My eyes were wide, taking in his sudden change in emotion. Apparently our joyful reunion was over. “I’m sorry” was all I could say.
“I’m going to need a lot more than that, Elspeth Findlay. What were youthinkingcrossing an ocean, chasing after a man who discarded you…” He glared toward Graham, who I assumed still stood behind us. “You could have died.” He put hands on both sides of my face. As I watched his expression, I understood his shift in emotions. He must have been furious, but his fatherly responsibility for me would have driven him mad with worry. “Do you have any idea how precious you are to me?”
My chin quivered. I couldn’t remember him saying anything like that before in my life. “I’m so sorry, Papa. I’m sorry I caused you such worry.” I wiped my eyes and nose with the handkerchief he gave me. “It was impetuous and ill conceived. But…but Ihadto go. You don't know what I had been feeling these past three years. I felt suffocated and pathetic. It felt like my only choice.”
“Well, it wasn’t.” His ability to put people in their place with a quick word and a stern gaze hadn’t changed. He pushed me aside gently and went to confront Graham. Or at least I thought so. Instead, he stood before Mr. Ashby.
On instinct, I rushed to shield Mr. Ashby.
“Papa, it wasn’t his fault,” I said, holding out my hands.
He ignored me. My father pointed at Mr. Ashby. “If you were a man of honor, you would not have humored a young lady running away from home. It was one thing for this eejitto break his engagement with my daughter.” My father gestured to Graham. “It was quite another to take an innocent young girl on a ship across the sea without her father’s approval. How dare you put my daughter in danger!” He stood so tall, he towered over both of us.
But when I glanced back, I saw that Mr. Ashby didn’t seem to notice their height difference. He stepped around me and looked up into my father’s face with complete confidence. “Forgive me for my impertinence, Baron, but I haven’t done anything I’m ashamed of. Miss Findlay was in need of protection, and I provided it. She would have found a way here without me.”
Graham came to stand beside me, as if to intervene. He knew my father well enough to know that Mr. Ashby’s response would not goover well. My stubborn lack of propriety was my father’s least favorite trait of mine; he made that clear almost daily. To be reminded of it only made him angrier.
My father huffed. “The only reason she found a ship to take her here was due to your connections. She never would have found a way out of Scotland without you.” It was as if he were trying to convince himself of my innocence. But perhaps he truly believed I was incapable of doing this by myself. That was likely.
Mr. Ashby actuallylaughed. I tensed, watching the muscles in my father’s jaw work. “Do you not know your own daughter?” Mr. Ashby wondered.
Why did that bring a smile to my lips? I had to force it down before I stepped between them, because it certainly did not delight my father. It was time to intervene fully now. I touched my father’s and Mr. Ashby’s shoulders. “Let’s just take a breath and calm down.” I looked at my father, pulling his gaze to mine. “Papa, we don’t need to place the blame on anyone. What’s done is done. What matters now is that I’m safe, and we’re going home. Right?”
He finally looked at me, his lips white from flexing them with anger. He pressed them together, I hoped in an effort to calm himself. He nodded. “Yes. The ship leaves in two days’ time.”
I dropped my hands to my sides. “Two days?”
Without looking, I could sense both men beside me go rigid. Like me, they must have been stunned, each of us for different reasons. I glanced at Mr. Ashby. His face had turned ashen as he looked at my father.
“Baron, what do you mean?” Graham asked, taking a step forward. I couldn’t see his face now, but he tilted his head slightly in question.
My father ran a hand through his hair. “After Elsie left on theKatarina, there wasn’t a ship leaving for St. Kitts for three weeks.Thankfully, another ship did come to Leith that hadn’t planned to stop there before. So I was only a week behind you. It took me a full night and day to find you once I arrived in Basseterre. I never would have found you if not for that man, Whisper.” He looked at me pointedly. “Two days is plenty of time to say goodbye. Gather your things and tell your maid. We leave in the morning so we can make it to Basseterre by the time they set sail.” I ignored his flippant disregard for Patrice, because he had always looked right through her no matter how many times I tried to change that. But he had no notion of what we’d been through on this island, or what these people had come to mean to us.
“But, Papa. These people have just been through a tragedy. We cannot leave like this. I owe them so much.” I gestured around me.
Just then, as if on cue, Mrs. Bowers, Whisper, and Eliza entered the house. They took a quick look at the situation as Mrs. Bowers approached my father. “Baron, Whisper just told me of your arrival. We’re honored to have you here. Can we see you to a room, perhaps?”
He glanced at her with a rude abruptness, and I was ashamed of his behavior. He spoke politely, however. “No, thank you. I’m sorry to cause more chaos in your home. I have come for my daughter and her betrothed. I’ll sleep on the floor in my daughter’s room and don’t wish to cause you any inconvenience. We leave in the morning.” He bowed briefly to her.
“Oh. So soon?” Mrs. Bowers frowned at me and then at Graham. “We’ll be sorry to see them go. Elsie has become a special part of our home. And Graham has been with us for so long, he’s part of the family now.”
My father nodded. “I cannot thank you enough for taking care of my daughter, or for what I understand you’ve done for Graham. Whisper told me of his unfortunate circumstances. But I believe that’sall behind him now? He’s back to himself. I will, of course, reimburse you for your trouble and will donate to help you rebuild your home.”
“Papa—” I started to move toward him.
Mrs. Bowers stepped closer to him, effectively cutting me off. Indeed, she did not require others to defend her, nor her comrades. “We don’t require reimbursement for aiding those in need, Baron. We hope you’ll allow your daughter a choice, however.”
My father’s mood quickly changed at that. “Achoice? You think she wants to stay in this…graveyard?”
My heart tightened. “Papa! What a terrible thing to say!”
I could sense everyone in the room react similarly. His words were much too harsh, and his tone offensive. I began apologizing for him.
“Elsie, that’s enough,” my father said. He turned back to Mrs. Bowers. “I don’t wish to insult you or your estate. It has been a long journey, and I’m…overly emotional. Please, forgive my rudeness.” He turned back to me and to Graham. “As I said, we leave in the morning.” He shot one more glare at Mr. Ashby and then left the house, pushing past those in his way.
Where did he plan to go? I saw Whisper follow him outside after a glance from Mrs. Bowers.
I turned to look at Graham, to feel solidarity in our outrage. But he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were for Eliza. They were gazing at each other with something like longing, or regret. I placed a hand on my wound because beneath it, my insides were tight with dread. It was becoming more and more clear to me what Graham would choose.
