––––––––
Keith was delighted when Ronan brought the dessert tray to the dining room. Quickly, he picked up the tray of dirty dishes and hurried off to the kitchen, and they were all there, American and Scot alike.
“She hates Americans,” Keith said just above a whisper.
“Fret not,” said Alistair, “she hates Scots too.”
“She is English?” Charlotte asked.
Alistair rolled his eyes, “She says she is, but she is Scot the same as we.”
Keith set the tray on the bar and joined McKenna at the table. “She told him she brought Mr. Graham with her.”
McKenna’s mouth dropped. “She told him?”
“She did,” said Keith. “He is to come tomorrow.”
“God have mercy. If Hannish suspects, he will kill him,” McKenna whispered.
“And with good reason,” Jessie muttered. “I once saw...”
“I dinna wish to hear it, Jessie. What I dinna know, I will not have to lie to my brother about.” She did not mean to raise her voice and toned it down. “I know Hannish wants us to be honest, but think how it will hurt him if he knows for certain. I beg of you, dinna tell him.”
“And the time they spent in New York together, how do we explain that?” Millie asked.
Keith again whispered, “The duchess is not staying.”
“Good,” several of them muttered.
*
Hannish watched Olivia choose a dessert from the tray Ronan held. The ring on his wife’s finger was the biggest square of Jade he had ever seen and he had to pull his eyes away, before he was tempted to ask how much that cost him. “I am afraid we are not as wealthy as you think,” he decided to say.
“How wealthy? You never did say how much you sold the mine for.”
“Unfortunately, I have spent most of what I made building this house and repairing the old one.”
“Oh, but you could sell this one, am I right?”
“Perhaps.”
“Of course you could. I have read much about the men who have gotten rich off the gold mines in Colorado. There must be ten or twelve at least.”
“Aye, but they already have fine homes.”
“But surely this is the finest.”
“I am glad you think so. Yet, it might take a while to sell it.”
“But we will be home in time for the rest of the season. Oh, please promise we will. You left so suddenly, I have not yet been properly presented at court.”
He didn’t think anything could further surprise him, but that statement just did. “Forgive me, my dear, I dinna realized you held being presented in such high esteem.”
“Of course I do. We’ve only four months left in this season, that is, if we leave right away. If not, we are forced to wait for the next, and dearest, I do so want to see our daughters presented. As you know, it is the very best place to find a husband. It is where I found you.”
“Indeed.” He was finding it harder and harder to keep smiling. “I have greatly wronged you, I see that now.”
“Then you will come home?” If his nod was reluctant, she didn’t notice. “Oh Hannish, I am so happy. I knew you would come once we talked face to face. The retched journey was worth it then.” With a sparkle in her eyes, she put her hand on the side of his face. “I shall reward you properly later.”
She didn’t notice the sarcasm in his voice either. “I am counting on it.”
“The shopping was worth it too. Never have I seen such glorious shops, even in London. I simply could not refuse.” Her grin suddenly faded. “Precisely how poor are we?”
“How much have you spent these last two weeks?”
“Not too terribly much. You might have warned me.”
“I tried before you left Scotland. I called from the hotel in town three times, and each time you were not at home, though it was very late in Scotland at the time.” He could tell she was searching for an excuse, so he decided to drop it. “Let the past be the past.”
“I agree. Let us plan our future instead, though it would be helpful if you would tell me just how much money we have.”
“Not in front of the servant,” he whispered.
She had not realized anyone else was there. “You are excused.”
Ronan bowed and quickly left the room.
“How much?” Olivia asked again.
“A little over twenty thousand pounds.”
“Plus the house?”
“Aye, plus the house,” he answered. She seemed a little upset and he was not surprised.
“Well, we can manage for a time, at least,” she said.
“We will have to.”
“Perhaps we might invest.”
“Perhaps so. I have been offered part ownership in a gold mine.”
Her eyes instantly lit up. “Gold? How wonderful.”
*
Ronan looked positively flushed when he rushed into the kitchen. “He has agreed to go back to Scotland!”
“No,” said McKenna.
“What?” Alistair asked, his head jutting forward.
“He intends to sell Marblestone and go with her.” Half the servants put their heads in their hands and the other half closed their eyes.
Finally, Sarah muttered, “What is to become of us?”
