have your mother and sisters rely on her jewels for their livelihood?”

No, he would not, and said so.

“I will not have my holdings—not to mention Ravenhall—fall to Lydia and her husband,” the marquess said.

“I thought you liked Connor.”

“I do. He deserves better than Lydia. But Ravenhall is not the Douglas ancestral home. Generations of MacLeans have grown up there.  Even you, though I wonder if you remember.” 

His father rose and crossed to the hearth where he stared down into the fire, hands clasped behind his back. He was silent for so long, Erroll began to wonder if he had said all he meant to say.

Then his calm voice broke the silence. “You have cinched the English noose more tightly around our necks.”