“It’s not your fault,” she told Krissy.

No sooner had she spoken than a more worrisome thought took root. Good God! What was she thinking of? She’d let Amalia go up alone! What sort of interrogation might Amalia put Evan through when they came face-to-face—alone for the first time in almost six years?

Elizabeth slapped her palm against her cheek. She didn’t dare let Evan be alone with any member of her family! She prodded the red-hot coals under the kettle with a vengeance, muttering, “Boil, damn you!”

Amalia was the unofficial mother of all the duke of Atholl’s unmarried children. She had even delayed her own wedding to Lord Strathallen until next January. Granted, Strathallen had spent the past four years in India, repairing the financial gaps in his inheritance. Amalia had made it plain that her most ardent wish was to have Elizabeth settled before she married herself. In her sister’s estimation, time was running out for Elizabeth.

“What got her in such stew?” Krissy asked boldly, once she was certain Amalia was out of hearing range. “’Tis no’ like we did summat improper.”

Elizabeth stared at the black kettle. A wisp of steam wafted out the spout, swirling like the mist that had swirled up and around Evan MacGregor as he came through the front door. How could she have forgotten the impact of his eyes?

“Milady, did you not hear me?” Krissy asked.

“Oh!” Elizabeth yanked her gaze from the steam and made a futile, belated effort to compose her face. “What was that, Krissy?”

“Och, I knew it! Ya felt it, din’t ya?” Krissy executed a fey pirouette between the worktable and the stove, on amazingly nimble feet for one of her years. Her voice sounded so wishful, she could have been reading Elizabeth’s mind.

“Did ya ever see such a bonnie mon? Why, what one of me friends at home would believe I saw the bra’ MacGregor himself, striding out of the mists... across our own step...in London! Do ya no’ realize, lass, that he’s the first of the Gregarach born in ten generations to walk tall and proud, boasting his true name, in London, afore God, king and country? I never thought to see such a sight, ever!”

“You’re exaggerating just a trifle, Krissy,” Elizabeth commented, without a trilling burr in her speech.

“Faith! I din’t!”

“Every MacGregor we know took back their clan name the day the proscription ban was lifted,” Elizabeth argued.

“Tha’s no’ the same thing.” Krissy shook her head vehemently. “God strike the bleeding Sassenach all around us, din’t the mon walk straight in from the mist, with his head still attached to his shoulders? He did! The old laird, God rest his soul, never set a foot in England in his life. He didna trust the English. There’s a new breed of Scotsmen a-coming, and don’ tell me I didna just lay eyes upon one who’s no’ afraid of any mon.”

“Krissy, the tribulations of the Children of the Mist aren’t important right now,” Elizabeth reasoned.

“He’s no cadet, lassie. He’s the Man of the Mist, the MacGregor!” Krissy insisted, gravely insulted by Elizabeth’s apparent lack of respect.

“I’ve more important things on my mind. Nor is this the time to delve into the tangled history of the clans, Krissy. Save your tall tales for Robbie.” Elizabeth folded a hotpad and took a firm grip on the steaming kettle. “The water’s boiling.”

More important to Elizabeth was to discover how her oldest brother had wound up in the company of the dangerous Evan MacGregor. What mischance had brought Evan from the wars on the Continent at the same time that Elizabeth had to be in town herself?

“Come along, Krissy.” Elizabeth hurried through the swinging door to the back stairs.

Krissy harrumphed deeply and followed, muttering under her breath, “Och, ya got no proper upbringing, lassie, ya din’t.”

Elizabeth was much too troubled to pay heed to what Krissy said. Why hadn’t she left Krissy to bring the water up when it was ready? What was she thinking of, leaving Tullie and MacGregor alone? Worse, why had she let Amalia go up without her? What if Evan let slip their secret?

At the landing on the second floor, Elizabeth took a deep breath, stamping an iron resolve on her composure. “I’ll take it from here, Krissy Please go and stay with Robbie. I’ll come to bed as soon as I can.”

“Och, the wee wean willna turn over once he’s to sleep. Are you sure you don’ want more help than that?” Krissy asked incredulously.

“I’m sure,” Elizabeth answered firmly. “Please make certain Robbie doesn’t wake up and go wandering out of his room. We mustn’t forget, this is a new house to him. He’s never been to London before. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but just keep an eye on him tonight, Krissy. I’m sure we’ll have a new nanny for him soon.”