Chapter 11 #2
The older lady pointed out a hidden alcove with hooks, and the two of them opened the trunk together. Cat was relieved that no seawater had penetrated the interior, ruining the items inside.
Mrs Ballard viewed all the black clothing within. “Who have you lost, miss?”
“My brother, Brodie, and then my mother not long after,” Cat said. Tears pricked at her eyes, despite how often she’d had to explain this news over the past months.
“Does your father yet live?”
“No, he passed several years ago.” She did not add that his passing didn’t cause too much grief.
“Your brother and mother, though. Ach, either would be a hard loss for anyone, but coming so close together is more than a double blow. Why don’t you rest, lass? I’ll have hot water and some tea brought up to you.”
“Thank you, Mrs Ballard. I would appreciate that very much.”
The housekeeper left, and Cat sank down on the corner of the bed, suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue.
She was far from home. She had no one to talk to, other than a man who despised her, and she had no idea how long she’d be stuck in this admittedly pleasant prison.
What good was all her philosophy now? How could she direct her life when she couldn’t even know when she’d be leaving this house?
Cat sagged to her side, curling up on the bed and closing her eyes. If she still had her brother, none of this would be happening. She whispered, “Oh, Brodie, why’d you leave me?”
* * * *
Thane was inordinately happy to be back at Kinlochlie. This was where he was always meant to be, and why he resented the need to go to the Continent, even while he appreciated the reason for it. Thank God the war was over for him.
In the next few days, he would make a point to get out and explore.
It had been far too long since he’d ambled through the woods surrounding the house and up to the summit of the nearest mountain, where as a boy he’d pretended to be a king surveying his whole domain.
Throughout his time as a soldier, he’d been given only occasional brief leaves to visit his family home, and each time had felt compressed into a moment, he was so intent on speaking to everyone he could and spending time with his father before he’d passed away, quietly and peacefully.
His older sisters, Annella and Effie, had got married and gone to live elsewhere, though Thane was lucky that both were fairly close.
In particular, he was grateful for Effie’s proximity, because her respectable presence at Kinlochlie would be the shield to protect Catriona’s reputation.
Speaking of which, he had to leave the welcome warmth of his estate in order to ride like hell to his sister’s home and beg her indulgence for his mad scheme.
Which was how it felt, after the first panic had abated and he had time to consider just how disruptive Catriona’s presence would be, not merely to the daily operations of the house, but to his peace of mind.
Brodie Ross would rise from the grave and call Thane out if there had been any way for a ghost to know the sort of thoughts Thane was having about his twin sister.
Well, no help for it now. The die was cast, and Thane had to plan his next moves in a way that wouldn’t dishonor himself, his late friend, or the woman unexpectedly at the center of this problem.
Thankfully, Effie lived not far away—her new home was once part of the MacPhearson holdings.
A few generations before, it had been sold to the MacDonnell family, close allies to the MacPhearsons for hundreds of years.
Not surprising, then, that one of the MacDonnell men had found a happy match with a MacPhearson woman.
Thane was just glad his sister was close.
The idle thought caused another to come up unbidden: Catriona had no sibling close by anymore, and only Thane knew why that was. He felt a pull in his chest, the same horrific ache he always got when thinking of Brodie’s last living day, and he quickly buried the feeling as he had so often before.
Moments later, Thane crossed the top of a rise and saw the house he was aiming for. He sped his horse up with a nudge. The horse seemed eager to comply, and they were there in almost no time.
A maid opened the door. “I’ll tell your sister of your arrival, Mr MacPhearson,” the woman said, all smiles.
News of his return would be spread across practically the whole of the Highlands within a few days, he reflected as he waited in the parlor.
But would that news be accompanied by the fact that he’d brought a dark-haired harridan with him?
He hoped not. Perhaps he should have come up with a false name for Catriona.
Ha, as if the lass would deign to use one. Catriona was nothing if not forthright.
“Thane!”
He turned, smiling.
The woman who rushed into the room was a little older, a little stouter, but she glowed with joy to see him.
“Thane, my heart, I’m so happy!” Effie flung her arms around his shoulders, and he swung her around as he used to do when they were younger.
She let out a laugh like pure gold. “Home at last! My wee brother.”
“Your wee brother has come to ask a not-so-wee favor,” Thane told her. “Not that I’m not delighted to see you again, of course. But there’s a matter I need your help with.”
“Dear Lord, are you in love?” she gasped. “About to propose?”
“What? No! God help me, why would you think that?”
“Well, what else does a younger brother come to his big sister for advice with?” She heaved a sigh. “I was so hoping that you sought my wisdom on how to catch a lady’s heart.”
Thane rolled his eyes. “If I did, I’d go to Annella, who as I remember at least made her swains work a bit. You’re so open and soft-hearted that you would have married a puppy if it knew how to propose.”
“Oh, they always have such soulful eyes!” Effie said, clapping her hands. She had never seen a dog that she didn’t want to pet. “But if I am not to offer sermons on how to win the esteem of a lady, then what do you need from me?”
“Chiefly, your presence,” he confessed. “Circumstances have put me in an odd position, and there is at this moment a guest at Kinlochlie…an unmarried lady who certainly cannot remain at Kinlochlie without the company of a woman of suitable standing.”
His sister’s expression was so stunned he might have laughed, if the situation weren’t so dire. “Who is she?”
“Brodie Ross’s sister.”
Effie’s eyes widened in instant understanding. After all, she’d heard near a hundred stories about Thane’s close friend over the past eight years. “Poor darling. They were twins, were they not?”
“Yes. And something happened in Edinburgh which…” He sighed, and looked to the comfortable armchairs Effie had placed near the fire.
“Let’s sit. I’d like to tell you the whole story, but it would take too much time.
And Miss Ross is adamant that no one else hear the details, lest some rumor fly that could hurt someone. ”
Thane offered a very truncated version, emphasizing how many unknowns there were in the situation, and how Catriona needed to remain hidden and anonymous to stay safe.
Throughout the story, he got several exclamations from his horrified sister, and at the end he said, “It would be a favor to me, but more to Miss Ross, if you would decamp to Kinlochlie for a short while—a week or so?—until Miss Ross’s aunt joins her here, or I can safely return her to Edinburgh. ”
“Oh, Thane, you are a loyal friend,” Effie said, though it wasn’t quite clear whether she meant her words as a compliment or an admonishment. “I hope your impulse to do good by Brodie’s memory won’t harm anyone. You know what they say about the road to perdition.”
“If you can come to the house, I am certain that we can deflect the only legitimate risk, which is to Miss Ross’s reputation. All the rest will be easy to deal with,” Thane said with a confidence that he didn’t feel.
“I do hope so. You have not spoken much about the lady herself,” his sister added with curiosity in her eyes.
“When you meet her, you’ll have every opportunity to judge that on your own terms.”
She hid a laugh behind her hand. “If that’s not a warning, I don’t know what is.
Well, you could not have done better if you wanted to lead me along.
Wait here but an hour, and I’ll have things packed.
Fortunately, I won’t have to explain to my Robbie what’s in the wind, since he’s away for the next sennight or so. ”
Thane stood up. “Don’t rush on my account. If you can make a late supper, that will be sufficient for propriety—I think it would be better if there was a suitable lady in the house overnight. It’s not as if Miss Ross is alone—Kinlochlie houses dozens of people.”
“People, yes, but not women of her station. She’ll be lonely. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”