Francis stayed quiet and Cruikshank wouldn’t even look at him, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on Lindsay.
“Do ye have the money with ye?” Cruikshank asked.
“No,” Lindsay admitted. “I will have to call upon my bank for a draft. I can write you a note by own name now of course, but—”
“That wouldnae be acceptable,” Cruikshank said quickly. He glanced at the clock on the mantel. “It’s near six o’clock now and Friday besides so it’ll have tae be Monday that we complete our business. I’m busy all that day, but I could see ye in the evening, after dinner. Shall we say eight o’clock? Will a day be enough for ye, to speak with yer bank?”
“Yes, of course,” Lindsay said. “We will return then. Mr. Cruikshank.”
Cruikshank nodded, but added, “I would prefer ye to come alone, Mr. Somerville. Yer friend”—he studiously ignored Francis—“is no’ welcome to return.”
Lindsay glanced at Francis, who shrugged but said nothing.
“Very well,” Lindsay said smoothly. “I will come alone.”
––––––––
FRANCIS WAS QUIET AFTERthey left Cruikshank’s house. For a while, Lindsay left him to his thoughts, but at last he asked, “What did you make of that?”
Francis glanced at him. “I’m not entirely sure, but one thing I know—despite his protests, Cruikshankwantedto sell you those papers. I could smell the desperation on him from the first.”
“Is that why you were haggling so hard?”
“I wanted to see how far he’d allow himself to be pushed.” Francis admitted. “Not as far as I thought, as it happens—but in the end I was right. He did not want us to leave without making the bargain.”
“He’s greedy,” Lindsay pointed out. “And we’re paying him an awful lot of money. The thought of losing that would not appeal to him.”
“Hmmm,” The noise Francis made signified agreement, but it was laced with dissatisfaction. As plausible as Lindsay’s explanation was, Lindsay could see Francis was unconvinced and his expression remained troubled.
“I wish you didn’t have to stay in Edinburgh any longer to finish this,” Francis muttered. “Perhaps if I’d been less abrasive, that old devil wouldn’t have insisted on you going alone, and I could have dealt with matters on Monday.”
“It’ll be fine,” Lindsay said firmly. “The chances of Duncan reaching Edinburgh by then are surely slender. And you’ll be here to watch over me.”
“I won’t be at Cruikshank’s.”
“Oh, come on!” Lindsay scoffed. “What possible harm could I come to at his hands? You’ve seen him—he’s decrepit, and so’s his servant.”
Francis’s unhappy expression didn’t shift. “Yes, he’s physically weak—but Lindsay, what I felt coming off him today. It’s rare to feel such malevolence.” He shook his head. “If Cruikshank had the strength to act on his feelings... Hell, it made my skin crawl, just being in that room with him. The hatred pouring off him. I don’t like the idea of you being exposed to that. My wolf doesn’t like it either.”
Neither did Lindsay in truth, but what else was there to do? Cruikshank needed to be dealt with, and however poisonous he might be, he was still just a weak old man, albeit one who’d be several hundred guineas richer after Monday. Perhaps that would make him a bit more likely to pay his debt to Drew Nicol—if so, then some good might come out of his enrichment.
“Well,” Francis said, “I’ll not be letting you out of my sight from now on. And as soon as your business with Cruikshank is concluded, you’re leaving this town. We’ll tell Wynne when we get back so he can start making arrangements to depart first thing on Tuesday.”
Lindsay nodded his agreement, but his wolf was not happy. It paced inside him, anxious and unsettled. It didn’t want to leave Drew Nicol.
