In the Heart of the Highlander (13 page)

Chapter

16

M
ary really was suffering from nerves now. If Dr. Bauer had listened to her heartbeat, he’d likely want to hospitalize her. She’d been much too nervous to visit with Aunt Mim last night, sure that her aunt would take one look at Mary and know what she’d been up to with Alec Raeburn. Mary probably wasn’t much better this afternoon even after washing up and changing her muddy dress. There was something too sparkly in her eyes, her cheeks were too pink, and her lips looked chapped from kisses despite the all-purpose salve. Mary felt as if the ends of her hair were on fire. She may as well have been wearing a sign that said, “In the Process of Being Seduced.”

And that is what she needed to talk to Aunt Mim about. She rapped on her door, hoping she was not napping. Mary knew her aunt had booked a hydrotherapy treatment this morning and just how relaxing it could be.

Until Alec had sneaked in, touched her, and turned her world upside down.

Hamblen let her in. “I’m glad you’re here, Miss Mary. Your aunt missed you last night.”

“I—I had such a busy day that I was exhausted. How is she feeling?”

The maid grinned. “Feisty, I’d say, after this morning’s news. Quite like her old self. Go see.”

Oh, dear. Could her aunt have discovered her assignations with Alec? Mary wasn’t sure she could explain. At least this morning’s had been by chance.

She found her aunt sitting in a Bath chair by her bedroom window. Aunt Mim was not enjoying the view, but writing something on hotel stationery. A train schedule was on the table, and her trunk lay open on the floor. The closet had been emptied, and black dresses and the contents of the dresser lay on the counterpane, ready to be wrapped in tissue paper.

“What’s all this?” Mary asked.

“We had a marconigram from Harriet this morning,” Aunt Mim said without looking up from her furious scribbling. “Or from Harriet’s poor father I should say. I could barely make heads or tails of it, he’s that frantic. She is in hospital. Something about peri—perisomething.”

“Peritonitis? That’s awful!” The king’s own coronation had been delayed by his bout of appendicitis.

“That’s it. She’s made it through surgery but will not be able to come into the office for ages. I’ve got to get back. The afternoon train, I should think. I can sleep for most of the trip, and I’ll be perfectly refreshed by Monday morning.”

“But—”

Her aunt raised an ink-stained finger. “No buts. You still have your job to do here, and Oliver can see to getting you home once it’s done. You’ll have to do without Hamblen, I’m afraid.”

Mary had done without a maid for the first twenty-five years of her life. “Will you be able to manage?”

“The trip or my business? I should say so! This holiday, short as it’s been, has done me a world of good. Traveling without too much discomfort. Being with people. It’s about time I got back downstairs to the agency again. So what if clients see me with a cane or in a Bath chair? I’m an old woman, but not dead yet. I’ve got plenty of juice still in me! Maybe we’ll even put a lift in the building. We’ve got plenty of money in the bank, thanks to you.”

Mary swallowed hard at this surprising turn of events. “You’re not going to fire me, are you?”

Aunt Mim looked up. “Fire you? Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve been invaluable the past four years. Indispensable. Game for most anything. Why, you remind me of myself, and not just because you have the Evensong looks. You’ll inherit the agency once I’m gone, you know, not your brother, Albert. You wouldn’t want to go back to Oxfordshire and work for him again, would you?”

What an atrocious thought. “Absolutely not.”

“Well, then, we’ll figure out a way to introduce you to the clients. My office is big enough for a partners desk. You can sit in on the appointments. When people see that I trust you implicitly, they’ll come around and disregard your youth. We’ll figure it out next week when you get back.”

“About that, Aunt Mim. Lord Raeburn has invited us all to Raeburn Court to assess his staff. He wants the agency to supply him with new employees. But now I suppose I shouldn’t go.” Mary tried hard to be brave about the whole thing. You couldn’t miss what you’d never known, could you?

