The sudden change of topic disconcerted her. “I know he is much admired by the local people,” she said cautiously.
“Och, aye. They know their future depends on him. ’Tis a hard load, that.” Another coughing fit seized him.
His son hurried into the room, dressed in an outdated frock coat and waistcoat. His cravat was askew as if he had tied it hastily. He smiled at her, but with a question in his eyes. Hardly surprising, given the impropriety of a single lady calling on a bachelor household.
He bowed. “Miss Merton, this is an unexpected pleasure.”
“I took a fancy to see the castle,” she said lightly. “I hope I am not interrupting anything.”
“Nothing of import, I assure you. Did you travel here alone?”
She shook her head with a smile. “One of the grooms insisted on accompanying me. They take prodigiously good care of me.”
“Highlanders take care of their own,” said the laird.
This was becoming uncomfortable. “So I understand, from the novels I have read,” she said with a polite smile. “On the other hand, the novels promised me all the Highland men would be wearing kilts, but I have seen them only rarely.”
The chieftain answered, sitting as straight as a soldier. “Kilts were against the law when I was a boy. The proscription lasted 35 years, so when it was lifted, an entire generation of Highlanders had never worn nor even seen one. When I put one on for the first time, I decided to wear it always in honor of my forefathers. A few of the common folk have gone back to the kilt, but most continue to wear what they always did. The English were very effective in destroying that part of our Highland culture. Duncan wore the kilt as a child, but they broke him of the habit at school.” A trace of anger entered his voice.
“I went to school in the Lowlands,” said the younger Mr. MacLaren smoothly. “Highland ways were not acceptable there.”
Perhaps that explained why his speech and manners were so different from other local people, at least when he was speaking to her. “Were there no Highland schools you could attend?” Elizabeth asked.
The chieftain’s fingers tightened into claws. “The eldest son of a Highland landowner must be educated in the Lowlands or England. It has been the law for over 200 years, to break our chiefs of their ties to the clan. Many never return, making their homes in Edinburgh or London instead.”
Elizabeth hardly knew what to reply. No wonder the Highlanders were so resentful of outsiders! “You must be proud your son has returned to the Highlands.”
The laird inclined his head silently.
The younger MacLaren’s cheeks reddened. “But I have not returned to wearing the kilt, except when I am on my father’s business.” It was clearly a sore point between the two.
His father frowned. “You returned, with your honesty and loyalty intact, and you take your responsibilities to the clan seriously. That is all I can ask. Any clan would be fortunate to have you, with or without the kilt.”
His words were obviously for Elizabeth’s benefit. She was tempted to point out that he had excellent teeth and gaits as well, but the thought reminded her of the unwelcome truth that she had come to purchase him as a husband. Somehow she managed to smile. “Your father was just telling me about the castle when you arrived.”
The old man harrumphed. “Well, lad, show it to her!”
He flushed. “Would you care for a tour of the castle, Miss Merton?”
“That would be lovely, Mr. MacLaren.”
He opened a thick wood door in the far stone wall. “This is the room we use as a study and library. Our collection of books is limited as a result of the fire, but we had hoped to expand it. Through here is the dining room. Very medieval, is it not? It sadly needs updating.”
Elizabeth looked up at the ancient ceiling beams, conscious of the old man who could likely hear every word. “I rather like it, even if one does expect a knight in armor to appear at any moment.”
“Indeed. Here is the staircase. Take care as you climb. These steps have hundreds of years of wear, and they can be slippery. I urge you to hold onto the rope banister. That was my mother’s invention.”
Elizabeth had no difficulty navigating the worn treads of the circular staircase. “It reminds me of a ruined tower not far from my home in England. My sister and I climbed it once when we were small. She pretended to be a trapped princess, and I was the ghost haunting her. I thought it far more entertaining to be a ghost than a princess.”
He emerged onto the landing behind her. “I imagine you would enjoy that role.” He paused. “I must ask your forgiveness for my father’s attempts at matchmaking. I have told him many times you are not interested, but he does not always listen to me. Pray ignore him.”
Suddenly embarrassed, Elizabeth inspected a tapestry of a hunting scene hanging on one wall. “Actually, that is what I came to speak to you about.”
“About that?” His voice rose in surprise.
“Yes. I told you that I had no desire to marry at present, but circumstances have arisen where it is now very much in my best interest to marry, and quickly. I have not been in Scotland long enough to have a wide acquaintance of single gentleman, and I remembered our discussion.” She would not let cowardice get the better of her, so she turned to face him, her chin up.
His expression wavered from astonishment to confusion before settling on caution.
She added quickly, “Assuming you still have an interest in the notion.” Had he ever truly been interested, or was he just being forced into the idea? How mortifying that would be for her!
He hesitated. “I am still interested, but I am concerned about the reason for your sudden desire for a hasty marriage. If it is the usual reason of finding yourself in a delicate condition, I must consider that. While I imagine I am desperate enough to agree to give another man’s daughter my name and to raise her as my own, my eldest son must be chief after me and he must be a true MacLaren, with his heritage in his face.” The corners of his mouth twisted. “Forgive me for speaking frankly.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks burned. “I am not in a delicate condition,” she snapped. “You need have no fear of that. Perhaps this discussion was a mistake.” First Colonel Fitzwilliam had implied she was in an improper relationship with Darcy, and now this.
