Chapter Eleven
Cat didn’t find the Master. If he had been there, then he seemed to have vanished.
Frustrated, she stood in a small space and tried to breathe, while all around her people laughed and chattered and pressed in.
It came to her that perhaps she was made for open spaces and the cool Scottish air, not this busy, noisy London.
By the time she had finished looking for the Master, Mr. Sutherland had disappeared too, which made her spirits dive even further.
Someone clutched her arm, and Aunt Jennie appeared at her side. She took one look at Cat’s woebegone face and declared that it was time to go home.
“How was your first London ball?” her aunt asked as they set off for home in their coach.
Cat tried to be positive, but all she could come up with was, “Interesting.”
Jennie gave a snorting laugh, and then said in a musing voice, “I remember Callum wasn’t much enamored of London society. Donal was the same, although he had Agatha to keep him company. Rory didna let anything bother him; he dived right into it.”
“I miss Bonnyrigg,” she said, the words spilling from her lips. “I canna bear the thought of losing my home.”
Jennie reached across the space between them and clasped her hand. “My dear, you mustn’t think of it.”
How was she to do that? She had hoped this ball would take her mind off her troubles, and Mr. Sutherland had been there, which had certainly helped.
She admitted that dancing with him had been the best part of her evening.
For a moment, she had wondered if he was trying to persuade her to marry the Master when what she had really wanted was for him to show her he didn’t want her to marry another man. That he wanted her for himself.
It was silly to feel like that, she knew.
They were barely acquainted, and yet she had a sense that they could be closer if she weren’t beholden to her family to save them.
Because that was what she had come down to London to do, and she had to see it through, or what would happen to Bonnyrigg and the MacKenzies?
No, despite how much she felt herself light up every time she saw Mr. Sutherland, she couldn’t be selfish.
She must follow the path she had chosen.
Marriage.
She shivered at the thought. Aunt Jennie, who was now chatting about someone or other she had met at the ball, stopped and stared at her in the dark confines of their coach.
“Cat, whatever is the matter with you? I know you miss Bonnyrigg, but I think it is more than that. I am becoming seriously worried about you.”
Cat wanted to tell her the secret she was keeping from her, she really did, but if she did, then Aunt Jennie would send her home immediately. She had no choice but to force a smile and try to sound as if everything were fine.
“I just . . . I enjoy Mr. Sutherland’s company, and I think he enjoys mine. I just wish . . .” She stammered to a halt. I just wish I weren’t having to consider marrying the Master!
Aunt Jennie was staring at her, and then she laughed.
“Good heavens, my dear, you have caught feelings for him! Well, let me tell you, he has definitely caught them for you. And such a handsome and polite young gentleman, although I know nothing about him.” She tapped her finger against her chin.
“We need to discover more about him, his family and so on, before this goes further. Your father would never forgive me if he were a bounder.”
Cat had wondered about Mr. Sutherland too.
He was rather a mystery. He didn’t seem to have any family or friends, apart from Lord Harcourt.
Or perhaps he did, and he just wasn’t keen to talk about them.
Good heaven, she didn’t even know his address!
It could be he was just a very private person, but that had not stopped him asking an awful lot of questions about her.
The coach drew up in front of the Strathmore house, and as Hocking opened the door to them, Uncle James appeared in the doorway to his study.
Even though he was smiling, his eyes were serious as he exchanged a look with his wife.
One of those looks that seemed to say a great deal without them actually speaking a word.
“What is it?” Cat asked sharply, suddenly afraid that someone she loved was ill. “Uncle James? I know there is something wrong. Tell me.”
Her uncle grimaced. “I suppose you will find out anyway, my dear. I received a letter from your father. He has written to say our court case against Lord Armytage will not go ahead. It has been decided we do not have enough evidence to show the man isn’t entitled to payment of the loan in any way he feels fit.
The law is not interested in fairness, just cold, hard facts. ”
Cat felt her head turn dizzy. The next moment she was seated in the hall chair with her head between her knees, and Aunt Jennie was rubbing her back and speaking in soothing tones while Uncle James offered her a glass of whisky.
She took a sip, and it did seem to help.
“I am so sorry, Cat,” he said gently. “It is a shock to you. Me too. I shouldn’t have blurted it out.”
She shook her head. There were tears on her cheeks, and her lips were trembling. “No, Uncle James, this isn’t your fault. Just a—a surprise when I had hoped . . .” She looked up at him. “What are we going to do now?”
He glanced at Jennie, and then sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I will set off for Bonnyrigg as soon as I can so that Maxwell and I can discuss matters. But believe me, Cat, this isn’t the end.” He sounded as if he meant it, but she wondered if really, deep down, he believed it.
How could this not be the end of her life in the secure surroundings of her home? The end of her family too. They were done. They may as well start looking for a hovel to live in immediately. She imagined Penelope giving birth to her child in such a place and felt like screaming.
“James will think of a way,” Jennie was saying, her fingers tightening on Cat’s shoulder until they were almost painful. “Try not to worry, my dear. When are you leaving?” she spoke to her husband.
His voice was low and serious. “Unfortunately, I have a deal I am in the middle of negotiating with a client about a new ship, but I will finish it as quickly as I can. A few days. A week at the most.”
“I think you should go with him, Cat,” Jennie spoke firmly. “As much as I have loved having you here, I think you are needed at home.”
Cat opened her mouth to protest, but she knew her aunt was right. Her mother needed her, her brothers and their families needed her, and her father needed her most of all. She gave a defeated nod.
There wasn’t much more to say, and soon she was heading up the stairs to her bedchamber. Bothwell was waiting for her at her door, chirruping as he followed her into the room.
“I’ll miss you too.” She bent to stroke his fur.
She would miss London but mostly because her aunt and uncle were here, and the Snowden sisters.
And deep in her heart she knew she would miss Mr. Sutherland, a man she barely knew and yet she felt as if she did.
Whatever her aunt thought of him, Cat believed he was a good man, a kind man, and someone she could have depended upon.
A tear ran down her cheek. She couldn’t even send a message to tell him that she was going, because she did not know where he lived!
The true horror of her situation crashed down upon her. The MacKenzies were going to lose everything. They would be cast out of their home and off their land, to wander through the countryside as beggars.
Perhaps that was a tad dramatic. She was sure Aunt Jennie and Uncle James would not allow them to become beggars, they would share their home, but it would never be the same. How could it be?
She had been trying to find a way of saving them without doing what she knew she must do.
She would have to marry the Master. Mrs. Dove-Lyon had said she could arrange matters so that Bonnyrigg would be hers.
Even if not immediately, then certainly when Lord Armytage died, and he was an old man.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon had also said that Cat needed to make up her mind quickly, if she wasn’t to miss out on her opportunity.
The time had come for her to speak to the Black Widow again.
She must put Mr. Sutherland out of her mind forever.
Cat was a determined sort of woman, and once she had set her mind on something, she refused to let anything else get in her way. It was time for action, and she would act.
Tomorrow, she would go to the Lyon’s Den.