Page 88 of In the Highlander's Bed

“I won’t use it against the English, if that is what you are asking,” Gordon said. “Colster’s offer to the clan has been a godsend. Most of my clansmen are resettling on his lands. I don’t want to disrupt their chance for peace. I’ll take the sword with me.”

Fiona stepped forward, her exasperation clear. “My brother must leave tonight,” she said. “Please, Captain Ardmore is in the ballroom. He was the one who attacked our camp. If he finds Gordon, he’ll see him hanged forthe reward. But is my brother leaving? No, he insists upon standing here gabbing instead of fleeing to safety the way he should.”

“Growing cranky, Fee?” Gordon wondered with that charm only a brother could exude.

She answered with a sound of complete exasperation.

It was Phillip who took charge. “She is right. You can’t stay here. Almost every member of the government is inside.” Tad had wandered over to give Phillip a sniff. He absently scratched the dog behind the ears as he worked the problem in his mind.

“I was going to leave by the gate,” Gordon said.

“And go where?” Phillip countered.

“Portsmouth.”

“How?” Phillip asked. “Do you have horses? Or transportation?”

“We’ll manage” was Gordon’s tight response.

“But you don’t already have plans, do you?” Justin asked.

“I’ll find a ship,” Gordon said, hugging Constance close. “I’ll see to both of us.”

“It’s been hard,” Fiona said. “There have been those looking for Gordon to claim the reward. I tried to convince him to leave the country in Scotland, but he had to see Constance.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Phillip said with his customary bluntness. “Accept help. We are two powerful men. Furthermore, Alex Haddon has a fleet of ships. If we work together, we can see you are safe.”

“Absolutely,” Justin agreed.

Constance couldn’t believe her ears. “You would help us?”

“Of course,” Phillip said. He shook his head. “I know I seem stiff to you. But I don’t act on impulse and I take my responsibilities to my sovereign seriously. However, you are my sister by marriage. I would let no harm come to you or anyone you loved.”

Constance crossed to Phillip and hugged him to show her appreciation. “I have been so unfair to you,” she said. “I nursed a terrible grudge because of the way you hounded us after Miranda jilted you…but I was wrong.”

“No, you were right,” Phillip said. “I was nursing my pride. I felt it was all I had. However, Charlotte’s love has changed me, as I see your love has changed Lachlan. If this is what you want, Constance, then my brother and I will help.”

“We’ll bring the coach around,” Justin said. “No one inside must see you.”

“But first we need to gather our wives,” Phillipagreed. “Wait here and we shall return.” With that they left.

In what felt like an eternity but was truly no more than a half hour, the Duke of Colster’s well-equipped coach rolled to a halt before the back garden gate. Constance, Fiona, Grace, and Gordon climbed in to squeeze inside with the two couples already sitting in the cab.

At a soft command from Justin, the coach began to roll off, Tad running alongside the wheels.

Constance made introductions. Charlotte recognized Fiona’s dress as the one she’d chosen and sent to Constance at Madame Lavaliere’s academy.

“It looks much better on her,” Constance assured her all-too-quiet sister.

“And Fiona adores the dress,” Grace said. “Even when the camp was under attack, she made certain she saved it.”

Charlotte didn’t say anything but regarded all of them with suspicion. Constance glanced at Phillip. He, too, had noticed his wife’s silence.

At the ducal mansion, a servant took Tad to the kitchen for table scraps, while Constance and the others went in search of Alex and Miranda. They found them in the back sitting room, enjoying the fire in the hearth.

Alex recognized Gordon immediately.Constance hurriedly told him and Miranda what had happened at the ball.

“And now what?” Miranda asked when she finished.