“And your brother inherited your father’s title?” The Raven asked.
“Right. He’s a duke of London,” the boy said.
“How charming.” And utterly asinine. This pup left nothing hidden. “I suppose you mean the duke is his title and he resides in London.”
The boy’s cheeks stained with embarrassment. “Yes, that is what I meant to say.”
The Raven could clearly see the boy longed for the life of an aristocrat. Well, The Raven could certainly show him one.
Niall tried to plead with his eyes, tried desperately to shield Dougal, and finally The Raven said nothing more. He’d gotten bored with the boy in any case. And he wanted to know about Niall’s plans for the search.
This boy could be perfect for ridding himself of Graeme should the man prove to cause problems. And The Raven fully expected Graeme to cause a multitude of problems, so he’d have to make certain that he made young Dougal’s acquaintance again.
CHAPTER 6
Niall had graciously offered Graeme and Vanessa his carriage, which they had gladly accepted. Vanessa was not about to try to lug her trunk around again, and she wasn’t interested in asking Graeme for assistance. They rode in silence for several moments, and she was perfectly fine with that. She was trying to figure out precisely what had happened. She’d come to Scotland to do research. To prove, once and for all, that a woman could be as legitimate a scientist as any man could.
She had planned to prove Jeremy wrong about the Loch Ness kelpie. When she did so, she could hope to take her rightful place among the rest of the names in paleontology. Unfortunately, her father was no longer alive, so he wouldn’t get to see it. But now she would no longer have to worry whether or not her discoveries would embarrass her husband. Jeremy might disagree with her, but he could make no claim on her now.
Vanessa pulled back the tiny curtain on the carriage window and watched the scenery go by. The landscape here was so raw, so untouched by man, a sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of London’s busy streets.
So while she’d escaped a marriage she’d never really wanted to begin with, she’d stumbled headfirst into another. She’d already seen Graeme’s temper flare, so it seemed his character ran quite differently from Jeremy’s. For all of Jeremy’s flaws—flaws that were now only too apparent—at least he had been a man of science. He’d been logical and dispassionate—when it came to her, at least.
Although marrying Jeremy was certainly out of the question now, she had still hoped that, if she did one day decide to marry, she might find a husband like him. One who shared his better qualities, albeit one who did not fornicate with her sister.
Instead, she’d married Graeme. She’d attached herself to an overbearing, stubborn man who cared not one whit what her opinions were. Nor had he expressed any interest in her research, aside from his initial question. Though he hadn’t ridiculed her, he hadn’t shown interest, either. In fact, the only thing he had to recommend him was that he had never met Violet.
She let the small curtain fall back into place and met her husband’s gaze. “Why did you come back to get me?” she asked.
“Because we’re married,” he said simply, as if that explained everything.
“Why the sudden feeling of responsibility?” Impatience gnawed at her. “You seemed quite content to deny the entire episode this morning.”
“I did not deny anything,” he said harshly. Then he cleared his throat and said in a more gentle tone, “I didn’t believe it was legal. I’ve been told otherwise since we departed this morning. Don’t fret. You won’t be saddled with me for long.”
“You intend to get an annulment?” she asked, unable to hide her surprise.
He eyed her. “Isn’t that what you want?”
“Of course,” she said quickly.
Though was it? She had no desire to be married to him or any other man. Independence called to her on the chilly wind, a siren song meant only for her. She exhaled loudly, then said nothing more for several moments. Memories of that morning, when he’d hoisted her onto his shoulder, flooded her mind. As if his hand still rested on her bottom. She could almost feel his touch. Well, that was unusual, and most unwelcome.
“You never told me why the men in the pub called you English,” she said, attempting to divert her thoughts.
“Because I live in London. I’m half English,” he said.
That explained why he spoke the way he did. While he had the brogue of a Scot, his vocabulary and speech were more refined, better educated. She remembered then, the way the men had used the moniker as a taunt.
“And you don’t like that they call you that?” she asked.
“No, I do not.” His jaw clenched.
“Why do you come here if you live in London? You said you had work to do?” Now that she would be spending more time with him, she wanted to discuss the late-night visitor he’d had the previous night. And the notes she’d read.
Vanessa smiled at him.
It took Graeme a minute to notice, then he tilted his head ever so slightly. “What?”
