The Mask Revealed (The Jacobite Chronicles Book 2) (42 page)

He made a non-committal sound in the back of his throat.

“Aye, well, we’ve got our own toiling to do, in London,” he said resignedly. “If Louis doesna use Charles’s appearance in Paris as an excuse to call the invasion off, they’ll be landing in a few weeks. And Charles wi’ them, I shouldna wonder. We’ve a lot to do, if we’re to succeed. We’ll be more use in London than in Scotland right now.”

“I know,” she said miserably. “But I’m sick of it. I can stand the boredom and the pointlessness of the society life, now I’ve got you. But it’s the lying to friends I hate.” Alex had told Beth earlier about Caroline’s request that he be her son’s godfather, and the lie he’d told Edwin. “I hate lying to Graeme, Jane and Thomas, as well. It’s horrible. And I’ve never been to Scotland. I’d love to see it, the mountains and the glens, the heather and the lochs, and to meet all the clansmen you’ve talked about.”

“It isna so romantic as I’ve maybe painted it, Beth,” he said. “I’m missing home, ye ken, and that makes ye think only of the good things. It’s a verra hard life, and a dangerous one. Ye often have to go hungry, in the winter. And it rains a lot, and is damn cold a lot of the time, too.”

“Even so,” she said, the yearning in her voice for the land she’d never seen matching that in his heart for his home.

He sat up suddenly, pulling her with him, and turning her to face him.

“Is that really what ye want?” he said.

She blinked at him, surprised by his vehemence.

“Well, yes, of course it is,” she said. “Isn’t it what you want, too?”

“Aye, though I’d thought tae wait until James Stuart was on the throne.”

She stared at him, stunned.

“Are you telling me you intend to give everything up that you’ve worked for and go home?” she gasped.

He took her by the shoulders, gently, and looked into her eyes.

“Aye, if it’s truly what ye want,” he said.

He was serious. He’d dedicated his whole life to restoring the Stuarts to the throne of Britain, and for the last three years had walked the tightrope of being Sir Anthony, knowing the terrible fate that awaited him if he fell, and thinking the freedom his clan would earn if the Stuarts succeeded worth the risk. And now he was willing to give it all up.

A great surge of love welled up in her, bringing a lump to her throat and rendering her incapable of speech. Tears pricked in her eyes. That he would do this, abandon his prince, sacrifice everything, for her. She closed her eyes, swallowed hard, then swallowed again.

“No,” she said, her voice trembling. “No. I can’t ask you to do that for me. And, in truth, we’ve come so far, I’d never forgive myself if we stopped now. We’d regret it for the rest of our lives.”

“I wouldna regret it, if I had you,” he said simply.

“You have me, anyway, whatever happens,” she said, the tears overflowing. “No, I want to see James ride into London, and see him crowned, with you by my side, holding my hand. And then we can go home.”

“Ye could end up by my side on the gallows, if it doesna go according to plan,” he reminded her.

“True.” She smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him. “But I won’t regret it, if I have you.”

About the Author

Julia has been a voracious reader since childhood, using books to escape the miseries of a turbulent adolescence. After leaving university with a degree in English Language and Literature, she spent her twenties trying to be a sensible and responsible person, even going so far as to work for the Civil Service. The book escape came in very useful there too.

And then she gave up trying to conform and resolved to spend the rest of her life living as she wanted to, not as others would like her to. She has since had a variety of jobs, including telesales, teaching and gilding and is currently a transcriber, copy editor and proofreader. In her spare time she is still a voracious reader, and enjoys keeping fit and travelling the world. Life hasn’t always been good, but it has rarely been boring. She lives in rural Wales with her cat Constantine, and her wonderful partner sensibly lives four miles away in the next village.

Now she has decided that rather than just escape into other people’s books, she would actually quite like to create some of her own, in the hopes that people will enjoy reading them as much as she does writing them.

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