Chapter 6
Chapter Six
AIDAN
Beneath the tam and the dark brown hair, the hellion’s eyes flashed with challenge. He had a strong feeling if he didn’t move out of her way, they’d be brawling again. The mysterious woman Aidan encountered in the alleyway in Inverness was the daughter of Archibald Drummond.
It was a very small world.
Before traveling to Dalmigavie, he’d learned a great deal about Cinaed Mackintosh’s wife.
Henry Brougham’s message had informed him that Isabella had arrived in the Highlands with her sister, Maisie, who was now married to Niall Campbell, a man he and Sebastian had served with during the war.
And the young physician’s stepdaughter, Morrigan, was traveling with them.
This past April, on a day of violent protests in Edinburgh, Archibald Drummond was shot dead by British soldiers swarming into his clinic, supposedly in pursuit of wounded protest leaders.
Aidan’s own clients told him they were certain the Infirmary Street house was on the government’s watch list, thanks to one informer or another.
Henry Brougham believed Dr. Drummond himself had been targeted for elimination.
Whether that was true or not, Morrigan going after Sparrow made sense now.
Clearly, she held him responsible for her father’s death.
The blackguard probably wasn’t the informer, but that didn’t change things.
Morrigan approached him, expecting Aidan to step aside, but he refused to move.
He’d never met a woman so effectively prepared for wreaking vengeance.
Two days ago, in the quiet of an alleyway, Morrigan’s smooth, controlled movements were deliberate, not impulsive.
She was not a novice, but rather a trained fighter.
Aidan’s left eye, still swollen from the well-placed blow from her head, twitched as he recalled how expertly she’d incapacitated him before walking away.
The city-bred daughter of a physician, indeed.
“I need you to stay out here.” The physician directed her words at Morrigan as she moved past them and disappeared into the cottage.
Morrigan glared up at him. He glared back. She refused to back away.
“If you’d kindly move, sir, I should be assisting in there.”
She took a step to the side, and Aidan followed suit, blocking her.
“If you don’t mind,” she said, an unmistakable note of threat in her tone.
“I do mind, Miss Drummond. I just heard the doctor say you were to remain out here.”
Blair Mackintosh went around them and looked in through the doorway before joining his man and Sebastian by the low wall surrounding the cottage, leaving the two of them alone.
“So, you maintain that we’ve not met before?”
“Absolutely certain of it.” She turned and stalked off a few paces before marching right back to him. “Isabella doesn’t like to be alone with patients.”
“She’s not alone. My law clerk, Mr. Branson, is in there.”
“He’ll be no help to her.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “And you would be?”
“Of course. I assist her regularly. While we lived in Edinburgh, I always helped my father with his clients.”
“You . . .” he scoffed. “Helping to preserve lives?”
“You don’t believe me?”
If one ignored the bruises, Morrigan Drummond was certainly a striking beauty.
Large eyes of the deepest brown perfectly set in an oval-shaped face.
If he hadn’t witnessed her lightning-quick reflexes and unexpected talent for inflicting pain, it would be easy to imagine this lovely young woman as an angel of mercy.
He lowered his voice. “I believe you had every intention of taking a life the other day.”
She stared at him, saying nothing.
“Tell me, was it revenge you were seeking?”
She tried to appear calm, but the color rising into her face betrayed her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about revenge for your father’s death. Is that why you were trying to kill him?”
She cast a quick glance over her shoulder. The three other men were occupied in their own conversation.
Her eyes narrowed to thin slits. “I tell you we’ve never met.”
“You can save that tale for others. You and I know the truth.” He held her gaze. “But if you refuse to be forthright, then perhaps you’ll not mind me telling the doctor or Searc Mackintosh the manner in which we ended up with our bruises.”
“You’re supposedly a gentleman. You wouldn’t betray me.”
“I would, indeed, for you’ve not provided an explanation for your actions. I owe you nothing. Neither have I made any offer to keep your secret.”
“I’ll simply deny it.”
“In the face of the proof I have?” He reached for a satchel behind him by the door. “The handle on your sgian dubh is quite distinctive. Shall I take out your knife for everyone to see?”
“No,” she said through gritted teeth.
At any other time or place, Aidan was sure she’d be at his throat.
“So, what will it be, Miss Drummond? Shall we tell them together? Or would you care to explain yourself to me?”
She didn’t need any weapons. The flash in her eyes were sharp enough to cut him down.
“There’s still a chance that I’ll remain silent.”
She looked over her shoulder at Blair and the others again. When she turned her attention back to him, the scarlet hue in her cheeks was a few shades darker.
“I’m told you’ll be staying here until Cinaed returns.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then we have time to discuss this. And I shall explain. For now, however, I’m asking you to keep our secret.”
Morrigan assuredly held the same political sentiments as her father.
She wouldn’t be here at Dalmigavie Castle otherwise.
This put the two of them on the same side.
Aidan knew it was certainly in his own best interest to say nothing more about their scuffle in Inverness.
But it occurred to him that she probably had no idea who was lying inside that cottage right now.
“Before I make any promises, I need to know that you can be trusted, something which is doubtful at the moment.”
“I’ve told you that I’ll explain.”
He waved her off. “Tell me, who is your role model when it comes to offering medical care, Miss Drummond?”
