“Then by all means…but you know, it certainly won’t change his mind about what he’s going to do.”
“Which is?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea. I’m not so sure even MacGregor knows at this point. The Marston woman is such a silly scatterbrain, after all. It would be like punishing a child. But he’s set his kin to guarding her. She won’t be going anywhere until this is resolved.”
“And what did the earl have to say about that?” Devlin asked as he resumed walking to the house.
“I don’t believe he’s been told yet—at least no one got around to it before we left. That could have changed by now. Let’s hope so. It’s going to be a rather—loud—undertaking, I imagine.”
“Well, I did my duty last night, distasteful as it was. I’m staying the hell out of this one.”
“Don’t blame you a’tall,” Megan replied. “Lord Richards is the most singularly unpleasant man I’ve met in a very long while. Amazing that Kimberly turned out so decent, with a father like that. And I’m sogladshe’s going to marry the Highlander. As outrageous as he is, and charming, he’ll bring laughter to her life, and long overdue if you ask me.”
Devlin lifted a brow at her. “Ah, did I miss something, m’dear? I could have sworn I told you last night that the earl refused, unequivocally, to allow it.”
Megan waved a dismissing hand. “Yes, yes, I know, but mark my words, those two will get married anyway.”
“You think so, do you?”
“Absolutely.”
Kimberly had expected to see Lachlan standing there when she opened the door to her room, and to hear what he had decided. He had been so exasperated by his talk with the widow earlier that he had simply escorted Winnifred to her room without saying another word to her, sent a footman for his kinsmen, and waited there until they arrived to set a watch on her. Then he’d gone off to “think about it” and Kimberly had returned to her room to do some thinking of her own, in preparation for her talk with her father.
She had intended to be very straightforward about her decision. There was nothing to discuss, after all, nothing to argue about, and no reason to broach the subject carefully. The earl might rant and rave a bit—she expected no less. But she was used to listening to his loud tirades with only half her attention. Otherwise, she never would have been able to survive them all these years.
But this thing with Lachlan’s stepmother, Kimberly’salmoststepmother, well, that was a different subject altogether. She had no desire to hurt her father. Cutting herself out of his life wouldn’t hurt him at all, she had no doubt. But this…
Did he love the widow?
It was possible, but not very likely. In fact, Kimberly doubted he was even capable of that emotion. He might have claimed it was love, what he’d felt for that other woman all those years ago, but her guess was that it was more an obsession.
No, it was much more likely that he was remarrying simply because he needed a hostess, and he couldn’t depend on Kimberly, with her indifference to his needs, to fill that position for very long. That he had picked the Widow Marston could have been for no other reason than she was socially acceptable, and in their small community, quite popular.
So would he be upset if Winnifred was arrested and charged with her crime? Or would he see it only as a setback and a bother, while he looked for someone else to take her place? Kimberly really couldn’t say.
However, there was also the fact that he’d invested a lot of time in courting the widow. He had, in fact, frequently gone to her home for dinner or one of her entertainments. She had been invited to their house as well.
And another thing, everyone knew they were engaged. If they didn’t marry now, the earl would have to explain why, and knowing him, he’d find that quite an embarrassment. Instead, he’d probably come up with a good excuse that wouldn’t come close to the truth—if the scandal could be contained and go no further.
If…if…and Kimberly was supposed to address this issue? Actually, as his daughter, it did fall to her to do so. Lachlan certainly wouldn’t bother. And Winnifred, well, there was no telling what she would have to say about it.
And Kimberly had the opportunity to do it now, because it was the earl standing in her doorway scowling at her, not Lachlan. And apparently, he’d already worked himself into another rage.
“This is the fourth time I’ve come by here to see you,” he complained right off. “Should have restricted you to your bloody room—”
“Did you want something, Father?”
“Yes, I came to tell you to pack your belongings. We’re leaving here today.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You can leave, of course, but I’ll be staying on, at least until I’m married.”
“You found someone else to marry you this quickly? I don’t believe it. Who?”
“No one else. I’m going to marry the Highlander as I had already agreed to do.”