Aunt Mim returned to her writing. “Don’t be silly. Of course you should go. You and Oliver are perfectly capable of taking care of all that without me. Spend an extra few days if you like. You’ll know what he needs.”

Mary knew what
she
needed. But her worry for her aunt was real. “I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

Her aunt waved her away. “Don’t worry about me. You deserve a proper vacation. And it’s lovely up here. It’s too bad you cannot honor our hotel reservations, but I imagine after tonight your reputation will be in tatters. People can be so cruel. That whole Eve myth—it’s always the woman’s fault. Lilith. Salome. Delilah. Don’t get me started. Yes, it’s best if you go straight to Raeburn Court after this Bauer business is done. Enjoy yourself. You aren’t too worried about tonight, are you? I’ve made some notes.”

Aunt Mim handed her the list she’d been working on. It appeared to have instructions as to the ways she could incapacitate Dr. Bauer if her rescue was in any way delayed. There were even illustrations.

“I gave the same advice to all the duke’s daughters. They said I should write a book, you know. And they’re all happily married at last.” The Evensong Agency had found a third husband for the youngest and wildest of them just last year. By all accounts, everyone was happy at last.

“You deserve the credit for that,” Mary said loyally. She’d heard all the stories about the duke’s five difficult daughters.

“I do. The duchess was hopeless, poor thing. Trying for a boy simply wore her out, and when he finally arrived was very disappointing, as you know. My instincts have always been good, Mary, and I believe you’ve inherited them. You could not have accomplished all you have the past few years without having an innate understanding of people.”

Mary hoped her aunt was right. She was entrusting Alec Raeburn with her carnal education. She didn’t want her heart broken in the process.

“Th-thank you, Aunt Mim. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“And isn’t that a shame? A girl your age should be hearing compliments from people other than her old aunt. Now do me a favor and ring down to the front desk to make sure they have a carriage available to take us to the station. I’ve called twice already, but it never hurts to check on the details. I’ve taught you that, haven’t I? Your list should have a list. And get Hamblen back in here to finish packing.”

Mary did as she was told, happy to see her aunt so energized. It was true she still hobbled when she rose from her Bath chair, and her bad foot would never fit into a regular shoe, but she was stepping livelier than Mary had witnessed in four years. They hadn’t been in Scotland long enough for all the spa’s alleged miracle cures to have taken hold, so something else had shifted within her aunt. The fresh air? The spring water? Whatever it was, Mary was grateful. She might have a chance for a more normal life after all.

If that was the case, should she go through with this agreement with Alec Raeburn? She could have more free time in the future to meet a gentleman to court her. Some worthy dull fellow . . .

No. Her social life was apt to be as limited as it always had been. Alec Raeburn was her one chance.

Mary kissed her aunt good-bye and went to her own room. It was hours and hours until her assignation with Dr. Bauer. Mary picked up a book she’d brought with her, but put it right down again when the words made no sense at all to her troubled brain. She stared out the window and counted mountain peaks. She rubbed salve on her bare feet, and washed her hands. She thought about ordering tea or a sandwich, but her stomach did a little flip.

Mary was not used to being idle, but enjoying the amenities of the hotel seemed beyond her today. So here she sat, clean hands folded in her lap and stomach fluttering, doing absolutely nothing. It was almost painful, and her mind tripped from one frightening thought to the next, with nothing to distract her, nowhere to go, nothing to do until the grand show later. Eventually, she’d have to order another tray up to her room before she starved—she didn’t dare go to the dining room for dinner. Contrary to what she’d said, it would be nearly impossible for her to get into one of her new evening dresses without Hamblen.

Her lips twitched. She could ask Alec to serve as maid, though undressing was more of his specialty. Oliver would probably lend a safer hand, but he’d be busy getting himself and his room ready for the card party.

Speak of the devil. There was a rap on the connecting door, and Oliver sauntered in, looking blindingly white in his tennis togs. He was a most welcome sight, although for a second she wished for her smoke-gray spectacles. Oliver was so very dazzling, too handsome for his own good. He threw his lanky body down in one of her chairs and frowned at her.

