Chapter Eighteen
B etrayed.
A horrible sense of dread swept over Amelia.
Had Helen believed they’d led the killer to her?
“The lovers.” Logan leaned closer, examining the fortune telling card. “By hellfire, what was the woman thinking?”
Amelia tapped a finger against the card. “There’s no way to know if she intentionally selected that card, but I suspect the choice was deliberate.”
Caldwell nodded his agreement. “Had she been betrayed by a lover?”
“Perhaps.” Searching for other markings that would bring Helen’s message into focus, Amelia lifted the card into the light again. “Or perhaps she meant a man and woman taking part in deception.”
Had Helen assumed Amelia and Logan were lovers who’d betrayed her for their own interests? Or was the card intended as a warning? Was someone they trusted in league with Paul’s killer?
Logan’s brow furrowed. Had he read her suspicions?
“One thing’s for certain,” he said, taking the card from her hand. “She did not take her own life. The woman was hellbent on getting away from this place.”
“Away from her killer,” Amelia agreed.
“She damned near made it,” Caldwell said. “Now, ye’d be well advised to take Amelia away from the city to somewhere the killer won’t be able to find her.”
“Out of the question.” She’d hiked her chin, strengthening her tone in adamant refusal.
“The hell it is,” Logan countered. “Finn’s making sense. I know just the place.”
Amelia planted her hands on her hips and looked him square in the eye. “I will not leave.”
Logan plowed his long fingers through his hair. “I’ll take ye to my family home. My kin will keep ye safe.”
“I see no need to leave the city. I have confidence in your abilities.” Seeing the conflict in his dark eyes, she considered her words carefully. “I know you are determined to protect me... to keep the vow you made to my brother. But I cannot hide forever. The devils who killed Paul want the blasted treasure. They’ve already found Helen. Even if I evade them for a time, when I return, they will be waiting.”
“The lass has a point.” Caldwell said, his tone gruff as though it pained him to voice the words.
Surprised, she turned to him. Heaven knew she hadn’t expected either of the men to agree with her without having to vigorously press her case.
Logan shot him a scowl. “What in bloody hell are you saying, Finn?”
“I’m thinking there’s another way—another layer of defense,” Caldwell said, his expression cryptic. “Ye know what I’m thinking, don’t ye, MacLain?”
“Blast it, ye cannot be seriously considering—”
Caldwell nodded. “Ye know what I would do if I were in yer shoes.”
“Not a chance in Hades.” Logan bit off the words between his teeth. “I’d rather endure a night in the Tower.”
Caldwell cocked a brow. “They don’t still use the rack, do they?”
Logan shrugged. “I’ve never had cause to find out.” He let out a long, low breath. “If we do this, it will be for Amelia’s sake.”
Amelia studied him. If only the infernal man would offer some hint of the mysterious plan they were hatching. “Might I ask what dreaded act you’re contemplating?”
“It’s not so much what ,” Caldwell said dryly. “But who .”
Amelia pondered the single word. Who. “Another dashing scoundrel to the rescue?”
“Not exactly,” Caldwell replied.
Was it her imagination, or had he actually grinned at the thought?
“Very well. I’ll do it.” Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ye’ll convey the message?”
“Consider it done,” Caldwell said.
Logan cast another scowl his way. “Ye’re enjoying this too bloody much.”
“Aye, that I am.” Caldwell chuckled, then motioned to the barkeep to pour him a drink. “That I am.”
“I’ve got a feeling I’m going to regret this,” MacLain said without elaboration as Caldwell downed a gulp of Scotch.
“Most likely. We both may come to regret this,” Caldwell said rather cheerfully, then took another drink. He nodded to Amelia. “This errand calls for liquid courage.”
With that, he placed the tumbler on the bar, marched to the door and strolled onto the street. Suddenly, the space seemed all too quiet. Appearing rather awkward, Murray mumbled something about a recent delivery of whisky, then shuffled into the backroom.
Amelia met Logan’s eyes. “Well, do you plan to tell me what this is all about?”
“If I had my way—and it might still come to that—I’d take ye to my family’s home. Ye would be safe there. No one would dare attack the MacLains on their own land.”
“Even if that is true, at some point, I will have to return to London.”
He offered a weary nod. “The next best thing to getting you out of the jackals’ reach is to bring security to ye.”
What in heaven did the man mean? He had already stepped into the role of protector. Surely she did not need another. “I’ve no need of a bodyguard. Nor do I intend to scurry away in fear. I feel quite secure right here in the city.”
“It’s not enough. I need to know ye’re being protected while I am tracking down Hawk. With only Mrs. Langford and Mrs. Garrett in the residence, ye’ll be vulnerable.”
“Are you are forgetting Heathy?” she countered a bit cheekily.
“How could I overlook the fierce wee beast? The dog’s teeth might well put a hurting on a man’s ankles or even his shin. But I need someone who can secure the premises when I am not here—someone with opposable thumbs and a reasonably good aim.”
“If I am understanding this correctly, the person you are summoning to your home evokes thoughts of the Tower of London.”
“Aye,” he said with a nod.
“And you expect me to be in their company twenty-four hours of the day?”
The grim set of his mouth relaxed, not quite a smile. “I’d say ye have a clear understanding of the situation.”
“And if I do not wish to spend my days with a rather odious bodyguard?”
“I suspect she will be more fond of you than she is of me.”
Amelia hesitated. “She?”
He nodded.
“Does she have a name?”
Logan nodded again. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“And what might that name be?”
“Mrs. Johnstone.”
Amelia sighed. “That tells me very little.”
“Elsie Johnstone is kin to me, on my mother’s side, the raiding and pillaging side.”
“Ah,” Amelia mulled his words. “Am I to believe this mystery woman is also an outlaw?”
He shrugged. “When I was a lad, she did mention something about a train robbery or two. More recently, rumor has it she worked for Pinkerton in America.”
“Rumor has it?” she pressed.
A smile played on his lips. “I’d rather ye make up yer mind for yerself. She’ll have no cause to breathe fire like a dragon in skirts with ye. After all, ye’ve never hidden a frog in her bed.”
“A frog? In her bed?”
Logan grinned. “Or a snake in her armoire.”
“Good heavens.”
“In my defense, the reptile was not particularly dangerous.”
“Well, I suppose that is a relief.” Amelia took in the twinkle in his eyes. It seemed unfair that he was so appealing. And without having to try. She pulled in a breath and collected her thoughts. “I take it these acts occurred when you were a boy.”
He gave a solemn nod. “But my aunt has a very long, very vivid memory.”
“In that case, what makes you think she will agree to come here?”
Logan looked at her as if she’d asked him how he knew the sky was blue. “She is kin to me. And kin stick together.”
“I’d like to think so.”
“Besides, her curiosity will get the better of her.”
Amelia frowned. “Curiosity?”
“She’ll be eager to see the woman who inspired me to play the knight in tarnished armor.”