Page 25 of Glasgow Rogue

“I kenned something was nae right,” Niall said that evening after supper when Annie’s mother had ushered them into her small, private parlor at the back of the boardinghouse. “I kenned it.”

“Which you have said more than a dozen times since we brought Annie home,” Owen said.

Niall glowered at him. “We? If I had nae stopped by to bring Annie lunch, she might be sitting in gaol at this verra minute.”

“I stopped by right after you got there,” Owen answered.

“Perhaps it was divine providence that ye both arrived when ye did. Angels sent from God,” Annie interjected before their argument could escalate.

Again. She inwardly shuddered at how close to the truth they were.

The magistrate was planning to escort her to the courthouse, but Niall and Owen had managed to convince him she wasn’t going anywhere and could be questioned at any time.

Then they’d bickered between themselves all the way home.

At least, that had saved her from a lecture, although looking around the small room at them and Aidan and her mother, she was pretty sure a scolding would be forthcoming.

“I would imagine this is the only time in his life that my brother has been referred to as angelic,” Aidan said in a rather dry tone. “More oft, our mother thought he was a more fitting companion for Lucifer.”

Niall shrugged. “She said that about all of us.”

“Depending on which one of ye was in trouble?” Annie asked, hoping to divert the conversation.

“Aye,” Niall answered and fixed her with a dark look. “But the one in trouble right now is ye.”

So much for hoping to avoid the chastisement. Annie sighed. “I dinnae ken anything about this.”

Her mother moved over to the sofa and sat down beside Annie and patted her hand. “Of course ye did nae.”

“’Tis the point, though,” Niall said. “This smuggling was going on right under Annie’s nose and she did nae ken it.”

Aidan looked pensive. “I wonder how long it had been going on.”

“Did the magistrate say anything about how long Haines was under watch?” Owen asked.

Annie shook her head. “I am sure that will all be investigated, but the paperwork Mr. MacQuarrie had was from a shipment sent several weeks ago.”

“Before or after ye started working there?” Aidan asked.

“Only two loads of barley went to the States since I began working in the office.” Annie tried to remember the dates and then felt most of the blood drain from her face. “Oh, dear God.”

“What is it?” Niall leaned forward in his chair. “What is wrong?”

She put her hands to her cold cheeks. “The shipment the agent was on went out ten days after I started working there.”

“That does nae mean ye kenned anything about the opium,” Niall said.

“Nae, but I signed my name confirming the contents of the barrels.”

“You would have no way of knowing about the false bottoms,” Owen said, “since they were full when they arrived in the warehouse.”

Aidan nodded. “That’s true.”

“Aye, but…” Annie paused as another memory jarred her. “But there were empty barrels brought in. I counted them. I moved them.”

“That still does nae implicate ye,” Niall said.

“But it might. I could be accused of kenning the false bottoms were there or even kenning about the opium.”

“Highly unlikely,” Aidan replied.

“I hope ye are right. I doona want…” She stopped as another thought abruptly hit her. “But ye could be implicated too.”

The men frowned and spoke in unison. “How?”

“Ye—especially Niall—have spent a lot of time at the office—”

“Escorting ye to and from,” Niall said. “’Tis only proper.”

“But ye also spent time in the warehouse,” Annie answered. “Ye wanted to check on Kingsley as well as all the workers, remember? And Aidan and Owen both requested being shown around too.”

“Only to see where my kelp shipments would be held,” Owen said.

“Aye, but all that looking around could be misinterpreted.”

Aidan shook his head. “I doona think anyone is going to question two prospective clients for wanting to inspect the warehouse.”

“Perhaps nae…” Annie’s voice trailed off as one more fact invaded her memory. She felt what little blood left in her head leave.

Niall left his chair to kneel at her side. “Ye have gone white as a Highland blizzard. Are ye ill?”

“I…I just remembered…those empty barrels I inventoried came back filled with barley. The shipment went out a few days after our protest.” Annie fought off a wave of dizziness and then whispered, “It left on one of the boats belonging to Henderson Shipping.”

****

“Ye do ken this is completely daft?” Niall asked Annie as they left the boardinghouse just past dawn the next morning.

“Ye are calling me stupid again,” Annie picked up her pace to leave him behind—with no luck even though she was practically running.

“I am nae calling ye stupid,” Niall replied, easily keeping up with her. “I am calling the idea of ye going to work today stupid.”

