'Twas the Night Before Mischief by Nina Rowan Read Free Book Online Page B

Loch Hempriggs. Thrumster.
    He had calculated the distance back to Inverness carefully, planning for stops at intervals that would allow for the least amount of delay. The train from London went only as far as Aberdeen, so he’d ridden on horseback to Wick as fast as he could, knowing he’d have to hire a coach for the trip back.
    He sat across from Penelope as the chaise lurched into motion.
    â€œIs this how you arrived here?” she asked.
    â€œNo. I rode on horseback from Aberdeen to Inverness, then Inverness to Wick. I hired this chaise last night, after I discovered you were here.” He frowned, an unwelcome thought occurring to him. “Did you travel all the way with Wilkie?”
    Penelope nodded, her cheeks coloring in a way that made Darius suspicious. He felt the way he had when he first saw her with the other man—prickly and irritated.
    â€œUntil we reached Belman Castle, and his mother was horrified to discover he’d brought home a shopkeeper’s daughter,” Penelope confessed, her voice bitter. “I suppose you were right, that he’d come to London to seek his prey.”
    A flash of rage toward Wilkie lit in Darius’s chest. “Yet he did not subdue his prey,” he said carefully.
    â€œIs abandonment a more desirable fate?” she asked.
    â€œI should think so.” He kept his gaze on Penelope’s delicate features. He could not, for the life of him, imagine any man wanting to abandon her or send her away. He only wanted to bring her closer.
    The admission rattled the order of his thoughts.
    Everything about Penelope rattled him—her slender, soft-edged beauty that was at odds with the blue fire of her eyes and the determined set of her chin. The way she looked directly at him without guile or coyness. The way she made him want to pursue her, and in a manner that far exceeded the bounds of propriety.
    When Henry Darlington had told him about her letter, Darius had had to make a concerted effort to maintain a level tone of voice.
    â€œWhen did she leave?” He’d stood beside the doorway, hat in hand as he watched Henry pace to the windows.
    â€œThree days ago. She’d gone to visit my sister in Bristol, or so I thought. But her letter arrived this morning from Aberdeen, stating her intentions. I knew that scoundrel Wilkie was involved. He must have set his sights on her when he found out about my royal warrant appointment.”
    Henry’s brow had furrowed as he glared out the window. “No doubt he overwhelmed Penelope with cajolery and the like. She’d have no chance against a man who has spent his entire life getting whatever he desires.”
    Darius deflected yet another bolt of anger at the idea of Simon Wilkie desiring Penelope. And possibly even getting her.
    Unlike Henry, however, Darius did not believe that Penelope Darlington was quite the innocent her father imagined. Darius had seen her with Simon Wilkie, and she had not behaved like a woman overwhelmed by cajolery. In fact, she’d looked as though she were dispensing a bit of flattery of her own.
    Darius crushed the rim of his hat in his grip. “Rest assured, Henry, I know how to reach Wilkie’s estate. It will take me a few days to reach Aberdeen, but I can ride from there to Inverness, and then find transport to the Orkney Islands. I will bring her back to London as quickly as possible.”
    â€œI’m relying upon both your haste and discretion.” Henry strode to his desk and yanked open a drawer. He removed a purse fat with coin and extended it to Darius.
    â€œI don’t need your money, Henry.”
    â€œWell, you’d better take it since it’s my daughter who is getting you into a wild goose chase. The Orkney Islands, for the love of God, Darius. Why couldn’t Wilkie have lived in Edinburgh?”
    â€œI’m no stranger to travel,” Darius replied, putting the purse on Henry’s desk. “I’ll