Page 58 of A Scandal at Stonecliffe

Until Nathan. Nathan, it seemed, was an exception to all her rules. A risk she had never taken before, but one she wouldn’t give up now for anything. She’d meant what she said to him last night. She had thrown away her reservations. It didn’t matter what lay at the end of their affair. Right now she was going to enjoy it.

She smiled a little to herself as she started down the street. She had planned to go to her office and from there to talk to a lawyer about illegitimacy laws, but instead she found her feet turning toward Hyde Park.

Verity had not gone there to catch a glimpse of her sister in several days. She had been too busy—or perhaps too happy; she wasn’t entirely sure. Today she was a trifle late, and Poppy and the nanny were strolling back toward her house.

Verity stopped and edged back to the partial shelter of a tree. As always, there was a little ache in her heart at seeing her sister. It had been so many years, but Verity could still see traces of the seven-year-old Poppy in the grown woman.

She wondered what would happen if Poppy glanced over and saw her. Would she recognize Verity, even with her recognizable hair hidden? Or was Verity too much a stranger to her now? Did Poppy remember her? Did she despise Verity for leaving her with strangers?

For an instant, she thought of walking over to Poppy and telling her the truth, as Nathan had mentioned. However good Verity was at imitating people’s physical characteristics, Nathan knew people’s hearts much better than she. Maybe he was right and Poppy would be happy to see her.

Or maybe Poppy would berate her. Or, worse, simply ignore Verity and walk away. Verity’s stomach knotted at the thought. She wasn’t a coward, she’d never been a coward, Verity told herself. And yet this she could not do.

She watched as the two women walked out of the park, pushing the baby carriage. Maybe there would be no blissful future for Verity, but she wasn’t going to dwell on the past anymore.

She was going to do her job and talk to the solicitor about the laws of legitimacy, and then she would go home. To Nathan. Verity turned and walked away.

WHEN VERITY WALKED into the house hours later, Nathan was sitting in her drawing room, which pleased her much more than seemed reasonable. He stood up, smiling, and started toward her, and Verity went into his arms, lifting her face for a kiss. It was not a polite kiss of greeting, and one kiss led to another until it was several minutes before they parted and sat down to talk.

“How was your meeting with the attorney?” Nathan asked.

“Boring,” Verity replied. “I want to know what you found out. Did Uncle Robert give you the name of the town? Was he suspicious?”

“He seemed surprised when I asked, but he didn’t appear suspicious or question my reason for asking. Gairmore is the name of the town. Here’s what I found interesting: Douglas said that Malcolm was not born at the Douglas estate, which is where their heirs are traditionally born, but in a remote village in the Highlands.”

“That is interesting.” Verity, who had been nestled against Nathan’s shoulder, sat up straight, her eyes gleaming.

“And right after he said the name, he got flustered. He said they just ‘happened’ to be there, that they were caught by surprise. He assured me that it was primitive and not the sort of location I’d want to summer at.”

“A remote village in the Highlands seems an unlikely place to visit when one is about to have a baby, don’t you think?” Verity mused.

Nathan nodded. “But a good place to hide an inconveniently early birth.”

“Exactly. And why was he born anywhere in Scotland, for that matter? Why not at your manor or here in London? That’s where they were married.”

“Yes, and why was it only Margaret and her mother who were there? Why was my father not there to see the birth of his son? Robert didn’t mention my father at all. Just quickly changed the subject and started telling me about the Douglas estate.”

“That indeed sounds smoky.”

“Do you think he’s part of it? That he knows what his nephew is doing?”

“If so, Robert’s a very good actor.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s that—he certainly didn’t hide it well when I asked him about the town where Malcolm was born.”

“Yes, it would seem that he knows he shouldn’t talk about Malcolm’s birth, but I’m not sure that he knows who the father was.” Verity frowned. “When we met him, I didn’t see any reaction to hearing your name, and one would think he would recognize it immediately.”

“I don’t see what we can do except follow the only lead we have.” Nathan grinned. “Care for a trip to the Highlands?”

*

THEY TOOK THE carriage along the Great North Road to Edinburgh, then turned northwest to climb into the Highlands.

It should have been a boring, even arduous trip, but instead it seemed an almost magical time. Each night was filled with desire as they explored each other’s bodies, learning what titillated, what pleased, what sent the other soaring into an explosion of passion.

They spent the long days talking. Little was said about Malcolm Douglas and his claim or the men who had attacked them, and Verity pushed her worries about Jonathan Stanhope to the back of her mind. Neither of them wished to spoil this time alone together. Nathan told amusing stories about Lady Lockwood and her dog Petunia. Verity taught Nathan how to mark cards and fuzz dice and gave him tips on breaking into houses.

“I knew it. You really are a criminal,” Nathan told her.