Page 89 of The Highlander Is All That

Anne had warned her often enough about the feckless nature of men.

But she’d been too innocent, too trusting to see the truth.

She must have made a noise, because Bower turned and glanced over his shoulder and spotted her. “Ballocks,” he said.

Hamish turned as well, and his face went ashen. “Elizabeth. What are you doing here?” he asked.

Utter rage flashed through her, burning her from the inside out. “I live here. This is my house.”

“Well, I know that. But—”

“So you have a widow waiting for you back in Scotland.” Not a question.

His face went from ashen to a trifle green.

“No need to confirm it, I heard you.”

He came to his feet then, though somewhat slowly. “Listen, Elizabeth,” he said, clutching the back of his chair for balance.

“There is no need for you to explain anything.”

His brow darkened. His ears went red. “You’re damned right,” he bellowed. “You’re the one who is engaged to another man!”

“Hamish,” Bower said, setting a hand on his arm. “Doona say anything you may regret.”

Hamish knocked Bower’s hand away and growled, “Regret? Let me tell you about regret.”

His implication was clear. It was Elizabeth he regretted. The thought made her want to curl into a ball and never move again.

“Hamish. You’ve been drinking—”

“Nae, Ranald. She’s the one who agreed to marry another man. She took my heart and crushed it like a . . .” He made crushing motions with his fist as he sought an apt analogy. “Like a thing that is crushed.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“Of course you dinna.”

His snide tone enflamed her anger. “You have another woman. You always have. And you never told me.”

“Of course I never told you.” He took a step toward her, clearly intending to say more, which she wasn’t sure she could bear, but he stumbled on the carpet and fell flat on his face.

The next sound that came from him was a wheezing snore.

“Well,” Bower said, staring down at his friend. “That dinna go well at all.”

It was a game attempt at a joke, but Elizabeth was in no mood.

Though she hated the prospect of marrying Twiggenberry, this was so much worse. The illusion that Hamish had loved her had been the only thing keeping her together.

And now, she knew it was a lie.

He had another woman in his life and he had been intending to return to her all along.

She whirled from the library and ran to her room, but she had no idea how she made it there.

Her heart was shattered in pieces and nothing could put them together again.

Nothing.