Lost Bride Chapter 11

NINE

THE UNINVITED GUEST

Lucy held the captain’s arm as they walked into the library then got him situated comfortably by the fire with a book and a quilt to warm him. She took a seat in a chair on the opposite side of the fireplace and gazed at the captain, who was now immersed in his reading. She was gratified by how quickly his health had improved after the bloodletting had stopped.

The late-afternoon light poured in through the tall windows and brightened the room. This was not a bad life, she had to admit. Within a few weeks, she’d grown used to the loss of some modern conveniences, but she still missed the people—her mother, mainly. She missed her friends too, but they had their own lives and would manage without her. But her mother had been her only parent as well as her best friend. She’d had Lucy in college after her father was long gone. It was always the two of them versus the world. And they’d won. They’d struggled along the way, but it had all worked out—well, except for the wedding. That hadn’t gone all that well. But her mother had instilled a strength and independence in her that had seen Lucy through that.

But now there was Rory. One moment, she was euphoric, and the next—when her brain started to function again—she despaired. Each contingency that came to her mind had some sort of sorrowful sacrifice attached. What if? She had to stop prefacing every waking thought with what if. For in truth, there was no way of knowing.

Restless, Lucy set her book down and went to sit by the window. Angus came in, still looking battered, but his bruises were fading, and he was moving about with more ease.

A flutter of fabric outside caught Lucy’s eye. She recognized the dress. “Effie?” she whispered. She was walking away in the middle of the day, wiping her eyes. Lucy knocked at the window, but Effie didn’t hear her. “Something’s happened.”

The captain glanced up at Lucy and Angus then returned to his reading, while Angus picked up a book and leaned comfortably back. Although neither of them seemed to care, Lucy did, so she rushed from the room to go help the maid.

A rush of cool air struck her as she burst through the doorway and called out to Effie. The girl turned and glanced back but kept going. Lucy called out again.

“I’m sorry, Miss,” Effie cried. “I must go.”

Baffled, Lucy went back inside. “What’s happened to Effie?”

The captain shook his head. “I dinnae ken, lass.”

Angus looked at her with a blank expression.

Lucy shook her head. It didn’t make sense. She went back outside, this time to the stable, where she found Rory and the groom, who stood looking at Rory’s horse.

Rory said to the groom, “He’s got a new shoe, but when the shoe came loose, he cut this leg here.” They bent to examine the wound.

Rather than wait for Rory to finish what he was doing, Lucy went back outside to continue her search for Effie. As she left, Rory took one look at Lucy and excused himself to go talk to her. Once he was outside, she told him what she’d seen. “Why would she leave like that in the middle of the day?”

“Are you sure she wasn’t going on an errand?”

“What sort of errand would upset her like that?”

“I dinnae ken.”

“Neither does your father or Angus. But something has to have happened.”

“If my father or Angus didn’t send her away, I cannae imagine why she would leave on her own.” He shrugged, at a loss for an explanation as much as she was.

“What can we do? We can’t just leave her out there.”

“She doesnae live far from here. If you like, we can go calling tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Rory.”

He gave her that warm smile that always gave her hope that everything would be fine, even when she couldn’t imagine how it possibly could.

The following morning,

they were all seated at a breakfast of cheese, scones with butter and jam, and a mixture of curds and butter called gruitheam. Lucy was watching the others to see whether they spread the concoction on scones or just spooned it up and ate it, when Rory turned to her.

“After breakfast, let’s go for a ride. We can call on Effie if you like.”

Angus glanced up but returned his attention to his breakfast.

Lucy’s eyes shone as she met Rory’s gaze. “I would love that.” She hadn’t stopped worrying about her distraught friend.

Before Lucy could get out a thank-you, there was a loud pounding and scuffling in the hall. The doors flew open, and in walked a man not terribly tall, with broad shoulders, rough hands, and a face flushed with anger. His steel-gray hair shook as he glanced about until his eyes settled on Angus. He took a step forward, but the butler stepped between them.

Angus started to rise in defense, but the captain reached over and put a hand on his son’s arm with subtle restraint. After a sharp look at his father, Angus settled back in his seat, but Lucy noticed him running his fingers over the indented pattern carved into the oak hilt of his dirk.

Captain Munro regarded his uninvited guest with a furrowed brow. “Donald.”

“I beg your pardon, Laird, but your son”—he paused in a failed attempt to stifle his rage—“has ruined my Effie.”

Rory answered Lucy’s questioning look with a raised eyebrow, then he leaned back and observed Angus with narrowing eyes.

Angus calmly eyed Effie’s father with a curious squint as though the man were a trifling bother.

“This is a serious charge that you’re making,” Captain Munro said.

Donald nodded. “Aye, and ’tis true, or I wouldnae be standing here now.” He scowled at Angus. “What’re you going to do about it?”

“Donald, this is hardly the time,” the captain said. “When we’ve finished our meal—”

Donald tightened his fists at his sides. “I wasnae able to finish my breakfast this morning before my daughter ran outside to get sick.”

The sight flashed through Lucy’s mind of the time Effie ran out of the kitchen to get sick outside. It made sense now but left Lucy with a sinking feeling.

