Charlie cut him an evil glance before looking back to her father. “It’s not like I lost the brooch on purpose. In fact, I don’t even know if Ididlose it.”
“What the devil does that mean?” Kinloch demanded.
“It might have been stolen.”
“From your locked jewel box? When nothing else is missing?”
Charlie seemed to miss a beat. “I’m sorry, Papa, but I can’t explain it. You can bluster at me all you like, but it won’t do any good.”
Kinloch slammed his fist down on the table, rattling the cutlery. “I won’t stand for it, I tell you.”
Angus threw down his napkin. “Yer actin’ like a jinglebrains, Kinloch. It’s nae yer daughter’s fault the bloody thing disappeared. Yellin’ at her like a fishwife willna make it come back.”
Kinloch glared down the table at him. “Now, see here, you old—”
Lady Kinloch hastily intervened. “My dear sir, of course I share your dismay. But what is to be done? Bring in the local authorities to investigate a possible theft?”
Her husband waved an irritated hand. “I won’t have some fool constable running about the place. No, I have a better idea.”
“What idea is that, Papa?” Charlie asked.
“I’m going to offer a reward for its safe return.”
“But the brooch is invaluable,” Lady Kinloch patiently said. “How could we even put a price on such a thing?”
Kinloch waved an impatient hand. “Not that kind of reward.”
Charlie warily eyed her father. “Then what?”
Her father pinned her with a steely gaze. “I do not believe the brooch has been stolen. I’m certain you have misplaced it through some careless act, one that has caused our family a great deal of distress and embarrassment. You know I love you, Charlotte, but I have had enough of your reckless, indeed outrageous, behavior. You are becoming too old for this sort of nonsense. Therefore, the first eligible gentleman to find the brooch will receive your hand in marriage, along with a sizable addition to your dowry. That, I trust, will be incentive enough to find the blasted thingandget you safely wed.”
Charlie sprang to her feet. “What?”
Tira clapped her hands over her ears, and Kade didn’t blame her, because Charlie’s shriek was epic. Everyone else froze in shock, including the now-gaping footman serving dinner, who stood with a spoonful of buttered potatoes, one of which dropped off and missed Johnny’s plate.
Morgan broke the silence with an uproarious laugh. “I say,” he gasped. “It’s to be a treasure hunt, after all.”
Charlie took a hasty step toward her father. “You cannot be serious, Papa. That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
Lady Kinloch also came to her feet, alarmed. “Indeed, my dear. It does seem like a rather rash proposal.”
“It’s bloody deranged, even for Kinloch,” Angus said. “Yer husband’s a ninny, Elspeth. I told ye that before ye married him.”
Kinloch started to round on Angus, but Ainsley cut him off. “Really, my lord, full marks for creativity. But it’s an unenforceable proposition, unless you’re going to march the poor girl to the altar at gunpoint.”
“I’m not marrying anyone,” Charlie tersely said.
“I say,” protested Richard, finally entering the fray. “That’s not fair. After all, I’m supposed to be courting you, Charlotte. Your father and mother said so.”
Charlie spun around, jabbing her oyster fork at him. “If you say another word, I swear I will stab you.”
And with that, Melissa descended into full-on hysterics. Colin waved his napkin at her, Morgan continued to laugh, and most of the others erupted into loud disputes. Charlie remained silent as she studied her father with a narrow, assessing gaze.
“It’s not boring anymore, is it?” Tira whispered to Kade.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he answered.
“Poor Miss Charlotte. I think her father’s being very mean to her.”
