“How convenient that you would suggest that!” She glared at him and all he could do was take in how magnificent she was even in her fury. “Why should my dreams and plans lose to your ambitions and schemes?”
There it was—the emotional part of this problem.
“Tell me, Clare,” he said, lowering his own voice. “Why do you fight for these properties so hard? I know you have sold other parcels, other companies even. Why these?”
The look in her eyes at his question could only be described as bleak. For a moment, he hated that he’d asked her and what he was about to tell her.
Then do not tell her.
“These were the last plans I made with Jonathan and... they were important to him—a personal matter. I’d never seen him want, nay need, to carry out a project like this one.” She’d stopped herself from adding something else just then. Now, she dashed a tear away and looked at him. Scorn filled her gaze. “You have only ambition and greed moving you through life. As far as I can tell, that is what you live for.”
“If this was so important to him, Clare, then why did he agree to sell the property to me.”
The sound of her indrawn breath filled the cabin. Her hands clenched into fists and she shook her head.
“He did not!” she whispered furiously. “This is low even for you, Iain.”
“I have not lied to you. I would not.”
“And you have proof of that?” She backed away from the table, putting distance between them, clasping her hand tightly.
“A gentleman’s agreement,” he said. “We had not formalized it yet when he—”
“Died.” Empty. Her voice was empty. “Leaving it all to me.”
“Aye.”
“So all this time, you believed you had the right to it.”
“I do.”
Clare walked to the door and opened it. Staring back at him with those empty eyes. Something was wrong in this. She had not fought him in his assertion at all. Rather, it had rattled her at some deeper level, one that she did not even realize or mayhap what it was.
“I will be on deck.”
“Clare—”
“I paid your price. You have had your once, your day and your night. So, it is over.”
“Aye.” He had done it. Impugn her late husband and she wanted nothing to do with him.
Then, she was gone. He wanted to call her back. To make sure she took her cloak and her gloves. To make her...
Stay.
Iain wanted to break something. To punch someone. To fight the growing rage within him.
But he was the one he wanted to punish the most.
And he could not do it here.
Iain gathered her belongings together with her cloak and gloves and gave them to one of the crew to take to her. And sent a request to Ramsey to see to her on the voyage to Leith.
Then he pulled out his leather satchel and went to work.
Hours later, he stood in the shadows and watched her leave his ship.
Leave his life. Without looking back.
