Chapter 20 #2
He and Ruby drew up before his brothers, the horses stamping softly. For a long moment, no one spoke. Niall shifted slightly, clearly aware of the tension stretching thin as wire.
Evan broke the silence first. “Bryce.” His voice was neutral. Flat.
Bryce inclined his head. “Evan.”
“Why are ye here? What do ye want?”
Bryce’s eyes flicked once to the open landscape around them. “We shouldnae talk here. If MacInnes has men searching, we canna assume privacy.”
Evan’s mouth twitched faintly. “Paranoid as ever, eh?”
Bryce did not rise to Evan’s quip. “The summer lodge isnae far,” he said. “We can talk more freely there.”
Evan hesitated only a fraction before nodding. They turned their mounts and rode off in silence. Ruby stuck close to him and he could feel the questions building on her lips, but she stayed silent. Evan kept his eyes fixed on Bryce’s back, his jaw clenched and his muscles tense.
It didn’t take long to reach the summer lodge.
As the dilapidated building emerged from the trees, he felt his throat constrict.
The last time he had stood here, he had been newly returned, returned to lands that no longer felt like his.
The lodge symbolized everything fractured in their family.
It was a relic of better days when Evan’s world had still been intact.
The irony of Bryce bringing them here wasn’t lost on him.
Did his eldest brother even realize the significance of this place?
Or was it just a convenient meeting place?
He dismounted and then helped Ruby down. As her feet touched the ground, she caught hold of his arms to steady herself and then looked up at him with an encouraging smile.
I’m right here, that smile said. I’m right with you.
God, how did he deserve a woman like her?
He squeezed her arm then turned and followed his brothers into the building. Inside, it smelled of dust and damp. Light filtered through cracked shutters. Bryce stepped toward the center of the room. Niall remained near the door.
Evan walked inside warily, gaze flicking between his two brothers, unable to dislodge the old feelings of distrust. How many other meetings had they had like this? Back when Ronan and Rian had also been present? Meetings that had ended in shouting matches or a brawl.
Evan pushed the memories aside and crossed his arms, glaring at Bryce. “Well?”
Bryce glanced at Niall. “We have been trying to bring down Seoras MacInnes for some time.”
Evan barked a laugh. “Ye too, eh? Half the law keepers in Scotland are after Seoras MacInnes.” His eyes narrowed. “But what I’m wondering is why an earl would concern himself with a dockside criminal?”
“Because he isnae just a dockside criminal and the government is very interested in his activities.”
“The government? So what? What has that got to do with ye?”
Niall cleared his throat. “Evan, there is something ye need to know. I was given a mission to find Seoras MacInnes on behalf of the crown.” He hesitated. “Because I’m a government agent. And Bryce spies for me among the aristocracy.”
Evan’s gaze snapped to him. “Ye what?”
Niall met his stare steadily. “Officially, I run my estate, attend functions in Edinburgh and act like any other landed gentry. Unofficially, I act against anyone or anything that threatens the crown.”
Evan let out a slow breath. Niall had always been the smart one, the one who could mold himself to fit any situation. Seems he’d found a better way to overcome his family’s misfortune than Evan himself had.
Bryce continued. “MacInnes is suspected of involvement in a plot we uncovered recently.”
Evan stilled. He’d heard of this, of course. It was the talk of the capital: whispers of French ships, secret landings, nobles conspiring to stop the Articles of Union from going ahead, even if it meant civil war.
“Ye think Seoras MacInnes, a smuggler, murderer, and outlaw was involved in a plot with some traitorous nobles?” Evan asked.
He couldn’t keep the incredulity from his voice.
“I dinna think so. Seoras MacInnes has about as much interest in politics as I do. His interests lie in wealth and power. Nothing else.”
“And nothing brings more wealth and power than war,” Niall replied. “To those who know how to exploit it. To those who have access to landing sites. Storage. Distribution.”
“Why is he after ye?” Bryce asked.
Evan shrugged. “Because I double-crossed him.”
“How?”
“I diverted shipments of imported liquor. High-end French stock. Sold it independently.”
Bryce’s expression did not change, but his eyes sharpened. “That is insufficient.”
“What do ye mean? He was pretty damned angry.”
“Anger isnae obsession,” Bryce said. “It doesnae explain why he’s had his people chase ye halfway across the country or why he was willing to risk exposure by sending his men here. It doesnae sound to me like a man merely wanting to punish a thief.”
