Page 51 of His Secret Highland Bride

Tory went to the door to order a maid to bring food and ale for Alec. “What word do you bring from the MacLeods, brother?”

“I wish I could tell you the ship has been sold and my saddlebags are filled with coin, but in truth I don’t think it could be so far the opposite.”

“What do you mean?” Tory asked.

“When I arrived, the MacLeods welcomed me graciously, but I soon learned it was because he expected me to have the next payment for the ship that sits half constructed in their harbor. When he found out our plans to sell the ship and reclaim the funds for the vessel, he was mightily unhappy.”

Shane rubbed his temples, feeling an ache coming.

“You’re saying we can’t sell the ship to make the money back because first, it is not completed, and second, we still owe money for it?”

“Aye. That is the truth of it. I’m sorry, brother.”

“I’ll go see about your meal,” Tory said as she left the room, probably expecting Shane to launch into a fit of yelling as their father would have.

But Shane didn’t yell. To do so would take more energy than he had. He was fairly numb by this point, and yelling would get him nowhere.

“That’s it, then. There’s nothing to be done. The dowry is gone.” Shane went to the window to look out across the lands that belonged to his clan. He could almost envision the Wallace army moving on the castle.

“I’m sorry, brother. But it looks like you’ll have to put all the women aside and do your duty.”

Had Shane thought he didn’t have the energy to yell? “There are not women. There is only one woman, and she is my wife.”

Alec’s shock was evident. He quickly apologized. “I didn’t realize. You didn’t say.”

No. He hadn’t. “I wasn’t ready to have to give her up. I don’t think I can do it. But I must for the clan.”

“Mayhap she could—”

Shane cut off his brother’s comment before he could finish. He might not have been close to Alec for many years, but he knew the man well enough to know what he was about to suggest. That Shane could keep Lindsay as a mistress while he married the Wallace lass.

He would never disrespect Lindsay in that way.

But to let her go… How could he? He’d known he didn’t deserve to be happy, but he had believed Lindsay when she’d claimed him innocent. Now he was being punished yet again. It seemed he’d found his heart in time to have it shattered once more.

…

Something was wrong; Lindsay was certain. It wasn’t uncommon for Shane to arrive home from the castle after she’d gone to bed. But it was unlike him to apologize when she tried to raise his ardor by placing her hands on him in a way that would normally stoke him to action.

“What is it?” she asked, giving up on her plan to seduce him. If she couldn’t make him feel better physically, she would be supportive and allow him to talk about his troubles. “You had a bad day?” She rubbed his tight shoulders where he sat on the edge of the bed with his head hanging.

“Aye. The worst kind of day.”

She didn’t know all that he did for the laird, but she knew he was seeing to the ledgers.

“Did something not come out right?”

He shook his head and pressed his lips together. “No. Actually, the books are in such a mess, and I don’t know how I’ll ever fix them.”

“Surely the laird doesn’t blame you for what happened before you returned. If the books are a mess, it can only be his fault.” Once again, she pictured the war chief’s snarled face when she thought of the MacPherson laird—her intended. Was he as horrible as she thought him to be? She almost asked Shane about him but didn’t want to know.

“It is the fault of Deirdre MacPherson, who has stolen from the clan and ran off to God knows where.”

“Then you must find her and have whatever she’s stolen returned.” Lindsay wondered how far a woman could get alone in the Highlands.

Shane nodded. “It sounds easy but has proven impossible thus far. No one knows where she went.”

“Did you check with the stablemaster?” She would have needed a horse or better yet a carriage.