Chapter Seven
London
Mairi was practicingtalking the evening Connall returned to London. She sat with the butler Parry and pretended he was Prinny. Everyone thought that was a great joke because Parry was thin and Prinny fat, but Mairi thought Parry’s pompous arrogance was spot on. The man sniffed as if she’d come from the pigsty whenever her Rs rolled, and he sneered every time an O sounded like AE. It was insulting, and yet she understood the discipline needed to sound like an Englishwoman. As much as her people clung to their hatred of the Sassenach, the English had a disdain for the Scots. It was a fact of life, and if she meant to cross the border to find a husband, then she needed to put her best foot—or language—forward.
She really wanted to put her foot through Parry’s sneering mouth.
Fortunately for Parry’s future ability to eat, the knocker sounded, and he rose with a level of poise that made her despise him more. He really was graceful, and she would do well to study him, not hate him. But it had been a long ten days of constant correction, and she was ill-tempered.
She slouched back on the settee and took childish glee in allowing her knees to drift apart beneath her dress as she sprawled in defiant exhaustion. She’d never done such a thing in Scotland, and she was ashamed of her appearance now. And yet, she still did it.
“My heavens!” Parry exclaimed. That was as much as a scream from the man and Mairi perked up in interest. “But you cannot—” he began until a Scottish voice interrupted him.
“Aye, ye can and ye will. It’s been a long, awful journey, and we’re coming inside.”
Mairi jumped to her feet, proving that she wasn’t nearly as exhausted as she thought. “Sadie?” she called. Sure enough, the auburn-haired girl with the tight jaw and hard eyes was pushing her way inside. “Let her in, Parry,” she commanded. “That’s the duke’s cousin—”
Her voice cut off as she saw Connall stumble against the doorframe. He was standing on his own—barely—and Sadie was clearing the way for a couple large men as they caught the duke and pulled him inside.
He looked like hell. His eyes were bright with fever, his skin flushed, and his handsome face was swollen on one side. Truth be told, he looked like a monster, but Mairi could only see injury and pain.
“Get him to a room upstairs,” she commanded as if she were in charge in this house. “Parry, send for water and linen to tend his wounds.” She looked at Sadie. “Has he seen a surgeon? Do his bones need to be set?”
“No,” Connall rasped. “Naught’s broken…save my pride.”
He sounded even worse than he looked, his voice weak and distracted. And so, because that frightened her, she insulted him. That was how they’d always interacted. “There’s nothing that can dent yer pride, Connall Aberbeag. I’m surprised that yer head could swell even larger than it already was.”
He laughed, as she knew he would, and that sound reassured her. He had his wits, and after a blow to the head that was no small thing.
“Bring him along then,” she said, waving to the two large men. “Upstairs to the nearest—”
“What’s this?” the dowager countess called from the top of the stairs. “Parry, who are all these people?”
“It’s the duke, my lady,” Mairi said before Parry could answer. “With his cousin whom you promised to sponsor—”
“And my maid,” Sadie said as if that made any difference.
“We were attacked by robbers,” said the maid who, now that Mairi got a good look at her, was no maid at all, but that was for another time. She pointed to the men. “What are you waiting for? Upstairs with him!”
“My lady!” Parry called. “We’re not prepared—”
“Good heavens! What happened to his face?” gasped the countess.
“Highwaymen,” Mairi repeated, her heart beating hard in her throat as she said the words. “He needs to rest.”
“But he was to take gentleman’s quarters—”
“Here, my lady,” she said, her tone hard. “He cannot recover without help, and no proper miss can go to his lodging.”
The lady chewed her lower lip as she peered at Connall. “You’ll not die, will you?” Her voice trembled with real fear.
“No, my lady,” said Connall as he flashed a truly gruesome smile. “I’m not done in yet.”
“Then I suppose I can let you rest here.”
It was the permission Mairi needed to mobilize the staff. “Parry, see that a doctor is called immediately.” She turned to glare at Connall before he objected. “Not a word of argument or I’ll be ministering to your wounds myself. You know how I handle—”
“God forbid!” Connall groaned. “Fine. Waste the money on a sawbones.”