Her furrowed brow showed her confusion at his question. “My late father . . . and of course, Isabella.”
“Then it’s safe to say you’ve never entered their surgery and cut the throat of a patient who was under their care?” He paused, his gaze moving to the pouch containing her dagger and back to her face.
Her mouth dropped open in shock, but she quickly closed it and took a deep breath. “Of course not. I could never do such a thing.”
“Are you certain? I would assume that any number of British officers must have sought out your family’s medical assistance in the past. People you possibly saw as the enemy. Have you never been tempted to injure them in their weakened state? Make them suffer?”
Aidan sensed she was angry enough to slap him, or perhaps stab him. He wasn’t sure which.
“What kind of a monster do you think I am?” Morrigan seethed, struggling to keep her voice down. “Whatever impression you have of me, sir, it is completely unfounded.”
Aidan certainly hoped so. He needed to keep his informant alive.
Over the past two days, he’d heard accounts from Sparrow of additional government plots to ensnare reform activists.
He was even more convinced than before that the sick man’s testimony could not only save the lives of his clients but publicly shame the Home Office enough to stop future entrapment schemes.
The last thing he wanted to do was deliver Sparrow to the sharp-edged vengeance of Morrigan Drummond.
“Then I have your word that you’ll . . .” Aidan paused as Mrs. Mackintosh stepped out of the cottage.
Isabella had left her coat and medical bag inside. Before she even spoke, the stern expression in her eyes and the grave frown told him the news was not good. “Your companion is not suffering from consumption.”
“Not, you say?” He was no physician, but from the little he’d witnessed of the man’s condition, Aidan thought consumption was the worst thing Sparrow could be suffering from right now. “What is it, then?”
“Based on what he’s told me, and what I have seen, I believe his condition is quite different.
Apparently, his cough has been present for months and is gradually getting worse.
But no fever. No chills. No sweating at nights.
Always tired.” Her voice was lower, the words intended only for them.
“In addition, there is blood in the phlegm. The shortness of breath and hoarseness of his voice support my diagnosis.”
Aidan waited to hear more. Sparrow had wronged a great many people. No doubt the man’s death would be celebrated by many, including the young woman now standing at his elbow. But Aidan needed time. And more information. A day in court, preferably. Testimony.
“I suspect his lungs are riddled with cancer,” the doctor continued. “Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do for him. Nothing anyone can do but give him some relief from the pain and allow him to die in peace.”
This explained the change of heart. The sudden effort to make amends. Sparrow’s willingness to help him was now clear. There’s special providence in the fall of a sparrow. The man knew he was dying.
“How much time does he have? I need about two months.”
His abrupt questions and comment drew Isabella’s sharp gaze. She no doubt thought him heartless. Her impression of him didn’t matter. Other lives were at stake. Innocent lives. And she didn’t know who lay in that cottage.
Isabella shook her head and glanced back at the doorway. “Seeing him once, I can’t tell how long he has. Perhaps after I observe him over a period of time, I’ll be able to give you a better idea of the speed of his decline. But even that would be conjecture.”
Sparrow was dying. That was not good news for anyone. He imagined it would be easy to convince Morrigan to let him be and die a slow and painful death. He would keep her secret from the Mackintoshes, for now.
The physician gestured to Morrigan. “Come inside with me.”
The young woman’s eyes immediately found Aidan’s. A question lingered in the dark depths along with a fleeting look of vulnerability.
Aidan stepped aside and followed them in. The cottage was dark. The air inside damp and chill. His law clerk, Kane Branson, bowed to Morrigan as Isabella made a quick introduction.
Aidan stood inside the door and watched her. He doubted Morrigan would hurt Sparrow now. Not after what the doctor had shared about the man’s poor state of health. Not after their conversation. But he also wanted her to know about the informer’s value to the cause.
The moment Sparrow turned his face toward them, Morrigan’s shoulders stiffened, and she rocked back as if she’d been stabbed. The sick man’s reaction, however, was far different.
“I can’t believe heaven would smile so on a poor sinner like myself,” he rasped haltingly between labored breaths. “I must have done something right in my life for such a blessing. To find my own kin beside me at the end of my miserable life.”
A spasm of coughing shook him, and he struggled to breathe.
Kin? Aidan looked from Sparrow to Morrigan. She’d turned to stone. No visible movement. Silent as death.
Looking perplexed, Isabella touched her hand. “You know him? Is this true? This man is a relation?”
Aidan thought back to Inverness. She’d drawn a weapon. He had no doubt she’d intended to kill Sparrow.
“I know it’s been a long time, lass.” He raised a shaking hand to her. She made no move to take it. “The years have been hard and cruel on me. But don’t tell me you don’t remember your own uncle.”
The cottage became a sealed crypt, the air thick and heavy. Every sound died, inside and out. Aidan couldn’t tear his gaze from Morrigan. Her hands, hanging flat against her sides, ever so slowly curled into fists.
“My sweet child . . .” Sparrow managed to gasp.
Without uttering a word, Morrigan turned sharply on her heel and strode to the door. The dark eyes in her ashen face looked straight ahead. Her shoulder bumped against his as she passed, but Aidan didn’t think she noticed.
Wherever she was going, she never paused or gave any sign that she even heard Isabella calling after her.