Page 48 of Glasgow Rogue

When Annie went downstairs the second morning of her return, she was surprised to have Niall join her in the breakfast room a short time later. Since their return home, he had made himself scarce, generally breaking his fast before she came down.

Niall had stayed away from the boardinghouse for most of the daylight hours since they’d gotten back.

Owen had assured her that Niall was busy with Aidan and what had taken place at Henderson Shipping while he had been gone, but Annie knew Niall was avoiding her.

He only came to the dining table in the evening after everyone else was seated and any conversation she tried to make with him had been met with polite, neutral responses.

Even her mother had noted the formality in his behavior, although she was probably relieved that nothing untoward seemed to have transpired during their time away.

The memory of what did happen was as clear as the water of a mountain burn in Annie’s mind.

She missed having Niall in her bed, drat it all.

“What are ye doing here? Ye are usually gone by now.”

He arched a brow. “I ken ye doona prefer my company—”

“I dinna say that.”

The brow went higher. “Ye did nae have to. Ye were quite clear—”

“Ye never gave me a chance to explain,” Annie interrupted, her temper rising.

“’Tis nothing to be explained.”

“Aye, there is! I did nae mean to insult ye when I said I would nae marry ye. I…liked what we did.” She felt her face heat and hurried on. “’Tis just that I doona want to be dependent on a man.”

“Ye have made that point quite clear.” Niall shrugged. “I understand.”

Annie frowned. “Then why have ye been avoiding me for three days?”

“I thought it would be best.” Niall gave her a direct look. “I…liked what we did too.”

Heat coursed through her. She looked around to make sure they were truly alone, then turned back to Niall. “I would nae mind if ye came to my bed again.”

Niall’s eyes darkened, but he shook his head. “I will nae use ye like that.”

“Ye are nae using me if I am willing.”

“I will nae treat ye as a doxy.”

“I am nae that.”

“Exactly,” Niall said. “So we are agreed.”

It was a statement, not a question. Annie huffed a breath. Stubborn man.

“But to answer ye,” Niall said, changing the subject before she could argue, “ye have an appointment with the magistrate this morning. Have ye forgotten?”

How could she forget? “I remember. Owen has offered to accompany me.”

Niall’s mouth tightened. “I will escort ye there.”

Annie nearly rolled her eyes. She would never understand the rivalry between the two of them.

Owen might have flirted a bit—although she suspected that was more to get a rise out of Niall than it was because of real interest in her—but why did that matter if Niall was not planning to accept the invitation she had so blatantly extended?

As if on cue, Owen came through the door to the breakfast room. He gave Niall an appraising look before he gave a half-bow to Annie. “The carriage is waiting whenever ye are ready.”

“Ye need nae bother with this,” Niall said. “I will attend Annie.”

Owen’s eyes narrowed. “Ye have nae been doing that lately, have ye?”

Niall narrowed his eyes too. “I swore to protect the lass.”

“So have I…in your absence.”

“Ye can both escort me.” Annie placed her napkin down and stood before the two of them engaged in fisticuffs. She swept out the door to the foyer, both of them following her, each muttering something in Gaelic she didn’t understand.

They both leaped in front of her, shouldering each other to get to the carriage door first. Annie sighed.

Truly, she would never understand the competitive streak in either of them.

At least, they weren’t wearing their tartans with the accompanying swords and assortments of knives, so they should all arrive at the magistrate’s looking relatively normal. She hoped.

****

MacQuarrie’s office was fairly large, but it seemed small since so many people occupied it.

Aidan was seated in the far corner and nodded.

Niall looked around. Apart from the magistrate, his assistant Charles Curtis was there along with Tevis Shaw, the excise man, and two men Niall had never seen before.

“Please be seated.” The magistrate gestured to chairs that had just been brought into the crowded room by his clerk. “And, thank you, Miss Ferguson, for attending.”

Niall caught a fleeting glimpse of confusion on Annie’s face, although she maintained her composure. “Thank ye for…having me,” she responded as though she’d just been invited to high tea instead of an inquisition. Niall almost smiled. Never show fear. He admired her for that.

MacQuarrie shuffled some papers on his desk and then smoothed one out before he cleared his throat. “I have only a few questions for you, Miss Ferguson.”

Only a few questions? This time, Niall was confused. They’d all thought Annie was going to be in for a grueling session of accusations. It was why he and Aidan were here, to provide support. Hell, it was probably the reason MacLean was here too. No one wanted Annie to face this battle alone.

Annie looked serene, but Niall could see how tightly her hands were clasped in her lap. He moved his chair slightly forward.

“Please go ahead and ask,” Annie said, sounding once more like she was nobility granting a favor.

Her voice shook slightly, but Niall didn’t think anyone else would notice. He felt proud of her. Stubborn she might be, but she also had the self-determination never to back down.

“Let me remind you,” MacQuarrie said to her, “that your answers are witnessed by all the men in this room.”

Annie’s chin came up. “I will nae lie, if that is what ye are meaning.”

Niall inched his chair a bit closer. The magistrate looked at him and Niall met his gaze with a blunt stare. The man looked away.

