Page 124 of The Highlander Is All That

“I sent her to stay with a friend.”

“A friend?”

“Well, a friend of a friend.”

“Aye?”

The duchess turned to her husband. “You remember Miss Claire?”

“Lovely woman.”

“She was Helena’s nurse. Now she lives in Cornwall.”

“Cornwall?” Hamish barked. Bluidy hell. He’d sailed right past her. Irritation welled in his gut and churned.

Esmeralda sniffed. “Cornwall is at the end of the world.”

“Only Devon,” the duke said amiably.

“Clovelly is a lovely village,” Her Grace assured them.

It did not assure Hamish. “She traveled by herself?” he croaked.

“She’s verra adept. We disguised her as a widow.”

Hamish blanched. Didn’t they know how men viewed widows? That they were practically fair game?

“She’s fine. Really.” The duchess patted his hand, the equivalent of a kitten patting an enraged tiger. Hamish sucked in a breath and glanced at her husband before he responded. To remind himself of her stature. It wouldn’t do to snap at her. Especially with Edward at her side.

He took a moment to contain himself before he responded. “Thank you for helping her, Your Grace.” If the duchess had not, Elizabeth would surely have been wed by now. “I have to go after her.”

Esmeralda cleared his throat. “You do?”

Hamish glowered at her. “Aye.”

“That would hardly be proper.”

“To hell with proper,” he practically roared. “I refuse to continue this farce.”

“Whatever do you mean?” the duchess asked with a glow in her eye.

Hamish leaped to his feet. “Elizabeth is mine,” he said. “We had agreed to marry before that idiot Twiggenberry compromised her, and let’s be clear, I have compromised her a damn sight more.”

Esmeralda gasped and pretended to swoon, but no one was paying attention so she sat upright again and proceeded to scowl at him.

“Ahem. How much more?” the duke asked.

“Quite thoroughly, Your Grace. When I do something, I doona see the point of doing it halfway.”

“Good man,” the duchess breathed. When her husband frowned at her she smiled brightly and said, “I’ve always fancied a holiday in Cornwall. What do you say?”

* * *

“How do you feel, dear?” Miss Claire asked. She tightened her arm on Elizabeth’s as they strolled along High Street. It wasn’t often that they came to town for fun, but there was a festival this afternoon and neither wanted to miss it.

“Wonderful,” Elizabeth said, and it was the truth. Whatever transition her body had been undergoing seemed to have eased. She had her energy back and was able to walk, and most of the time, her outlook was bright.

“I hear you crying at night.”