“I wrote Uncle Leith.” Malcolm stood and crossed to the sideboard, pouring himself a finger of whisky.
Leah said nothing, letting her disapproving silence speak for her. Her brother was a man of few words, but he would explain himself eventually.
“Ye said ye were acquainted with Captain Carnegie from your time with Aunt and Uncle Leith. Therefore, it seemed logical that they might know more about the captain’s worthiness tae be your husband.”
“Malcolm.” Leah’s tone was decidedly unhappy.
“I ken that ye think me domineering and interfering.” Malcolm held out a staying hand, returning to his seat. “And ye would be correct. But I love ye too well, Leah, tae see ye shackled to a man—a Sassenach, no less—who may not treat ye with the respect ye deserve. So forgive my nosiness.”
Leah folded her arms across her chest. “And what did Uncle Leith say?”
“Nothing more than what Hadley and others have said.” Malcolm sipped his whisky. “Your captain is a well-respected, honorable man—though . . .damagedin heart and body due to his involvement with the Coorg War in India. However, unlike Hadley, our uncle has friends of friends who were in India during the war. Before your betrothal, Uncle had heard rumors of what occurred there.”
“Such as Fox’s injuries?”
“Not necessarily that. More like something scandalous involving a betrayal of sorts. No one can say what specifically occurred, just vague tell of an illicit marriage? A possible annulment? A woman’s tragic death? Regardless, Carnegie fled Madras as soon as he had recovered enough from his injuries tae travel. Next thing anyone kens, he purchases Laverloch Castle—one of the more remote castles in Scotland—with heaven-knows-what money. Uncle Leith thought the captain had received an inheritance from a distant relative, but he didnae know for sure. It’s just all . . .”
Silence arrived and lingered.
“Allwhat?” Leah prompted. “Rumormongering? Gossipy conjecture?”
“Unusual,” Malcolm finished, tossing back the rest of his whisky with a grimace. “Regardless, Carnegieiswealthy enough. The marriage contracts were decidedly generous with your pin money and dowager portion. Ye will want for nothing.”
“Then why are ye concerned? He willnae treat me cruelly, and I shall be cared for.”
More silence. Leah waited.
Malcolm shifted, closing his eyes briefly.
Leah knew this mood of his. The one where words crowded his tongue so fully, he finally had no choice but to loose them.
“Tell me what you wish tae say, Malcolm.”
“I ken it’s just . . .” he began slowly, “in marriage, ye become part of someone else. In a way, ye lose yourself in them. With my Aileen, this feels . . . glorious. Our marriage is loving. We support and nourish one another. But if the love goes off . . .” His voice trailed away for a moment. “Well, I imagine ye can become so lost that ye struggle to keep any piece of yourself.”
Leah tucked her arms in tighter against her chest, as if to ward off his words. She could see the point in Malcolm’s warning, but he didn’t know the full truth—hers would not be a real marriage.
“Alovingmarriage,” she repeated Malcolm’s words. “But we both know that Fox and I are not in love. Ours is not a marriage based on affection; it is more of a business arrangement.”
A business arrangement that gives me a house of my own, she declined to add.And abrawhusband tae look at over dinner.
“At the moment, yes. But time and physical closeness will likely change that for yourself.” Malcolm scraped a hand over the dark evening whiskers stubbling his cheeks. “I know ye, Leah. Ye give all of yourself tae something. In serving him, in sharing his bed, ye will fall in love—hard and fast and true. And so I worry. I worry that ye will become so lost in Fox Carnegie that ye willnae be able tae find your way to happiness.”
“Happiness is what wemakeof our situation, not what the situation intrinsically is,” Leah sighed. “Malcolm, none of us are living the life we dreamed—”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Aye, I ken ye do have a full measure of happiness with Aileen. But for the rest of us, life often comes as more fractured particles of joy, just wee bits of heaven. The trick is to be content with the number you’ve been given. For years, Ihadbeen content tae sit at the fringes of life, tae watch others marry and have bairns of their own. But that contentment began tae feel frayed, particularly after ye married Aileen.”
“Ye are always welcome here, sister.” Hurt lanced Malcolm’s voice. “We would never—”
“There ye two are,” a voice said from the doorway.
Leah turned as Aileen walked into the room, dark hair in a long braid down her back, a white wrapper swaddling her pregnant belly. She had become quite round with child, even though the midwife insisted the babe’s birth was yet several months off.
“The hour is gone so late, I was beginning tae worry that some midnight kelpie had captured ye both,” Aileen continued.
“Wife,” Malcolm said, eyes glowing with affection and love in the firelight. “I was just coming now.”
