“Lady Murray?” Niall repeated, a knot of unease twisting in his gut. “What kind of business?”
“Something about the ball,” MacTavish said with a shrug. “She wants to know who was impersonating the Countess of Argyle. Seems like she’s keen on getting to the bottom of that mystery.”
The words hit Niall like a cold wave. If Lady Murray was investigating the impersonation of the Countess, that meant there were still people poking around—people who might discover more than just Charlotte’s involvement.
Charlotte.
With MacAllister’s sudden departure and Lady Murray’s interest, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about this whole affair. Something waswrong. And Charlotte might be in danger.
“I need to leave,” Niall said abruptly, shoving back his chair and moving toward the door.
“Everything alright?” MacTavish asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Fine,” Niall replied. “But I have some business to attend to.”
He made his excuses and left. He had no time to waste. Whatever Boyd MacAllister and Lady Murray were planning, he had no intention of letting Charlotte be caught in the middle of it.
He had to find her. And fast.
Chapter 7
Charlie was doing herbest not to panic, but that was getting more difficult by the second. No matter what she did, she couldnotget a signal on her phone, or find a phone booth, or a tourist information office, nor anyone who seemed to have any idea what she was talking about when she asked them if they could direct her to a police station.
Instead, they had looked at her askance and then hurried away as though she might be a madwoman. Oh, lord, what the bloody hell was going on?
To try and get her bearings, she’d made her way to one of the few places she recognized: Holyrood Palace. This, at least, seemed to be the same as she remembered, although she hadn’t been able to get near the place due to the guards that kept watch over it.
Instead, she’d taken a seat on a stone bench just inside the entrance to the Royal Botanical gardens nearby. That was another anomaly. She didn’t remember the botanical gardens being anywhere near the palace.
She rested her hands on the stone to either side of her, trying to concentrate on the cold, hard surface to try and anchor her and keep the panic at bay.
Breathe,she told herself.Just breathe. There is an explanation for all this. You just need to figure out what it is.
The gardens were busy. As soon as she’d taken her seat, Charlie had noticed two groups of people gathered at opposite ends of a manicured lawn. Both groups appeared to be listening to men standing on boxes. From this distance she couldn’t make out the words and the speakers were shouting at the same time, as though trying to outdo the other, waving their arms and gesturing wildly. At intervals, the crowds cheered or booed.
“Miss?” said a voice suddenly. “Can we count on yer support? Do ye wish to see our fair country sacrificed? The death of our culture?”
