“Exactly, that was the point,” Callum replied.
“He agreed tae go tae China?” William exclaimed, his expression incredulous.
“Well—no. We didna exactly ask him.”
Charles, who wasn’t one to hedge, bragged, “We tied him up and delivered him tae a ship scheduled tae sail with the morning tide, sae he’s oot tae sea by now. Any ship would hae served the purpose, but we just got lucky finding one departing for China. Did it wi’oot a single bruise, tae,” he added in a mumble.
There were several groans before George said, “Och, God, ye’ll be looking o’er yer shoulder the rest o’ yer lives now, cause he’ll definitely kill ye for that.”
“What the devil could ye be thinking, tae do that tae a mon, e’en him?” Adam added.
“It was better than beating him senseless, which was what Charles wanted tae do,” Malcolm said.
“I’d rather be beat senseless,” Ian Two replied with a scowl.
“Sae would I,” Ian Three agreed.
“And whose brilliant idea was this?” Adam wanted to know, glaring at each of his younger brothers in turn.
“Mine,” Jamie admitted, looking rather shame-faced by that point.
But Ian Four put in quickly, “In Jamie’s defense, Linc happens tae like sailing. He’s mentioned more’n once he’d enjoy the life of a sailor, sae Jamie didna think he was doing Linc that much harm.”
“But for those—like us—who dinna like it, it’ll be pure misery,” Adam said. “George was right, he’ll be killing everyone o’ ye when he gets back.”
Ian sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. He’d gone to talk to Melissa yesterday, after Ian Six had apprised them that she’d spoken with Lincoln. He’d taken several of the eldest brothers with him. It wasn’t that he felt he’d have trouble dealing with a lass young enough to be his daughter, but he hadn’t felt completely comfortable with his decision to keep her in the dark and had merely wanted his brothers’ support on that issue.
He came back from that meeting angry, not at her but at himself, because he saw her point. They should have told her who Lincoln was as soon as they found out. She would more than likely have agreed that it was better to let sleeping dragons alone and just move on. And Lincoln would have stayed away, because her family didn’t approve of him and she was in accord with her family. He had been staying away—until he found out she didn’t know the reason. So Lincoln had sought her out because he wanted her to know why he wasn’t coming around. They should have told her, if only to keep him from telling his side of it, because he obviously had her full sympathy now.
And hearing a bit more of his side of it, from her, Ian was beginning to wonder if they hadn’t made a serious mistake all those years ago. Lincoln’s temper had gone beyond reason. Dougi did need protecting from it. But not one of them had thought to ask why he’d gone off the deep end. Not that they would probably have done anything differently, but they could have been less forceful about it.
“I canna say I’m no’ glad to have the matter done,” Ian said with another sigh. “Those o’ ye who decided on this will tell Meli what ye did. It’ll be a long time afore she forgives ye, but at least she’ll agree now tae forget aboot Lincoln Ross. Three tae four years is too long tae wait for a mon tae show up tae finish a courting. When, or if, Linc does return, we’ll hae a new problem, but at least our niece willna be part o’ it. I’m thinking we can go home now and let her finish what she came here for.”
“Ye’re taking this awful calm, Ian,” Adam said, voicing what most of them were now thinking.
“Nae, I’m anything but calm,” Ian replied. “But I’m also glad tae hae the matter oot o’ m’hands for the time being. I’m thinking Kimber will be laying into me for letting this get oot o’ control, and Lachlan will likely take his fists tae me for the same reason, but I’ll deal wi’ that as it happens. The fact is, I wasna looking forward tae another feud wi’ Lincoln. The first one went beyond good sense, and no’ just on his side but ours as well.”
“Ye would’ve done nothing, after he defied us and spoke wi’ her anyway?” Callum asked.
“He’d been abiding by our wishes because he thought she was in agreement wi’ them. He defied them only because he found oot she’d been told nothing aboot it.”
“What did Meli hae tae say aboot it?” Johnny questioned. “Ye came back from talking wi’ her yesterday and didna say much.”