Angus spoke up for the first time. “As I recall, at the céilidh some weeks back, I saw her with that farm lad she’s been keeping company with.”

“Oh, aye. I started to go to him first, but she told me it wasnae his fault. She said you’re the father.”

“Did she? She’s quite quick to blame. And given the choice, how convenient that she chose the one with money.”

“Money or not, you’ve defiled my daughter.”

“You cannae prove that.”

Donald nodded vehemently. “I ken that you paid her off. She told me that too.”

“Did she?” Angus asked with a skeptical smirk.

“Oh, aye, after I beat it out of her.”

Lucy sharply inhaled, about to protest, but Rory reached under the table and gripped her hand. She flashed him a look, but he countered with a look of caution that she did not receive well. Still, the exchange gave her time to calm down enough to ask, “May I see her?” She was acutely aware of Rory’s penetrating stare, so she avoided looking anywhere near his direction.

“No one will see her in this shameful state,” Effie’s father said.

That was it. She was done with diplomacy, manners, and Rory’s discretion. She could not let this go. “But you can’t keep her locked away!”

Rory exhaled and leaned back in his chair with a resigned look of one watching an impending train wreck.

Captain Munro cleared his throat. “We all need some time to absorb this new turn of events. I give you my word that we’ll all reflect on this situation, after which, I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

“Agreement?” cried Donald. “I’m sure we can agree that she’s pregnant and that it’s your son’s.” He stormed out muttering, “Agreement, my arse. We’ll see soon enough when the bairn comes.”

They all watched Donald storm down the hallway. When he was far beyond earshot, Lucy whirled to glare at Angus. “Angus, how could you?”

He looked into her eyes plainly and shrugged. “The usual way.”

Captain Munro picked up his fork. “We’ll not talk of such things at the table. Angus, Rory, I’ll see you in the library after we’ve finished our breakfast.”

“She’s my maid and my friend,” Lucy said. “Someone needs to speak up on her behalf.”

The captain lowered his fork. “I’ll not talk of such things in the presence of ladies. This is a family matter.” His expression, while polite, forbade further discussion.

Lucy gave Rory a frustrated look, but he just lifted his eyebrows and turned to finish his meal.

Behind closed doors,

the discussion continued. Lucy stood outside the door, not caring if anyone caught her eavesdropping. This treatment was an age-old wrong that had been done to women, who bore all the guilt for what took two to create. She wanted so much to go to Effie and give her much-needed support, but Rory had convinced her that Effie would wind up paying the price if Lucy went against her father’s wishes. So she helplessly stood outside one door while barred from another.

The outcome of the family meeting was to send Effie’s family more money to compensate for their inconvenience.

Lucy stood by the stairway and whispered to Rory, “Inconvenience?”

“Aye, lass. I ken that it might be different in your time.”

“Oh, I don’t know that it’s all that different. Men can still be unprincipled jerks.”

He met her outrage with even tones. “You cannae change my world any more than I can change yours.”

“Maybe not on my own, but that doesn’t mean I should stand by and allow injustice to go on without standing against it. The world is made up of small pieces, and those pieces can change one by one. In my time, the world has changed for the better because people stood up against wrongs. You can’t know how frustrating it is to step backward like this.”

Rory straightened his posture. “As much as you may loathe this backward home of mine, you’d have been far worse off with most other men who might have happened upon you alone on the road.”

His chastising expression was not lost on her. “Point taken. I do appreciate what you’ve done for me, but that doesn’t help Effie. However unintentional or unwanted that baby might be, Effie is carrying Angus’s child, your niece or nephew and the captain’s grandchild. Angus is equally to blame, and I’m being generous there. Yet he appears to have no consequences for his actions. You all allow him not only to shirk his responsibility, but to dump it on Effie. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like that—to be paid off and sent away, where she’ll pay the true price for the rest of her life. Meanwhile, Angus continues to do as he pleases, and the rest of you call it an inconvenience. It’s not an inconvenience; it’s a baby. And this is infuriating!”

“Your fury is misplaced on me. I cannae undo all the wrongs Angus does. I can only try to pick up the mess that he’s left.”

She looked up at his soft brown eyes and soothing expression and felt at least some of her anger subsiding. “I guess. Maybe you’re right—partly. I’ll agree that you shouldn’t have to pay for what Angus has done.”

He smiled. “I’m well-practiced at it.”

She put her hand on his and squeezed it. Having vented her anger, she felt better even though she had unfairly dumped it on Rory. “But poor Effie. Surely there must be something more we could do than to leave her in that stifling croft for her father to beat at will.”

Lines in Rory’s forehead deepened at the mention of Effie’s beating. “I’ll see if there’s a place—perhaps an empty croft somewhere she could stay.”

“Or a room here?”

His eyes settled on hers. “Perhaps.”

At that moment, she threw away all her restraint and put her arms around his neck. He held her close in return. The feel of his body against hers sent all further thoughts from her mind, including those of protecting her heart. She looked up. Her lips parted to thank him, but no words came out as her gaze slowly fell to his mouth.

In the back of her mind was the nagging apprehension that any day she might walk back through the cairn. The first time, it had been with a broken heart, and the next time would be no different.

But by the time she reminded herself what a bad idea it was, they were already kissing.