It Happened in the Highlands

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It Happened in the Highlands Page 23

by May McGoldrick


  The woman’s mouth hung open as she searched for a response, but Jo was not finished.

  “People I think of as friends, Lady Nithsdale, are tired of seeing the pleasure you take in besmirching a faultless reputation or running down something of value with no regard for the truth or for decency. Now, would you care to hear more on this subject, or have I made myself clear enough?”

  Lady Nithsdale’s face had lost all color, but she managed to close her mouth. When she dropped a curtsy and fled the room, Jo watched her go with no small feeling of surprise. Her ladyship had surrendered the field.

  Turning back to the mirror, she examined the expression on her own face. Relieved. Satisfied. In control. Strong. She liked the person she’d become.

  And after sixteen years, she’d finally found the right words to say.

  Epilogue

  A Month Later

  They stopped at the kirkyard in Melrose Village before starting off for Glasgow.

  Waiting with Cuffe by the carriage, Wynne left Jo to spend some time alone at her mother’s gravesite. She’d brought him here many times while they were at Baronsford. And once they’d returned from their honeymoon, he and Jo planned to bring Charles to the Borders. He wished to visit the place Josephine was really buried.

  When he came to the south, he would also have a chance to meet the Pennington family. He was continually improving. The news had reached them only a day ago, however, that Leana Barton had died.

  Jo was ready to return to the Highlands if her father needed her, but his letter insisted that they continue with their planned trip. He understood the importance of it for them as a family.

  Wynne watched Jo stand and place a farewell touch on the new gravestone they’d had carved. He was relieved to see a smile on her lips as she walked back toward them.

  “Are you ready for our adventure?” she asked.

  “I still don’t know why I need to come with you two. It’s your honeymoon,” Cuffe complained, following Jo into the carriage. “I can stay with Dr. McKendry.”

  “We want you with us,” Wynne insisted, closing the door and sitting beside his wife.

  “But I can look after your father for you.” Cuffe turned to Jo, obviously hoping she’d take his side. “Mr. Barton likes me. He asked me to call him Papa. I think I will.”

  “You’re coming with us, sweetheart,” she told him.

  She’d adjusted quickly into her role as mother of a ten-year-old son. She was stern and yet loving. Strict and yet flexible when the situation warranted it.

  “But I’ll miss him.”

  “As will I. But we’ll be back soon enough.”

  She didn’t wait for any more complaints, but moved across to sit next to Cuffe. She showed him the books she’d borrowed from Baronsford’s library. Wynne watched them put their heads together, arguing or laughing over the passages they read.

  By mid-afternoon, Cuffe was back to questioning them about the trip.

  “You’re taking me with you and showing no regard for my education or my teachers,” he teased. Cuffe was clearly working on the art of debate. “How is Mr. Cameron going to stay clever with his arithmetic when he has no pupil to teach?”

  “I think he’ll manage somehow.” Wynne smiled.

  “And Hamish,” the lad said, mimicking the Scottish brogue of the lead man on the farm. “The man’ll have nobody to scold. No laddie to take to task.”

  “He’ll get by, I should think,” Wynne remarked.

  As Cuffe continued to rattle off the names of all the other people at the Abbey who would miss his company, Jo sent Wynne a pleading look to tell him.

  The trip was to be a surprise, but the boy would know their destination once the carriage reached Glasgow’s docks at Greenock.

  “All this complaining and not once have you asked where we’re going,” Wynne reminded him.

  Cuffe shrugged. “What difference does it make? I’m doomed to travel with newlyweds.”

  Jo joined the game. “Very well. Then we shan’t tell you.”

  The silence didn’t last a full minute before the ten-year-old’s curiosity got the better of him.

  “Are we traveling by ship or by carriage?”

  “By ship,” Wynne said.

  Cuffe’s brows were drawn together as he studied Jo first, before looking at his father and then back at Jo.

  “Are we going to visit the rest of the Penningtons? In Boston or Philadelphia or one of those other places in America?”

  Jo shook her head. “Not this time.”

  “We’re sailing to the continent to look at paintings and sculptures and snow-covered mountains,” Cuffe guessed, looking pained.