“Because I had a lot tae think aboot,” Ian said. “And because she’d agreed no’ tae speak wi’ him again until after her da arrived tae settle the matter. Sae there was no hurry for any action.”
Jamie blushed guiltily. “I’m thinking ye should hae told us that.”
“I’m thinking I should’ve, too. But the reason I’m glad it’s no longer an issue is Meli still wanted him for her mate, despite what we had tae say aboot him. And she was confident that Lachlan wouldna deny Linc’s suit, after he heard the whole of it.”
“Ye think that’s possible? Wi’ as crazy as Linc once was?”
Ian shook his head. “Nae, she would’ve been sorely disappointed. Lachlan is no slouch in protecting his own. Though she thinks the past has no bearing, he’d see it otherwise.”
“Ye’re sure that’s no’ just wishful thinking on yer part?”
“Ye know better. Wi’ e’en the slightest possibility that the mon could go crazy again, Lachlan wouldna turn his only daughter o’er tae his care.”
“I’m sure we’ll be finding that oot soon enough,” Ian Two put in, with another disapproving look sent toward Jamie, before he added, “No’ that it matters anymore, wi’ Linc now oot o’ the picture.”
Jamie blushed yet again but said defensively, “I thought it was a bloody good plan. It settled the matter. He’s gone, and gone for long enough that she’s no choice but tae forget him. She’ll be wed and wi’ several bairns, no doubt, afore he gets back tae cause any more trouble. And she’ll be thanking us someday.”
“Ye’re dreaming if you think she’ll e’er be thanking ye for having her mon shanghaied,” George said. “And that’s how she sees him, ye ken. In her mind he’s already hers—or he was. But at least there’s that. She does hae no choice now but tae forget aboot him.”
Twenty-Six
IT was much easier to rant and rave at her younger uncles than it was at the elder group. When Ian One and those of his brothers closest to his age showed up later that day, after Melissa had lit into Ian Six, she’d known she would be at a serious disadvantage. They reasoned with her just as her father did, calmly, with assurance that they were right and she was wrong. She’d been forced to listen to them, especially after they began by apologizing for not telling her everything to start with.
When the younger bunch of brothers showed up the day after, she was expecting more of the same from them—apologies first, then the reasons they thought Lincoln wasn’t a good choice for her. She’d already decided that she wasn’t going to repeat herself, at least until her father showed up. She’d already told Ian One that although his concerns were sound, she simply didn’t, nor ever would, believe that Lincoln Ross Burnett was capable of hurting her.
She did have some doubts now that her father would see her side of it, though. I’m thinking he’d rather ye be safe. She hadn’t been able to get that parting remark of Ian Six’s out of her mind.
Ian One had pretty much said the same thing, reinforcing those new doubts. She hadn’t counted on seeing Lincoln again before her father showed up. He had agreed to stay away until then. So she wasn’t going to have any further opportunity to bolster her certainty, to counter theirs. And she expected to hear more of the same now from her younger uncles, which was only going to intensify her doubts. With so many of them set against Lincoln, it was seriously daunting, the thought of changing their minds.
Her first clue that this meeting with her younger uncles wasn’t going to be as she assumed came when she arrived in the parlor where they were waiting to find Ian Six going ab
out the room, gathering every object that might be throwable. She raised a brow at him in question. He blushed but continued to pick up a few more items—and then couldn’t figure out where to put them all so they’d be out of her reach.
In a teasing gesture, she held out her skirt, forming a deep pocket, indicating that would be a good place. He gave her a stern frown. She shrugged, leaned back against the doorframe, crossed her arms in a relaxed manner. He decided simply to hold on to the items for now.
“Well, then, who’s tae be the spokesman today?” she said nonchalantly.
They were all contained in one area of the room, filling up the two sofas and two chairs in the center grouping of furniture. It was a large room, though. There were three other, smaller groupings, each with several chairs along with a table and lamp, spread about the room. These were designed for more private conversation, far apart from each other. And there were still more single chairs set here and there, just in case a large crowd showed up.
