Page 86 of Hit Me With Your Best Scot
to account?—Yet who would have thought the old
man to have had so much blood in him?
She tilted her head, still staring at her hands, silently reciting the lines that weren’t hers, noting the audience surrounding her in a half circle, mesmerized and silent.Good.That should make finding Caroline a bit easier on Coll.
The thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now?—
What, will these hands ne’re be clean?—No more o’
that, my lord, no more o’ that: you mar all with this starting.
Catching sight of Coll at the rear of the room, she gave a slight nod, and he motioned at her to continue, his father and Niall now there with him.
Wash your hands, put on your nightgown;
look not so pale.—I tell you yet again, Banquo’s
buried; he cannot come out on’s grave.
To bed, to bed! There’s knocking at the gate:
come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s
done cannot be undone.—To bed, to bed, to bed!
With that, she lifted her head and took a quick step forward, seemingly startled by her surroundings. One woman toward the front of the crowd shrieked, and several others jumped. Temperance lowered her shoulders, put on a smile, and gave another deep curtsy.
The roar of applause would have made Charlie Huddle weep. No doubt every performance would be packed to the rafters now. More importantly, though, Coll approached, his hand around the arm of a young lady in a duck mask as he half dragged her forward.
“This her?” he asked without preamble.
The hair was blonde, but the duck’s beading was simpler, and the feathers not as full. “No,” she whispered. “Let her go before you frighten her to death.”
“What is—Lady Aldriss!” The young lady sketched a nervous curtsy.
“Ah, Lady Agnes,” the countess said, taking the hand Coll released and squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry my son has no manners. I know you enjoy the theater, and I thought you might wish to make Mrs. Jones’s acquaintance.”
“Oh.” Lady Agnes began a curtsy, then stopped, evidently remembering that one did not bow to a commoner.Instead, she inclined her head regally. “Mrs. Jones, that was wonderful. I don’t think I shall be able to sleep tonight.”
Persephone smiled. “You are very kind, my lady.”
Once she’d hurried back to her friends, Lady Aldriss frowned. “Do stop grabbing women, dear,” she said to her oldest son. “Whoever they might be, or whatever you think they might have done.”
“She was the only bloody duck in the house,” Coll responded. “Where’s Robert Hartwood?”
“On his way home, I reckon,” Niall said. “Poor fellow, knocking his head on a post like that. He’ll keep quiet, but nae for more than a day or two, I reckon. He mentioned being out from under his uncle’s thumb nae fewer than three times as I dragged him out of the house.”
She’d fled, then. Caroline had left Fenster House, and without making an excuse to her betrothed. Cold crept down Temperance’s spine again. How could it be her? Someone she barely remembered wanted her dead? Why? Because of the money? That had to be it, but killing someone who only wanted to remain hidden had a cruel, brutal ring to it.
“Robert may nae care whether he gets the blunt meant for ye,” Coll said, “but I’d wager money now that his fiancée isnae so happy to see it gone.”
“I will discover her address,” the countess stated. “The rest of you, we’re going home. Then you may call on her, Coll. With your brothers.”
Lord Aldriss stepped forward. “I’ll be with ye, wife. We dunnae stand alone, ye ken.”
Now everyone wanted a word with Temperance as the MacTaggerts headed for the front door, and their exit slowed to a crawl. When a fox and a swan appeared in the line to add their accolades, she reached for Coll’s sleeve.
He moved immediately, putting himself between her and the well-wishers. “The lot of ye are suffocating me,” he grunted, creating a space for the rest of the MacTaggerts just by virtue of his presence. They filed out the door in pairs, with Coll bringing up the rear.
