“Aye! Like it or not, your actions still affect myself. If ye go dragging another innocent gentleman—”
“Another?!”
“—into this quagmire, it may prove a fly in the ointment.”
Her eyes narrowed at him.
“Our current course for divorce depends upon us both presenting unimpeachable reasons for wanting to secure said divorce,” he continued. “If ye are betrothed to another, it undermines everything.”
“How? Because this still sounds like you’re simply jealous.”
“How?!Och, ye go from a wife deserted by her husband to a scheming shrew intent on more money than I can provide. And given that both Fletch and I are the second sons of an earl, our case would prove easy to—”
“Fletch?”
“Archer,” Tavish amended. “His nickname is Fletch.”
“I see. And what is yours?”
“My what?”
“Your nickname?”
“Notbastard, as I’m sure you’re thinking.”
“Truly? But it is so fitting.”
Tavish couldn’t stop a startled laugh.
“Hush! Someone will hear.” She glanced toward the door at her back.
“Unlikely. I’m the only guest on this floor, as it was determined that the stench of my presence was too close to your august elder brother. The other bedchambers are empty. And your room is the one below this one.”
“How do you know?”
He tapped his nose. “Reconnaissance.” He took a step toward her. “Fletch being in the middle of this complicates everything. Have ye told him you’re married?”
She shook her head just once—No.
Dread sank through Tavish’s bones.
“Lass,Icannotkeep this secret from Fletch. He is one of my closest frie—”
“You must. Our marriage isn’t your secret alone to disclose. I do not wish to tell Colonel Archer about it until he and I have decided we suit. Until then, the point is moot.”
“Fletch will view it as the most craven betrayal on my part when he finds out. More importantly, I don’t ken he will react favorably to ye keeping the fact of your marriage from him. He will justly view your actions as duplicitous.”
“Perhaps, but I am the one who will have to deal with the aftermath of Colonel Archer’s reaction.” She tapped her chest. “And I would like to tell him in my own way and my own time. You owe me that, at least.”
The dread tightened around Tavish’s ribcage.
He refused to relinquish his friendship with Fletch. But would Tavish ever be able to stand in the same room as Fletch and his new bride without longing to punch something?
Tavish wasn’t sure.
Bloody hell, but this was afankle, a knot of Gordian proportions. Suddenly, he was infinitely grateful there would soon be a vast ocean between himself and Lady Isla.
She stared at him, eyes snapping. The faint moonlight caressed her skin, turning it into the finest alabaster.
