“And proof,” added Connall darkly. “Real proof.” He snapped his fingers as if he’d just remembered something, then opened the door to the parlor. “I almost forgot.” A maid came in carrying two dresses. “Constable, do you think stabbing a man thirteen times would be a messy business? Ladies, are these the gowns you wore last night?”
Both Sadie and Iseabail said, “Yes.”
He turned to the maid. “Have these been washed yet?”
“No, my lord,” the maid said with a curtsey. “I haven’t had time what with preparing their dresses for tonight.”
Connall passed them to the constable. “As you can see, there’s no blood on them anywhere.”
The constable made a show of inspecting every corner of their gowns, but everyone could see he was defeated. In the end, he passed the dresses back.
“I’ll be looking into this deeply now. It’s an important matter when a future baron is stabbed.”
“A very grave matter,” Lord Heath said. “Which is why it’s important to catch the rightman.” He put enough emphasis on that last word to make the constable’s face tighten. But even the two watchmen could see that they had the wrong suspects.
It took a little longer before they left the house. Lots of sour looks and a clear refusal to apologize. The countess was a lot more gracious than Sadie was. The lady showed the men out and talked blithely about misunderstandings and how appreciative she was that they tried to do a good job. Honestly, it made Sadie grind her teeth, but she knew better than to interfere. Plus, she had something else she wanted to say.
She turned to Lord Heath. “Thank you, my lord. It was very kind of you to help me like that. I am very grateful.”
The man looked her up and down. If he appreciated her looks, he didn’t show it. Instead, he shook his head in disgust.
“Don’t be grateful,” he said. “Stop being a bloody idiot. Even my six-year-old daughter knows not to wander off with strange men. And at a ball no less, and into the neighbor’s yard. Do you know what could have happened to you?”
“I knew what I was doing,” she said, somewhat peevishly. It had gone off perfectly. Or nearly so. How was she to know that Mr. Barrett was going to murder his unconscious friend? That wasn’t her fault! And yet, Lord Heath laid this whole disaster at her door.
“You had no idea what you were doing,” the man said, his tone sharp. “You think that a man who casually rapes women wouldn’t have other nasty tricks up his sleeve? Or friends who are angry enough to stab a person thirteen times?” He shook his head. “When you’re at a ball, you stay at the ball.” He looked at Connall. “I helped today, but you cannot count on that the next time she does something foolish. Hitting a man with a branch! Did you think to send someone to see that he survived? Head wounds are tricky. You might as easily have killed him. Indeed, you were lucky that Mr. Barrett decided to stab him first.”
Sadie wanted to argue. She wanted to snap back at him that she’d planned her escapade carefully, except he had the right of it. She never sent anyone to check on the blighter. She’d assumed his murderous friend would take care of him. Instead, she settled for an angry retort.
“You’ve no right to speak to me—”
He didn’t let her finish. He stepped right up next to her, towering over her until she felt like an errant child before him. He didn’t touch her. He didn’t need to. And while she was overwhelmed with the heated size of him, he spoke in a low tone.
“I am the man who saved you from the gallows, Miss Allen. I’d turn you over my knee if I thought it would get through to you.”
There was no threat in his voice, but she heard the finality in his tone. Had she really been heading for the gallows? The idea terrified her. She’d lived an honest life. She was a respected woman back home. And yet here, she’d come very close to being hanged? The very idea froze her from head to toe.
And still he stood like a wall of disapproval in front of her. She might have accepted it from Connall. He was her clan leader and the one sponsoring her in London. And yet, this man dared to suggest he would spank her? That was a step too far.
Forcing strength into her body, she raised her gaze from his neatly tied cravat. She tilted her head back until she faced him squarely, if not exactly on the same level. And she spoke with an icy formality she’d learned from the countess.
“Your aid will be duly compensated, my lord. I’m sure my lady’s butler will have something for you on the way out.”
His brows arched at that, and she thought she’d scored a true hit. Until his lips quirked in a sardonic smile.
“Miss Allen, you have no idea what my compensation entails.” There was a suggestive note to his words, innuendo that made her cheeks heat even as her eyes dropped in embarrassment. Truly, she was grateful for his help. She’d erred badly last night and mayhaps he was the only thing that stood between her and a very awful time in prison, not to mention the gallows. But her pride kept her from owning her mistake to this man. Perhaps if he stepped back and gave her room to breathe. Or maybe if he weren’t so large or smelled so damned interesting. She loved the scent of Bay Rum.
“Lord Heath,” she began, forcing herself to be gracious. “I do appreciate…” Her voice trailed away as he spun on his heel. He bowed to the countess and then shot a look at Connall.
“We’ll talk about that other thing tomorrow.” He glanced back at her. “She’s reckless, and that’s idiocy for a woman on the Marriage Mart.”
“Aye,” Connall said. He said no more because Lord Heath didn’t appear to need it. The man was already striding out the parlor door, leaving Sadie to stare after him while emotions roiled around inside her.
He’d been rude and impossible. He’d threatened to spank her. And he’d also gone well out of his way to save her life. He’d been brusque about it. Downright harsh, truth be told, but didn’t she deserve that? If some stupid girl had come to Scotland and risked her life on a brazen stunt, wouldn’t she give the girl a well-deserved dressing down?
But oh, how it stung.
She would take it today because she’d been caught off-guard. But woe be to Lord Heath if she ever saw him again. If he dared speak one harsh word to her, she’d tell him what she thought. By God, his ears would be ringing from the words she had for him.
But only after she apologized to everyone here for her reckless behavior.