None of the servants knew what to say and even Sassy was quiet. For a long moment, they tried to imagine what might lay ahead for each of them. Abruptly, the silence was interrupted when Olivia’s bell rang. “She has gone up to bed already?” McKenna asked.
“She is exhausted,” Jessie guessed. She went to the kitchen, reached for a tray and began to make the tea Olivia always demanded before bed.
McKenna frowned. “Keith, bring up a bottle from the wine cellar, make it two. If she thinks he will go home with her, she might deny him and perhaps he will drink enough to sleep through this night.”
“He’ll not want to bed her if he suspects she has taken a lover,” said Blanka. “Does he suspect it, Keith?”
“I would, but I cannot say for certain.” Keith lowered his voice. “At first, she said they should visit each other once a year. If they have children, she would keep them in Scotland.”
“He’ll not put up with that,” said McKenna.
“He cannot make her stay,” Prescot said.
McKenna stood up and put her hands on her hips. “And she cannae make him go. If I know my brother, she will regret the day she demanded such a thing.”
“I hope so,” Charlotte muttered. Everyone was looking at her, but she didn’t care.
Sassy listened, but she still kept quiet. Her heart was breaking for the man she admired most in the world, and a thousand ways to get even with Olivia were running through her mind. Yet, she could not think of a one that Mr. Hannish would approve of.
When the telephone rang, everyone jumped. “Have mercy,” Halen gasped, “I will never get used to that.”
Alistair went to the phone, picked up the receiver and put his mouth close to the transmitter. “Marblestone Mansion, Alistair here...Aye, one moment please.” He laid the earpiece on top of the box. “‘Tis for Mr. Hannish,” he muttered, rushing out of the kitchen.
Sassy sat staring at the telephone and McKenna noticed. “Tempted, are you?”
Sassy smiled. “Indeed I am. I can resist anything but temptation.”
A few minutes later, Alistair came back and put the earpiece in its cradle. “Mr. Hannish is in the study.”
“How does he look?” McKenna asked.
Alistair sorrowfully shook his head. “Like the troubled lad he is.” He glanced at all their distraught faces. “We best get back to work. ‘Twill do no good if we look as miserable as he feels.”
*
Sassy didn’t think she was afraid of much, even Olivia MacGreagor. She managed to avoid the woman on a ship that seemed only half the size of the mansion, and she could do it here too. Nevertheless, when Sarah sent her up to put clean towels in the second-floor water closets, Sassy walked around the corner and came face to face with Olivia MacGreagor.
Olivia’s eyes were the same kind of hateful, spiteful eyes Sassy had seen far too often before, and it took a moment to remember she was not in the orphanage. “Are you lost?”
“Are you lost, what?” Olivia asked.
Sassy shifted her eyes from side to side. “Are you lost...just now?”
Olivia huffed and turned around. “I rang for tea but no one has come. Find Sarah and tell her to hurry up. I die of thirst.”
“Aye, Mrs. MacGreagor.”
Olivia stopped in her tracks and slowly turned back around. “What did you call me?”
Again, Sassy shifted her eyes from side to side. “Mrs. MacGreagor?”
“I am a duchess and you will address me as, ‘My Lady.’”
Sassy didn’t like her tone of voice. In fact, Sassy didn’t like her and it didn’t take long for her indignation to surface. “I will not.”
“What?”
“We American’s dinna hold with titles.”
“You filthy gutter rat!” Olivia grabbed the side of Sassy’s hair and began to hit her with the heavy, wooden brush she held in her hand.
Sassy heard herself cry out. She dropped the towels, raised her arms to protect herself and slumped down, but Olivia still had a hand full of hair and the beating continued.
Behind Olivia, Sarah dropped the tea tray, grabbed the duchess around the waist and pulled her away. “Mr. Hannish, come quick!” she screamed loud enough for the whole mansion to hear.
Hannish heard the crash, rushed out of his study and ran across the parlor. He took the stairs two at a time, turned down the hall and saw Sassy on the floor holding her bleeding head. Horrified, he quickly knelt down beside her, put his hand on her back, and then looked at the wooden brush Olivia still held firmly in her hand. “What have you done?”
“She deserved that and more.” Olivia wrenched free of Sarah’s grasp and disappeared back inside her bedchamber. “I suppose I shall have to ring for more tea.” She reached for the cord, jerked it and tossed her brush on the bed.
