For The Love Of My Scotsman (Complete!)

Gossip and Black Powder

Thomas took her shoulders, turning her to look at him. "Lottie, we should leave."

She blinked in surprise, the troubled look in her eyes clearing for a moment. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me take ye away. It's too dangerous for you to stay." Thomas nodded to the letter. "We should leave now."

Her lips parted and her gaze flashed angrily. "I will not run away."

"A man is dead, Lottie!" Thomas shook her shoulders. "And now someone is trying to blackmail ye. I shall not stand by and watch while ye are in danger."

She pushed his hands away. "You have no right to decide when I go or stay. If I leave now, it will only prove my guilt to Mr. de Lacy. What if he uses that as an excuse to investigate what we did to his brother?" Her voice broke and her head bowed. "Do you truly think that I would leave and let my pregnant sister suffer the consequences?"

Thomas sighed, pressing the palms of his hands against his temples. He didn't know the full story of what happened to Edmund, but he knew that William and Fidelia were directly responsible. He had seen Edmund's body that night on the beach, and the reminder of the incident had caused Fidelia to collapse from shock.

"Of course not," Thomas said quietly. The accusations, coupled with the note, were making him mad with worry for her. What if Thomas couldn't protect her this time? Impulsively, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in a gentle hug. "I was not suggesting that ye abandon yer family. I... I just cannot bear the thought of something happening to ye again."

Lottie tensed in shock, but slowly, she relaxed and laid her head against his shoulder. "The only way to ensure that Mr. de Lacy cannot arrest me for the murder or dig further into our past with Edmund is to reveal Mr. Farraday's real killer," Lottie said.

Thomas rested his chin on her head, savoring the comfort of holding her in his arms. For the moment, he could convince himself that if she were by his side, he could keep her safe. If anyone saw them, it would ruin Lottie's reputation and quite possibly get him drawn and quartered, but neither of them pulled away.

"How do we do that?" Thomas asked finally, closing his eyes with resignation. If he couldn't take Lottie far away, then he would stand by her side and help prove her innocence, no matter the consequences.

"The guests," Lottie said, pulling back to look at him. "When I burned the papers, Mr. Farraday mentioned an associate hidden among the guests... someone I would never suspect."

***
Lottie stared at the guests across from her at the breakfast table the next morning, her fork paused halfway to her mouth.

Their mood was still light, but the surprise addition of Mr. de Lacy to the house party had caused quite a stir. Lady Harrington and her son seemed amiable to him, and Mrs. Ashdown seemed eager to test his worthiness as a potential suitor to her niece, Miss Wilde. The younger woman, for her part, had avoided him once she learned he was the local magistrate. Perhaps such a position was too low for her, Lottie thought, eyeing the mousy girl sideways. Or was it that Mr. Farraday's accomplice was a woman...?

"Miss Wilde thinks he's too old for her," Catriona's cheerful whisper made Lottie jump and fumble with her fork.

"Merciful heavens, Catriona!" Lottie gasped, a hand flying to her throat as she tried to calm her nervous heart. The young woman was as quiet and frightening as a ghost.

Catriona shrugged with a slow smile, and Lottie remembered Octavia's gossip that the younger half-sister of Lord Campbell was the daughter of a witch. "I was just telling you that she's no competition, if that was what you were wondering about."