“Well, I hope you got what you were after.” Edward gestured to the door, where Simmons was standing with the inspector’s hat and coat.
Patterson nodded tersely and stuffed his notebook into his satchel. He turned to the duchess. “Your Grace, thank you for your insight.” He turned to Fiona. “Miss McTavish, I’ll be seeing you later.”
The words sent a shiver of trepidation down her spine. As the inspector passed her, she couldn’t help but shrink against Edward. He put a comforting hand on her hip. A move that was not missed by Edward’s mother.
Just as she thought she was free, the inspector turned. “One last question, Miss McTavish. Where was your brother last night?”
Every muscle in her body tensed. He couldn’t know, could he? About the foolish choices she and William had made? There had been no one in sight when they left Wildeforde House.
“Finley McTavish was with me, at the Mottram ball,” Edward said. “There were easily two hundred witnesses. Would you like my man to send through their names?”
“That’s not necessary.” The inspector smiled at him and tapped his hand against his satchel before leaving.
Without taking his eyes off his mother, Edward said, “Charlotte, Miss McTavish, go upstairs.”
It felt like the greatest form of cowardice, but Fiona fled.
Chapter 29
Afish out of water dies gasping.
His mother’s words were all he could hear after Simmons told him Fiona was in with her and the inspector.
A fish out of water dies gasping.
He had run to his mother’s sitting room, heart thumping in his ears.
A fish out of water dies gasping.
“What are you doing?” He struggled to keep a civil tone.
“What areyoudoing, Duke? Inviting criminals and strumpets into our home.”
He clenched and unclenched his fists. “You will not talk about Fiona in that manner.” It was hard to get the words out, his jaw was set so tightly.
“Why not?” The duchess fixed him with a challenging stare, daring him to declare his feelings.
Because she knew.Tell me more about this Fiona…
He should never have mentioned Fi’s name. He’d damned her the moment he had. The duchess knew exactly what was happening when she’d received Luella’s letter.
Welcoming Patterson into their home with arms wide open was just the first of her attacks, because there was no way that the duchess would accept a woman like Fiona as a daughter-in-law. She would do everything in her power to prevent it.
And God only knew what she would do next.
The duchess remained perched on the edge of the settee, sipping at her tea. Edward took enough steps toward her that she was forced to crane her neck to look at him.
“Let me be very clear, Mother. If you do or say anything to hurt Fiona, I am going to buy an estate at the furthest edge of Scotland, one with leaking roofs, where the wind howls through cracks in the walls, and there is no one within fifty miles to hear you complain, and I will exile you there.”
With one hand still holding her teacup, she poked him in the stomach with the other, forcing him to take a step backward.
“Your mistake, boy, is thinking your words are law in this house. You may be the feared Duke of Wildeforde to every other person in this empire, but I birthed you. If you want to protect Miss McTavish, I suggest you pack her off back to the one-room cottage she crawled out of. Do you think jail is the worst thing I can do to her?”
Her stare didn’t waver. Her expression was as confident as it was cruel, and he was reminded exactly why he chose to end things with Fiona five years ago.
But that was five years ago. He’d thought he’d been in love. The truth was, he hadn’t really known her. Fiona—the woman who’d walked from Scotland on her own, who was more intelligent than the brightest men of his acquaintance, who’d worked so hard to master fire—she wasn’t a woman about to crumble under the sting of harsh words.
Edward might have, all those years ago, but he’d been thirteen, a boy who’d just lost his father. Those same bullies could lob those same comments at him now—if they dared—and he could withstand it.
