She took the woman’s hands in hers and emitted a shaky breath. “I am so relieved your boy will be all right, Mrs. Douglas. Please do not hesitate to wake me if he takes an unexpected turn for the worse. My husband and I are at your service.”
“Oh, ye dear thing. I shall, if it is needed. That boy is our heart. We’ll do everything we can to protect him. Ye just let yer husband take care of yerself now. Matthew will be fine. Ye saw that his eyes were sharp and in focus, and his words weren’t slurred or thoughts jumbled. These are very good signs.”
“Yes, they are. I can only repeat how sorry I am for what happened tonight.”
“Tush! Go back to yer husband who must be worried about ye.”
Syd nodded and hurried into the common room. Octavian rose to escort her to a chair, relief washing over his face when she entered.
Sir Henry’s body was still on the floor where he had been shot, so she kept clear of it. However, the sight of him stirred up a well of ugly feelings. Anger, frustration, rage, and resentment. “Is it wicked of me to want to kick him?” she muttered.
Octavian grunted as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Not at all. I wish he was still alive so I could kill him with my bare hands. Love, the constable has some questions for you.”
She liked that he was using the endearment, but they were both shaken and Octavian’s protective instincts had to be on fire at the moment. She could see that he was blaming himself for what happened tonight, thinking he had let her down.
How could he ever believe he had failed her when all he had done and continued to do was aimed at keeping her safe?
Octavian gave her hand a light squeeze to regain her attention since her thoughts were obviously wandering. He introduced her to another man with the surname of Douglas who turned out to be the local constable, and no doubt related to the innkeeper. When the constable drew up a chair beside her, Octavian did the same for himself. He took a seat beside her and kept hold of her hand while the man asked his questions.
Syd tried to keep calm as she detailed everything that happened. “He knocked three times. I should have paid more attention.”
She turned to Octavian with a look of apology. “I wasn’t thinking and just let him in believing it was you.”
Octavian gave her hand another light squeeze. “It’s all right, love. You couldn’t have known. I should have kept closer watchon who was coming in and out of the inn. It is more my fault than yours.”
“It is Sir Henry’s fault,” the constable replied. “Neither of ye should cast blame on yerselves. He must have been following ye, Mrs. Thorne. Were ye aware?”
“Not that he had followed us into Scotland beyond Gretna Green,” Octavian said. “This surprised us. You see, he and the Earl of Harcourt, who is my wife’s father–”
“Yer father’s an earl, m’lady?”
She nodded.
The man now looked worried.
“But Sir Henry is merely a knight. Somehow rewarded with a knighthood for his shady dealings,” she muttered.
Octavian cleared his throat. “The pair chased us to Gretna Green from London. But they caught up to us too late to prevent our marriage. We thought they had returned home. We watched them leave and believed that would be the end of it.”
“But I think Sir Henry may have harmed my father, too.”
Octavian frowned. “What makes you think he did? What reason would he have to hurt him when he knew I was going to pay off his debt?”
Syd felt her heart twist as she turned to the constable and related what Sir Henry had growled at her. “It was in the way he said they had parted ways. It made my skin crawl. My husband and I will have to go back and search the area just south of Gretna Green.”
“What? No, Syd. I cannot go back,” Octavian said with a groan. “I have to report to Greenock no later than Friday morning.”
“That gives us two days to return and search.” She did not understand why this would be a problem.
Octavian’s expression turned stubborn. “It will take us a full day to return, and then it will be too dark to search by the timewe arrive. We’ll have to wait until the following morning. By then, we’ll have no more than two or three hours at best to look for him before we have to head north again.”
The constable left their side a moment, no doubt eager to keep out of this marital dispute.
Octavian drew her into the opposite corner of the room to be sure they were out of everyone’s hearing, and then continued to argue the matter. “Syd, not only will we have little chance of finding your father in that limited time, but we will also be heading straight back into Armstrong territory. Who knows what they will do to us if they see me again without their promised sheep?” He motioned to his uniform, his jacket now back on so that he looked every inch the dashing Royal Navy captain. “I am on assignment. This is not a holiday for me.”
Syd did not want to hear his excuses.
This was her father.
