Chapter Fifteen

F lora didn’t pause to consider her safety but jumped into the fray to protect her husband from her brothers’ brutality. She didn’t understand what provoked them to act with such vengeance. She latched on to her brother’s arm to prevent him from slamming his fist into Lennox. Flora clung to Malcolm as he tried to push her away. It wasn’t the first time she had thrown herself into the mix of her brothers’ brawls, nor would it be the last. Especially when they concerned her husband.

However, her brothers’ maturity level didn’t pertain to holding a civil conversation to end a disagreement. No. They believed their fists were the only answer in swaying their opponent into accepting their terms. Obviously, they had held the same belief since her time away. However, her husband goading them with the same immature behavior didn’t help his cause.

Lennox laughed. “Ye not have much strength if a mere lass can stop your attempt at a weak punch.”

Malcolm growled, peeling Flora off him. “Step back, little sister.”

Brodie cackled and taunted Lennox. “Yet you have to have the mere lass defend ye. Cannot fight yer own battles, can ye?”

Lennox fought against his hold, only for Brodie to tighten his grip. “I can fight ye fair enough. Take yer best shot.”

“No!” Flora and Lennox’s sister, Ailsa, exclaimed as they jumped in front of Lennox.

Brodie goaded Lennox even more. “Now two lasses set to defend ye. If we realized what a dunghill ye were, no way would we have allowed ye to marry our sister.”

Lennox cocked his eyebrow. “Ye had no say in the matter. Nor do ye now. Flora is mine.”

Hugh scoffed. “Nay, not when she left ye because of your lies and floundering ways. She became a Grant again. ‘Tis why we are here. Or have ye forgotten the promise ye made to our parents?”

Lennox jerked back at the accusation. “Floundering ways?”

Flora twisted around at the same moment. “What promise did he make our parents?”

Hugh nodded at Lennox. “That he would bring you home.”

Ailsa pulled at Hugh when she noticed Flora’s disappointment. “Let us discuss this later.” She pointed at Brodie. “Unhand my brother.” Then she pointed at Malcolm. “There will be no more fighting. We shall discuss our arrival in a civilized manner after Flora and Lennox have made themselves presentable.”

Once Brodie released Lennox, he set out to explain himself to Flora. However, with a soul-searing glare, she fled upstairs.

“Flora,” Lennox yelled after her.

She refused to acknowledge him, and her brothers kept up their frustrating attempt to keep them apart. They spread themselves across the bottom of the staircase, preventing him from chasing after her. With their arms folded and a variety of expressions covering their faces, their bulky sizes filled the space, much to his annoyance. One brother smirked, another brother glared, and one offered him a glance filled with pity.

However, Hugh’s expression turned thunderous once he glanced at his sister running up the stairs, holding Lennox’s robe up to her knees, and the state of her undress. Hugh was always the cleverer one of Flora’s brothers. It didn’t bode well once he realized his sister had just come from Lennox’s bed.

“Ye bastard,” Hugh snarled.

Now it was Lennox who smirked with arrogance. “Aye.”

Flora’s other brothers glanced between him and Hugh, clearly lost about what had transpired. Lennox would chuckle at how clueless they were if it hadn’t caused Flora to doubt him again. He considered it a possibility they would arrive. However, he thought he had had more time to convince Flora that his intentions were honorable. He wouldn’t allow them to interfere with his progress or his protection of Flora.

When he had informed her parents he intended to bring Flora home, it wasn’t to their home but his own. However, to keep her brothers from tagging along, he had made them false promises and neglected to inform them of the trouble Flora had entangled herself in or of the threat against her. Lennox had only told them of his intentions out of respect, but now he saw it was a worthless attempt.

Before Hugh advanced to pummel him, Ailsa hooked her arm through Lennox’s and shook her head. She led them to the study and closed the door behind them. Lennox stalked to the stand holding the whiskey and poured himself a healthy drink to take the edge off his troubles. He threw it back with a swiftness that stole his breath away. However, it helped to soothe his frustration.

The only reason Flora’s brother had the advantage was because he allowed it. Lennox had failed to keep them away from Flora. He paced back and forth in front of the desk, already forgetting his sister, who sat on a sofa by the fire.

Ailsa cleared her throat. “Can I assume you made progress in reuniting with your wife?”

Lennox raked his hand through his hair. “I thought I had. Now ‘tis all ruined.”

