Chapter Thirty-Eight

The ride out of Inverness was an interesting experience for Alec. He hadn’t been expecting to find himself sitting on the floor of a wagon, with Connie nestled between his thighs, surrounded by bales of hay on all sides. But that was exactly how he and Connie were smuggled out of the city, by Malcolm and the wagon driver, and thus avoided being discovered as they tensely went through the roadblocks set up by the police at access points of the city.

An effective escape, really, even if the feel of Connie’s derrière, minus her crinoline, had felt ridiculously good nestled against him. She’d been somewhat mortified when he’d told her to remove the thing, but then she’d seen the small space they were going to be hidden in and had been pragmatic about the issue, especially considering that, though her crinoline was modest in width compared to some, it was still too big for their hiding space.

So she’d removed it, and then Alec had had to endure the feel of her without any hoops between their clothing and each other. He’d had a darn hard time trying to control his body’s physical reactions to her when she’d sat between his legs. His damn cock seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to Constance, but thankfully, thoughts of his brother and Elise had tamed the beast.

Enough so that he was able to maintain his control until they had been driven well past the city limits to a location northwest of the city, where Malcolm had prearranged for a McGuiness carriage to be waiting for them.

“Well, that was a bit of an adventure, wasn’t it!” Malcolm pronounced as he rapped on the wood panel, signaling for the driver to leave. A moment later, the carriage lurched forward and began to pick up speed as the four horses pulling the vehicle began to gather speed as they commenced their hasty journey toward the McGuiness estate.

Alec stretched his legs out, constantly aware of Connie sitting close beside him. The tight confines of the carriage had always been particularly narrow for a man of Alec’s size, which was why he usually opted to travel by horse or train when he had the chance, but with Connie next to him, he rather liked the cozy atmosphere.

Sitting next to her was pleasurable and torturous all at once.

He almost felt like hauling her onto his lap, wanting nothing more than to enjoy the feel of her sitting on him. But Malcolm was across from him, appearing rather interested in them both, in Alec’s opinion. Too interested. He’d always been a nosy bugger, probably came from having to know what was going on in managing the McGuiness affairs, but the man was too inquisitive and perceptive by far. And Malcolm usually shared his observations with Iain.

“Can’t say I’ve ever had such an entertaining ride out of Inverness before,” Malcolm continued. “How did you two fare among the hay? A bit cozy, perhaps?”

“It was fine.” Alec’s voice sounded gruffer than he’d expected it to, but Malcolm did like to needle him, and Alec had been in a bit of a foul mood since realizing he’d be returning to his father’s estate, with Iain there, too, and Connie. He didn’t like the thought of his brother being anywhere near her.

“And you, your grace?” Malcolm asked Connie. “That must have been a novel experience for you.”

From the corner of his eyes, Alec could see her gulp slightly. He wondered if she, too, was remembering how she’d been pressed in between his legs only a few minutes ago, something he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about.

“It was unusual,” Connie answered briefly, before turning her head to stare out the window.

Alec knew Malcolm had been fishing for more information, but he hoped the man would leave it at that. “Do my father and brother know to expect us?”

Malcolm nodded. “Aye, they do, and they know all about the possible risks, too. But no one, not even the authorities, would dare set foot on McGuiness lands without the laird’s permission. You’ll be safe there, your grace.” He directed his last statement to Connie.

Connie glanced back to Malcolm. “I hope you are correct.” She turned to Alec. “And I hope I’m not bringing trouble to your family. I would hate for them to be at odds with the law.”

Alec shrugged. “My father is the Laird of McGuiness. Trust me—he’ll be fine.”

“But still…” She bit her lower lip. “Are you certain you should take me there? Perhaps we should go somewhere else? Or perhaps I should.”

“Trouble and my family are old friends, Connie, I can assure you of that,” Alec replied, briefly squeezing her hand. “There’s no need to worry. The McGuiness estate is the safest place for us at the moment.” Alec would put up with being in his brother’s vicinity for Connie. He was beginning to think he’d do anything for her. Anything but give her his heart. That he couldn’t give to anyone anymore, even if his treacherous organ was starting to think it might be safe in her hands.

He quickly dropped her hand and swiveled his head forward, away from those piercing blue eyes of hers, only to be confronted by Malcolm’s expression of keen interest, as the man regarded them both in speculation.

He’d nearly forgotten Malcolm was there, paying close attention. And now that Alec had taken Connie’s hand and used her first name, he’d know that she was more to Alec than simply a family friend. Exactly what she was to Alec, even he didn’t know, but she roused in him feelings of protectiveness that he’d had for no one else before.

He shouldn’t have made it so obvious, though. He should have stuck with the proprieties and used her title in front of him. Things were relaxed in the Highlands, but not that relaxed. Especially not with a duchess.

But Alec had been more concerned with ensuring Connie was all right than fussing over the proprieties of social etiquette. Not that he was concerned about what Malcolm thought, but the man was likely to tell Iain what he’d witnessed, as Malcolm was not only Iain’s man of affairs but loyal to him to a fault.

And his brother did tend to use information to his advantage, of which Alec was only too well aware.

“Well then.” Malcolm clapped his hands together. “We should settle in for the trip, and I daresay Cook will have a delicious supper ready for us when we arrive, just before we start the celebrations. Don’t know about you two, but with all the excitement from this morning, I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast and am absolutely famished.”

