A Pearl Desired: Scottish Highlander Romances a Sensual Herbalist in Forced Proximity and Wonders...Will She Poison Him? (5 Pearls for the Earl Book 3) by Andrea K. Stein & Louisa Cornell

A Pearl Desired: Scottish Highlander Romances a Sensual Herbalist in Forced Proximity and Wonders...Will She Poison Him? (5 Pearls for the Earl Book 3) by Andrea K. Stein & Louisa Cornell

Author:Andrea K. Stein & Louisa Cornell [Stein, Andrea K. & Cornell, Louisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Muirgen Publishing, LLC
Published: 2024-08-20T00:00:00+00:00


Saida held her head high and refused to cry, but she nearly broke when she saw Hamish pushing his way through the crowd, the look of an enraged Scot darkening his face. Someone had stuffed a pair of gloves into her reticule whilst she was perusing several colors of soft leather gloves displayed on the counter. She’d felt only a slight shove from behind when whoever was trying to destroy her slipped the gloves into her reticule. She’d left the top of the silken pouch open while she shopped, which she now realized had been a fatal mistake. But who wanted to destroy her? She could be hauled away to a magistrate, before anyone could help her.

“What is the meaning of this? Why are you detaining Miss Hossini?” Hamish had assumed a rigid, dignified look she hadn’t seen before.

“The lady who was just here…” The clerk trailed off and swiveled a glance from side to side. “She must have left already. But she came to me and told me she’d seen this…this woman steal a pair of gloves and stuff them into her bag.” He pointed to Saida who was being roughly detained by a second clerk. A crowd had gathered and was pushing forward to see the accused thief.

A shout erupted from the front entrance. “Excuse me, excuse me…” Everyone turned at the loud interruption, and the crowd parted. Young Rutherford was shoving his way rudely through the crush of shoppers and gawkers from the street outside.

Saida gave the young man a wide-eyed look of panic and waved her hands frantically, motioning for him to stay away and not get involved.

When Young Rutherford finally made his way to the counter, he locked gazes with the clerks detaining Saida. He extended a card to the one behind the counter, while at the same time crushing a roll of one-pound notes into the man’s hand. “I believe you know me through the owner of the establishment named on the card who is one of your wealthiest, erm, most generous patrons. This woman is under her protection, and I would hate to have to report back to the duchess that her ward has come to harm because of a simple mistake on your part.”

“But…” the second clerk interrupted. “The lady who was here earlier said she saw her steal the gloves.”

Young Rutherford took a long, studied look around the millinery, peering around the crowd which was gathering at the counter behind them. “Where is this supposed informer now?”

“Well, she…she probably didn’t want to be involved…” The clerk stammered and flushed several shades of crimson.

Hamish stepped forward and leaned across the counter. “In that case, perhaps she wasn’t so sure of what she saw, either.” At the same time, he grasped the head clerk’s forearm in an iron grip.

“Then why was a pair of our gloves found in her reticule?” The man behind the counter matched Hamish glare for glare and snatched away his forearm.

“Perhaps they fell from one of your counters. That



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