Seeing his mouth drop open, Kendra felt a small nudge of satisfaction. “To go to Scotland,” she added. “His mother is ill—dying—and she asked to see him. Except she wasn’t dying until after she sent the letter. But Trick doesn’t know that. I received another letter—”
“Whoa. Slow down.” Jason gave a violent shake of his head, then rose from behind the desk and came around it to embrace his sister. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better,” she muttered into his chest. “And I hate you, you know.”
“I’m sure you do.” He pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. “Now sit down and tell me about these letters.”
* * *
“FORD?”Kendra called softly.
Surrounded by burning candles and dozens of ticking clocks, her twin looked up from the gears in his hands, his gaze going to the dawn-lit window. “Is it morning already?”
“It is.” She walked closer, reaching a finger to set a pendulum swinging as she went. “We’re leaving.”
As he stood and stretched, a clock started chiming, and another, and another, a cacophony of discordant tones. Laughing, Kendra wrapped her arms around her brother. “I’ll miss you and all your experiments,” she said, her gaze sweeping over beakers and magnets, chemicals and microscopes, and the long, impressive telescope she and Colin had given him as a birthday gift two years ago.
“I’m going to turn base metal into gold,” he said, returning her hug. “And then I’ll restore Lakefield House to a glorious standard.”
“And fill it with machinery, no doubt.”
“Of course.” He pulled away, smiling. “Come, I’ll walk you down.”
Outside, early-morning sun slanted against Cainewood’s ancient stones, bathing the quadrangle in a golden glow. Kendra pressed a kiss to her twin’s cheek and swung up to Pandora’s saddle.
“I’ll miss you, too,” he said. “Are you sure you’d rather not stay here with me? Jason can take the letter to your husband—”
“We’ve been over this already. I’m going.”
Ford looked up at Jason, mounted on his favorite silver gelding. “Impossible, isn’t she?” he asked his oldest brother. “I’ll wager you’re happier than ever she’s another man’s responsibility now.”
“Not yet, it seems.” The glint of amusement in Jason’s eyes offset his sarcastic tone. “But the minute we reach Duncraven, I’ll be happy enough to turn her over.”
Sitting atop a shiny red-brown mare, Caithren shook her head. “Hush up, you two. You don’t mean any of this.” She turned to Kendra. “They love you, the both of them.”
“I know,” Kendra said with both a huff and a smile. No matter that she hadn’t yet quite forgiven them, she knew her brothers would always be there for her. Family. That was what mattered.
Would she ever forge one with Trick?
Not if they didn’t get going. Toying with the stones on her amber bracelet, she looked over at the three carriages—one for themselves should they tire of riding, one for their servants, and one for everyone’s baggage—and knew this journey would be a torturously slow affair. With her husband traveling ahead, blithely unaware of the danger that might lurk at his childhood home.
“Are we not going to leave?” She lifted Pandora’s reins, an impatience in her voice she felt helpless to control. “Trick has two whole days on us—let’s be off.”
Thirty
NIGHT WASfalling and Trick was spooning up the last of his soup when his wife blew through the door of the World’s End tavern.
It was storming outside, and the room was dark, and for the barest moment, he wondered if he were seeing things. God knew he’d thought of little else besides Kendra these two weeks past. She’d consumed his thoughts both waking and sleeping.
But she wasn’t a figment of his imagination. She was actually here. He knew that because, had he conjured up his lovely and exasperating wife, he certainly wouldn’t have conjured up her brother and sister-in-law along with her.
He stood, nearly knocking over the small square table. “What the devil are you doing in Edinburgh?”
At the sound of his voice, she turned. Then just stood there, halfway out of her cloak, her mouth hanging open.
“Looking for you,” Jason answered for his uncharacteristically speechless sister, striding forward to shake Trick’s hand. He removed his dripping wide-brimmed hat. “But we had no expectations of catching you. We were planning to bring her to Duncraven tomorrow.”
Aghast, Trick dropped back onto the hard wooden bench. “When did you leave?”