“Your idea of excitement and my own differ greatly, Mr. Dalton,” Connie replied, glancing out the window at the passing countryside. She sounded unimpressed. “But what celebrations are you talking of?”

“Why, Beltane’s Eve, of course!” Malcolm replied. “I imagine with everything that’s been going on, you would have forgotten. And who could really blame you?” Malcolm winked at her. “It’s not every day a duchess is wanted by the police. Why, it’ll be a story for the ages.”

Alec had to resist the urge to grab his friend’s jacket and throttle him for daring to wink at her.

Connie raised one of her eyebrows, and it was a look Alec knew from experience did not bode well for his friend.

“Alec and I have just seen two dead bodies in the space of an hour, Mr. Dalton. With one of them killed in front of our eyes. And on both occasions, we have been forced to flee the scene of those crimes.” Her voice was calm and measured, with just a hint of ice in it, as she turned to regard him with an expression of haughty reproach. “We’ve had to be smuggled out of a city, past a police roadblock, surrounded by bales of hay, daring to barely breath for fear of being caught. Because if captured, I face the very real prospect of swinging from the gallows. So, no, Mr. Dalton, I definitely would not consider those experiences to be part of an exciting morning nor to be a story for the ages. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

Alec couldn’t help but grin. Malcolm was literally squirming in his chair under Connie’s scathing response and even fiercer blue gaze. She had certainly mastered the art of putting someone in their place over the years, and he was glad she hadn’t lost that innate confidence after what Duncan, and her mother, too, had done to her.

“I’m very sorry, y-your grace,” Malcolm all but spluttered. “I, um…well I certainly meant no offense…I simply hadn’t considered the horror of the experiences you’ve had to endure.”

“Well, that is patently obvious, is it not?” She wasn’t giving him an inch. “Perhaps in future you will think before you make such ill-considered comments?” And with that she returned to stare out at the passing countryside, all but dismissing him.

Malcolm licked his suddenly dry lips and could only nod, an expression of contriteness on his face. Alec really did have to work hard to suppress the chuckle that was threatening. He’d never seen Malcolm taken to task before, and it was jolly amusing. It would be interesting to see Connie take Iain to task, too, as Alec’s brother couldn’t but help insult anyone he came into contact with, with his bluntness and lack of manners. Iain would surely insult Connie at some point, unintentional though it probably would be.

Seeing such a moment would be well worth returning to the estate. Mostly.

At least it was something to look forward to, because he was certainly not looking forward to anything else while there. Though his father would be happy he’d be back in time for the Beltane’s Day celebrations, where all of Clan McGuiness gathered and celebrated with a great feast, bonfires, and lots of Scottish reels.

He remembered vividly such celebrations as a child, and the joy and magic that had filled him when he’d been down in the paddocks with the clan, bonfires burning bright, as everyone danced until their feet ached. Until he’d been taken to London, and everything had changed. Instead of the wild celebrations and knockabout times with the clan, Alec had been introduced to the refined sensibilities of his grandfather’s house and society as a whole. How he’d wished desperately to return home to Scotland.

Then, when he had, and he was a man instead of a boy, well…the festival had held a different meaning then. It was full of fun and dancing still, but he could also partake in the joy of ale and charming the ladies. He’d still been so innocent of how manipulative women could be. He should have known better, most especially after his mother’s betrayal.

He’d met Elise at the McGuiness Beltane’s Day celebrations, eleven years ago to the day. Funny how he’d forgotten that, though there was a great deal about Elise he had purposefully chosen to forget. And rather than stay angry at Elise, after he’d returned to England, he’d instead directed his annoyance upon Connie, who as a newly minted debutante had reminded him of Elise, hungry to be admired and marry a title.

Though in fairness, it was probably that he’d been attracted to Connie but was in no position emotionally to deal with those feelings. So it had been easier to liken her to Elise and keep her at arm’s length.

He could see that now and could also recognize that he’d been especially harsh and unfair to Connie back then. How could he blame her for hunting for a husband with a title in a society where a woman’s only real profession was marriage? Could he really blame any of them for trying to marry well? Especially with the pressure Connie was under from her mother. Emotional blackmail, really.

Although, Elise had taken things too far when she used him, toying with his heart in the process, simply to try to engage his elder brother’s interest.

Being a younger brother had never bothered him until then.

Fergus had been right when he said younger brothers had a hard lot in life. Though with Duncan’s death, Fergus had become the heir, wiping out the one thing that had always been in his way. That’s if he killed him, because even though Fergus seemed the most likely culprit, Alec wasn’t so certain any longer. There were too many unknown variables with all the missing women.

And Alec had always found it difficult to think of Fergus having the courage or impetus to kill Duncan, even with an inheritance on the line.

Even with Iain’s betrayal, Alec had never considered killing his brother.

A part of him was even now wondering if he had been too harsh with his brother, particularly as he knew Iain had been trying to prove a point. As Connie had pointed out.

It still hurt, though. Particularly the fact that Iain hadn’t trusted him to make his own decisions. That he’d had to prove he was right and Alec was wrong. In truth, Alec would have rather experienced the heartache himself, when Elise eventually showed her true colors, which women like her always ended up doing, instead of feeling the agony of his brother’s betrayal.

And now Connie was going to meet his brother, who was heir to a title and a vast estate and considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the Highlands. He hated to admit it to himself, but Alec was worried that history was about to repeat itself.

He refused to let that happen again. Absolutely refused.

If that meant distancing himself from Connie, then so be it, that’s what he would do. Even if the thought nearly killed him.