Devil in Disguise (The Ravenels #7) by Lisa Kleypas

“The duke said Culpepper would pack for me. All I have to do is wash up.”

She smiled at him blindly. “Let this be our goodbye. I hereby release you from our engagement. You were a very nice fiancé”—she paused to give him a mock-reproving glance—“although I do think you might have tried to kiss me at least once.”

“’Tis only that I know better.” Keir smiled slightly, his gaze traveling over her, collecting every detail. “Scotland has a long history of border warfare, ye ken. There are many ways to attack a fortified hold: battering rams, siege towers, cannons … but the best strategy is to wait.” He reached out to touch a loose tendril of her hair and stroke it gently behind her ear. “Sooner or later,” he continued, “the drawbridge has to be lowered. And that’s when the invaders force their way through.” His eyes held her fast in silver heat. “If I let you slip past my guard, Merritt … I’d be leveled to the ground.”

“Then we’re fortunate that didn’t happen,” she managed to say.

He took both her hands and lifted them to his lips. “Lady Merritt Sterling …” His voice was slightly hoarse. “I’m glad to have met you. I owe you my life. And though I shouldn’t say it … you’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman, and more.” His fingers tightened briefly before letting go. “’Tis the ‘more’ that’s the problem.”

“I THINK WE would all agree it was a peculiar visit,” Phoebe told Keir dryly, as the carriage rolled along the drive leading away from the estate at Heron’s Point. They were followed by another carriage conveying the nanny, nursemaid, and footman. She cuddled Eden on her lap, gently shaking a carved wooden rattle in front of her. The baby’s gaze followed the toy with rapt attention. “I do wish my mother had been there,” Phoebe continued. “You would have liked her tremendously. But I suppose it’s soon for you to start meeting the rest of the family.”

“I may never want to meet them,” Keir said. “Or at least, no’ for a while.”

Phoebe regarded him pensively. “Merritt said anyone in your situation would feel overwhelmed, and we must let you set the pace.” She smiled. “But I hope you don’t think I’m going to let you vanish into the proverbial Scottish mist, never to be seen again. You need a sister, and I happen to be excellent at sistering.”

Keir responded with a distracted nod. The mention of Merritt’s name had infused his blood with restless, uneasy energy.

After saying good-bye to her in the tapestry room, Keir had gone to bathe and change into the traveling clothes Culpepper had laid out for him. Only for traveling, the valet had emphasized, as they were made of heavier, darker fabrics designed to withstand the rigors and filth of the journey.

When it was time to depart for the railway station, Kingston had gone out to the front drive to see them all off. He’d helped Phoebe and Eden into the carriage, then turned to Keir.

“I’ll visit you on Islay soon,” Kingston had said in a tone that would brook no argument. “Naturally I’ll send information from Ethan Ransom as soon as I receive it. In the meantime, you’re to take no chances, and you’ll hold to our agreement about the porter. I’ve already wired one of the club managers, and he’s making the arrangements.” To Keir’s surprise, the duke had handed him his familiar folding wallet. “This is yours, I believe.”

It had been filled with a thick wad of Bank of England notes.

“What’s all this?” Keir had asked blankly.

“You’ll need cash for the journey. No, for God’s sake, don’t argue, we’ve done enough of that today.” The duke had seemed pleased that Keir had dutifully tucked the fat wallet inside his coat. “Be safe, my boy. Look sharp, and don’t let down your guard.”

“Aye. Thank you.” They had exchanged a handshake, a good solid grip that had imparted a surprising measure of reassurance.

Keir glanced out the carriage window as the team of horses pulled them along the graveled drive with gathering momentum. He felt uncomfortable in his own skin. Tangled up in something, the way kelp, with all its leathery strings and straps, could snare an unwary swimmer off Islay’s shore. Random muscles in his arms and legs twitched with the need to walk or run, but all he could do was sit.

“What are you going to do about Merritt?” Phoebe asked.

“Nothing,” he said gruffly. “What needs doing?”

“You’re not going to write to her? Visit her?”

“I bid her farewell, and that’s the end of it.”

“I suppose that’s for the best. Although the two of you did seem to have … what’s the word … an affinity?”

Keir sent her a dark glance. “Some birds can swim and some fish can fly. But they still dinna belong together.”

“Yet another fish analogy,” Phoebe marveled.

The bulk of the overstuffed wallet was bothersome. Keir reached into his coat and fished it out. Brooding, he began to sort through the cash in the wallet, discovering a variety of denominations … one-pound notes, fivers, tenners … so much that it wouldn’t allow the wallet to stay folded. He would give some of it to the footmen and carriage drivers, he decided, and began to remove a wad of notes.