“I am not implying that you would lie, Miss Ferguson, only that what you say will become part of the record for this proceeding.”

Annie nodded. “I understand.”

“Very well. When did you first become aware that Archibald Haines was smuggling opium to the States?”

“I did nae ken about that until ye and Mr. Tavis showed up at the office,” Annie replied.

“Explain precisely what your duties were.”

“I was to manage the office and keep records of inventory. Shipments received and shipments going out. Mr. Kingsley double-checked all my figures. Ye can ask him to verify that.”

“We have already taken a statement from Mr. Kingsley,” the magistrate replied and then looked at his notes again. “At any time, did you see or were you aware of a second set of books being kept?”

Annie frowned. “A second set? Nae. Never. There was only one set of ledgers.”

The magistrate studied her. Annie held his gaze but Niall could see her fingers were nearly white from being held so tight. He moved his chair again and MacQuarrie turned to him and a corner of his mouth lifted.

“Your intention to defend the lady is obvious, Mr. MacDonald, but is not necessary.”

“Nae?”

“No.” MacQuarrie looked at Tavis, who nodded and then turned back to Niall. “Miss Ferguson is free to go.”

Annie stared at him and Niall frowned. “Please repeat that to be sure we heard correctly.”

“I said Miss Ferguson is free to go.” The magistrate shuffled the papers again and withdrew another one.

“After the second set of books was discovered, Mr. Haines confessed to the smuggling operation and said the only reason he’d hired a woman was because he did not think she would ever suspect a thing. Apparently, he was right.”

Annie opened her mouth and then closed it. Niall bit back a smile. He could almost see her hair turning brighter as her temper simmered. But at least, she was holding her tongue in front of the magistrate.

The man looked down at the paper he was holding. “After a bit more investigating, we were able to track where Mr. Haines’ profits had gone. It seems the gold was invested by a Gordon Monroe, who had been keeping the books for Henderson Shipping as well.”

“Henderson Shipping?” Niall asked and glanced at Aidan before looking back at the magistrate. “If the line was being used to smuggle opium, none of us had knowledge of it. I will swear to that. In fact, that bookkeeper was gone by the time I got to Glasgow.”

MacQuarrie nodded. “It seems that Munroe was keeping a second set of books as well as a percentage of the profit from other dealings through Henderson Shipping too.” He turned to one of the men Niall didn’t recognize. “This is Mr. Graham, the original bookkeeper.”

“I can nae tell ye how sorry I am that this happened,” Mr. Graham said.

“I’ve been ill with consumption and asked my nephew to fill in for me.

I had nae idea he was so dishonest until I returned last week and started checking the books.

” He dabbed at his eyes with a wadded linen handkerchief.

“I did nae want to believe it. I even held my peace until yesterday.”

Aidan spoke from his corner. “From what Mr. Graham says, it looks like Henderson Shipping has lost several thousand pounds.”

“So where is Munroe?” Niall asked.

“He ran off—actually, disappeared would be more accurate—several months ago.”

Niall frowned. “Are ye searching for him?”

“We are,” MacQuarrie answered, “although he may have changed his name again.”

“Again?”

“Aye,” Mr. Graham spoke up. “My nephew’s name is Gordon Graham, nae Monroe. That was his mother’s name.”

Owen, who had been sitting quietly on Annie’s other side, suddenly looked alert. “Gordon Graham? Did he work for a London investor about a year ago?”

“Aye, he did,” Mr. Graham replied. “Did ye ken him?”

Owen nodded. “I clerked for Nathan Rothschild and Gordon worked for another investor just down the street. He disappeared from London when his vowels were being called in by men he’d lost to in the gambling hells.”

“I had nae idea,” Mr. Graham said, his voice cracking. “I would nae have let him jeopardize the shipping line if I had kenned. I hope ye believe me.”

Aidan exchanged a look with Niall. “That will be up to Robert Henderson and his father to decide, but ye seem an honest man.”

The man’s eyes grew suspiciously bright. “Thank ye.”

Niall nodded. “If we are through here, I would like to escort Miss Ferguson home.”

“Of course,” the magistrate said and gestured to the other man Niall didn’t know. “There is just one more thing.”

“I am Oliver Nolan, Archibald Haines’ business partner.

Former partner,” the man corrected. “And I, too, had no idea in what he was involved. However, just before this whole sordid mess came to light, Archibald asked me if I wanted to buy his half of the warehouse business. He indicated he had a proposition for another venture and needed capital. I accepted the offer since there had been several disagreements between us over the past months.” He looked at Niall.

“You submitted an offer to purchase the property two days ago?”

“I did.” In his peripheral vision, Niall could see Annie’s mouth had dropped and she was staring at him. He kept his attention focused on Nolan.

“Well, the price you offered is a good one,” Nolan said. “If you will come to my office this afternoon, we can take care of the paperwork.”

“I will be there by thirty past three o’clock,” Niall answered, and Nolan nodded.

As they rose to leave, Niall glanced at Annie. She had closed her mouth, but there were a dozen questions in her eyes. He just hoped she’d wait to ask them until they were alone and he was ready to answer.