Chapter Fourteen
“Ye dunnae need to come with me,” Aden rumbled from Loki’s back. “Ye let Coll go off on his own.”
“Ye sent him on the safer trip,” Niall returned.
Aden finished off the last strawberry he’d tucked away in a pocket. Whatever he thought of soft Sassenach, he had to give them credit for one thing: They built fine roads. Rutted and muddy in places, aye, but they had them aplenty, and leading everywhere a man could want. Even directly south of London all the way to Portsmouth.
“I ken ye dunnae like the idea of leaving yer lass unprotected,” his brother went on, “butIdunnae like the idea of ye being killed and yer corpse dumped in the ocean.”
“I reckon Miranda can defend herself at a dinner table as well as I could. She’s safer there in her own house than she would be out at a soiree where Vale could make a grand gesture and propose before all thehaute ton. And she’s nae my lass. Nae yet.”
His younger brother sent him a sideways glance. “Ye’ve thought it through, at least, nae that I’m surprised by that. It still doesnae answer why ye dunnae want me heading south with ye. Ye ken I’m going to keep asking until ye answer me.”
The conversation reminded Aden forcefully that he frequently had a damned good reason for keeping his own counsel. His brothers could be helpful, but they weren’t the sort to follow orders without question. At the same time, he couldn’t be everywhere at once. And he had a lass to save, and a shrinking amount of time in which to do it.
“Coll’s impressive, and he’ll be chatting with farmers and shopkeepers who’ve likely nae seen a Highlander before, much less one who’s a viscount.”
“And I’m nae impressive enough for Portsmouth?”
“For Saint Andrew’s sake, Niall, aye. Ye’re impressive. I dunnae need impressive for sailors or officers of His Majesty’s Navy. They’ve seen the world. They’ve had cannons shot at ’em. I need charm, nae fists. I need subtle. Ye’re a might more subtle than Coll, I’ll admit, but ye’re nae as subtle as I am.”
“That might be, but Portsmouth’s nae just a few farmers and shopkeepers, either. I reckon two of us can cover more ground than the one of ye, however subtle ye are. That’s why I’m here with ye. Because I’m nae staying in London while ye do someaught heroic.”
“Fine. I’m glad ye’re here, then.”
“As ye should be, Aden.”
“But I’d rather at least one of us was in London making certain that bastard doesnae lay a single scabby finger on my woman.”
Niall closed his mouth over whatever it was he’d been about to say. “I’m glad ye decided to tell us yer troubles,” he finally ventured.
“Francesca made me.”
“Sheknows?”
“Nae.” Aden frowned. Gauging by the sun, it was past noon already. By the time they reached the harbor atPortsmouth they’d be pushing against evening, with an unknown number of conversations and the ride back to London still ahead of them. “She wouldnae lend me any blunt unless I at least told the two of ye, so that’s what I did.”
They—he—needed to be back in Mayfair before Vale knew he’d left. He’d told both his brothers that Coll’s trip to Cornwall was mostly a distraction, a chance for them to rattle Vale a bit, and perhaps come up with something useful. The navy anchored at Portsmouth, and that was where he would find any more recent tales about Robert Vale—short of sailing to India, of course.
“So ye only told us because she forced ye?” Niall grunted a fairly imaginative curse in Gaelic. “What, did ye reckon we’d tromp all over yer delicate plans like a great pair of oxen?”
“Dunnae be a nodcock,” Aden retorted. “Aye, at first I reckoned I could rescue a lass in distress and nae have to ask ye for help. This is complicated, Niall. It’s nae a simple kidnapping or two. Vale holds papers proving Matthew’s debt. It’s nae only Miranda I need to rescue, and the Harris parents dunnae even ken they’re in jeopardy.”
“Coll will flatten Matthew the first chance he gets. Ye know that, aye?”
“He willnae, because Vale’s a soulless devil who preys on naive, friendly young lads, and ourpiutharloves the boy.I’llmanage Matthew Harris.”
They rode in silence for a mile or so. “Aden, are ye in this for a bride who’s grateful to ye, or for one ye can love?”
“Those two things arenae mutually exclusive, I reckon.”
“Ye know what I’m saying,” Niall insisted. “When Amy and I—”
“Nae.” Aden cut him off with a slash of his hand. “Ye dunnae get to advise me because ye were lucky enough to find a woman who thinks yer annoying charm is… well, charming. I’ll find my own path, thank ye very much. And aye, I knowmyheart. I dunnae yet know hers. I cannae, until she’s free.”
“Well, that sounds wise enough, but ye’ve nae twisted yerself into knots for any other lass that I recall.”
No, he hadn’t. And whatever reasonable, logical story he tried to spin for himself, deep down he knew the truth. He’d found his forever, and he would do anything necessary to rescue and protect her whether it ultimately benefited him or not. “Mayhap I did, and I just nae told ye,” he quipped, mostly to turn the subject to his past romantic escapades and away from the one that actually mattered.
