He glanced at Grace. And then Faith.
“Not an unreasonable request.”
“Why you—”
“Mr. MacKinnon, you don’t mean that,” Grace said, silencing her sister with the wave of her hand. “Regardless of how you feel about us, you would never make Hope choose. Would you?” He wanted to say yes, if only to cast these banshees from his house, but even if he said the words, he knew they wouldn’t believe them. Even Faith rolled her eyes, knowing the truth. So, he remained silent. “Please, Mr. MacKinnon. Please, you must go after her.”
“She doesn’t want me,” he said again, his eyes searching the nearly empty scotch glass in his hand as he brought it up to finish. “She told me to leave.”
“For a time, not forever,” Rose said earnestly. “Please.”
“You must,” Belle said, striking her cane once more, as if it were some magical staff that could command him to do her bidding.
Daft old woman.
“Surely you know she doesn’t belong with Pennington,” Grace said. “Don’t you?”
The pleading in her tone was nearly enough to turn Graham’s heart, but the fact that Hope had dismissed him was enough to ignore all their pleas. She didn’t want him and—
“Mr. MacKinnon,” Faith said, causing him to look up. “My sister does not deserve a lifetime with that man. And you owe her a debt.” She paused, looking as if she was bracing herself to do something deeply distasteful, her throat bobbing up and down as if trying to swallow her own tongue. “Will you,please, go and return her to us?”
Graham stared at her.
“She may want to be with him. Return to London and all that.”
“And if she truly does, we will accept it,” Faith said, peering around her to the others. “But we need to hear it from her own mouth first.”
“So why not go after her yourselves?”
“Why indeed.” Faith let out a bitter laugh. “I told you, Aunt Belle. Coming here was a waste of time.”
“I was hoping to be proven wrong,” Belle said, her judgmental stare locked on Graham. Then she added loudly. “But I suppose it’s fitting that two innocent, young ladies and an elderly woman using a cane would find no help from the likes of a McKinnon!”
He knew he was being goaded. Belle’s blatant attempt to guilt him into going after Hope was weak at best, but it didn’t matter. He’d likely never hear the end of it if he didn’t go. And truth be told, he wanted an excuse to see Hope again.
But he wouldn’t give Belle the satisfaction of seeing him eagerly run off. So, he rolled his eyes and slowly put down his unfinished his drink.
“Very well,” he said, stalking towards the doorway. The women parted quickly. “I’ll go now. But if she tries to throw something at me, I’ll be coming to you lot for restitution.”
“Mr. Pennington was staying at the Cock and Sparrow.”
“Yes, the note said as much,” he said, searching his pocket for the crumbled piece of paper. He handed it to Grace, who was at his heels.
“Oh, but sir, should you change?” his butler asked. “Your clothes are…” Graham gave him a piercing glare. “Very good, sir.”
Graham was out of the house and mounting his second draft horse, a buckskin-colored horse named Honeycomb in a matter of minutes. He was tired and his head was pounding. His muscles were sore and he was wet, filthy from the rain and the mud he’d accumulated from his morning ride, but none of it mattered.
Turning Honeycomb, he gave out an angry YAW and heeled his side. They took off like a shot, just as the rain stopped. The southern skies seemed to open as the clouds parted slowly, leading him towards the Cock and Sparrow Inn.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hope entered the old building with the faded sign over its door cautiously. The Cock and Sparrow Inn seemed dark and dangerous and she soon realized that Rose had been right. It was not the sort of country inn she and her sisters had stayed at during their journey north. Though there were plenty of south-facing windows, they were so grimy and dirt-covered that the only light came from candlesticks on every other table. Scents of sour beer, unwashed bodies and stale beer assaulted Hope’s nose, but she tried to keep her face expressionless.
The barman and two other men glared up with suspicious scowls immediately upon her entering and watched her as she made her way toward them.
“Excuse me,” she said, trying to sound brave. “I'm searching for a man—”
“Piss off,” the barman growled at her.