By the time Hannish carefully helped Sassy get up off the floor, a crowd had gathered in the hallway. “Bring her to my room,” McKenna said.
“Can you walk?” Hannish waited for Sassy’s nod, put an arm around her just in case and shouted orders as he walked her down the hall. “Keith, clean up the glass. Alistair, do not let my wife out of her room, I shall see to her directly. Prescot, call the doctor and tell him to hurry.”
“No doctor, please Mr. Hannish, ‘tis just a bruise or two,” Sassy begged.
Hannish eased her through McKenna’s bedroom door, helped her sit on the bed and then moved out of the way.
“Charlotte, hand me a wet cloth,” McKenna said, sitting down on the bed beside Sassy. “Take your hand away and let me have look.” Already, the redness on Sassy’s temple was turning blue and the blood was coming from a cut just above the red mark.
It was taking Charlotte longer than necessary to dip a washcloth in the water basin and wring it out. “Charlotte?” Finally, Charlotte handed the wet cloth to her and McKenna held it against Sassy’s head, hoping to make the bleeding stop. Then she smiled. “I fear you might have a black eye soon.”
Sassy returned her smile, letting her deep dimples show. “I’ve not had one of those since James walloped me a good one for callin’ him a put-her.”
McKenna removed the cloth and stood back up. “You best lie down, dear, so I can wash the blood off your face and out of your hair.” She waited for Sassy to obey, sat down next to her, noticed the bleeding had not stopped and pressed the cloth against the cut again.
“Who saw what happened?” Hannish asked as he grabbed a spare blanket, walked to the other side of the bed, unfolded it and spread it over Sassy.
“I did,” Sarah said, pushing her way through the others standing just inside the doorway. “Sassy refused to call her ‘My Lady’ and the duchess hit her with her brush. She had a handful of Sassy’s hair too when I pulled the duchess off.”
Hannish was not as concerned about her hair as he was about the way Sassy was holding her arm. “Is it broken?”
“Nay, just a little sore, is all,” Sassy answered.
He gently took her hand, examined the red defensive marks on the underside of Sassy’s arms, and then felt the bones for lumps. “Is this the first time Olivia has done such a thing?” he asked the others.
“Nay, she threw hot tea on me on the ship,” Millie answered. “Another time she...”
“Millie,” McKenna interrupted, “My brother need not hear all the details. ‘Tis enough for him to know Olivia cannae control her anger.”
“Good heavens, why did no one tell me?” Hannish searching their faces, but none of them answered. He ran his fingers through his thick, wavy hair and tried to calm his rage before he did something he would regret. “How could I have been so mistaken about her?”
Donnel tried to comfort him. “You could not have known. None of us did afore you married her, else we woulda said.”
The idea that his wife had hurt Donnel or Blanka made him draw in a deep breath. “She’ll not hurt anyone again, of that I promise.”
McKenna got up and went to rinse out the cloth in the basin. “Out everyone, let Sassy rest.”
Sarah watched them leave and stayed anyway. “I will get some aspirin and a cup of tea.”
“Good idea, Sarah, she is sure to have a headache soon.” When McKenna glanced back, Sassy was sitting up, taking all the pins out of her disarrayed hair and letting it hang loose.
*
Hannish was furious. As soon as they were all out of McKenna’s room he said, “I will see all the Scots in the parlor... Now!” His long legs quickly carried him away and the others practically had to run to keep up.
Jessie paused just long enough to tug on Prescot’s jacket. “Best relieve Alistair. Mind you, keep her in; she often gets worse from here.”
Prescot’s eyes widened. “Worse?” He nodded his understanding, went around the corner and headed for Olivia’s room.
*
Impatiently, Hannish waited until all the Scots arrived, including Alistair. Then he paced for a moment more before he said, “Out with it. I will hear every detail.”
Several of them exchanged glances, but the time for honesty had come and it was Jessie who finally spoke up, “She has not paid our wages.”
He stopped pacing and stared at her. “For how long?”
“Two years.” Jessie answered.
“Two...years? But I sent the money to my banker in Scotland and he... Why did you not just leave?”
“Some did, but the duchess said she would call us thieves if the rest left. Who was the constable to believe, us or her?”
Alistair spoke next. “Mr. Hannish, you asked if the duchess sold the unused passages on the ship, and I told you true, but I dinna tell you all of it. She sold the ones to our compartments and bought cheaper ones. We were four to a room on the bottom level.”
