second thoughts,’ said the colonel with a small, wry smile, ‘I might delay the introductions until after you’ve had a chance to make yourself a little more…er…presentable.’
In the circumstances, Ross found himself grinning at the older man’s gentle jibe. The poor colonel had obviously just had a lungful of gaol odours.
‘I’ll send a man to see Elliott, to find out what happened to your baggage,’ the colonel went on, as soon as they reached the street. ‘I imagine there must have been a mistake of some kind.’
Ross nodded automatically, as politeness demanded. But he knew very well that there had been no mistake. The Elliott laird had meant him to be left to rot.
Colonel Anstruther looked his guest slowly up and down. ‘It’s something of an improvement, Graham,’ he said at last, ‘though the fit of that coat is…er…’
Ross grinned at his host. ‘Your coat may not fit me very well, sir, but since my own is filthy, I make no complaint. Believe me, it is a blessing to be clean again. I owe you a debt for rescuing me from that stinking gaol.’
‘Nonsense, nonsense. Any gentleman would have done the same. And if we can’t find your own baggage, I’m sure we’ll be able to find some better-fitting clothes in Dumfries. We can do that tomorrow morning. It’s too late to do anything today, I fear.’
Ross nodded. At least he would not be beholden to the colonel for new clothes. He had money enough to buy his own.
‘One thing I…I must say to you, Graham, before I introduce you to my wife.’ The colonel pursed his lips and put his hand to his chin. ‘I must tell you that she is not in good health. She has a…a wasting disease. When you meet her, you will see. I must warn you that she will not speak of it, not to anyone. I ask you to treat her as if she were a normal healthy woman, and to ignore the fact that she can no longer walk.’
Ross took a step forward and reached out a hand, helplessly. ‘Sir, I should not be here. You—’
The colonel smiled rather tightly. ‘My wife would not have it otherwise, Captain. She is very much looking forward to making your acquaintance. No doubt she will quiz you about our adventures in the Peninsula.’
‘I shall be of little help to Mrs Anstruther, I fear,’ Ross admitted. ‘To be frank, sir, I barely remember meeting you there. As for adventures…there is very little fit for a lady’s ears.’
‘Very true,’ smiled the colonel. ‘I would not have my wife learn of some of the things we had to do. On the other hand, while I would not encourage you to make things up, Graham, you might—’
‘I shall do my best to keep Mrs Anstruther entertained, sir. It is the least I can do.’
‘Thank you.’ The colonel was silent for a moment, as if considering. Then he said quietly, ‘When I left for the Peninsula, there was no sign that anything was amiss. Her disease began while I was away, and she never said a word in any of her letters. Even when I had recovered from my wounds and was back at Horse Guards, she managed to conceal it from me. When I finally came home for good last year, I could barely recognise her. The bonnie lass I’d married was almost a wraith. Then, she could still walk. Since the spring, she cannot. She must keep her chair and be carried everywhere. You will see that she weighs no more than a feather now. Each night, when I carry her upstairs, I can feel that she is wasting away before my eyes.’
Ross could find no words to convey his sympathy.
The colonel shook his head, as if trying to shake off his moment of melancholy. ‘I tell you this so that you will not be shocked when you meet my wife, Graham. That is all. But she is all good humour. She never complains. You will soon discover that she is fully absorbed in her latest project, to finish our new house and garden in the country. And if you don’t take care, she will no doubt be enlisting your help for some part of her plans. It can be difficult to deny her, I warn you.’
‘If I can repay your kindness by serving Mrs Anstruther, I should be delighted to do it. Pray tell her that I am quite at her service.’
‘Now that,’ said a female voice behind Ross, ‘is a very rash promise for a gentleman to make. Just think what I might require you to do!’
The colonel laughed down at his wife in her wheeled chair. ‘Allow me to present Captain Graham, my dear. I did try to warn him of the risks he was running,’ he added, ‘but he would have none of it. So it appears you have acquired another willing cavalier.’
Ross stepped forward and bowed over Mrs Anstruther’s outstretched hand, feeling how tiny it was, and how thin. The colonel’s wife must have been very beautiful once. Now she was indeed like a wraith. A shadow of what she had been.
The following morning, James Elliott presented himself at Colonel Anstruther’s door. Carrying Ross’s bags.
Standing black-browed in the library doorway, Elliott bowed in the colonel’s direction and said, ‘I have come to return Captain Graham’s baggage and pistols, and to apologise for bringing the charge against him. It has been withdrawn, as the provost will confirm. I jumped to an unwarranted conclusion, I admit, but if you had known the circumstances, and my sister’s— Well, no point in going into that.’ He bowed slightly to Ross. ‘My sister has explained what took place, Captain Graham, and I have come to beg your pardon. My sister also begs to send you her thanks for rescuing her. She hopes that you have suffered no lasting hurt from your ordeal in…in Dumfries.’
Clever, Ross thought. By introducing his sister, he seeks to divert my righteous anger. And, as a gentleman, I have no choice but to acquiesce, especially here in Colonel Anstruther’s home. ‘Pray thank Miss Elliott for her kind enquiry. You may assure her that I am quite well, thanks to the Colonel’s intervention. I see you have managed to discover my missing bags. How remarkably fortunate. The provost assured me that there was no trace of them.’
‘A misunderstanding, I assure you, sir. Your luggage was conveyed to the stable, along with your mare. Both were well taken care of. And of course there is no livery to pay. I have seen to that.’
‘You are all generosity, Elliott,’ the colonel said, with some asperity.
‘Sir, I hope it will be possible to forget this unfortunate episode. My sister joins her prayers to mine. She wishes me to invite you both—and Mrs Anstruther, too, of course—to visit us so that she may offer her apologies in person.’
Clearly the Elliott sister was not to be permitted to visit them in Dumfries. It seemed that, if Ross wanted to see the girl again, and to unravel the mystery surrounding her, he would have to go to her. But it was the height of ill manners to expect the invalid Mrs Anstruther to wait on a mere child. Ross waited to see how the colonel would respond.
‘We are grateful for Miss Elliott’s invitation. Of course.’ The colonel’s pause before those last words held a wealth of meaning. Ross fancied that Elliott was beginning to look a trifle embarrassed. However good his birth, Elliott was no gentleman, but even he must realise that it was for him, and his sister, to wait on the Anstruthers. The Elliotts, after all, were the ones who needed to apologise.
‘You will understand, Elliott, that my wife is not able to travel easily. And my recollection is that the roads around your manor are remarkably bad. Is that not so?’ The colonel waited for Elliott’s reluctant nod before continuing. ‘However, you and Miss Elliott would be more than welcome to call on us here in Dumfries. Miss Elliott would be able to make her apologies then, would she not?’
Chapter Four
‘Y ou sent a letter to the provost,’ James thundered, shaking his fist at Cassie, ‘and I know only too well how it was arranged. You have gone too far this time, sister. That woman, Morag, shall leave my lands this very day. No woman defies me in my own house.’
Cassandra had known he would be furious, but also that it had been right to take the risk. She owed it to the man to save him. And now she must try to pay what