“Hey, sis. What’s this I hear about Aunt Mim leaving? As a gentleman, should I volunteer to go with the old dear?”

Oliver had made himself quite comfortable in his false family. It must be excruciating to be disowned by his own. Her brother, Albert, and his wife, Phyllis, might annoy her, but they were still
there
. Oliver couldn’t go home. How had he spent last Christmas? Mary would make sure he spent it with her and Aunt Mim this year.

“She’d better not catch you calling her an ‘old dear.’ Yes, it’s true, and no, you shouldn’t. Harriet had to have her appendix removed and will be laid up for who knows how long. Someone had to go back to London, and it can’t be me. Or you. Have you forgotten about the card party?”

“Not bloody likely. The hotel people are upending my room even as we speak. I’ll have to hang out here for a while if you don’t mind.”

Mary heard thunking and sliding next door. “Not at all.”

Oliver lowered his voice so he wouldn’t be heard, not that it was likely with all the noise. “Raeburn could run the show for me if you’re worried about your aunt, you know. Half the guests are his friends.”

“No, that won’t do. You’re supposed to profess brotherly outrage and convince the men I’m much too innocent to have lured Bauer by myself. Aunt Mim will have Hamblen. She’s a sensible girl, and the train’s direct. I don’t know what’s gotten into my aunt—she’s taken a new lease on life and wants to go back into the office!”

“I hope it’s not due to one of those quack medicines they pass out at the spa. They’re all alcohol, you know. No wonder the hotel doesn’t serve liquor—the guests pay a fortune for it in their little brown bottles.”

“Ha! Is that the secret? And here I thought it was the fresh air and wholesome food.”

“Yes, the food is excellent. Almost as good as Antoine’s.” He sighed.

Poor Oliver. Antoine was his first love. The French chef was still employed in the Palmer household, although as far as Mary knew their affair had ended. When she got back to London, she’d have to look for a discreet young gentleman for Oliver. The Evensong Agency’s matchmaking skills were renowned even for the most unconventional of clients.

“I’m not going downstairs for dinner tonight, so we won’t have to have one of our fights. I’m much too nervous to eat much anyway.”

“You have to have something or you’ll faint dead away as soon as Bauer lays a hand on you. I’ll order up a tea tray for us right now. I’m always hungry. We’ll have a jolly little party, just us two.”

Since Oliver had discovered she wasn’t a formidable old woman, he treated her with a familiarity she really couldn’t mind. The boy was lonely, and so was she. Mary had been too busy to find friends in London or keep them in Oxford. Goodness, but her life had been boring until she met Alec Raeburn.

No, that wasn’t true. She’d had some adventures, but all on behalf of the agency’s clients. It was her turn now.

Oliver finished talking on the telephone and flopped back into the chair. “Where did you go this morning? I knocked earlier but nobody answered.”

“Oh, just for a walk in the woods.”

“Like Little Red Riding Hood?”

There had been a Big Bad Wolf, but she wasn’t going to tell Oliver. “Actually, I met a governess who might be the perfect replacement for you when we promote you. Now that Harriet will be recuperating, we’ll have an even greater need of changes at the office.”

“Have you spoken to your aunt about it yet?”

Oliver seemed very eager, and Mary was stricken. She’d been so busy with Alec, she’d forgotten. “Not yet, but I’m sure she’ll have no objection. She likes you very much, Oliver.”

“Oh, people always like me. They just don’t want to employ me. If she’s coming downstairs again, there may be too many cooks in the kitchen.”

“Nonsense! You know what our workload’s been like. It would be one thing if we were strictly an employment agency, but people come to us for so many other reasons. Speaking of which, Lord Raeburn has invited us to Raeburn Court once our little masquerade is over. He lost most of his staff over the past year. I gather the locals are not keen on working there, so we’ll have to inspect the property and determine his needs.”