Hannish shook his head and again ran his fingers through his hair. “Tell me, did George Graham manage to make the repairs?”
“Mostly,” Dugan answered.
“Good.” Before he could get the next question formed in his mind, Donnel burst into tears. He quickly went to her, knelt down in front of her chair and put his hand on her shoulder. “What is it, Donnel?”
“She killed two dogs, pups really, she kicked them to death. You won’t let her kill this one, will you?” Donnel lifted the puppy out of her lap.
He gently rubbed the pup behind the ears and tried to smile. “Nay, she will not hurt anything or anyone else. I swear it.”
“What will you do?” Alistair asked.
“First, I will pay your wages. I hope you kept track of what you are owed.” He got up, paced twice more across the floor and stopped. “Olivia believes I am sending her back to Scotland to wait while I sell the house and settle my affairs here. If she suspects it is a trick, she might not get on the ship.” He abruptly began to pace again.
Hannish was so enraged, he could not think clearly and his mind kept shifting to the image of Sassy bleeding and crouched on the floor. At length, he forced himself to concentrate, stopped pacing and looked at Alistair. “I cannae send her back alone and I dare not send a maid with her, not if she is this violent.”
“I’d not go in any case,” Millie said. “Your Grace, she can bathe herself and do her own hair when she wants to. She does not truly need a maid and I doubt anyone will see her all in shambles. The duchess will make certain of that.”
“Then we only need a lad to take her back,” Hannish mumbled.
“Dugan hesitated to say it, but everyone was thinking the same. “Let Mr. Graham take her back.”
“I’ve something better in mind for Mr. Graham,” said Hannish. “Nay, I need a lad who will safely see her aboard ship and not let her come back. Who is willing?”
“I will go, Your Grace,” said Alistair. “She’ll not hurt me if I have your permission to stop her.”
“Of course you have my permission. Very well then, take Dugan with you and after she boards the ship, find something to occupy yourselves for another day or two. I’ve something coming from Scotland I wish the two of you to personally pick up and bring back. I shall explain it later.”
“Very good, Sir.” Alistair noticed Dugan did not look pleased, but at least the train ride back without the duchess would be a pleasant one.
“We will put her on the Denver train tomorrow...if we live through this night.” With that, Hannish went into his study and closed the door. That late at night, he was certain to find his banker hard at work in his Scotland office and placed the call. However, it would be a while before the line was connected.
The moment Hannish disappeared, the Scots in the parlor each took a forgotten breath. “Pray God he truly means to send her back,” Blanka whispered. “He has a whole night to change his mind.”
“And that she stays there once he does,” Dugan mumbled. One by one, each of them went back to their duties while Alistair and Dugan went to pack their travel bags.
*
Charlotte waited until all the Scots were gone before she left her hiding place behind the parlor door. Hannish was sending his wife away and she could not have been happier. Now there was a chance for her to secure his affections, and she could not hide her smile as she hurried back to the kitchen.
*
While he waited for his telephone call to be connected, Hannish went back upstairs to check on Sassy. For just a moment, McKenna let him peek in her room and he was surprised by what he saw. Sassy’s hair was down, her eyes were closed and she no longer looked like a child—she looked like the striking grown woman he knew her to be. “Is she sleeping?” he asked.
McKenna stepped out into the hallway and quietly closed the door. “Nay, she is just resting. She does not cry, but then, I suppose she has learned not to.” McKenna went into her brother’s arms. “Forgive me for not telling you about Olivia, but you had to see it for yourself.”
“Aye,” he whispered, “but of all the people she could have hurt, why did it have to be Sassy? Are you certain I should not send for the doctor?”
McKenna released him and took a step back. “Nay, she does not need a doctor, but you do not look so well. I sent for two bottles from your wine cellar, one for you and one for Olivia. Let Olivia sleep and in the morning, I will help her dress.”
“And let her hurt you? I will not allow that.” He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. “She admitted paying Graham’s passage on the ship. What sort of fool does she think I am?”
“He has a way of keeping her calm.”
“I am happy to hear someone does.” Hannish took another deep breath and tried to steady his nerves. “I best go see about her.” He lightly touched McKenna’s hand. “Send for me if Sassy needs anything.”
“I promise.”