Evan felt irritation flare. “Ye think I dinna know the man?”
Bryce stepped forward slightly. “I think,” he said carefully, “that ye may be more important to him than ye realize.” From inside his coat, Bryce withdrew a small ledger. It’s worn leather cover held no crest or embellishment. It looked like the kind of ledger any harbor master might keep.
He held it out to Evan. Hesitantly, Evan took it and flipped through the pages. It wasn’t a ledger tallying docking fees and goods imported, as Evan had expected. Instead, symbols filled the pages—neat, repeating patterns of lines and curves. He recognized them. On occasion he’d used them himself.
They were the outlaw shorthand used by Seoras MacInnes and his people—the same symbols that they’d carved on a tree out on the moors as a warning to Evan.
These symbols were coded indicators for shipments, destinations, quantities.
Simple enough to appear meaningless to outsiders. Complex enough to convey detail.
“Where did you get this?” he demanded.
“It was recovered from a courier intercepted near Leith this morning,” Niall said.
Evan scanned the markings. His mind translated automatically. Routes. Transfers. Storage points.
And then—
His jaw tightened. These were not liquor consignments. These symbols—slight variations in angle and spacing—denoted different classes of cargo. Crates heavier than they should be. Shipments moved inland without passing through the usual tavern distributors.
Evan swallowed as the pattern snapped into focus. French ships. French crates. French contacts.
“Arms,” Evan breathed.
Niall nodded. “We believe Seoras MacInnes has been using his network to facilitate the movement of weapons intended for the conspirators.”
Evan’s pulse pounded as he remembered the offer Fergus Key had made him. MacInnes wanted to use his estate. An estate that was strategically placed close to Edinburgh but rural enough to escape scrutiny.
Evan felt a cold clarity settle over him. If MacInnes secured his estate, it would not be to run a quiet smuggling ring. It would be the spine of something far more dangerous.
“Why are ye telling me this?” Evan asked cautiously. “I’m guessing it’s not out of brotherly concern.”
“We are telling ye because ye know more about Seoras MacInnes than any of us. And we thought that considering the threat he clearly poses to ye that ye might want to help us stop him,” Bryce said. “Why is he so interested in ye, Evan? Why did he send men to yer lands?”
“He wants to use my estate,” Evan replied. “Wants to make it part of his smuggling ring into Edinburgh. If I agree, all is forgiven and he’ll stop hounding me. If I dinna agree—” He spread his hands. “Ye know what will happen then.”
Bryce and Niall glanced at each other.
“So that’s it then,” Niall breathed. “The final link in the chain. The piece we’ve been missing.”
Evan looked between his brothers. “What link?”
“Do ye truly wish to stop Seoras MacInnes?” Niall asked.
“Ye know I do.”
“Then ye must agree to his proposal. Allow him to use yer lands.”
Evan stared, sure he’d misheard. “I beg yer pardon?”
“We’ve been trying to figure out his movements for months but he’s eluded all our agents, all our patrols,” Niall said.
“Yet it seems that by coming back here, ye have provided him with an opportunity he canna ignore. Clearly, he hopes to exploit the divisions in our family to win ye to his side, enlist ye in his cause, make use of yer lands. And that gives us an opportunity. Ye can agree to his proposal, lure him close, close enough for us to finally get our hands on him.”
Bryce shook his head. “I think Evan already made his feelings about MacInnes’ offer clear when he kicked seven bells out of the man’s messengers.”
Evan’s mind raced. It was a risky plan, with a hundred things that could go wrong, but if it meant ending MacInnes’ threat once and for all, it was a risk he’d take. “I could tell him I’ve reconsidered,” he said.
Bryce studied him. “Ye know the risks? If he suspects a trap—”
“He’ll kill me,” Evan finished.
The words hung in the air. Ruby stepped in front of him.
“Absolutely not.”
Evan met her eyes. “Dinna ye see?” he said softly. “That future we imagined together? This is the way to make it happen. If I dinna do this, he will keep circling. He will never stop hunting me. This way, I have a chance of ending it.”
His voice was steady now. All the years of scams and shadowy deals had all been leading him back to this, back to where it had all begun. This was the cost. This was the risk.
Ruby’s eyes shone. “I can’t lose you,” she whispered.
“Ye are not going to lose me,” he replied. “I promise.”
Bryce cleared his throat softly. “If we proceed,” he said, “it will require precision. Timing.” His gaze sharpened on Evan. “And trust.”