He’d wanted to rip the blackguard’s throat out. He’d thought of challenging him for the right to Isla’s hand, just as his brethren of old would have done.
“I cannae explain it.” Douglas frowned, the lines on his forehead thick and deep. ?
??I never thought to see the day Alistair Maclean would break the oath he made with yer father.”
“An oath signed and sealed with their blood,” Lachlan added incredulously, keen to express that it had been more than a drunken agreement between old friends.
“Aye.” Douglas hung his head. “I’m ashamed to say I’d nae the will nor the strength to stop him.”
“It’s of no consequence. Alistair obviously knew Isla loved the man.” It was as though icy fingers gripped his heart and squeezed it tight, the nails filed to sharp points to inflict a more intense level of pain. “She has always been a woman ruled by her heart not her head.”
Douglas glanced back over his shoulder before leaning closer. “Nikolai had her under a spell, Lachlan. I’ll nae be surprised to find he is a devil’s disciple sent to cause mischief and misery.”
The thought that there might be some truth to Douglas’ words caused anger to flare. Of course, he did not believe that Nikolai was a sorcerer or a devil, but it was possible he may have used force to get his way. The thought of his evil hands crawling over Isla’s pure white skin could make a man lose his mind. Lachlan cursed inwardly. He should never have left.
“So where is her husband?” he snapped, failing to understand why any man would abandon such an intriguing woman. “Surely you must have heard something from him these last few years.”
Douglas shrugged. “On a stormy night, less than a week after they’d wed, he grabbed a lamp from the table and took Isla to the mine. He left her alone down there, and we’ve nae seen a hair or prickly whisker of him since.”
Lachlan stared at Douglas, yet the man struggled to hold his gaze. “There must be more to the story than that.”
“She cannae remember a darn thing about it.” Douglas glanced at the floor, and Lachlan suspected that wasn’t entirely true. “But the beggar took everything of value, everything his slimy fingers could carry.”
Had Nikolai ruined his life purely out of greed?
“Is that why you want me to offer to rent the mine?”
Douglas raised his chin. “The lass refuses to accept charity, even from me. But if she thinks it’s earned fairly, she’ll take a different view. There’s barely enough money to f-feed her and keep her warm come winter. I know yer father’s nae looking to invest, but there’s a thick vein of iron down there. A huge deposit. I’m sure it will be worth yer while to have a look.”
Judging by the condition of his father’s estate, there was barely a farthing to spare. While he had an income of his own, a man planning to take a wife needed to have a care what he did with his coin.
“Without her husband’s consent it will be nigh on impossible to work the mine,” Lachlan informed him. “I know I agreed to help you, and I will, but I’ll not trouble my father.”
In truth, he had agreed to assist Douglas without actually paying much attention to his plan. He would have sold his soul for an excuse to visit Castle Craig. Call it curiosity. Call it a need to know if the past still haunted him. Now he knew the answer.
“I understand.” Douglas rubbed the back of his neck. “It was wrong of me to mither and moan when yer trying to forge ahead with yer own plans. No doubt, the ladies in Edinburgh are nae as wild and hostile as Highland lasses.”
Lachlan found them vastly different. In the city, women often feigned a sweet nature to disguise vulgar habits — he preferred women who spoke their mind. Despite their material wealth, some were emotionally obsessive and needy. They paraded about in the finest silk; their bodies drenched in expensive perfume. The exotic packages failed to arouse him, and while his cock swelled sufficiently to enable him to perform, the rest of him felt numb to their charms.
“I prefer them a little more unruly, and there’s nothing like the sweet smell of heather on a woman’s hair and skin.”
Douglas chuckled. “Or a trail of midge bites leading from a trim ankle to a soft mound of moss.”
Lachlan laughed too. He had missed the old man’s humour. “I’ll tell Isla that I’m interested in renting the mine. I’ll take a look down there and see if I can find a few men willing to work. We won’t make it official, and it will have to be on a small scale, but I’m sure I will be able to pay her something.”
Douglas gasped. “Even if it’s enough to see her through the winter. If that thieving blighter has nae come back by spring, I’ll have to find a more permanent solution.”
The thought of Nikolai returning to claim his Scottish bride roused murderous thoughts. “Then I pray I have the sense to leave here before he does, else I’m sure to find a rope around my neck.” He put his hand to his throat. “I have no wish to dangle from the gallows.”
Forty minutes later, Lachlan strode through the hallway of Carrick Hall. In the evenings, his father could be found nestled in a chair in his study. There was little point heating the larger rooms for a man on his own and the intimate relationship he shared with his housekeeper required an element of privacy.
As Lachlan approached the study, he met Boyd, his father’s steward, exiting the room.
“Is he alone?” Lachlan gestured to the door.
“Aye. I’ve left him to his supper.” Boyd’s excessive facial hair practically covered his lips; the full beard muffled the sound of his voice, and Lachlan strained to listen. “We were just going through the accounts.” Boyd clutched the leather-bound ledger tight to his chest.
“Have you had time to compile the list of repairs I asked for?” Lachlan would make sure the house was fit for a man of his father’s growing years before he returned to Edinburgh.