Chapter 17
Tea had been poured, and a tempting array of cakes and biscuits had been set out before Callum and his guests, yet no one had started to eat or drink. The atmosphere in the room was thick with a tension that was almost palpable.
Eileen was sitting beside Callum, her body as tense and rigid as a piece of wood as she tried to block out the sound of her brother’s harsh voice. He felt infinitely sorry for her, and had already decided that if things did not go well with Lachlan, he would give her and Ronan the means to elope.
“Why have you not set a date for the wedding yet?” Lachlan demanded. “I have been waiting for months—surely the preparations have been finished by now? How long does it take to make food, send out invitations and sew a dress, for heaven’s sake? My own wedding was arranged in a matter of days.”
“There has been a lot of extra repair work to do around the estate lately,” Callum explained calmly as he took a sip of his tea.
“The storms of the last few weeks have done a lot of damage to the tenants’ cottages and much of their land has been flooded.
I could not just selfishly ignore that to take care of my own needs.
I have a responsibility to my people, and their welfare is my concern.
Has your estate not suffered the same damage? ”
“My steward takes care of all that,” Lachlan growled.
Waving his hand in a gesture of dismissal.
“That is what he is paid for. Now, stop messing around! Do you take me for a fool? I can see what you are trying to do. I came here to talk about the wedding, not the state of your lands. Why has nothing been done?”
He thumped his fist on the table beside him, causing Eileen to jump in fright.
Callum patted her hand gently. “You are upsetting your sister,” he told Ferguson, and despite his best efforts, an edge of anger crept into his voice.
Lachlan huffed and gave a cynical laugh. “And why should you care?” he asked scornfully. “It doesn’t sound as though you are in a great hurry to make her your wife!”
Callum was sorely tempted to leap out of his chair and flatten Lachlan’s nose with his fist, but instead he took a deep breath and glanced at Eileen, who nodded in agreement to his unspoken question.
“You are right,” he said, standing up and walking across to Lachlan to look down at him. He saw, with some satisfaction, that the other man had cowered back in his chair and his expression was one of deep apprehension.
“Eileen and I are good friends, but we have no romantic feelings for each other at all,” Callum said, shrugging. “A marriage between us would be a huge mistake, and we would both be deeply unhappy.”
Lachlan let out a bark of laughter.
“Romance?” he cried in disbelief. “What the hell does romance have to do with anything? This is an arrangement that was signed and sealed by two consenting parties, and it cannot be cast aside just because you—” He pointed at Callum aggressively—“happened to change your mind!”
At that moment Eileen spoke up. “Lachlan, listen to him!”
Lachlan raised his hand. “Shut up!” he snapped. “This is men’s talk.”
This time Callum had to hold the back of a chair till his knuckles turned white to stop himself from inflicting violence on this odious man. “A loveless marriage would not be good for either of our clans,” he stated as evenly as he could.
“Loveless?” Lachlan’s voice was high with disbelief.
“What does love have to do with it? All that matters is that heirs are brought forth and grow up to carry on the bloodline. Are you so naive that you believe in all this drivel about love and devotion and happy ever after? I credited you with more sense, Callum Mackintosh!”
He raked Callum from head to foot with a scathing glance.
“Perhaps you should try to look at it this way,” Callum suggested. “Eileen and I are not attracted to each other. Are we more or less likely to want to come together to conceive a child?”
“You do not have to enjoy the act. Just get it done. Now, I am not wasting any more of my valuable time with this stupid chatter! Set a date, or I will do it myself and—” He got no further, for at that moment the door opened and a flushed and excited Margot came in, her eyes sparkling with joy.
“Eliza is safe!” she cried. “She—” At that moment she caught sight of Lachlan Ferguson and stopped in the middle of her sentence. “Oh! I am so sorry! I had no idea you had company. Please excuse me.”
Eileen stood up and drew Margot forward, then said, “This is Margot Tewsbury. Margot, this is my brother, Laird Lachlan Ferguson.”
Margot gave him a polite curtsey and a smile. “Pleased to meet you, My Laird,” she said.
At the sound of her smooth English speech, Ferguson’s lip curled, and he raked her from head to toe with a glare of pure disgust. “A Sassenach,” he said, his voice a low growl of disapproval. “How did you get in here?”
Margot did not think it wise to tell this loathsome man the whole truth.“I found myself in grave trouble. Laird Mackintosh rescued me.”
Ferguson looked outraged. “But you are a complete stranger, and an English one at that.” He glared at Callum. “And you are treating her like bloody royalty! She could be a thief, a murderer—anything. Are you a complete eejit?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Margot could see that Callum was about to come to her defence, but she was not going to back down.