Ailsa patted the seat next to her. “You exaggerate, dear brother.”

Lennox collapsed next to her. “Nay. I do not.”

“Our arrival is only a setback.”

Lennox threw his head back against the cushions. “I will never win her heart now.”

“Have you been truthful with her?”

Lennox winced, unsure how to answer his sister. He had shared with Flora his intentions and how he had deceived her before they married. However, he had kept hidden how he protected her from the threats with his nightly activities. Lennox had never shared his exploits with the duke and the other gentlemen. The fewer people who held knowledge of his hidden agenda, the safer Flora would remain. Now, with his sister and Flora’s brothers arriving, it was only a matter of time before they exposed his secrets.

Ailsa smacked his arm. “When will you ever learn?”

He shifted to gauge his sister’s reaction. “Probably never.”

She harrumphed. “Fool.”

“In my defense, I only keep a secret about how I protect her when she is not watching.”

“Explain.”

“I cannot.”

Ailsa pinched his arm. “You will. Or I shall allow those three brutes to have their fun with you again.”

Lennox folded his arms across his chest and stayed silent. His sister wouldn’t dare to subject him to their brutality. She didn’t have a vindictive bone in her body. However, when she pushed herself off the couch and strode to the door, he realized marriage to the brute had altered his sister’s loyalty.

“Traitor. I see your loyalty has switched,” Lennox teased.

Ailsa swirled around. “’Tis not a matter of loyalty but how I wish to protect Flora from any more heartache.”

Lennox rose and guided his sister back to rest on the sofa. “Is there any chance you can keep what I share between us?”

Ailsa frowned. “Hugh and I do not keep secrets from one another. That is an unfair request to ask of me.”

Lennox nodded in understanding. “Fair enough.”

Ailsa rested her hands on top of her swollen stomach. “Spill.”

Lennox took up his pacing again and explained about the dilemma Flora had found herself in England and how he had kept track of her since she left him. Then he proceeded with how Flora’s friend, Vivian, had arranged employment for Flora and her friends in Scotland. Lennox described how he had manipulated the position to work to his advantage and staffed the house with his most trusted companions from their clan. They had watched over Flora until he had arrived in Edinburgh.

“Where were you?” Ailsa asked.

“I returned to England after Flora and the other governesses received threatening letters. I hoped I could uncover the culprit behind the threats. The only possibility was the lord they humiliated. However, Lord Courtland proved that theory wrong.”

“Has Flora received any more threats?”

“Nay.”

“Then perhaps it is all behind her,” Ailsa attempted to reason.

“We do not believe so. But I have taken every precaution to keep Flora safe.”

“As in seducing her back to your bed?”

Lennox narrowed his gaze. “Nay.”

His sister arched her eyebrow in disagreement. “Your attire tells a different tale.”

“’Tis none of your concern.”

“You promised to confess your deception.”

Lennox growled. “When did you become so ruthless?”

“When I witnessed how shocked my sister-in-law was at her husband’s lies and the heartache pouring from her gaze.”

Lennox closed his eyes at his sister’s blunt reply. Remorse settled over him at Flora’s reaction to his deceit. Instead of explaining himself as he should, he tried to avoid his sister’s inquisition. Neither lady would make it simple for him.

“I sleep outside her bedchamber every night without her knowledge, and once the servants awaken, I comb through the city for clues to discover the villain’s identity.”

Ailsa held her hand up to her heart, touched by Lennox’s confession. “How romantic.”

He rubbed the back of his neck in awkwardness. He didn’t protect Flora in an act of being romantic but to make sure she remained safe. His sister always had to twist an occurrence into romance instead of seeing the harsh reality of the situation.

“Have you discovered anything yet?”

Lennox shook his head.

“You will soon,” Ailsa reassured him before rising again. “I will speak with Murray about our accommodations. I suggest you dress appropriately for dinner.”

“Will you tell Hugh?”

“I will keep your secret for now, dear brother, but I suggest you do not linger on telling Flora the truth. I would hate for her to run again.”

His sister left him alone to ponder her suggestion. While Ailsa promised to keep his secret, she wouldn’t stay silent for long. Nor was it fair of him to ask her to keep it from her husband. If anything, he should confide the truth to her brothers. They could assist him in capturing the culprit and protecting Flora. However, his need to be Flora’s hero kept him from revealing the drama that had invaded their lives.

A mistake that could cost them dearly.