Chapter 15
Cormac had been feeling better about himself and enjoying the evening. Having Rosalind at his side and laughing along with him had improved his spirits, and he felt like he could cope. But that was gone as he stared at the woman at Ellingham’s side.
She looked stunning, as always, her hair delicately curled and arranged around her face, wearing a sunflower-yellow dress that accentuated her slim figure.
It was Ottoline. And she was standing beside Ellingham in a way that indicated they had arrived together.
Cormac couldn’t believe this was happening.
Lady McCulloch had said Ottoline wouldn’t be personally invited anymore after her behavior.
Did it mean she’d come with Ellingham? And how had he managed to get an invitation?
As far as Cormac knew, Rosalind’s brother-in-law didn’t know anyone in the area.
As Ellingham talked to another gentleman, Ottoline’s eyes scanned the room, and they landed on Cormac. Then she smiled, a pretty curve of her mouth that had often made Cormac melt at her feet. But it didn’t do anything this time except twist something in his stomach.
“Who is that?” Rosalind whispered. She was looking at him with a frown. “Do you know her?”
“I do.” Cormac turned to her. “I think it is about time for us to leave. Are you against that? Do you want to stay?”
“I’m not against it, but what’s the matter? You’ve gone pale.”
Cormac felt like his cravat was trying to strangle him. He absently adjusted it.
“I’m fine. But I think we’ve spent enough time here. Unless you want to speak to your brother-in-law?”
But she shook her head.
“I don’t think this is the appropriate place to speak with him. We’ll talk when he gets home. And, if I’m honest, I’m exhausted.”
She wasn’t the only one. Cormac squeezed her hand, noticing that Ottoline was walking toward them.
“Go and ask for my carriage to be prepared,” he said quietly. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“All right. I’ll make our excuses to Lady McCulloch.” Rosalind paused. “Just… I hope things are all right with you.”
She hurried off before Cormac could respond, giving Ellingham a wide berth before leaving the room. She wondered what the brother-in-law would do if he realized Rosalind had disappeared without talking to him.
Then he realized that Ottoline was within reach. She didn’t look any different than she had the last time they laid eyes on each other. Just as beautiful, just as graceful. But Cormac felt nothing affectionate this time. He felt revulsion twisting in his stomach, and he wanted to push her away.
“Cormac,” Ottoline purred, laying a hand on his arm. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Cormac neatly side-stepped, her hand falling, and started walking toward the door.
“What are you doing here, Ottoline?” he demanded gruffly. “You’re too far north. I thought you were in Carlisle.”
“I thought I’d come and get myself reacquainted with my old friends. Including you.” She fell into step beside him. “I did miss seeing you around. We did have a lot of good times.”
“Until you decided to marry someone else while courting me,” Cormac muttered. “Don’t you think you’ve humiliated me enough?”
“That’s very harsh. It’s like you’re treating me as a stranger.”
“I wish I could.” He swung around on her, causing Ottoline to almost bump into him. “Lady McCulloch said you would never be invited here again, so how did you get in here?”
“Oh, I came with Julian Ellingham.” She gestured at Ellingham, who was still talking away and looking very much at home. “We met when I was visiting family in Inverness, and we’ve become good friends. He offered to persuade me to stay.”
“So you’re back in the area?”
“Back at my old home. You know where it is.”
Cormac did. He’d visited it often enough.
Ottoline’s house was an hour away from him, on the other side of Corrieden.
That was too close for his liking, although he supposed he was relieved that Ellingham hadn’t offered her to be a guest at Corrieden itself.
Rosalind hadn’t properly been introduced to her, but even if she had, she would see this as poor taste.
“I saw you with a new young lady,” Ottoline went on. “Such a shame about her face. What happened to her?”
Cormac gritted his teeth. “That’s none of your business.”
“Isn’t it? We were very close once, weren’t we?”
“Not anymore.” Cormac looked around. “I’m surprised you’re not here with your husband. Are you that bored with him already?”
A shadow passed across her face, and Ottoline glanced around.
“My husband passed away not too long ago. I’ve been a widow for some time now.”
Normally, Cormac would apologize and offer his condolences, but not this time. All he wanted to do was get away from her.
“I’m sure you’ll find another husband in no time,” he said sharply. “Now, if you’ll excuse me?”
Ottoline looked hurt. “You’re not going to catch up with me? Talk about old times?”
“I’ve got more important things to do.” Cormac gave her a stiff bow. “Anyway, I bid you goodnight.”
He hurried out, not wanting to look back. If he did, he was sure that he would see Ottoline looking around at those in the room with her. That she would be noticing if someone was watching her, openly admiring her. It was something she always did, as if she needed to be admired all the time.
At the time, he’d been delighted that he was the one she’d chosen and everyone else had to simply look. Now it made him angry. Ottoline was just a vain woman who didn’t care who was at her side as long as everyone was paying attention to her.
He’d promised himself that he would never be in the same room as her again, especially when the humiliation from before made him feel even smaller.
He just wanted to get out of there.
Rosalind was outside, wearing her cloak as she waited by the carriage. Cormac was relieved to see her, hurrying down the steps to join her.
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to be that long.”
“You can stay, you know.” Rosalind glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ve got plenty of things to discuss with old friends.”
Cormac turned and saw Ottoline standing at the top of the steps, giving him that smile that used to entice him back. He shuddered and looked away.
“I think we should leave. Unless you want…”
“I’ve already said I would like to go home.” Rosalind tugged her cloak around her shoulders. “I think it’s as much as I can take.”
