Amusement began to crack through fury and relief. “He’ll realize that before he gets too far down the street,” Aden commented, holding Miranda a little away from himself so he could get a better look at her. “Ye’re nae hurt, are ye, lass?”
She wiped tears from her cheeks. “Me?Me?You were the one with a pistol pointed at you.” Miranda clutched at his arms. “Are you certain you’re all in one piece? We were headed in here to talk to you, and I heard… I heard everything. Your mother wouldn’t let me open the door.”
Aden looked over her head at Francesca, still seated and the gray caste slowly leaving her face. She’d been genuinely worried, he realized. Over him. It wasn’t just a show for her guests. “Thank ye for keeping her safe,màthair,” he intoned.
Dark-green eyes met his. “Of course. I cherish what and whom you cherish.”
Miranda shifted a little and took hold of his hand. “Come with me for a moment,” she said, and tried to pull him toward the sitting room doorway.
“Aye. Excuse us. Smythe, I need those letters to go out.”
“They will, Master Aden, if I have to take them to the nearest ship myself.”
Aden allowed Miranda to lead him into the sitting room, and only lifted an eyebrow when she let him go and moved away to shut the door behind them. If she wanted to kiss him a few more times he wasn’t about to protest, but he’d allowed her to be put in danger, and he needed to answer for that. “I didnae reckon he’d dare show his face here, Miranda, or I’d have posted a guard. I guessed wrong, and it… Ye might have been hurt. It’ll nae happen again.”
She faced him, putting her back against the door. “You didn’t guess wrong. For heaven’s sake, Aden,you’re not like him. You didn’t anticipate an attempted murder because you’re not a murderer.”
“I’d have killed him just now, if he hadnae run.”
“So I heard. In very graphic detail.”
“Well, if I’d known ye were there, listening, mayhap I’d have been more polite.”
Out in the hallway Coll bellowed for someone to bring him a damned kilt, and her mouth twitched. “At least he’s returned,” she commented.
“Aye. He generally does, though on occasion Niall or Ihave to go out and fetch him. Are yer parents here to take ye home?”
“Someone saw me in the street last night riding through London on your lap, and informed them,” she said, clasping her hands in front of her waist. “They came to find out what in the world was going on.”
He should have been there to help her with that conversation. “Ye told ’em, then?”
“Yes. Matthew and I did. He told them everything, and took complete responsibility for Vale, gambling, and the entire nightmare.”
That impressed him, more than he would have expected. “Good lad. Is he disowned?”
She shook her head. “No. Heissurrendering his membership to every gentlemen’s club of which he’s a member, though.”
“That’s wise. He and I can play Beggar My Neighbour over punch in the evenings. Out in the garden, mayhap, so the womenfolk willnae hear us weeping.”
Miranda lifted on her toes, then sank down again, but didn’t move from her spot in front of the door. “I’m grateful to you,” she said.
“Ye dunnae have to be. We’re partners.”
“Yes, and I appreciate that. At the same time, I think it’s fair to say that I’ve received more benefit from our partnership than you have.” When he opened his mouth to argue with that, she scowled at him. “I’m not finished.”
“Go on, then.”
“I’m not just grateful because of your assistance with Vale. You… opened my eyes to some things, and—”
“Miranda,” he broke in, frowning, “dunnae thank me for that, for Saint Andrew’s sake. It was a genuine pleasure.”
It occurred to him that she was likely trying to find the softest way to bid him farewell, and he straighteneddespite the fact that he felt like he’d just been punched in the chest. He couldn’t pull in a solid breath, and his heart felt hollow and pinched.
“I wasn’t…” She blushed. “Yes, the sex was—is—a genuine pleasure for me, as well,” she whispered, then cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean that, either, though.”
“Then what—”
“I’ve always followed the rules,” she cut back in. “I’ve enjoyed being good at them. The idea of breaking them to suit me… I don’t know that it ever would have occurred to me, if I’d been on my own in this mess. But it’s rather delightful, really.”