He caught her arm as she turned away. “Wait, I beg you. I did not mean to question your morals. You would not be the first woman to find herself in such a state against her will. But I cannot imagine what other circumstance would compel you to marry quickly against your own inclination. I would be very glad to learn otherwise.” He sounded calm and reasonable, just as a good chieftain should be. Of course, if he was willing to marry her even if she were carrying another man’s child, he truly was desperate.
Just like her.
“It is a legal matter,” she said tiredly. “Last year I signed a contract. You might say I was forced into it. I learned today that my family in England is in danger because I am thought to be in violation of the contract. There is a clause that renders the contract void if I am married.”
He took her elbow and steered her to an old-fashioned stuffed sofa. “I think you should tell me more about this contract.”
She tried to regulate her breathing. If she were to marry him, he would have the right to see it, and it might be a relief to tell someone. “It will not improve your impression of English aristocrats,” she said in an attempt at lightness.
He smiled. “It can hardly worsen it.”
“This also involves Mr. Darcy, but he is unaware of any of this, and it must remain that way.” She closed her eyes. “Last year, when I was still living with my family in England, I visited my cousin, the man who would inherit my father’s estate after his death, and his wife. He is a clergyman, and his patroness is Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy’s aunt. Mr. Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, were both staying with her, and I saw them frequently. Unbeknownst to me, Mr. Darcy had become interested in me.” She glanced at him to see
his reaction.
“That is hardly news to me,” he said gently. “I have seen him with you.”
“He is a very wealthy man, far above my touch. Lady Catherine wanted him to marry her daughter. When she discovered he was attracted to me, she decided to put an end to it, first trying to bribe me, and then with threats. If I did not disappear completely, she would smear my reputation until my family was ostracized. My four sisters would be unable to marry. My cousin would give no shelter to my mother and sisters after my father’s death.” She paused to collect herself. “My father would be arrested and charged with sedition. It would be the end of my family, whether he was imprisoned for years or hanged. If I agreed to disappear, they would protect my father and my reputation, and give my mother an allowance after my father’s death.” She swallowed hard. “I signed.”
He looked dubious. “Could this Lady Catherine actually have your father arrested?”
“By herself, probably not. But the contract was also signed by the Earl of Matlock, Mr. Darcy’s uncle, who is the Lord Chancellor. He has that power.” Just talking about it brought bile into Elizabeth’s throat as she remembered the helplessness she had felt. “So I left my family, changed my name, and moved to Edinburgh to stay with my aunt, telling no one where I was going. But Mr. Darcy found me in Edinburgh, so I ran off to Kinloch House, lest his family discover I had seen him. Once again, he followed me and ended up unconscious in Auld Jack’s ruin. I thought we were safe from discovery here, but today, who should appear on my doorstep but Colonel Fitzwilliam, Lord Matlock’s son, who warned Lady Catherine of Mr. Darcy’s interest in me. Now I have been caught not only seeing Mr. Darcy, but living in the same house with him.” She covered her face with her hands. “I violated the contract, so the only way to avoid my father being arrested is to marry someone.”
“This is perhaps an unhappy question, but what of Mr. Darcy? Would it not be simpler to marry him? Then you would be part of the family, and it would be too late to ruin you or to arrest your father.”
“You underestimate Lady Catherine’s willingness to take revenge,” she said bleakly. “If Darcy married me, she would consider him already ruined, so there would be nothing to stop her from punishing me. It is not worth the risk. And the contract stipulates that if I tell Darcy the truth, they will have my father arrested even if Darcy is already married to someone else.” Lady Catherine and Lord Matlock had thought of everything when they set their trap.
He considered this. “Does Lady Catherine go this far with any woman who catches Darcy’s eye?”
“I wondered about that at first, too, but she did have particular reason to worry about me. Mr. Darcy wrote me a letter. I do not know how that would be seen here, but in our circles in England, only engaged couples can exchange letters. On the strength of that letter, I could have demanded that he marry me, and he would have had to do so. What she did not know was that I had already refused a proposal of marriage from him, so he was at no risk from me.”
“And yet he has continued to pursue you? He is a most persistent suitor.” He sounded disapproving.
“Not as much as you think. He let me go, but when he discovered I had to leave my home because he had supposedly compromised me, it became a matter of his honor. He had to offer to marry me,” she said bitterly. “But let us talk of something else before I start to cry. I have done more than enough of that already.”
“Of course. Thank you for explaining that to me.” He paused. “Now that you have told me your secret, I suppose I should tell you mine. Auld Jack is my uncle, my father’s youngest brother.”
But Mr. Jack was her uncle’s brother, so how could he be Duncan’s father’s brother, too? Unless.... “Then my aunt’s husband must have been your uncle, too.”
He blinked at her as if puzzled. “Aye, of course. Did you not know?”
