“And the problem with that is that I’m thought to be a criminal.”

“Lawler was the only one who had any right to want you dead,” Tam said.

“That’s because it was his niece and his gold that you stole,” Shamus said.

“I didn’t-” Angus began, but then stopped. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do what you want.”

“Why not?” Tam asked, his face showing his anger. “You want to keep being the laird even though you live here?”

“Of course not!” Angus said, but he thought about Tam’s words. To give up his birthright? Could he do that? He’d spent most of his life trying to give honor back to the name that his grandfather had almost destroyed, so could he just walk away from it?

“He won’t do it,” Tam said to Malcolm. “I told you he wouldn’t.”

“Do you want to go back to Scotland?” Malcolm asked softly, looking at Angus. “Is that what you want, lad?”

Angus glanced at them and knew he couldn’t say what was in his mind. They were so fresh off the boat from the old country that they still smelled of heather, but Angus had been in America for years, and he liked the feeling that a man could do or be anything. Right now, if he waited long enough, he’d get a thousand acres. The land would be his own, and he could do with it whatever he wanted. In Scotland, nothing had belonged to him, and what he did was always overseen by others. Even now, if he were given charge of the McTern lands, he’d still be expected to look out for hundreds of people. No, he didn’t want to go back. “No,” he said at last. “I want to stay here.”

Tam’s face lost its angry look and he seemed a bit ashamed of the way he’d nearly attacked his cousin.

“So then you will go back with us to see Miss Edilean,” Malcolm said, smiling in relief.

“Sorry,” Angus said, “but I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Tam asked. “You don’t like her?”

Angus gave a little guffaw at that absurdity. “She doesn’t like me,” he said.

“You had a spat,” Malcolm said. “That’s understandable. Is that why you’re here and she’s there?”

“Are you two married or not?” Shamus asked. “And why are you called Harcourt?”

“It’s a long story,” Angus said.

“I got time,” Shamus said, “and I like a good lie if it’s well told.”

“It’s all true and I’m telling you that I cannot go to Edilean and ask anything of her. She… Well, the truth is that she hates me.”

“From what the captain of the Mary Elizabeth told us, that’s not true,” Tam said.

“He said you two were together every minute.” The familiar smirk was back on Shamus’s face. “Did you-” He made a vulgar gesture.

Angus got to his feet, his fists clenched, but before Shamus could get up, Malcolm called them down. “Sit!” he ordered Angus. “And you stay where you are.” He ran his hand over his face. “You two have been fighting since you were born.”

“You jealous, old man?” Shamus said, still with his fists clenched and ready to take on Angus.

“Old man,” Malcolm said under his breath, then raised his head. “I’m young enough to deal with you two.” He looked at Angus. “You have to go to Miss Edilean and ask her to do this.”

“You’re not understanding the problem,” Angus said. “I’m more than willing to ask her, but if I went to her, she’d say no just to get me back.”

“For what?” Tam and Shamus said in unison.

“Nothing that I plan to talk about.”

Malcolm took a deep breath. “We all have our problems with women, but they can be made up.”

“Have the papers drawn up and I’ll sign whatever you want,” Angus said.

“No. We were told that a judge must see you with Miss Edilean to make sure that you’re both telling the truth.”

“That won’t work,” Angus said firmly. “Edilean will tell them to arrest me.”

“Maybe if you tell us what happened, we can do something about it,” Malcolm said, his voice full of exaggerated patience. All of them, even the two men sitting against the far wall, looked at Angus.

Angus thought about how he’d made love to Edilean, then left her there. He remembered the horrible things he’d said to her servant-which, no doubt, he’d told Edilean. Yes, Angus had had a reason for everything he did, but still, the result was not something that a woman would forgive.

“No,” Angus said. “I’m not telling anyone anything. You’re going to have to figure out a different way to get what you want. I’ll sign whatever you need, but I am not going to confront Edilean and ask her to do this.”

That was last night, and this morning they were still after him. At least Tam and Malcolm were. Shamus stood in the background, looking at Angus with an expression that said he thought Angus was a coward who couldn’t even stand up to a girl.

“No,” Angus repeated. “I will not do this and you can stop asking me.”

After the sun had been up for a couple of hours, Mac returned with a wagon and half a dozen soldiers. Angus stepped away from the Scotsmen to talk to him.

“I didn’t tell them anything at the fort,” Mac said. “I didn’t figure anyone would believe me if I said we thought Austin had done all this. The colonel was angry that Aldredge was still alive. When I told him that the boy was coming here to break up with Betsy, the old man got even more angry. It’s my advice that Aldredge go back east.”

“I agree,” Angus said.

Mac was looking at the Scotsmen who were standing at the mouth of the cave and watching the soldiers carry Naps down to the wagon. Thanks to Matt and T.C., Naps was much better this morning.

Mac lowered his voice. “If I were you, I wouldn’t return to the fort either. Austin didn’t say much but his face was beet red. He’s very angry that you didn’t let us get killed.”

Angus’s heart plummeted. If he left the employ of the army, when Mercer returned from England with his petition signed by the king, Angus would no longer be on the list to get a thousand acres of land.

“Where’d they come from?” Mac asked, nodding toward the three Scotsmen standing apart from the others.

“Home,” Angus said. “Scotland.”

Mac raised an eyebrow. “As if I didn’t know that. Mind if I talk to them? I’d like to be around someone who can understand me.”

Angus shrugged, glad to have some time alone to think. For a moment he considered cursing all the women of the world. His life had been fine until women entered it. First there was Edilean, who he’d tried to help and ended by getting himself wanted for kidnapping and theft. Then there’d been Tabitha, who’d made Edilean so jealous that it caused a rift between them. And now, here was little Betsy Wellman, who might cause him to lose his future.

Angus was allowed about five minutes’ peace before Malcolm came to him.

“Good lad, that one,” he said, nodding toward Mac. “He talks like an American, but I can’t hold that against him. He told me that if you go back to the fort some man might see to it that you get killed.”

“I can take care of myself,” Angus snapped.

“Seems to me that the only thing that interests you is yourself,” Malcolm said, and went back to the others.

For a moment Angus thought about grabbing his rifle and heading out. He’d become a trader who lived on what he took from the woodlands. He’d sleep on the ground. He’d spend his time alone, never seeing anyone but the animals. He’d-

He knew what he was going to do. He was going to go to Edilean and get that straightened out. Maybe by now, after four long years, she had forgiven him at least somewhat. Maybe she’d found out, or figured out, why he’d done what he had. It was possible that she’d seen that the handbills were again being distributed, so she’d know why Angus had had to leave her.

And maybe if he sent word back to Colonel Wellman that he was going into the wilderness to look for the killer of the soldiers that would hold his place open so he’d still get his land. Maybe-

He looked across the opening of the cave and Malcolm was watching him, a question on his face. Angus gave a small, quick nod, and Malcolm’s eyes softened.