After posing her question, her uncles glanced at each other for a moment. One by one, they all pretty much cast their eyes down, silently telling each other they were passing the buck. Neill realized with chagrin that he hadn’t been quick enough to lower his own eyes.
Melissa grinned at her second-youngest uncle because he just happened to be the shyest of the lot. “So it wasna decided ahead o’ time, and now you’re elected by default, eh?” she teased.
Neill lacked confidence in himself. He knew it, his brothers knew it, yet not one of them spoke up to get him out of this fix. Which, come to think of it, was quite alarming in itself.
All humor gone, she gave him a steady look and said, “Just say it.”
He nodded, cleared his throat. “Ian One ordered us here, and rightly sae, tae make a confession. We’ve done something we’re no’ proud o’, on second thoughts, though we had the best intentions.”
“‘We’? As in…?”
“Just those of us here,”
“Correction,” Ian Six put in, giving Neill a baleful look for starting off in error. “I wasna part o’ this, Meli, nor would I hae been had I known o’ it. Only just heard aboot it m’self. But I’m thinking ye should sit down afore more is said.”
She came away from the door, stiff now with dread. “I dinna want tae hear this.”
“We wish ye didna hae tae hear this either, but it has tae be said.”
“Nae,” She shook her head, repeated adamantly. “Nae. Go back tae your hotel—back tae the Highlands for that matter. There’s no reason for you tae be here any longer. I already told Ian One that I’d let m’da decide the matter.”
“But our older brother, in his infinite wisdom, neglected tae mention that tae us,” Charles said in his typical sarcastic fashion. “All we knew was that Linc scoffed at our warning tae stay away from ye and sought ye oot anyway, and something had tae be done aboot that.”
“But that was your fault, for no’ telling me tae begin wi’, what you’d done,” she replied. “Lincoln felt that somebody should’ve told me, and rightly so.”
“Aye, we’re sorry for that,” Johnny offered.
A few more of them piped up with the same, but it was too late for apologies on that score, when they’d apparently done something much worse. Or was she simply letting her imagination run wild? They could just be so guilty about that oversight that having to add a little something to it now was too much in their minds.
She sighed and moved farther into the room, sat down between Ian Five and Callum on the first sofa. “So tell me, then, what did you do now?”
Complete silence and more downcast looks. She stiffened again. Was it so bad that not one of them could get the words out?
Ian Six, not sharing their guilt, didn’t have a problem ending the suspense. “They had Linc shanghaied on a ship bound for China. They paid a crewman to make sure he canna leave the ship at any ports it stops at on the way. Sae he’ll be making the complete journey, which can last from two tae four years—or longer.”
She stared at Ian Six, then at each of her other uncles in turn. Not one, other than Ian, would meet her eyes. Ian apparently believed what they’d told him and what he’d just shared with her. She didn’t.
“This is a joke, right? You just want me tae think he’s gone sae I’ll forget about him. You found out he had tae leave town for some reason, and you’re using that. I canna believe you’d lie tae me like this.”
There were so many hot blushes after that, the temperature in the room rose a notch. “It was my idea, Meli. I take full blame,” Jamie said, looking miserable.
“Yours, was it? But you’re all here, so you all were in agreement, and I havena heard the end of the story yet. I’m still waiting.”
Ian Four and Neill, sitting on both sides of Johnny on the other sofa, nudged him to speak up. At thirty-two, he was the oldest there at the moment, and they figured if she’d believe any of them, it would be him.
He didn’t like being put on the spot, however, so his tone was a bit surly as he said, “Ye were right on one count, Meli. Ye know verra well we wouldna lie tae ye.” She started shaking her head, but he had more to say. “No real harm has been done other than showing Linc a life he’d probably ne’er thought tae pursue. It’s a grand experience, going tae sea, according tae Jamie, who’d like tae do the same. And since yer da would hae forbidden ye tae wed the mon anyway, we’ve assisted ye in getting o’er the notion o’ having him that much sooner. It’s done. No one was physically hurt, which is what it would’ve come tae wi’ Linc defying us. Which is no’ tae say we dinna regret doing it. We didna give it enough thought, or take into account just how furious Linc will be.”
