He spun around, though without the smile she expected. Coming to the bed, he sat on the edge and smoothed her hair back. “In my arms. I dinnae have the heart to wake ye. Rest more if ye need to,mo chridhe.” His lips brushed her temple before he pulled away. “Ye stay here and keep quiet. We cannae risk anyone finding ye here.”
“Where are you going?”
With a grunt, he stood and circled back to the wardrobe. “I’m going to have a word or two wi’ Rutledge.”
“What?” Piper sat straight up and gawked at him in surprise. “Why would you do that?”
“To hurry him on his way. Ye’re safety is all that matters right now.” He selected a charcoal gray suit and hung it over the back of a wooden valet stand. “Wi’ any luck, I’ll send him back on his way to London wi’ a boot to his arse. If no’…”
That dangling threat sounded awfully portentous.
“If not, what?”
“Then I may well have to kill him.”
Since he’d rather recently assured her that he was no murderer, Piper shook her head with a strained laugh. “No, seriously.”
Connor turned his back with a shrug. She gaped in wordless astonishment as he withdrew a crisp white shirt and midnight blue silk vest. It was the finest suit of clothes she’d yet to see him don.
He’d assessed his opponent accurately to choose such a suit of armor. He wasn’t joking. He meant to kill Rutledge.
“Connor, you cannot kill him.” Piper rose from the bed, straightening her blouse and skirt as she went to him.
He shrugged on his shirt. “He deserves retribution for what he did to ye, lass.”
“I’m not arguing his culpability. I’m arguing your role in his punishment.”
“Ye think there’s another way to bring him to justice?” he asked with a shake of his head as he worked the buttons. “A duke and friend of the Prince of Wales? There is nae other way.”
“Then let him be.” Piper couldn’t credit the words even as she uttered them. Prior to Connor’s arrival and a more agreeable repertoire of fantasies, many a night had been spent imagining the ways she might wreak vengeance upon the Duke of Rutledge. Even so, she couldn’t summon the will to recall the plea.
Despite the very real threat that lingered within Dinton Grange’s walls, she felt unburdened for the first time in years. As if, in speaking of the past, she’d been freed from its hold. All that mattered now was the future.
A future she wanted to share with Connor.
She could only hope that he reached the same conclusion. She’d sensed a flip side to his gentle affection and humor, and witnessed it now. A formidable man. A fighter.
But not a killer. She prayed he would realize it before it was too late.
“You told me you were not a murderer, and I would not want you to become one. I’ll not have you lower yourself to his level. Not over this. Not for me.”
“Och,mo chridhe.” He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her temple. “Ye’re all the reason in the world I have to consider it.”
As complimentary as it was, it did not sound at all like capitulation. Piper shook her head. While she had confidence aplenty in Connor, she was far more familiar with the duke’s tenacity than he.
Too familiar.
“Unconsider it.” The threat Rutledge presented set the words aquiver.
A light tap sounded on the door. Piper froze as the handle rattled then rotated. A well-dressed, sandy haired man slipped into the room.
“Connor…” The man likewise stilled as he spotted her. He made a swift examination of her disheveled state and the rumpled bed behind her. “My lady, my apologies for the intrusion.”
“Dinnae fash, Piper,” Connor responded to her cautious retreat. “This is a friend of mine, Lord Captain Anthony Temple formerly of Her Majesty’s Scots Guard. He assisted me in questioning Granger.”
The gentleman made a proper bow over her hand with the loveliest of manners and a courteous pleasantry. He didn’t seem the sort one would call upon to undertake a task like questioning Mr. Granger’s criminal behavior. Appearances notwithstanding, Connor had, and Lord Temple possessed presence enough to convince Piper that there was more to him than met the eye. He wasn’t as mild as he seemed.
“Formerly of the Scots Guard, Lord Temple? And currently of…?”
