be back up here, then—after your holiday?”
Nodding, Fowler took another drink. “Right after Epiphany.”
Tavish wondered if all the soldiers scouting for Jacobite stragglers were doing the same. Not that it mattered overmuch—those who’d fought or supported the Jacobites mustn’t let down their guard.
Fowler’s dark brows drew together as he cast a look at the front door. “Hell, Boyd is taking a long time. The other night, he fell over when he went out to piss. I’d better go check on him.”
“I think I’ll turn in.” Tavish stood along with the captain and bid him good night.
When he got to the stairs, he looked to make sure Fowler had left. When the front door was closed, Tavish walked upstairs. As soon as he hit the landing, a figure jumped out in front of him.
Hands on her hips, Elspeth Marshall glared at him, her eyes ablaze. “You’re a lying blackguard.” Then she drove her fist into his gut.
As Williams doubled over, Elspeth considered delivering another injury. He deserved at least that.
“I deserved that,” he said, echoing her thoughts. His voice was muffled from his bent position.
“You saying that doesn’t make you less guilty.” It did steal a bit of her outrage, however.
He straightened and grasped her hand, dragging her along the narrow corridor to a door at the end. Opening it, she saw another flight of stairs.
She dug her feet into the floorboards. “Where are you taking me?”
“We can’t stand here out in the open.” He tossed a look toward the landing at the top of the stairs from the common room where she’d been waiting for him. His dark brows were drawn low over his eyes. “We can go to your room or mine, which is upstairs. Choose. And be quick.”
“Mine.” She turned across from the door he’d just opened and unlatched the one to her room. “Here.”
She stepped inside and pulled her hand from his.
He closed the door firmly behind them and faced her. His cloak from earlier was gone, leaving him dressed in a rather drab suit of brown, not unlike the one he’d worn when they’d met. No, not drab. He was far too arresting—from his dark hair to his supple lips and square jaw to the way his muscular form filled out his clothing.
Elspeth stood in the middle of the small chamber and folded her arms over her chest. “I’m waiting.”
Williams or MacLean or whatever his name was glanced about. “Where’s your companion?”
A loud snore answered him. His eyes widened, and he looked to the left, where there was another door—which led to Aunt Leah’s chamber.
“In the next room.”
“That’s not an animal?”
Elspeth pursed her lips so she wouldn’t laugh. “My aunt snores.” She stared at him expectantly.
He went to the hearth and crouched to stoke the fire, then added another piece of wood. “I had to lie. Those soldiers were looking for me.”
Dropping her arms to her sides, Elspeth exhaled some of her ire. Most of it, really. “They found you.”
He turned his head from the fire. “They’re looking for a man called Williams—a Jacobite. They don’t particularly know what he looks like.”
Shock replaced the remains of her anger. “You’re a Jacobite?”
Setting the poker back on the hearth, he stood and faced her once more. “I believe in Scotland and in my family. I have cousins who are—were—Jacobites.”
She moved to stand near the hearth. Not near him—she wanted the warmth of the fire. “You fought at Culloden?”
Stepping to the side, he gestured for her to take the spot in front of the fireplace. “I did. As Roy Williams.”
“But now you go by John MacLean.”
“Yes. However, my real name is Tavish Crawford.” He gave her a lopsided smile that made her heart skip even as he pricked her outrage once more.
“You lied about who you were when we met?”
“It was necessary, I’m afraid. At the time, I was on my way to Inverness to meet with Jacobites.” He didn’t seem the least bit sorry. “I had to be Roy Williams.”
“So Roy Williams is a Jacobite and a soldier. What is John MacLean?”
“A man who helps those in need. Particularly those wounded at Culloden.”
She had trouble retaining her anger given his desire to help people. “A Jacobite sympathizer, then.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I sympathize with those who have suffered and seek to provide aid where I can.” He took a step toward her. “I apologize for lying downstairs and for my rude behavior toward you.”
“I recognized you as soon as your hood fell away.”
His blue gaze held hers. “I