“No one ever told me,” she said with a hint of asperity. “Only that he was a member of the clan.” Now it made sense why everyone would have expected her uncle to leave Kinloch to MacLaren, his eldest brother’s son. Doubtless it also explained why so many clansmen thought a marriage between them seemed a natural conclusion. She was not just an heiress, but an heiress of the chieftain’s own family.
His expression registered shock. “You did not know he was my uncle, too?”
She turned her hands palm up. “If it was ever mentioned to me, it was before I knew enough about Clan MacLaren for it to make an impression on me. No doubt my aunt thought I knew. She does not speak of him often; I think she still misses him a great deal. I only discovered a few days ago that Auld Jack was my uncle’s brother, and I was shocked enough by that. His behavior at times...” She trailed off. Insulting his uncle would not help her position.
“His behavior can be outrageous. I know. Uncle Jack has always taken things to extremes, even as a child. Everyone was relieved when he went to Edinburgh to study medicine, and he seemed to become settled at last, but then he unexpectedly returned two years ago, angrier and more distant than ever. When he learned of our financial difficulties, he blamed himself for having helped strangers who could not pay rather than setting up a lucrative practice where he could have helped us financially, and is now risking his life to make money as quickly as possible. It is impossible to reason with him when his mind is set on something.”
“I have noticed,” she said dryly. “Does it not trouble your father that his brother is operating an illegal still?”
“He dislikes the necessity of it, but he feels the government has no right to tell us we cannot brew our whisky. I dislike dodging the law, but is it any worse than what I am doing in convincing you to marry me solely because I need your money? Is it worse than the bank cheating us out of our land, knowing full well it will mean the end of Clan MacLaren in Scotland? Jack says the English are robbing us of our home, and he is merely evening the balance by breaking their laws in the hope of earning enough money to ransom our own land,” he said bitterly.
Taken aback, Elizabeth asked, “Are you certain you wish to marry an Englishwoman?”
He smiled apologetically. “It is to the advantage of the clan. The English see all Highlanders as less than human, so they feel they can mistreat us without a care. Having an English wife and half-English children would give them pause. If my mother had been English, the bank would likely not have called our debts in.”
“My English blood would be a sort of a dowry, then,” she teased, although his stark words concerned her. “You said I could live in Edinburgh if I chose.” She wanted to be clear on that. She could not imagine spending her life in the Highlands.
“If that is what you wish. Most likely I would spend the winter there with you and return here for the rest of the year. Once there were children, I would want them to spend their summers in the glen so they can feel themselves to be part of the clan, but we can discuss that further.” He smiled, but his eyes were sad. “You might even find you like it here in the summer.”
“I might well,” she said. “I should make it clear that all my aunt has done is to name me as her heir. I have no money now apart from an allowance.” Would that give him pause?
“That does not matter. Once we are married, I will be able to borrow against your expectations and repay that money over time, just as we would have been able to do for the mortgage, had we been allowed the opportunity.” He looked past her, as if at something only he could see, and then shook himself out of his reverie. “Do we have an agreement, then?”
The words stuck in Elizabeth’s throat. Was this the right thing? It had made sense to her earlier. She wanted to marry and have a family someday, and she was unlikely to find such an accommodating husband again. Mr. Darcy’s image rose before her eyes, making her chest tight again, but there was no point in even thinking about him. She could never have him, but she could buy her father’s safety with this. “Yes,” she said firmly, ignoring the shiver running down her spine.
He beamed. “Well, shall we tell my father and make him the
happiest man alive?”
GEORGIANA JUMPED UP from the sofa where she sat with Mrs. Graham when Big Tom wheeled Darcy’s chair into the room half an hour later. “Oh, William, I am so sorry! Mrs. Graham has told me what happened to you. Are you in pain?”
“Only from time to time.” Darcy decided not to mention that this was one of those times, between the pounding in his head and the jostling of his leg in the wheeled chair. “I am sorry to have worried you.”
“I knew something was wrong! I am so relieved to know you are safe now.”
“I am sorry you had to come all this way, though.” Much as he loved his sister, he wished neither of them had come. One way or another, it was an end to his time with Elizabeth, the only time he would ever have with her.
“I did not mind,” Georgiana confided. “I have wished I could visit Scotland, and now I have seen at least a little of it. Everyone has been so kind here.”
He did not want her to see the pain weighing on his soul. “I see Mrs. Graham has been taking good care of you.”
“Oh, she has been perfect! She played Scottish songs on her harp for me. She says she will give me lessons if I wish.”
Richard frowned. “I thought you did not like the harp.”
Georgiana wrinkled her nose. “I hated learning the classical harp. They are too big and ostentatious and... and too gilded. I have always wanted to play a lap harp like the minstrels used.”
Richard cleared his throat. “I do not know if we will be remaining here. Miss Bennet – I mean Miss Merton has not invited us to stay.”
Mrs. Graham raised an eyebrow. “There is an inn in Aberfoyle. You must have passed it on your way here. At this season, they are certain to have rooms available. I am sure Miss Merton will invite Miss Darcy to stay, though.” She pointedly omitted Richard’s name.
Richard cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. I believe I owe you an apology. I misapprehended the situation and jumped to an unwarranted conclusion,” he said stiffly.
A Matter of Honor Page 24