Days of Gold (Edilean 2)

Edilean went to the door, threw it open, and stood there, waiting for him to leave.

Angus didn’t move. He knew he should. If he had any sense he would leave the room and never look back, but there was a big part of him that knew this was an opportunity that he’d have only once in his life. No matter what he did now, he knew he couldn’t go back home. He couldn’t go to his sister, and he’d never again toss her children aloft. He’d never again see his uncle Malcolm or any of the rest of the McTern clan.

“Well?” Edilean asked. “Are you going or staying?”

“I guess I’ll stay,” he said softly.

“You’ll go to America with me?”

“Aye, lass, I will.”

Edilean turned her back to him as she closed the door and tried to compose her face so he’d not see her joy. She knew she couldn’t stay in England or Scotland, but the thought of going to a new country by herself was almost more than she could bear. When she turned back to him, she had her emotions under control. She looked at him in speculation as she thought how she was going to transform him into looking as though James’s fine clothes weren’t alien to him. But Edilean had nothing with her. She’d worn her nightgown under her dress, and she had a tortoiseshell comb that she’d put into her pocket, but s

he had no scissors or razor.

As she looked at him she saw his eyes beginning to close. Heaven help her but he was falling asleep standing on his feet! “How did you get the papers from James’s”—she nearly choked on the word—“from his wife?”

“Laudanum,” he mumbled. “Harcourt passes it out to all his women. He must grow the poppies in his back garden.”

“If James could afford a garden, I wouldn’t be in this mess,” Edilean said. “Are you telling me that she’s still asleep?”

“I hope so.”

She put her hand on the small of his back and pushed him toward the door. “I want you to go back into her room and get what I can use. I need scissors and a comb and a good, sturdy brush, as well as shaving gear.”

“How am I to find these things?” he asked, waking up a bit. “I don’t know lady’s things.”

“If you ever cut your hair, you’d know that men also use a comb. And a razor.” As she looked at him she knew that he’d never get all the things they’d need. “How did you get into the bedroom?”

“Through the window. But I went out the door. If she’s still asleep, the door is unlocked.”

“Then I’ll go with you. Here, help me get James’s jacket off.”

“You want to undress the man?”

“Please don’t start your prudery on me. I’m going to put the jacket on over my nightdress and we’re going down to raid that woman’s room.”

“You should put on your clothes,” he said rather stiffly.

“I don’t have time to lace myself into a corset, and I’d never fit into my dress if I don’t put it on. Hurry up! It’s only a few hours ’til dawn, then we must get on the ship.”

Angus shook his head a few times to clear it of sleep, then helped her get the jacket off of James. Edilean gave him another pinch on his arm when he had only the shirt on. “Dishonorable man!” she said.

“You fell out of love with him soon enough,” he said.

“He married someone else and stole my dowry. Those are two things a woman cannot abide.”

“I’ll remember that the next time a woman loves me.”

“You should,” she said as she slipped her arms into the heavy coat, and ran her hands down the sleeves. Whatever else was said about James, he had taste. “Are you ready?”

He was smiling at her. She looked good in her long white gown with the man’s jacket over it. The coat was dark red, with a lining of burgundy silk, and the colors suited her. He picked up the candle and went out the door, Edilean behind him.

She had no shoes on, and the minute her feet touched the dirty hall floor, she let out a cry, but Angus gave her a hard look and she quit complaining. They went down three flights of stairs in order to reach the ground floor, and Angus went to the door at the far end. He put his fingers to his lips, motioning her to be quiet as he slowly opened the door. He listened for a moment, heard Harcourt’s wife’s slight snore, then waved at Edilean that it was all right to go inside.

When they were inside and the door closed behind them, the first thing she did was walk to the bed to see the woman. Angus couldn’t help himself, but he stopped her. He knew there was no reason for her not to take a peek at James’s wife, but he didn’t want her to. He knew she’d laugh and be relieved that James was now stuck with an ugly wife, but Angus didn’t want Edilean to see the truth.

He caught her arm and motioned her to the trunk in the corner of the room. It was small, with a dome-shaped lid, and he had an idea that all their possessions that weren’t already on the ship were in it and it was ready to be taken when they left in the morning.