“Nonsense. They brought themselves. Whoever wants you and that boy dead will chase you wherever you go, you know. Better to be in a place with high walls and a lot of strong men then out on the trail as you run to some place or even in a boardinghouse,” Mrs. O’Neal said as she washed the dishes and Emily wiped them.
“This is not Iain’s battle.”
“Ha! It is the battle of any man with a backbone and some sense of what is right. This cousin of yours wants to kill a woman and a child. A child with no ability to defend himself. And all for gain. It should turn any decent man’s stomach. It is just sad that there are so many men willing to take money to do his dirty work.”
“The MacEnroys saved our lives, mine, and Neddy’s. It is a poor repayment for that kindness to drag them into this mess.”
Mrs. O’Neal shook her head. “When you start thinking like that, I want you to do one thing for me.”
“What?” Emily asked suspiciously.
“Think of that boy. Of those big brown eyes going cloudy with death. That is what your lofty principles will gain you.”
Chastised, Emily finished the dishes. She poured herself a glass of cider and went to sit on the porch swing. It was time to stop being vague and let Iain know exactly why Albert wanted her and Neddy dead. She had hoped the tale of a greedy cousin and vague references to property or land that would be given to him instead of Neddy would be enough.
It was going to increase those moments of being cold to her. She understood what did it but was resentful of how he included her in that condemnation. She would never throw tenants from their home. Her father had been insistent about their responsibilities to their tenants. Emily sighed, knowing she now faced a difficult few moments with Iain. She just hoped he listened and did not throw his anger, righteous though it was, at her.
* * *
Iain poured himself some cider and looked at Mrs. O’Neal, who was taking off her apron and getting ready to go to her cabin. “Where is Neddy?”
“With my lads. They were going to play with the pups for a while,” the woman replied.
“And Emily?” he asked casually, and could tell by the sharp look Mrs. O’Neal gave him that his casual inquiry did not fool her at all.
“Out on the porch swing. See you in the morning,” she said, and went out the door.
Iain gave the woman enough time to get to her cottage and went to join Emily. It took only one look at the woman to know she was still in that strange mood that had hung on her all through dinner. He cautiously sat down beside her. Iain wondered if she was shocked and upset over the deaths of the men who had planned to kill her and said as much.
“I do understand that,” she said a little sharply, and then sighed. “You need to know everything, to understand why this will not stop. It will not stop until Albert is dead or Neddy and I are.”
“Just what have ye done that makes the mon hate ye so much?”
“We were born. We stand in his way. We have what he wants and will hold it as long as we live and our children, if we live long enough to have any, will then hold it.”
“Property?”
“Yes. Quite a lot actually. I have the deeds to five fine English properties and papers affirming Neddy’s right to all the money that comes with such lands. A little cottage by the sea is mine but the rest belong to Neddy. Two manor houses and two fine London town homes. There are more but his grandfather holds the deeds to them until he dies.”
Iain was shocked. This was far more than he had expected and he suspected she was about to add more. Five properties, manor houses no less, meant she was far higher born than he had thought.
“And if he succeeds in killing both you and Neddy what titles does the man then claim?”
“Well, he really only has to kill Neddy. Neddy is the one standing in his way but he will kill me for being witness to it all and for the possibility that I will wed and have a son thus taking some of the property and money he covets. I believe he is fully aware that it was I who uncovered his murder of my parents.”
“What title?”
“Well, Neddy is now the Baron of Dunning and”—she took a deep breath—“the Marquis of Collins Wood. When his grandfather passes on he will be the duke.”
“Jesu. That is practically royalty.”
“Not really. It is not that kind. It was a gift during Elizabeth’s reign. My ancestor did a very large favor for her and had the wit to then remain in the background, confronting no one and outlasting Henry and others. He also got the right to pass his title on to the sons of his daughters. Not an easy feat. None of it.” She stopped talking, realizing she was babbling to fill the silence.
“And that box Neddy watches so closely has the paperwork to prove his right?”
“It does. The man after us is my father’s first cousin, the only other male born in that generation, and he knows he is the heir after Neddy but has no wish to wait who knows how long for the boy to die. Or bother himself with any sons Neddy might breed. My father’s will is quite clear on who is his heir. He had a deep distaste for Albert and needed to do all he could to insure the man could not steal Neddy’s inheritance. I doubt he ever expected the man to turn to murder to get what he wants.”
“How did your parents die?”
