“I’ve allies,” Alasdair said softly. “Some of them dinnae even realize they’re helpin’ me. But I’ll go carefully.”
A long moment passed in silence, broken only by the hiss of a fresh log catching flame.
“You’ve chosen a narrow road, Your Grace,” Farnleigh said at last. “And a cold one.”
Alasdair nodded once. “Aye. But it’s the only one that leads anywhere.”
And with that, he left, the weight of vengeance sharp and heavy in his hand.
Elizabeth knocked softly before entering Alasdair’s study. The door was unlocked, creaking as she pushed. Her entrance was quiet, with only her skirts rustling to announce her arrival right after the creak.
Alasdair stood by the window. His large silhouette was both comforting and formidable. The afternoon sunlight streamed in to illuminate his figure. His coat hung over a chair and the rest of him looked rumpled.
Elizabeth wouldn’t have worried much about it if not for the slumped shoulders. They made him look tired and weary.
It didn’t look good.
For the past few days, they had been enjoying time together, alone, or with their family and friends. So, today, the mood seemed to have changed completely, and it scared her a little.
“Did you send for me, Alasdair?” she asked tentatively.
She stopped only a few steps from the doorway, as if she was ready to leave anytime she needed to. That was not how she was with Alasdair. She could not get enough of him. However, she also didn’t want to hear any terrible news. Not from him. Not about them.
He turned around at the sound of her voice. He had a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Aye, I did. I wanted to tell ye somethin’ in person, Elizabeth. I thought it better ye hear it from me, an’ no from someone else,” he said, even as he strode toward her.
His words made her heart falter and her hands to clasp in front of her, as if to protect herself from what he was about to say.
“W-what is it, Alasdair?” she asked, even as he closed the distance. He stopped a pace or two away from her.
“I had a meetin’ this mornin’ with Lord Farnleigh, a man I dinnae trust at first. Apparently, he’s been shadowin’ Kittridge for a long time. Years, even. I could hardly believe someone else shared the same obsession as me in investigatin’ the man. Farnleigh reckons he finally has enough evidence tyin’ Kittridge to bribes and secret accounts. There’s a link between him and some minor lords up north.”
Elizabeth blinked. She was confused. All she knew was that whatever Alasdair was becoming involved with was growing to be more dangerous.
“What does that really mean?” Her voice came out like a squeak.
“It means we at least have a trail. It’s nae longer just us graspin’ at thin air. If we follow the lead, we might find nae just the truth but proof as well, and with any luck, that’ll lead to justice.”
Alasdair seemed so certain about this particular path that Elizabeth could not help but wonder if he was blindly following another man’s theory. She hoped for the best for him. He’d been trying to earn justice for his father, and he just might successfully achieve it now. Yet, the quickening of her pulse was not due to excitement but dread.
“A-are you trying to pursue this yourself? Can’t you send some men to do it for you?” she asked.
“Elizabeth, of course I’ll be workin’ on it personally. I may have to head up north, maybe even beyond England. Farnleigh reckons that’s the way to find a man who used to work for Kittridge. He’s just resurfaced after vanishin’ a decade ago. A man like that could disappear again, easy as breathin’.”
“B-but Alasdair—” she protested.
He had not left yet, but she could already feel him slipping away.
“Elizabeth,” he said softly, cupping her face with both his hands. He looked her deeply in the eyes, as if pleading for her to give him her blessing. “Aye, I ken it’ll be a dangerous road to travel, but it might be the only chance I’ve got to avenge me faither.”
She could only stare helplessly at him. Then, she couldn’t take it anymore, pulling away even though she needed his strength at that moment, with her knees almost buckling from the reality that hung over them.
Somehow, she managed to reach a chair where she sat, her body still trembling.
“You want to go. You don’t have to. These men make things happen through their minions. Why can’t we do this more wisely? Send your own men. This way, you will achieve justice without you having to be there, letting your emotions get in the way.”
He sat on the chair in front of his desk, crossing his arms. That didn’t bode well.