restrain his irritation at being treated like the lowliest of servants. “A word, my lord, if you please?”
“And what would that word be?” his uncle replied mildly, his gaze still fixed on the snow-capped peak of the mountain. “
Disaster
?
Catastrophe
?
Calamity
?”
“Marlowe!” Ian spat the name as if it were a mouthful of poison. “If I were you, I’d insist that Sinclair get back here immediately and take the entire family off your hands.”
“Surely you’re not talking about my bride’s charming relations?”
“Charming? Not at the moment, I fear. Her mother and sisters have been weeping and wailing at the top of their lungs ever since Miss Marlowe was taken. Of course young Ernestine did manage to stop sniveling and sobbing just long enough to corner me in the drawing room and suggest that you might not be the only Hepburn in need of a bride.” He shuddered.“In the meantime, her father has taken it upon himself to polish off nearly every decanter of brandy and port in the castle. It seems he believes it was somehow
his
fault his beloved daughter was abducted by some savage Scotsman. If he finds the casks of whisky in the dungeons,” Ian warned darkly, “I fear he’ll drown himself in the bottom of one.”
His uncle continued to contemplate the mountain as if pondering some scheme to wrest it from the hands of the Almighty Himself. “You’ve always possessed the charm and cunning of a diplomat,” he said without bothering to hide the note of scorn in his voice. “I’m sure I can trust you to soothe their ruffled feathers.”
Ian drew close enough to study his uncle’s implacable profile, his frustration growing. “I can’t very well reproach them for their concern. It’s not as if they’ve misplaced their favorite teakettle. Sinclair has had Miss Marlowe in his clutches for over twenty-four hours now and I don’t have to remind you how utterly ruthless the man can be. I pray you’ll forgive my impertinence, my lord, but her family doesn’t understand why you haven’t summoned the law. And if you must know, neither do I.”
“
Because I am the law!
” his uncle thundered, turning on Ian with the ferocity of a man half his age. His eyes in their drooping pockets of flesh wereno longer bleary but glittering with fury. “And everyone between here and Edinburgh knows it, including that impudent bastard Sinclair. Nothing short of the murder of one of their own would entice the redcoats into getting involved in our feud. As far as they’re concerned, we’re all just a passel of unruly children fighting over a favorite toy. They’re perfectly content to pat us on the head and send us on our way in the hope we’ll eventually annihilate one another so they can step in and take
all
the toys.”
“Then just what do you intend to do?”
The earl went back to gazing up at the mountain as if the outburst had never occurred. “At the moment? Nothing. I refuse to give Sinclair the satisfaction of knowing he’s succeeded in his petty little plot to best me. If I hadn’t already paid her father that ridiculously extravagant settlement, half of which I suspect he’s already squandered at the gaming table, I’d be tempted to let Sinclair keep her. It’s not as if I have any great emotional attachment to the girl. I could probably find a new bride within the fortnight. All it would take is another trip to London and another desperate, cash-strapped father.”
The earl had been Ian’s guardian since his parents had perished in a carriage accident when he was nine. He’d had ample time to armor himself against his great-uncle’s callousness and had long ago stopped yearning for any sign of warmth or affection.But even he couldn’t quite hide his flinch at the man’s heartless words.
Knowing instinctively that the most effective appeal wouldn’t address the girl’s welfare but his uncle’s pride, Ian stepped closer and lowered his voice. “It will hardly reflect well on you if
“And what would that word be?” his uncle replied mildly, his gaze still fixed on the snow-capped peak of the mountain. “
Disaster
?
Catastrophe
?
Calamity
?”
“Marlowe!” Ian spat the name as if it were a mouthful of poison. “If I were you, I’d insist that Sinclair get back here immediately and take the entire family off your hands.”
“Surely you’re not talking about my bride’s charming relations?”
“Charming? Not at the moment, I fear. Her mother and sisters have been weeping and wailing at the top of their lungs ever since Miss Marlowe was taken. Of course young Ernestine did manage to stop sniveling and sobbing just long enough to corner me in the drawing room and suggest that you might not be the only Hepburn in need of a bride.” He shuddered.“In the meantime, her father has taken it upon himself to polish off nearly every decanter of brandy and port in the castle. It seems he believes it was somehow
his
fault his beloved daughter was abducted by some savage Scotsman. If he finds the casks of whisky in the dungeons,” Ian warned darkly, “I fear he’ll drown himself in the bottom of one.”
His uncle continued to contemplate the mountain as if pondering some scheme to wrest it from the hands of the Almighty Himself. “You’ve always possessed the charm and cunning of a diplomat,” he said without bothering to hide the note of scorn in his voice. “I’m sure I can trust you to soothe their ruffled feathers.”
Ian drew close enough to study his uncle’s implacable profile, his frustration growing. “I can’t very well reproach them for their concern. It’s not as if they’ve misplaced their favorite teakettle. Sinclair has had Miss Marlowe in his clutches for over twenty-four hours now and I don’t have to remind you how utterly ruthless the man can be. I pray you’ll forgive my impertinence, my lord, but her family doesn’t understand why you haven’t summoned the law. And if you must know, neither do I.”
“
Because I am the law!
” his uncle thundered, turning on Ian with the ferocity of a man half his age. His eyes in their drooping pockets of flesh wereno longer bleary but glittering with fury. “And everyone between here and Edinburgh knows it, including that impudent bastard Sinclair. Nothing short of the murder of one of their own would entice the redcoats into getting involved in our feud. As far as they’re concerned, we’re all just a passel of unruly children fighting over a favorite toy. They’re perfectly content to pat us on the head and send us on our way in the hope we’ll eventually annihilate one another so they can step in and take
all
the toys.”
“Then just what do you intend to do?”
The earl went back to gazing up at the mountain as if the outburst had never occurred. “At the moment? Nothing. I refuse to give Sinclair the satisfaction of knowing he’s succeeded in his petty little plot to best me. If I hadn’t already paid her father that ridiculously extravagant settlement, half of which I suspect he’s already squandered at the gaming table, I’d be tempted to let Sinclair keep her. It’s not as if I have any great emotional attachment to the girl. I could probably find a new bride within the fortnight. All it would take is another trip to London and another desperate, cash-strapped father.”
The earl had been Ian’s guardian since his parents had perished in a carriage accident when he was nine. He’d had ample time to armor himself against his great-uncle’s callousness and had long ago stopped yearning for any sign of warmth or affection.But even he couldn’t quite hide his flinch at the man’s heartless words.
Knowing instinctively that the most effective appeal wouldn’t address the girl’s welfare but his uncle’s pride, Ian stepped closer and lowered his voice. “It will hardly reflect well on you if
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