She tilted her chin up, squared her shoulders, and said firmly, “My sister is Lady Eliza Sinclair, wife of Laird Duncan Sinclair, so you see, I have every right to be treated as one of you. However, even if I were a tramp, a beggar or a servant, it is none of your concern. It is not your place to tell Laird Mackintosh what to do in his own home.”
Ferguson glared at her furiously, but Margot did not look away, and she stared at him unblinkingly until he looked away, his cheeks red with fury and embarrassment. She was intensely relieved, however, when Eileen spoke up.
“Laird Mackintosh, Margot, would you mind leaving Lachlan and me alone for a moment?” she asked, her eyes never leaving Lachlan. “I would like to speak to my brother in private. We will not be long.”
She looked angrier than Margot had ever seen her look before, and for the first time she had the idea that Eileen Ferguson might be a formidable adversary.
“Of course, Eileen,” Callum said politely, but he gave her a warning look as he bowed to her. He did not trust Lachlan Ferguson one inch, since he had seen him strike both his servants and anyone else, man or woman, who got in his way. “We will wait just outside.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, Eileen rounded on her brother. “Why can you not just let this matter go, brother?” she demanded. “You can see that neither Callum nor I want this marriage. He will return the dowry, so you will not even be out of pocket! What other objections do you have?”
Lachlan walked up to her and stood staring at Eileen furiously for a moment. However, she knew that Callum was outside, and he could dispose of her brother with one swipe of his fist, so she was not as afraid as she might have been. Callum Mackintosh would not stand by and see any woman hurt.
“I cannot believe what I am hearing!” Lachlan cried. “Do you not know how wealthy this man is? Do you know how much land he owns? We will never have to worry about coin again when you marry him.”
“We are not exactly poor ourselves,” Eileen pointed out.
“No, we are not,” Lachlan conceded, “but we can never tell what the future holds.” He narrowed his eyes and looked at Eileen suspiciously. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Does the Sassenach have anything to do with this?”
Eileen’s heart skipped a beat. His guess was too close to the truth for comfort. She turned away to pour herself more tea so that he could not read the expression on her face. “He hardly knows her!” she snapped. “Does my happiness mean nothing to you?”
Lachlan barked a cynical laugh. “What does your happiness matter?” he sneered. “I am the Laird and I make the rules. You do not have a say in anything, little sister. I will handle this matter myself from now on. I seem to be the only one with any sense!”
He strode out, slamming the door behind him and leaving Eileen staring after him with a terrifying feeling of foreboding.
Once they were outside the room, Callum drew Margot into his arms and held her against him for a while, breathing a sigh of contentment and relief.
“I am sorry about what happened in there,” he said angrily. “Eileen’s brother is a contemptible swine, as you saw for yourself. I am proud of you for standing up for yourself. Although I know you well enough by now not to be surprised.”
Margot laughed. “I’m afraid I have no idea how to back down,” she admitted ruefully. “Eliza always says I’m as stubborn as twin mules!”
“I almost forgot, what else did your sister’s letter say?” he asked, smiling. “Good news?”
“Oh, it’s wonderful news!” Margot drew away from Callum a little to look up into his eyes.
“Not only is Eliza happily married to a man she adores, but she is expecting his baby! I cannot tell you how relieved and overjoyed I am, Callum. I thought she had died! And Juliet is safe and well, too. I was so, so worried.”
“I know you were,” he said, pulling her back into his arms. “I am happy for you too, Margot.”
“You know, this is my favourite place in the whole world,” she told him softly. “In your arms, I feel so warm and safe.”
Callum laughed and stroked Margot’s silky red hair tenderly. “I wish I could keep you safe all the time,” he said. “I am afraid that is not possible, though, so I want you to do one thing for me, please.”
His voice sounded worried, and Margot looked up at him, seeing the anxiety in his face. “Anything,” she answered.
“Stay clear of Lachlan Ferguson,” Callum told her. His tone was firm, and the look in his eyes made Margot tremble inwardly.
“He is trouble, and he is dangerous,” he declared. “Keep as far away from him as you can, Margot. It would be best if you had your meals in your chamber today instead of eating with us. I am truly sorry, but it is only until we sort out the matter of the betrothal. Then we can all move on. I hope.”
“I have met men like him before,” Margot answered, frowning with a fury she was trying to keep under control.
“My father is just the same. He has to be in control of everything, and if things do not go his way, he lashes out and doesn’t care who he hurts.
” Her voice was bitter as she said, “I will do as you say, Callum.”
“Thank you, lass.”
He kissed her softly and as he looked down at her, he felt his heart almost bursting with love, yet he could not tell her—not yet, anyway. Lachlan Ferguson was standing in his way. He was a weak and stupid creature, but Callum had met and overcome many who were much worse.