  “No, try again.”

  An expression of hope edged its way into the lad’s face. He stared at Wynne, waiting, not wanting to ask. “Tell me.”

  Jo smiled, nodding to him to continue.

  “We are going to be gone for three months,” he said. “Three weeks at sea to get there and five weeks to return. That should give us about four weeks at our destination.”

  “Jamaica!” Cuffe squealed, throwing himself into Wynne’s arms. “We’re going to see Nanny.”

  Holding his son tight against him, Wynne looked gratefully at his wife. They’d talked about this trip the night of their wedding at Rayneford. They both agreed that if Cuffe was to be at peace with his life in the Highlands, they couldn’t allow him to feel irrevocably separated from his past and the grandmother who raised him.

  They’d made a vow that every so often they’d make the journey to Jamaica. And if Nanny was amenable to the idea, she could come and spend time in Scotland, as well.

  Cuffe went across to Jo next, and he hugged her affectionately, fiercely.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  She placed a kiss on his forehead and hugged him back.

  They were a perfect pair, Wynne thought, gazing at the two people who completed him. He was the most fortunate man in the world, for he had them and they were family.

  His family. His life. His love. His past. His future.

  Author’s Note

  We hope you enjoyed our novel It Happened in the Highlands.

  As many of our readers know, we rarely let our characters go without a fight, so you get to see them in the numerous stories that spring from our imagination. Jo’s first mention in our stories can be found when she arrived at Baronsford as in infant in Borrowed Dreams, the first book in the Scottish Dream Trilogy. Years later, she also played a major role in Romancing the Scot, the first book in our new Pennington Family Series, which features Hugh and Grace. Gregory, Freya, and Ella come together in Sweet Home Highlands, another tale in the Pennington Family saga.

  You might have already guessed that Phoebe Pennington will be the heroine of our next novel. Look for Sleepless in Scotland in 2018.

  Also, Millie Pennington and Dermot McKendry’s tale is not far behind.

  As with all of our novels, in this book we have tried to depict a place and a time in a way that mingles the real and the imagined in an entertaining way.

  The story of the Maroons of Jamaica is an integral part of global history and the people who have contributed to the movement toward freedom and equality. We also hope you enjoyed the references to the folktales of western Africa.

  During the time period in which this novel is set, the inhumane treatment of those suffering from mental health issues was prevalent. People displaying symptoms of “madness” were locked away from society and left to suffer and die in the most appalling conditions. Often, society would use these institutions as places to lock away anyone who was seen to be “different.” Innovators like Dr. McKendry in It Happened in the Highlands were at the forefront of treatment.

  As authors, we love feedback. We write our stories for you. We’d love to hear what you liked, what you loved, and even what you didn’t like. We are constantly learning, so please help us write stories that you will cherish and recommend to your friends. Please visit us on our
website at www.MayMcGoldrick.com, sign up for news and updates at www.maymcgoldrick.com/contact-us/, and follow us on BookBub.

  Finally, we need a favor. If you enjoyed It Happened in the Highlands, please leave us a review and recommend it to your friends. You the reader have the power to make or break this book. We greatly appreciate your support!

  Wishing you peace and health!

  Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick, writing as May McGoldrick

  About the Author(s)

  Author photograph © Loghan Rose

  USA Today bestselling Authors Nikoo and Jim McGoldrick (writing as May McGoldrick) weave emotionally satisfying tales of love and danger. Publishing under the names of May McGoldrick and Jan Coffey, these authors have written over forty novels. Nikoo, an engineer, also conducts frequent workshops on writing and publishing and serves as a Resident Author. Jim holds a PhD in medieval and Renaissance literature. They live in Southern California.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  About the Author(s)

  Copyright Page

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  IT HAPPENED IN THE HIGHLANDS. Copyright © 2018 by Nikoo K. and James A. McGoldrick. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.stmartins.com

  Cover design by Mimi Bark

  Cover photographs: couple © Novel Expression; background © nicemonkey/Shutterstock.com

  ISBN 978-1-250-16691-3 (ebook)

  First Edition: March 2018

  Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

 

 

 


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