Page 32 of To Bed the Bride
“Take him out of here, Eleanor.”
She looked at him. “Why?”
“Why? Because I told you to.”
“He hasn’t done anything, Michael. He hasn’t even barked since you arrived. I’d prefer that he stay where he is.”
“And I prefer that you take him out of here.” His look was direct and strangely uncomfortable.
“Do you not like dogs, Michael?”
“The question isn’t my likes or dislikes, Eleanor, but why you’ve become defiant. Is that what going to Scotland does to you?”
He was, perhaps, right to be surprised at her behavior. She’d never questioned anything he said before today.
“Men don’t want to be around disagreeable females,” her aunt had told her.
Was she considered disagreeable simply because she objected to his order about Bruce?
“I insist, Eleanor.” He had that narrowed-eyed look that warned her he wasn’t pleased.
Bending down, she slipped the lead around Bruce’s neck before standing. Michael stood, too.
“I have to leave.”
She was probably supposed to plead with him to stay. Or apologize for offending him. She did neither.
When he bent and kissed her cheek she forced a smile to her face.
“Defiant women aren’t very feminine, Eleanor.”
Her aunt would have been proud of her. She kept her smile in place as she walked Michael to the door, waiting until he got into his carriage. When he gave her a wave, she returned it, then took Bruce upstairs to her room, closed the door, and sighed in relief.
Chapter Fourteen
Ever since leaving Scotland, Logan had been inundated with paperwork and intensive reading for Disraeli. He had so many projects that he hadn’t made time to stop in Edinburgh and see his sister and her family.
After everyone in his office left for the day and before he readied himself for the political dinner that evening, he spent several moments composing a letter to Janet, explaining why he hadn’t visited.
Janet would understand. Janet always understood. Dylan would be a little less forgiving. His brother-in-law was protective of his wife, which was just the way Logan wanted it. In addition, Dylan had few family members of his own. Therefore, he counted Logan’s appearance as even more important.
The bad thing about ambition was that you occasionally associated with people who had the same upward trajectory. Benjamin Disraeli had been named Prime Minister only a few months earlier and had already accomplished a great deal. He’d succeeded in passing several key pieces of legislation that amended the Scottish legal system, expanded the Post Office, and ended public executions.
According to the Prime Minister, one of his greatest achievements was the defeat of Tewodros II. Logan knew all about the Battle of Magdala. He’d been asked to accompany Robert Napier’s forces to report firsthand to the Prime Minister.
Next time, however, he was going to demur when the man suggested that he observe a military expedition. Abyssinia had been educational, but grueling. He’d learned a great deal about himself, military strategy, and how to ride and command an elephant. He’d also learned how to kill his fellow man and be a witness to wholesale brutality.
The battle had been a bloodbath: thousands of men armed with nothing but spears being decimated by hundreds of Englishmen and Indian infantry equipped with the latest rifles. The Abyssinians hadn’t stood a chance against their firepower yet they’d kept coming, sent to their deaths by their emperor.
Logan wouldn’t have been fit company for Janet and her family straight after Abyssinia. It had been better for him to wait, but he was planning on seeing them all soon.
His niece and nephew were delightful children. Jennifer and Alex were bright and perceptive and with enough will and personality to remind Logan of him and his sister growing up. He and Janet had been close ever since their parents died and they’d been taken in by a relative.
Luckily, the rest of their childhood had been blessed. They’d been given affection, attention, and were surrounded by the knowledge that they were important for their own sakes, not simply because of who their parents had been.
Alexander was having a birthday in a month, and Logan penned a note to his secretary to remind him of the event a week ahead. He would do everything in his power to arrange time away from his work to travel to Edinburgh. In the meantime, hopefully his letter would mollify Dylan and his sister.
When he was done writing them, he picked up another sheet of stationery. Fred normally handled his correspondence, but not his personal communications. Logan would never turn over this particular task to his secretary.