Melissa’s mind went numb. They’d put him out of her reach. They’d decided the matter for her, when they didn’t have that right.
Twenty-Seven
WHEN Ian Six reported that Melissa had locked herself in her room and wouldn’t speak to anyone, even the duchess, the MacFearson brothers began to fight among themselves. Their arguments came close to blows on several occasions. Charles came under the most fire, since no one was able to stomach his sarcasm when tempers were already short. Guilt turned them all defensive.
Ian One took it upon himself to visit Megan St. James and explain to her what had transpired, so she wouldn’t worry unduly over Melissa’s seclusion. Receiving a severe tongue lashing from that beautiful, if formidable, lady had put him in a foul mood again.
He’d mellowed in his older years, but it was hard to tell that week. And although he should have sent a detailed letter to Lachlan, because of his mood, he was very brief in the missive he sent off, telling him merely that they’d interfered with Lincoln Burnett’s courtship of Melissa and suggesting that Lachlan come to London sooner than planned, since she was upset about it. He didn’t include a note to his sister. He was really not looking forward to explaining to her what they’d done.
Because they expected Lachlan and Kimberly to show soon, the brothers elected to stay in London for the time being—to face the music, so to speak. They spent a lot of time at the St. James residence, waiting, or at least hoping, that Melissa would get over her shock and come down to rail at them, and before her parents arrived. They deserved it. It would be good for her. And she could then get on with having her season—and Lachlan and Kimberly then wouldn’t be quite as furious with them.
The duchess tolerated them in her house and after a few days even began inviting them to dine with her, since they seemed at such a loss for what to do with themselves. She was still too annoyed with them to invite them to be her house-guests for the duration, but she made a small effort to entertain them, gracious lady that she was. They were Melissa’s relatives, after all, though at the moment the poor girl was probably wishing they weren’t.
They were having dinner with her tonight, had almost finished, when the butler arrived to say, “An un expected guest, Your Grace.” Then, to Ian Six, “If you even look at my nose, Master Ian, I shall quit my post, which is lik
ely to annoy the duchess.”
Megan glanced at the youngest MacFearson, who was already starting to blush, and said, “Yes, extremely annoyed, as it happens.”
His blush got much worse, but no one noticed, because the mentioned “visitor” now stood in the doorway—filled it with his large size, actually—and had everyone’s attention. Silence reigned. Shock had a way of doing that.
Megan was least affected. She left the table, cordially offered her hand to Lincoln Burnett. “You’re back? Somehow that doesn’t surprise me in the least. But you will avoid…disturbing my furniture while you’re here, won’t you?”
It was an order, not a request. No fighting in her house under any circumstances.
Either way Lincoln would have replied, “Yes, Your Grace,” and did.
“Very well, I’ll leave you to your business, then,” the lady said and with a signal to the butler, who had hoped to witness the ensuing theatrics and was disappointed that he wasn’t going to be able to, left her guests to iron out their numerous differences.
The silence continued, probably because Lincoln’s expression was completely inscrutable, giving them no clue to the degree of his rage. He looked fit, no worse for wear, but that could be deceiving.
William was the first to break the uncomfortable spell, remarking, “Och, Linc, I’m amazed tae say I’m actually glad tae see ye.”
“You’ll forgive me if I doubt that,” Lincoln replied quietly.
William chuckled. “I did say I was amazed.”
Callum wasn’t amused, but he did reiterate, “Actually, I’d say we’re all relieved that a mistake we made got rectified somehow. Sae, aye, for that reason alone, we’re glad tae see ye. It has nothing tae do wi’ anything else.”
Lincoln accepted that explanation with a nod. “I have an aunt and a cousin who depend on me. Did you even think to inform them that you’d arranged for me not to be around for a number of years? Or were you going to leave them to wonder indefinitely over my ‘disappearance’?”
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