As far as Henry could surmise, it was the only plan that had any chance of making a difference.
Turning the gelding back the way he had been going, Henry swallowed back a flush of bile in his throat. He felt sick to be turning his back on the path that would return him to Belle, but he also knew that this was the only way he could contribute. The only way he could try to keep her safe.
The fact that Belle had made it perfectly clear she did not want his help was null and void. At that moment, Henry did not care. If his actions caused her to hate him all the more, then he had lost nothing that had already slipped from his fingers.
So long as she was safe.
Right now, that was all that mattered.
17
The paper trembled a little as Belle looked it over one final time. Her signature, written as carefully as possible at the bottom of the agreement, stared back up at her. Even though she was sure she was doing the right thing, and that certainty had brought her to Lachlan Hunter's door, there was a small voice of doubt that whispered in the back of her mind.
Her eyes scanned the parchment, lingering on the embellished square in the top corner with its molten gold edging and then across the fine script written in charcoal-black ink. She could not read the document, but she trusted that Henry could. She knew what the agreement would mean and how it handed over her inheritance to the man she was due to marry. But, at this point, she could not see a more logical course of action.
She had no ability to be a laird to her father's people. Even with Henry's lessons, she could not surely hope to be worthy of the position in just a few weeks!
The more she had thought on it, the more ludicrous the entire scheme had seemed. Even Henry's attitude, at the start of all of this, had screamed that this was lunacy.
Because you can.
Henry's voice rang through her head again, and Belle had to physically shake herself to put it from her mind.
Yes, Henry had changed his mind and turned supportive of her father's wishes. But then, Henry had said a lot of things that he did not mean...
Ever since that morning, when she had watched Henry ride away without looking back, she had known that asking him to leave was the right decision. If he could leave the estate without regret, then the Lowlands were truly his home. And her home was here with the man on the other side of this door.
Which is why she was here, despite the late hour. She could not wait if she were to hold her nerve.
Raising a hand, Belle took a steadying breath and then knocked.
When the door opened, it was not Lachlan on the other side but his uncle. Murdock Hunter stood before her in all his garish glory.
"Oh, pardon me," Belle apologized, glancing at the next chamber along the hall. "Perhaps I have the wrong room. I was looking for Lach—Lord Lachlan."
"He is here," Laird Hunter assured her with a smile. His eyes flicked greedily to the paper she held. "You have the correct chamber, my lady. Please, come in..."
When he stepped back, that unsettling smoke, that sensation of doubt, rose again. Belle pushed it away.Ah am just afraid,she convinced herself,and nervous now that Henry isnae at my side to hold my hand through such exchanges.
Stepping inside, Belle watched her steps and ensured that her posture was right.
Lachlan stood by the fireplace. He was leaning upon the mantle, a pewter of scotch in hand and a docile smile upon his face.
"Lady Arabelle! I'm so pleased to see you!" Hurriedly, the man set aside his cup and moved to take her hand. It was clear he had been drinking for a time as his breath was strong with fumes and his gaze a little slippery. "Are you quite recovered? We have been kept away from your door by your guard dog, else I would have been seeing to your needs."
"Guard dog?"
Lachlan rolled his eyes dramatically and waved a hand. It spun on his wrist and then hung there in midair like a fish.
"Munro. He's been keeping watch on your door, and I damn say the man has eyes in the back of his head. ’Twas always your recovery that barred us from entry."
Belle licked her lips nervously as she fiddled with the parchment. She did not want to think of Henry. Did not want to speak of him. It was better to focus on the future...
"I have signed it," Belle announced without preamble, to the shock of both men in the room. She held out the agreement to Lachlan, where the flames from the hearth set the gold filigree alight with shine. "The agreement that you will be laird when we marry. I have signed it."
Both men had frozen on either side of the room, Lachlan in front of her and his uncle by the window. Each was staring at the parchment she held as if it were a rabid animal, or perhaps the holy grail itself.
Lachlan was the first to reach.
