“I forbid it!”
“Yes, I know, but I’m going to marry him anyway,” she replied calmly.
“That is complete defiance of my wishes! No daughter of mine—”
“I’m your only daughter—”
“Not anymore, by God! You are disowned. Disowned, d’you hear!”
“Yes, I know that too. And now that we have that out of the way—”
Kimberly paused because he’d turned away, red-faced in his fury. She was already dead to him, apparently. She no longer existed, so she didn’t even warrant a farewell. He was going to simply leave…
She lost her calm completely. “Stop right there! I don’t know why I should bother with this. It’s nothing to me whether you marry Winnifred or—”
That snapped him back around to say, “You’re damned right it’s nothing to you—now.”
“It never was, or haven’t you realized that I have no interest in your life? But that’s neither here nor there. What I was going to share with you was that the widow is in serious trouble, is likely to end up in—”
“What the bloody hell are you talking about?”
“If you’ll stop interrupting me, I might manage to explain. You see, a few years ago she stole a lot of money from her stepson, more than a hundred thousand pounds, as well as a fortune in jewels. She had no right to either. This was his inheritance. Yet she walked off with both. Your bringing her here has allowed him to finally find her. He may wish to thank you for that, though I doubt it, since it’s Lachlan MacGregor that I’m talking about.”
His eyes showed that she had surprised him, but only for the briefest second, before he covered his surprise and demanded, “What kind of trick are you pulling here, gel? D’you really expect me to believe such nonsense?”
“Actually, I don’t really care if you do or don’t,” she admitted. “I just felt that since you had intended to marry the widow, you had a right to know that she could be sent to prison for this crime.”
“There is no crime! And I refuse to listen—”
“She fully admitted it, Father. She also admitted that the money is gone, squandered away. She has most of the jewels still, and those will be returned to Lachlan, along with her house, but I doubt he’ll be satisfied with just that. We’re talking about too much money here for him to just shrug off the loss. It was all the tangible wealth he had. But he’s undecided at the moment, so you might want to talk to him about it. You’ll want to talk to her as well, since I certainly don’t expect you to take my word for any of this.”
He stood there bemused now, staring at the floor. She understood the feeling perfectly.
After nearly a minute passed, he said, still in bewilderment, “How could she do such a stupid thing?”
It was one of the most singularly ordinary things she’d ever heard him say. It actually touched her, certainly made her feel sorry for him. So she wasn’t about to answer, “Because you got yourself engaged to a bloody twit,” which would have been her reply otherwise.
Instead she said diplomatically, “She had her reasons, though they don’t excuse what she did. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it. Actually, she probably needs a good shoulder to cry on about now.”
He snapped to himself then, his usual sour visage back in place. But he blushed, because Kimberly had still witnessed his moment of vulnerability.
And he cleared his throat before asking in a grumbling tone, “Just how determined is that Scotsman to have Winnie arrested?”
Kimberly blinked. She almost laughed. Never would she have imagined herself in a bargaining position with her father, but damned if that wasn’t what she was now in. So hedidstill want to marry the widow? Imagine that.
41
It took Kimberly over an hour to find Lachlan, but only because he wasn’t staying in any one place long enough to be found, was just walking aimlessly about the estate. She finally found him coming up the path that led to the boating lake, where she’d been told he’d headed last.
He must not have stayed there long. The chill wind coming off the water, which was kept free of ice by the grounds keepers, had probably chased him away, because he hadn’t dressed warmly enough for an extended outdoor jaunt. His hands were stuffed in his pockets now, his cheeks were wind-reddened, and his teeth were chattering. But he still had a warm smile for her when he noticed her heading toward him.
“Ah, darlin’, would you be taking pity on me?” he asked without preamble.
“How’s that?” she said as she reached him.
“I’m in need of a little warming.”
Even as he said it, he slipped his hands inside her coat and around her to press her close to his chest. She shivered as those cold hands spread on her back. She heard him chuckle when he felt it.
