She wrinkled her nose. “Better not. I dinna think it wise to loosen my tongue or vomit on the man.”
With a deep chuckle, he set his glass on a table and offered his arm. “Let us go, then, and find out what brings one of Edinburgh’s high constables to Thursa.”
“Hopefully, Mrs. Thistlewick has oiled the man with food and drink, so he will be more pliable.”
“Oiled the man?”
A frustrated huff escaped her. Just because Gunn knew her story didn’t mean that she should use terminology from her time. Someone could overhear. “It’s a saying I should not have used, since it sounds as though we are going to fry him. Sorry.”
He patted her hand and hugged her arm closer. “I knew what ye meant, mouse. Dinna fash yerself.”
As they stepped out of the stairwell, Mrs. Thistlewick met them, wringing her hands. “Edmond took the man into the library. Jasper kent ye would want to speak with him in private rather than in the main hall.” She flipped a hand at the closed door at the end of the hall. “I sent in food and extra drink. Just so ye know, he is a fair-sized man. I thought his humor might improve if we filled his wame and wet his tongue with whisky.”
Lorna flinched. Mrs. Thistlewick’s assessment didn’t sound promising. “Do ye think he will be trouble?”
The housekeeper twitched a shrug. “I dinna ken, m’lady. Part of his foulness is surely from the damp cold here at Thursa. He said more than once that his bones had never ached so much in his life.”
Gunn tugged her forward. “Come, m’love. We have kept the man waiting long enough.”
“Not nearly as long as I would like.” But Lorna lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and tried to summon a gracefulness she had never possessed before.
As soon as they entered the library, the large, barrel-chested man struggled to hoist himself from the depths of a cushion-filled chair beside the hearth. He huffed and puffed until almost wheezing by the time he rocked to his feet and stood. Red-faced, but bearing a polite smile, he proffered a bow to Gunn. “Constable Murchison Erskine, Lord Caithness. I beg yer forgiveness for my uninvited intrusion into yer fine home.”
“No intrusion at all,” Gunn said. “Although I must say, yer visit comes as a surprise. Edinburgh is quite the trip to manage at this time of year.” His gaze shifted to Edmond. “And especially since our man’s destination was Inverness. Not Edinburgh.”
“I did go to Inverness,” Edmond said.
Jasper thumped the lad’s chest with the back of his hand and cut him down with a pointed glare.
“Sorry, my chieftain.” The hulking Edmond backed up a step, as if trying to disappear into the shadows.
Lorna felt bad for the young man who was more like an oversized pup than a warrior. “Did ye come upon Edmond in Inverness, Constable Erskine?”
“My wife,” Gunn said with an indulgent smile.
The constable bowed politely again. “I did come upon yer man in Inverness, m’lady. It turned out that my men and I were seeking Liam MacGibbon as well.”
“Why so?” Gunn asked. “And did ye find him?”
Constable Erskine puffed up like a proud peacock. “Oh, that we did, m’lord. And I hope ye rest easy knowing that he is well on his way to the tolbooth in Edinburgh.” He bobbed his head, making his fleshy jowls bounce. “Of course, he willna hang till spring, when the weather improves.”
“The charges?” Gunn asked.
“Many, m’lord.” The constable gimped closer to the fire and shifted his weight from side to side as though his feet pained him. “Murder. Practicing as a solicitor without a license. Blackmail. Coercion. Quite the list.”
“Murder?” Lorna repeated.
“Aye.” Erskine bobbed his head again. He rubbed his arse as he backed closer to the fire. “He helped a whore murder her husband after he drew up a will for the man and his heir—a nephew we are also seeking, as he appeared to be in on the scheme as well.”
The back of Lorna’s neck tingled, and an excited knowing made her heart beat faster. “The whore wouldna be Lady Murdina Sullivan? And the nephew Reginald Leckness?”
The constable’s eyes bulged. He slid an awe-filled look back to Gunn. “Does yer wife have the sight, m’lord?”
“That she does.” Gunn squeezed her hand. “We consider it a blessing.”
Lorna took the squeeze as a subtle request to let him do the rest of the talking.
“Lady Murdina is currently in my dungeon,” Gunn said. “For not only trying to poison me but also for kidnapping my daughter and trying to kill my wife.” He snorted as though trying to rid himself of her stench. “I assume yer visit here is to collect her?”
