“See the lady home safely, Chalmers.”
She did not fight or say another word. Chalmers held out his arm to her and she accepted it, which told Iain how upset she was. He held his place even when she tripped and Chalmers had to wrap his arm around her to keep her upright. He made his own way back to his office and by the time he’d climbed the stairs to it, her coach was gone.
Cairns followed him in and stood in silence at the door.
He’d not let on that he knew the man she’d named. Dougal Dubh was almost the king of criminals in Edinburgh. Almost. Known for his cruelty and his absolute adherence to being a paid man—a man willing to do nearly anything for the right price—Dougal Dubh was not a man to be challenged lightly.
Iain had not hired him. He was not even certain this involved him. But he needed to find out and put a stop to it.
Not because Clare demanded it. Not because she dangled the prize he needed before his eyes.
No, he needed to find out because this crossed one of the very few lines he’d drawn for himself in his life. And there was another reason as well. Iain knew he had not ordered or paid for such attacks. So, if he had not, who had?
Hours later, he’d found out little except that Cairns had seen Dougal Dubh near the offices and had reports of the man in the area over the last weeks. That in itself was not unusual since the man worked and made his living in Leith, the docks and anywhere in the city or stews where he could earn a shilling or two. His gang was loyal to him and those he terrorized were too frightened to do anything but follow his orders. A wave of nausea settled in his gut when he thought of those days in his early life.
Unable to find out more about the man’s connection to Clare’s problem, Iain issued an invitation to Dougal Dubh. And by the time he finished with the man Iain would know the truth.
Iain walked downthe stairs, already in simple black breeches, boots, and a loose shirt. The pub and the fights had been closed to keep this a private challenge. Dougal had three of his men with him and Cairns waited in the shadows for the outcome. He must have encountered Dougal at some time. However, Iain could not remember. What struck him was they were both called the same thing—dubh—for their coloring and if someone suggested that they were possibly brothers, after seeing Dougal, Iain would not have been able to argue.
Tall, muscular, with thick black hair, the man seemed to be about the same age Iain thought he was. Scarred from years on the street, Dougal’s nose had been broken before, several times from the way it bent to one side then back to middle. If luck were with Iain, it would have another mark by the time he was finished.
“We have some business between us,” Iain said, once they faced off across the open space of the room.
“This is how you welcome a guest, Buchanan?”
He moved and shifted, widening his stance and centering his balance and watching his opponent for signs of weaknesses or openings to attack. His plan was simple—to beat Dougal Dubh until he gave up the name of his contact or friend in Iain’s operation. Simple really.
How hard could it be to do something he’d done dozens of times before?
He laughed laterwhen he remembered the question he’d asked himself. Well, after spitting out mouthfuls of blood and wiping sweat and more blood from his eyes. The only thing that had turned the fight in his favor was that he was fighting against the exact same kind of man who had tried to kill him that night so long ago.
One he’d sworn would never prevail over him again.
With his question answered, Iain had Dougal seen to and removed along with his friends, and Iain could now...
His mind drifted for a moment and he blamed it on the several blows he’d taken to his head in the last hour.
First, he would tell Clare, so she would know he’d done as he said he would.
She still will not believe you.
Nay, and he was coming to believe it would be best if she did not. Clare was too smart not to remember what he’d said and to seek out the truth. Though most who knew were long gone, he did not want questions raised that could affect his investments and businesses. Knowing he owned this disreputable place could be looked on as folly or eccentricity, but if the rest about him were known, not even the knighthood could protect his interests.
Rubbing the back of his hand across his bloody face, he was ready to drop. In this weak condition, his conscience might even win a few battles. He nodded to King who bolstered him as they climbed the steps. The sheer exhaustion from returning from working on the ship to Clare’s appearance to this was taking hold and he would never make it farther than up the stairs here. As he fell on the bed upstairs, Iain could not remember when he’d slept well.
She would hear you out if you do not take her offer.
He slammed back a mouthful of whisky before he got an answer he did not want. Another and another followed until he was certain there would be silence within him.
He had lived without her before, and he would again once everything was settled.
Keep it all business. All services paid for. Quid pro quo.
Another thought occurred to him but between the pain and theuisge beatha, he allowed the dizzying darkness to pull him down. He was comfortable there. Freddie Dubh was better lying in the darkness.
Chapter Nineteen
Chalmers had seenmuch in his time as a solicitor and even more before that when he smuggled and then when he worked for some of the rougher gangs, smoothing out their legal situations. That part of his life was more like a bad dream that wakes a weeun from their sleep in the middle of the night. Since working his arse off to get educated and establishing himself here in Edinburgh, he’d not seen Cairns in two decades. And since they each resembled their father, no one ever considered they were related.
