Page 15 of The Duke’s Sharpshooter (The Duke’s Guard #14)

S atisfaction filled Flaherty as he rode to the village.

O’Malley had convinced the duke that Flaherty be the one to question Harkness’s sister, with the caveat that Garahan would accompany him.

Garahan would lay down his life for him—and Flaherty would do the same for his cousin.

When push came to shove and the choice was between an O’Malley and a Garahan for aid, Flaherty would choose a Garahan any day. His brother Seamus had too.

“Ye gave yer word not to let that hot head of yours rule yer gob,” Garahan reminded him.

“Leave me mouth out of it,” Flaherty grumbled. “I know what I said.”

“Ah, but when the heart’s involved, a man tends to lose his better sense.”

Flaherty snorted. “Is that happened to ye? Faith, ye haven’t been the same since ye married Emily.”

Garahan continued to scan his side of the road for possible sharpshooters, thugs, and blackguards. “She’s me life, Rory.”

“Aye, so ye shouldn’t have all that much trouble pulling back on yer decision to use any means to get Harkness’s sister to tell us what she knows.”

“She’ll be telling me.”

Flaherty disagreed. “If she tells anyone, she’ll be telling me. Ye fought yer battles and won Emily’s heart. Though to hear Emily tell it, she was the one responsible for changing yer mind when ye had that maggot in yer head and were riding away without her.”

“I was following orders,” Garahan grumbled.

“Ye could not ignore the agony in her voice as she asked ye to wait.”

Garahan’s lips inched upward before he squelched the urge to smile. “That was then. This is now. I’ll have yer word that you will not cause a scene or make the innkeeper’s sister cry.”

“She wasn’t there the last time we thought to question her.”

“We were able to speak to guests of the inn,” Garahan reminded him.

“Aye, but I need to question her. I gave money to Scruggs to see that Temperance and Maddy were fed. She’ll tell me why she refused to serve them and why she spread lies about them.

God knows what she planned to do with the information Greene was sent to gather!

If the evil harpy doesn’t tell me the reason she’s started this campaign against Temperance, I’ll do—”

“Nothing,” Garahan told him. “Ye’ll gain nothing if ye come on too strong questioning the woman.

Besides, we cannot take the chance she’d taint the food or drink for anyone from the duke’s household in retaliation because ye had yer head turned and yer heart yearning for something that isn’t meant to be. ”

Flaherty felt gut-punched. “Are ye saying I’m not worthy of reaching for what ye found? Am I not man enough to hold on to the woman who has me head in a spin, me mind in a jumble?”

“And yer heart?” Garahan demanded when they gently pulled back on the reins to slow their horses as they approached the village.

“I’ve an ache in me chest where me heart used to be. I’ve left it behind with Temperance and Maddy.”

Garahan held Flaherty’s gaze. “I needed to know if ye realized how deep in love ye are. Leave it yerself to fall arse over head with a curly-haired moppet and her widowed ma.”

“Bugger yerself.”

Garahan grinned. “If only I was that flexible.”

Flaherty snorted. “Ye’ve a foul mind, Aiden.”

“Sure and wasn’t it yerself that suggested it?” Garahan quipped.

Flaherty snickered. “Shut yer gob.”

Garahan nodded. “Are we agreed? I’ll take the lead questioning Miss Harkness?”

It was the very last thing Flaherty wanted, but he knew Garahan was right. It would be the best way to get the information out of the innkeeper’s sister. Garahan’s heart wasn’t on the line—Flaherty’s was. “Aye. Though I’d rather do the asking.”

As they approached the inn, Garahan said, “Here’s what I’m thinking. Ye let me do the talking, until ye hear me tell her ’tis fine if she doesn’t want to speak with us. That’s when ye chime in and say our next stop is to speak with the constable.”

Flaherty wasn’t certain that Susana Harkness would be afraid of the constable. “Can we trust that she hasn’t turned his head with her wiles?”

“We’ll find out,” Garahan replied. “Though from what we both know, he’s a devoted family man.”

“Best to be wary,” Flaherty warned.

“Two heads,” Garahan murmured as he hailed the hostler.

The men dismounted as Scruggs walked over to take their horses. “You’re early today.”

“Aye,” Flaherty replied. “We need to have a word with—”

Scruggs interrupted, “You’d best not press Harkness’s sister too hard.”

“What makes ye think we’ve come to speak with her?” Garahan asked.

“I know that Flaherty was the one to ask me to keep an eye on Mrs. Johnson and her daughter for him. I tried to get them to stay. She never said a word about not being served. If I had known, I would have taken care of it for you, Flaherty.”

Flaherty inclined his head.

“The next thing I know, Miss Harkness is whispering into any ear that will listen about a widow who is not really a widow, and a little girl who looks nothing like her mother.”

