Page 42 of His Secret Highland Bride

When she offered a sharp nod in reply, he stood and slammed his fists on the books before him.

“You and my father bought a bloody ship when our lands don’t touch the sea on any side?” MacPherson lands were located near the center of the Highlands and as such had no access to a port.

“We wished to travel. It has been commissioned by the MacLeods. They’ve started work on it.”

Shane had no words. He was being struck on all sides as if a whole battalion of French soldiers had come down on him at once. The amount paid by Wallace to have their daughter married to the MacPherson laird must have been excessive.

For a moment, he wondered how horrid the lass must be to require a dowry of that size, but it didn’t matter, because he wouldn’t be marrying her.

He would find a way out of this.

Chapter Sixteen

“Get out of my sight, and if I catch you in this room again, you’ll be put in the dungeons.” Apparently, Shane was set to put everyone in the dungeon today.

“Perhaps it is time for me to go visit my son,” she said while backing toward the door.

“I wouldn’t wish that on my brother, but do what you will.”

With that, she gave a dramatic huff and swept from the room in a rustle of expensive skirts and displeasure. Shane would see she sold those damn gowns as well. His clan would need every penny. And if his wife, the rightful lady of the house, was content making her own clothes, his stepmother would learn to do the same.

Tory brought him food at midday and sat with him while he ate.

“Deirdre is in quite a fit. You have been well and truly cursed, brother.”

“As has she, I assure you.” He pointed at the ledgers he’d painstakingly reworked only to have them tell a grim tale. “We have hardly any money. Father and Deirdre have already spent the dowry paid by the Wallaces on a ship of all things. I will have to see what can be done to sell the vessel.” He shook his head and rubbed his temples. “A bloody ship.” He still couldn’t believe the foolishness.

“I knew things weren’t as good as Father and Deirdre made it seem, but I had no idea it was this bad.” She looked down at her own frock. While not as elaborate as their stepmother’s, it was clearly new and expensive. “She purchased my clothes, saying I needed color if I were to attract a husband, for my face would not do so.”

“Ye are lovely and could have been married numerous times over. Why did Father not see you settled?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t wish it.”

Again, he wondered if she wasn’t waiting for Ronan to offer for her. He worried for his sister, for Shane had never seen any evidence that Ronan saw her as anything as a sister himself. Tory was in for some pain ahead, and he didn’t see any way to avoid it. “Any man would find you bonny, even in rags.”

She gave him a hearty hug. “I’m so glad you’ve returned. Alec doesn’t bother to flatter me.” Shane laughed, but the smile dropped from Tory’s face. “Please tell me we are not so bad as to need to wear rags.”

He thought of the dress his wife wore when he’d married her, tattered and too short for her tall frame. He’d like nothing more than to see her dressed in finery more fitting of her station. But he couldn’t follow in the path of his father. He needed to do better for his clan. Besides, he rather preferred his wife outside of her clothes, anyway. What good was a fancy gown when a modest one covered the floor just as well? “I will find a way to save our people from the damage done by Father.”

“We will do it,” Tory said, clinging to him tightly. “You’re not alone, brother. Not anymore.”

He nodded. “Thank ye.”

When she left, he settled down at the books once more, hoping to find a way out of their predicament. The money they had wouldn’t get them through winter. And it didn’t look like much was put into sowing grain last spring, so the harvest would be slim.

Tory’s promise was well intended, but Shane knew whose responsibility it was to save his clan. As he worked, the weight upon his shoulders grew heavier until he thought he may no longer be able to stand it. Looking out the window, he saw the sky had turned dark without him noticing.

Alec opened the door and stepped inside. “Deirdre has moved her things. Your room is available to you if you wish to stay.”

He shook his head. “Nay. I will be going home.”

“Sometime soon you’ll need to take your place here. This is your home.”

“Aye. But not this night.” This night, he would return to his small home at the edge of the woods and to his wife. And for a little while, he could set down the weight of duties and just be Shane the soldier she’d married.

…

Shane returned home in much the same way as the night before, exhausted and forlorn. But the smile he offered was genuine, despite the strength it took to put it there.