Page 36 of Provoked
“You’re welcome to stay with me,” David offered with studied casualness. “I can’t offer you a proper bed, but I could make you a reasonably comfortable pallet on the floor. You won’t freeze at least.”
Euan shook his head. “I want to see where this Galbraith lass lives. I’m going to wait till she comes out and follow her home.”
“Tonight? Is that really necessary? You know she lives on Heriot Row. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find her tomorrow.”
“I’d rather do it now, when it’s dark,” Euan insisted. “Loitering round that fancy part of town during the day when someone might see me isn’t a good idea.”
“As opposed to loitering out here now, waiting for people to leave an assembly? Believe me, this looks just as suspicious, if not more.”
“I know that.” Euan frowned, his brows drawing together. “But I’m not going to hang around out here. I’m going to hide in that close over there. Come on, I’ll show you.”
He grabbed David’s sleeve and towed him across the street, pulling him into a narrow close opposite the Assembly Rooms. Although the darkness swallowed them up quickly, they could still see the well-lit entrance reasonably well from their shadows.
“You see? I’ll watch the entrance from here,” Euan said softly. “Then follow her home.”
“She probably has a carriage waiting,” David pointed out.
“I can run. I’m fast too.”
David peered at Euan. He couldn’t make out much in the shadows, just the languid slouch of his long body against the close wall and the glitter of his eyes as he turned to look at David.
“But—why? Do you really think Lees will turn up at her house? It seems unlikely, don’t you think? He didn’t come tonight.”
A shrug. “He might, and that makes it worthwhile trying. You found the Galbraith girl, even though you didn’t expect to.”
“And what will you do if he turns up?”
“I’ll follow him. Find out his direction.”
David paused. “Then what?”
Silence. Euan shifted against the wall, hunching his shoulders more.
“Euan, you promised me that you’d do nothing rash without speaking to me first.”
“I know.”
“So, if you track down Lees, you’llcome and speak to me before you do anything else? Yes?”
After an uneasy pause, Euan spoke, reluctance in his tone. “Davy, if I can, I will, but it may not be easy. If I only get one chance to—”
“No!” David interrupted. “You promised me, Euan. It’s all I’ve asked of you.”
Euan levered himself off the wall, shaking his head. He huffed out a sigh. “I shouldn’t’ve promised you that.” He sounded resentful. “But I did. So yes, if I find him, I’ll tell you first. Will that do?”
“Thank you,” David said gravely. “That’s all I ask.”
“You might as well go home, then.” Euan sounded almost sullen. “No sense two of us freezing, especially when you think it’s such a waste of time.”
David sighed. “I’ll wait with you a bit, if you like,” he offered. “For company.”
Another shrug. “It’s up to you.”
David took that unenthusiastic response as agreement and pulled his coat more tightly about himself. The night really was cold, with a deep, damp chill in the air that would permeate the marrow of a man’s bones if he stood in it long enough.
“What did the Galbraith lassie say when you danced with her?” Euan asked after a while. He was leaning on the wall again, his face turned away, watching the entrance of the Assembly Rooms.
“Not much,” David admitted. He outlined their conversation succinctly, describing the girl’s reactions to his questions.