Flaherty struggled to keep a lid on his temper. “Are you warning us not to question her?”

“You know I would never stand in the way of yourselves or the other guards. I have a wife and three children and know how it feels to worry for their safety and wellbeing. I’m warning you to be cautious. Harkness is overprotective of his sister, and when cornered, she’ll lie.”

Flaherty tamped down his frustration. “Thank ye, Scruggs. Know that if ye ever need help, ye’ve but to ask.”

“Thank you.”

Garahan asked, “Have ye heard anything else regarding the lass and her daughter?”

“Just what I told you. I will keep my ear to the ground and send word if I hear more.”

Flaherty clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Thank ye.”

Scruggs frowned. “There is one other thing.”

“What’s that?” Garahan asked.

“One of the stable hands has yet to arrive. He’s normally a good lad, arriving early for the day, works hard and doesn’t mind a bit of criticism when it’s warranted.”

“Greene?” Flaherty asked.

Scruggs sighed. “If you know his name, then I don’t have to ask where he is.”

“He’ll be fine,” Garahan assured him.

“What happened?” the hostler asked.

“We’ll fill ye in later. We need to speak with Miss Harkness first.”

“She should be in the main taproom—she’s not one you’ll find up to her elbows kneading dough.”

Garahan snicked, and Flaherty’s lips lifted into a crooked smile. “Paints a picture, Scruggs. Thank ye.”

“I’ll take care of your mounts for you.”

They thanked the man, strode across the innyard to the front of the building, and stepped inside.

“There,” Flaherty whispered. “By the fireplace, giving that well-dressed nob a healthy view of her charms.”

Garahan grumbled, “I’m doing the talking.”

Flaherty followed him toward the fireplace.

Garahan approached them. “Miss Harkness, we’d like a word with ye.”

Her eyes locked on Flaherty. She slowly straightened in a way that could only be described as sinuous.

Flaherty had little use for women who used their bodies instead of words.

That kind of a ploy wouldn’t work on any of the men in the duke’s guard—married or not!

A brief look out of the corner of his eye indicated the merchant she’d been reeling in was still paying rapt attention to the woman.

Brushing a hand along the curve of her hip, she lowered her lashes, fluttered them, and finally looked away from Flaherty. “That would depend on what the word is.” She stared at him for a few moments. “You’re Garahan.”

“That’s right. Where can we speak privately?”

A smug, satisfied expression settled on her face. “Follow me.” When Flaherty and Garahan started to follow her, she smiled. “Both of you want to speak to me?”

“Aye,” Flaherty answered. “Unless I’m mistaken, we indicates more than one person.”

She furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at Flaherty, but Garahan distracted her. “I did say we , Miss Harkness. Is that a problem?”

Still frowning at Flaherty, she said, “I don’t like the tone of your voice.”

Flaherty wanted to shake the woman. Before he could speak, Garahan said, “I beg yer pardon, but we are here at the request of His Grace.”

Flaherty bit the inside of his cheek to keep from blurting out, As if ye didn’t already know that.

She licked her lips and twitched her hips, walking ahead of them. Without turning around, she said, “I’m certain I can handle the two of you.”

“We have a few questions for ye. It won’t take long.” Garahan’s voice sounded strained, as if he were suppressing the urge to shout.

Flaherty understood the need, for it had him by the bollocks too. The woman’s ploy was obvious. Did her brother know how she spoke to the male customers in their inn? He’d be asking Harkness that question himself.

Susana led them to a small room off the kitchen, on the other side of the pantry. Garahan and Flaherty let her enter the room first, but Flaherty moved to block her from reaching around them to close and lock the door. When she started to protest, he cut her off. “’Tis a small space.”

“Aye,” Garahan agreed, following Flaherty’s lead. “Reminds me of that cave-in.”

The calculating look in the woman’s eyes smoothed out into one laced with concern. “How awful.”

“Aye,” Flaherty agreed. “How long were we trapped, Garahan?”

Without missing a beat, his cousin answered, “Three days.”

That seemed to distract the woman from her illicit thoughts. Flaherty had not minded being seduced in the past. But he’d never been attracted to or tempted by someone who had been pushing her charms into another man’s face moments before.

“You must have been terrified.”

Garahan shrugged. “I wasn’t, but me cousin was.”

Flaherty could have happily leveled his cousin with clip to the jaw. But instead he drew in a lungful of air and exhaled slowly. Damned if the woman didn’t take that to mean he had been terrified.

Susana patted his arm. “I’m terrified of spiders.”

Garahan’s lips twitched, though she didn’t notice—she was now holding on to Flaherty’s arm. “Who isn’t?”

“I’m not,” Flaherty insisted.