“Understood. Then let’s head back.”
He held the door open and clambered in after her, slamming the door resolutely. As they trundled away, Cormac looked out to see Ottoline was watching them go. She didn’t seem interested in anything else.
“She’s beautiful,” Rosalind remarked. “Who is she?”
Cormac scowled as he sat back against the cushions. “No one. She’s no one.”
She arched an eyebrow at him, indicating that she didn’t believe him, but Cormac wasn’t about to explain himself. He would rather get away from the woman as quickly as possible.
Especially as she’d come with Ellingham, only days after Cormac told him about William and how they were friends. Had Ellingham done some research on him and known what would be his weakness, or a weapon against Cormac? It certainly felt like that.
Cormac wasn’t stupid. Ottoline and Ellingham were in league with each other. They had a plan, and it involved both him and Rosalind, something he wasn’t comfortable with.
The ride back to Corrieden was silent, Rosalind staring out of the window and not looking at him.
Cormac wanted to assure her that things were fine, to explain everything about Ottoline, but he couldn’t.
The humiliation she’d put him through was still there, and he didn’t want Rosalind to look at him differently.
Maybe she already did. That left a pit in his stomach.
When they finally arrived at Corrieden, the tension was almost unbearable. Cormac jumped out first and helped Rosalind out of the carriage, her hand light on his arm and removing it quickly.
“I apologize for how the evening finished,” he said, the words tumbling out quickly. “I didn’t realize that was going to happen.”
“That wasn’t your fault.” She tugged her cloak about her, her hair falling from its pins. “She is a beautiful woman, the one who followed you out.”
Cormac flinched. He really didn’t want to discuss Ottoline. And then he saw the shadow pass across Rosalind’s face, only for him to realize what she was thinking.
She had seen Ottoline whole and unmarked by scars, and then decided she was the inferior one of the two. He shook his head.
“You don’t need to worry about her. She’s someone from my past I don’t wish to be associated with.”
“You might have a problem with that if Julian brings her here,” Rosalind muttered.
“And she’s not someone I would associate with, in my opinion. She’s not a good person.”
“How can I be sure that’s the truth?”
That hurt, and Cormac resisted the urge to rub her chest. How could she say that?
Did she not trust her judgment? Was it because of the way Ottoline had followed him?
Did she see them talking before? Rosalind was clearly upset, and he wanted to reassure her that he didn’t feel any interest in Ottoline anymore. That had disappeared a long time ago.
Then he wondered what he was doing. Why was he talking about Ottoline not being a part of his life? Why did he have to prove himself?
“It was a very pleasant evening,” Rosalind said, a little too stiffly, as she straightened up. “Thank you for taking me, my lord. Lady McCulloch is a really nice woman.”
“She is, and it was my pleasure.”
It didn’t escape him that Rosalind had addressed him so formally. That was more painful than he thought was possible. He watched as she stepped back, glancing away, and then she hurried toward the front doors. It was opened by Rivers, and she slipped inside without looking back.
Cormac didn’t know how he was supposed to react to this. She was clearly upset, and now she was wary about being around him. That didn’t sit well with him.
It had to be part of Ellingham’s plan. He brought Ottoline along to throw Cormac off-balance, to keep Rosalind distrustful. Even though he could declare that Ottoline meant nothing to him, it probably wouldn’t make a difference.
Despite everything, Rosalind was going to listen to her brother-in-law. She valued family and their opinions. Cormac had a feeling that it would happen this time.
He was still lost in thought as he arrived back at Ravensmuir, although his mood was low and he was angry.
He wished this hadn’t happened. He’d wanted to finish the evening with high spirits, laughing and happy with Rosalind’s company.
Instead, it had ended awkwardly, and Cormac was feeling lower than before.
Hamish was still awake, sitting in the study as he went through the books, head bent over the pages as a candle burned almost down to the wick beside him. He looked up at Cormac’s entrance.
“What are you still doing awake?” Cormac asked.
“I thought I’d finish off some of the accounts and get them balanced out.”
“And are they? I thought we sorted them out this morning.”
Hamish sighed and held up his hands. “All right, I wanted to see how it went at the ball. You and Rosalind were both nervous, and I was concerned.”
Cormac grunted and looked away. “Let’s just say it’s not something I want to repeat.”
His friend arched an eyebrow in confusion. “Was it that bad?”
“I’m not discussing it tonight.” Cormac turned away. “I’m going to stay up for a while, but you don’t need to.”
Hamish looked like he was going to argue, but decided against it. Sighing, he sat back and stretched his arms above his head.
“All right. I’ll retire for the night. But you know where I am if you need me.”
“Night, Hamish.”
Cormac went into the drawing room and pulled out the brandy, filling a glass with a generous measure. He downed it in one go before pouring another one. Even then, his hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
He thought he would never have to see Ottoline again. That she would never come back and bother him again. Now her husband had passed, and she was managing to slip back into his life. Cormac didn’t like that at all, especially as she was accompanying Ellingham.
Was she in on the plan as well? It would make sense. There was no chance of Ellingham and Ottoline being together without discussing the situation. They had to know what they were doing.
Cormac was worried now. If Ellingham was scared because he knew his brother and Cormac were friends, what better way than to get him to back off and make Rosalind distrust him? That would mean the two of them would be pushed apart.
Just as Ellingham wanted. Cormac knew he couldn’t let that happen.
He never wanted to see Rosalind so unsure of herself again.