“No,” she replied sharply. That was a yes then.
“How much?”
“Are ye right in the head? I just said there wasnae any left.”
“You’ll have to forgive me if I do not take your word for it. Besides, I’ve been sending extra for improvements before my arrival. And clearly Will let you know I was intending to visit—you’ve been squirreling it away.”
Her glare was pure Gabriel. She may have had a father—but he wasn’t blood.
“Yer daft.”
“And you’re a thief.”
Strong arms crossed high on her chest—overtop her growing belly. My eyes caught on the delicate curve. Gabriel’s grandchild was growing inside her. Something ached in my heart at the realization.
Thief she may be, but she was also my niece. One last living piece of my brother—complicating life even from beyond the grave.
I sighed. “If you return what you still have, and pay back what you stole, I won’t involve the law.”
Her smile was sarcastic and accompanied by an unladylike snort. “If ye think I can pay ye back in this lifetime, yer dimmer than I thought.”
It was an impulse, the one that kept rearing its head—abandoning London for Scotland, seeking refuge in an empty office at a masquerade, kissing Tom Grayson. I knew, even as I made them, that they were poor choices. Ill-considered and ill-conceived, every last one. And this one—this would be even worse. But I could no more have trapped the next sentences behind my lips than I could force my heart to stop beating.
I rose and stepped toward her. “You’re not going to pay me back with shillings and pounds.”
“We’re in agreement, then.”
“You’re going to help me repair the estate.”
Miss McAllen blinked, eyes wide and owlish. “I beg yer pardon.”
“You heard me. And you’re going to help me.”
She stood, mirroring my position with hands on her hips. “I think ye’ll find that I’m not.”
“If you do not wish to give birth on the open sea—which I promise you, you do not—I think you’ll find that you will.”
“They’ll not sentence me to exile.” Dark eyes rolled back.
“You’re correct. They’ll sentence you to death and if you’re very, very lucky, they’ll exile you instead. I’m a duke, remember. The law doesn’t take kindly to crimes against nobility. And the sum you’ve stolen…”
“I cannae help ye. I dinnae know anything aboot fixing up a house.”
“Neither do I. We’ll have to figure it out together.”
Her expression was wary and calculated as her gaze flicked up and down my form. Her eyes caught on my pocket. I hadlittle doubt she’d rob me and disappear as soon as she found an opportunity. “And ye’ll not call the constable.”
“As long as you do not do precisely what you’re contemplating—I won’t call the constable.”
Her glare was penetrating and awash in irritation, brow furrowed, lips curled in a snarl. “How would ye know what I’m contemplating?”
“So you weren’t planning to pick my pocket and run to Lord knows where, forcing me to return to London—destitute—never to be seen again.”
“I hadnae thought quite that far.”
“You would’ve gotten there eventually.”
“Such faith…” The sneer belied the words.