Reluctantly, Hannish walked down the hall and turned the corner. Prescot was standing with his arms folded in front of Olivia’s closed door, determined not to let her out. As soon as he saw Hannish, he stepped aside. “She keeps ringing the bell for tea, Sir.”
*
Hannish nodded and then opened the door without knocking. He intentionally left the door open, walked to the wall and ripped the bell cord off.
“What is the meaning of that?” Olivia shouted.
“I wish you to sleep and let the servants sleep as well. If you need anything, which I doubt, I will fetch it for you.”
“You? A duke doing the duties of a servant? What an outrage that will be when they hear about it in London.”
Hannish walked to the bed and turned it down, just as he had seen the valets do a thousand times. “Will they hear of this in London, Olivia? They will never know unless you tell them.”
“Your sister will tell. She is probably already writing to that simpleton your brother married.” Olivia tightly folded her arms.
“My sister is attending the girl you hurt.”
Olivia rolled her eyes and plopped down in a chair. “I hardly touched her and she deserved it. I require Millie to help me dress for bed, and where is my tea?”
“I suggest you dress yourself for bed.” Just then, Alistair appeared at the door holding a tray with a bottle of wine and one glass. “Thank you, Alistair,” he said, taking the tray from him. “Wait for me in the study.”
“Aye, Your Grace.”
Hannish set the tray on the table, pulled the cork out of the bottle, filled the glass and offered it to Olivia.”
“Are you not joining me?”
“Not tonight, Olivia.”
“But...”
“‘Tis American wine and I doubt you will like the taste, but it will help you sleep.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You are not staying? You do not desire me? It has been three years.”
“For you, perhaps.”
Her mouth dropped. “But not for you?”
“In a place such as this, there are always women who are willing.”
“You mean a prostitute?”
“Or two or three.”
She looked shocked, but only for a moment. “I suppose I can forgive you, you are a man after all.”
He was astonished; it was not the reaction he hoped for. “You can?”
“Of course I can, I love you that much and more.”
She took the glass and sipped the wine, ignoring the bitter taste. “You are right, I do not like it.” Even so, she drank the glass empty and handed it back for a refill. It took a moment, but she finally saw the anger in her husband’s eyes. “Oh, very well, I am sorry I hurt the child. I sometimes lose my temper, is all. Please allow me to tell her how sorry I am.”
“She is resting, perhaps in the morning.”
“In the morning then.” She glanced at the open door, got up and tried to close it, but Hannish put his hand out to stop the door. “Why do you let the servants intrude on our privacy? I wish to be alone with you.”
“I dinna wish to be alone with you.”
“Oh, Hannish, I did not mean to hurt her. Can you not forgive me? I have forgiven you, and I so want to be in your arms again.”
“Olivia, a MacGreagor does not harm a woman or a child. ‘Tis an old family edict and you knew that when you married me. I cannae just let it pass.” He refilled her glass, handed it to her and set the bottle back on the tray.
“I shall not do it again, I swear it.”
“Indeed, you shall not.”
She set the glass on her dressing table and tried to wrap her arms around his neck, but he took hold of them and prevented her. “How long am I to be punished?”
“I have not yet decided.”
“You have not changed your mind about going back to Scotland, have you?”
“When I married, I married for life. If I am to have children, I must go with you.”
She was relieved and when she heard the bell, her eyes quickly brightened. “Is that the telephone? I wager it is for me.”
“I will send for you if it is. Now, you best get ready for bed.”
“Will you be back?”
He didn’t answer. Hannish simply walked out the door and closed it behind him.
*
Alistair was already halfway up the stairs when Hannish started down.
“The tele for you, Sir,”
“I shall take it in the study. Come with me, Alistair, I want to talk to you.”
“Aye, Your Grace.”
Hannish continued down the stairs, crossed the parlor and walked into the study. “Call me that again, and I will take it out of your pay.”
“Aye, Mr. Hannish.” No one was happier to hear that than Alistair. It confirmed Hannish was staying in American...and so were they all.
Hannish quickly picked up the telephone earpiece. “MacGreagor here....Cameron, it is good to hear your voice too...nay, I was awake...You did? That is glorious news...What?...Aye, ‘tis true...I am very certain and quite relieved...Very good. Cameron, I am sending Olivia back tomorrow...Hello, are you there? ...I will explain later. Might you meet her train? ...Aye, I shall telephone with the details. Thank you and do call anytime...you will not wake me. I miss you too, little brother. Good bye.”
