Page 1 of Brigand

Chapter One

It was such a lovely, peaceful day. The grass was a deepemerald and the sky a cerulean blue dotted with fluffy white clouds. Birds sanggaily in the trees.

One would never suspect utter mayhem was about to erupt inthe manor house on the far side of the sweeping lawn.

But Violet knew. She had recognized that look in herbrothers’ eyes. All of them, Ned and Malcolm and Sean and Dennis—and especiallyHamish and Tay—had had enough. A bloody mutiny was in the offing.

Violet did not want to hear the screams.

Hence this stroll in the gardens.

She gazed up at the rolling tors in the distance and sighed.“Oh, I’ve missed Scotland so.” She pulled her cloak a little tighter aroundherself. The air was brisk with a sharp bite. But she loved it. London had beenpractically tepid. And dirty. It was wonderful to be home.

She’d hated leaving in the first place but they hadn’t had achoice.

Abject poverty would do that.

The only pity was that her friend Kaitlin had stayed behindin London. But then she had to. She was, after all, in hiding.

Aunt Hortense hobbled beside her on the path, leaningheavily on her cane. “We’ve only been gone a few weeks, gel. No need to bemelodramatic.”

“Still, I’ve missed it.”

Aunt Hortense snorted and Violet grinned. Her aunt wasalways snorting or grumbling about something.

She patted her aunt’s arm. “What is it, dear?”

“I didn’t miss it. Didn’t miss Agnes a whit.” They had comeback home—packed up the entire family and returned—with the news thatHortense’s older sister was on her deathbed. They arrived to discover Agneswasn’t dying at all. She was merely aggrieved that Hortense had deserted her toserve as chaperone for Violet while she was in London.

The dire illness had been naught but a pretense to hastenher sister back to her side.

And no wonder Hortense had been so pleased to escape.

“Agnes is a…charming soul.” Violet gave a little shudder.

Hortense pinned her with a dark glare. “Young girlsshouldn’t lie.”

Violet chuckled. “I’m only being charitable.” She noticedthat Hortense’s steps were beginning to flag. “Shall we go back?”

“Back to the house?” Ah, the horror in her tone.

“It is rather chilly,” Violet urged. “And we did leave theboys.”

Hortense cackled. The sound rang through the arbor andstartled the birds, which abruptly stopped singing and took to wing. “Theprospect of Agnes saddled with those rambunctious rapscallions—”

“They’re not so bad.”

“They’re hellions.”

“But they’re my hellions.” Violet adored her brothers. All sixof them. The thought of them dancing circles around sour-faced Aunt Agnes madeher grin.

“What?”

Violet shrugged. “The boys didn’t care for her last lecture.They…may have something planned.”

Her aunt’s expression lifted hopefully. “Do tell. No, wait.It will be more fun to watch it unfold. As long as they don’t set the house onfire. They don’t plan to set the house on fire, do they? Because I really donot fancy spending the night in an inn.”

Violet nibbled at her smile. “No fires. I’ve been very firmon that point.” Sean had a certain fascination with watching things go up inflames. Dennis, on the other hand, preferred shredding things. With the twins,one could expect a plethora of bugs or worms. Ned and Malcolm were older. Morereserved. They could be counted upon to exact subtler forms of revenge.