“Someone has to go in,” Annie slowed down so she could speak without panting. “Mr. Haines is in custody. Kingsley may still be ill. I want to be there when the workers come in.”

‘Did it nae occur to ye that anything ye do in the office right now might be suspect?”

Annie frowned. “Last night all of ye seemed to think there would be nae blame placed.”

“I have had time to think. While we all ken ye had nothing to do with the smuggling operation, going to the office today when no one is there might make MacQuarrie think otherwise.”

“Ye escorting me might make him think the same of ye, since ye are in charge of Henderson Shipping and the last load of barley is on one of those ships.” Annie paused. “Mayhap ye should go back.”

“I am nae leaving ye alone.”

“’Tis nae reason to give MacQuarrie cause to implicate Robert’s shipping line,” Annie insisted.

“It might be too late, since the ship has sailed,” Niall answered. “Aidan is dispatching a rider this morning with a letter to Robert explaining the whole situation. He would expect us to stand by ye.”

“Which is all the more reason I must go in today. I want to check the ledger to be certain everything is in order and nae mistake was made.”

“Nae! ’Tis the last thing ye should do.”

“I only intend to look over the numbers,” Annie replied. “Ye remember how I counted nineteen barrels and ye and Mr. Kingsley counted twenty? I doona want a simple error to cast suspicion.”

Niall clenched his jaw. Did the woman nae realize the danger she was in? “If there is a mistake and ye make any changes, it will be seen as tampering. Especially since ye decided to go in early this morning.”

Annie scowled. “The workers will nae ken what to do if everything is locked up when they get there.”

“Ye are a stubborn lass.”

“And headstrong, obstinate and willful,” Annie said. “Ye might as well add mulish and pig-headed to your list.”

In spite of the frustration he was feeling with her, Niall had to grin. “I would nae compare ye to a mule or a pig.”

“Humph.”

“I would more likely compare ye to Boudicca.”

Annie stopped walking to stare at him. “The Celtic warrior queen? Why?”

“She managed to hold off the Roman legions.” Niall’s grin widened. “I suspect ye could probably hold off all of Glasgow.”

She started walking again. “I suppose that is a compliment.”

“’Tis.” Niall glanced at her, his smile gone. “But ye doona like compliments. Why is that?”

Annie shook her head, not looking at him. “I never said that.”

“Actually, ye said ye put nae stock in flowery words. Is it so hard to believe me when I tell ye I think ye are strong?”

She colored, still not looking at him. “Thank ye, then. There. I can acknowledge it. Now can we change the subject?”

Niall didn’t want to, but he knew better than to press the subject since it made her more prickly than ever.

Some man must really have insulted her. He’d like to find the bastard.

“Well, we are almost there,” he said as they rounded a corner and the warehouse came into sight.

“It looks as though there is a notice on the door.”

“Oh, nae!” Annie started to run, nearly tripping on the steps as she reached the building.

Niall caught her, his hands nearly encircling her entire waist, reminding him that in spite of her bravado, she was physically fragile.

Not that she would take that as a compliment.

He dropped his hands once she got her balance, even though he had a strong urge just to pull her closer for protection. Annie would not appreciate that either.

“It says the office is closed until further notification.” Annie turned to Niall. “There are goods stored in there that need to be moved. Today is the day the workers collect their wages, as well. What am I going to do?”

“What we are going to do is go home,” Niall answered.

“But the workers—”

“Will just have to wait. That order is signed by the magistrate.” Niall took Annie’s arm.

“There is nothing we can do right now.” She reluctantly allowed him to lead her down the steps, but she was unusually quiet.

Niall just hoped she wasn’t plotting something.

“Hopefully, we will have some answers by Monday.”

****

Standing in the shadows, Kingsley watched through the office window as MacDonald and the Ferguson woman left.

He sheathed the knife he’d been holding and breathed a sigh of relief.

Murder was always messy. Not just the blood splattered all over his clothes, but the need to cover his trail as well.

Kingsley was well aware of the rules. If he got caught, the prime minister would hardly vouch for him.

But he needn’t concern himself about that today.

So far, everything had gone smoothly. The anonymous letters delivered to the magistrate and the excise man contained enough information to warrant the investigation, but not enough to betray the sender.

The danger of discovery had passed, at least for the moment.

Dawn had broken. Within the hour, MacQuarrie’s men would be back to search every corner of the warehouse, but Kingsley would be long gone by then.