He hung up the phone, walked to his desk, pulled the chair out and sat down. Exhausted, he put his head in his hands for a moment and when he looked up, Keith was setting a tray on his desk with the second bottle, only this one was Scotch instead of wine. Keith excused himself and hurried back upstairs to see if there was any news of Sassy’s condition. He was worried sick about her and didn’t care who knew it.
“Sit down, Alistair,” Hannish poured scotch in the glass and handed it to his butler. “There is much to do and little time to do it.” He pulled a roll of American dollars out of his desk and began to peel off enough to see to the expenses. “As I said, there is something I wish you to bring back and I am pleased you will be there to see to it yourself.
I managed to secure the last stateroom on the HMS Umbria. It leaves every Saturday and you have just enough time to get Olivia on it. Meet the ship at Pier 40 on the North River, at the foot of Clarkson Street. I have sent for Dugan’s cousin Egan, and the other servants Olivia refused to bring. They should arrive the day after you get there, if all goes well.”
“Dugan’s cousin? Mr. Hannish, how good you are to us.”
“Yes, well I do not feel so good about myself just now.”
Alistair downed the scotch. “Shall I tell Dugan?”
“‘Tis up to you.”
“He might need a good word or two by the time we get the duchess on a ship,” said Alistair.
“He might at that.”
*
He was halfway down the hall when Hannish saw Sassy and Sarah come out of McKenna’s room. Sassy was holding her head and looked a little unsteady on her feet. “We’ll have none of this,” he said.
“She wants to sleep in her own bed and Sarah will stay with her,” said McKenna.
“Aye, but I’ll not have her passing out on the stairs.” He leaned down, picked Sassy up and nodded for Sarah to lead the way.
Sassy glanced back to make sure McKenna was coming, and then wrapped her arms around his neck and laid the uninjured side of her head on his shoulder. “I might cry now.”
He turned sideways and eased her through the door to the back staircase. “I would not blame you if you did. Does it hurt terribly?”
“I have had worse. Mr. Hannish, must you go back to Scotland?”
“Is that what might make you cry?”
“Aye. You are happy here, I can tell.”
He stopped at the top of the stairs and waited while Sarah opened the next door. “You need not fret, Sassy, I am not going back to Scotland.” He followed Sarah and McKenna into Sassy’s room, and carefully set her on the edge of the bed. “Sleep now if you can. Is there anything you need?”
Sassy looked up at him. “Mr. Hannish, might I hide from your wife from now on? All the Scots do.”
Sarah fluffed the pillow and giggled. “You’re a Scot now, Sassy? Did I not hear you claim to be an American earlier?”
“You might have,” Sassy admitted.
“Well, we Americans are glad to have you, Sassy,” said Hannish. “Can you rest now?” When she nodded, he walked to the door and joined McKenna. “Mrs. MacGreagor will be leaving in the morning. You’ll not have to hide for long.”
In the hallway, Charlotte heard it all and hoped he would notice her, but when he came out, he went back down the stairs without so much as a glance her way. McKenna saw her, but who cared about that.
*
The rest of the night was hardly quiet. In the room next door to Olivia’s, Hannish could hear his wife repeatedly demand to see him. He tried to go to sleep, but then she began to pound on the locked door between the two rooms and sleep became hopeless. Determined not to give in to her demands, he got up and sat in a chair instead.
His mind was flooded with an unthinkable mixture of rage for what his wife had become, and pain for the lost dreams that were now dashed against the rocks. He was certain of only one thing, a future life with Olivia would be miserable for them all. He had to keep her in a place where she could not hurt anyone, and tried to think where that could be. He considered having her committed, but from what he had heard, places for the mentally dangerous were as bad as Sassy’s orphanage. Thankfully, the weeks it would take her to get back to Scotland would give him time to think the possibilities through.
At last, the pounding stopped and he heard the thud of a bottle fall to the floor. He waited for a while longer, and then went to see if Olivia managed to get into bed or was lying on the floor. Prescot looked haggard, but he was still sitting in a chair next to the door so Olivia could not get out. Quietly, Hannish opened the door and looked in. His wife was sound asleep in her bed and for a moment, he gazed upon the face he still loved in spite of himself. Just as quietly, he closed the door, dismissed Prescot and went back to his room.