"Oui, he will. I will talk to him and convince him to see reason."
Calla shook her head. "I thank you, but nay."
Lachlan approached, placed a hand upon his wife's shoulder and frowned at Calla. "M'lady, you're surely not leaving with the Barclays."
"Aye. Indeed, I am. They've been kind enough to allow us to travel in the second coach with the servants."
"Rebbie will have my head if I allow you to leave and put yourself in such danger."
Though Calla didn’t argue, she knew the truth—that Rebbie no longer cared or wanted to have anything to do with her. "Barclay has many guards to protect us as we're traveling toGlenhavenCastle. After that, I'll ask the earl to allow me to borrow several of his guards to escort me to Angus and my new position." How Calla hated lying. Her chest ached with guilt.
Lachlan's fearsome frown didn't diminish. "I'm sending ten guards to make certain you both make it inside the walls of theGlenhavenEstate."
"I thank you, my laird, but 'tis not necessary."
Lachlan shook his head. "'Tiswhat Rebbie would want me to do. And promise me you will not leaveGlenhavenwithout heavy guard. Mayhap my men should stay there to escort you to Angus."
"Nay, I plan to stay atGlenhavenovernight, then leave for Angus in the morn."
"I don't like it," Lachlan grumbled. "'Twouldbe best if you stay here until Rebbie returns."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that," Calla said firmly. "I thank you for your friendship and hospitality these last few weeks," she told them both.
"Lachlan and I will loan you the money to pay the debt," Angelique whispered.
"Indeed, we will," Lachlan said.
"Nay, of course not. I could never borrow such an amount. I won't take any charity from friends. The position I'm accepting pays very well and I should have the debt paid off in a short time." A fortnight, if Claybourne kept his word.
Calla embraced Angelique goodbye in the courtyard while Lachlan went about instructing ten of his guards to accompany Barclay's party and provide extra protection to Calla and Jamie.
Although Barclay didn't relish Calla traveling with them through Perth, he allowed them to ride in the second-rate servants' coach. Even the maids were reluctant to look Calla in the eye after the shocking thing she'd done, stealing Lady Elena's betrothed away. At least that was the rumor. Since she didn'thaveRebbie, how could she have stolen him away?
Jamie, sitting upon her lap, was her only comfort and warmth, and she relished it, for she would not get to see him for at least two weeks. Though Claybourne hovered about in her head like a grim raven, she tried to put him from her mind and focus on how much she loved Jamie. She also tried not to think of Rebbie and how much she'd hurt and disappointed him. That crushed look on his face when he'd left the room… she would never forget it. How could she have wounded the only man she'd ever loved, and the only man who had ever treated her with respect and love? That had never been her intention.
When she had first gone looking for a stranger with dark hair and dark eyes, she hadn't considered what he might think of the whole situation. She had simply been blinded by desperation.'Twaswhat happened when your life was threatened. She had to bear a child; that was all that mattered. Either that or be tossed from the window. If she'd reported her husband's threat to anyone, no one would've believed her. Stanbury had been an earl, for heaven's sake, and no one would've dared question him.
What she hadn't realized at the time was that Rebbie was also an earl and a powerful man. Once she'd learned this, she'd known he could easily ruin her and Jamie. She hadn't known whether to trust him or not. After they'd become intimate, it became easier to keep her secret than to reveal all to him. She hadn't wanted him to hate her. But now he did. Tears burned her eyes.
Those days at Tummel Castle had been idyllic and near perfect. The only thing that could've made them better was if Jamie had been there, too. But remembering and dreaming was of no use. Life was harsh and unforgiving. Even though she'd grown up in privilege, with all the food and clothing she'd wanted, the things she craved most of all—love, warmth, happiness—were the scarcest.
After riding in tense silence for what seemed like forever, the coach stopped beforeGlenhaven'sgates. One of the coachmen opened the door and helped her, Jamie, andMornaout. The other coachman untied her small trunk from the roof and deposited it on the ground.
"M'lady." They tipped their hats and drove on.
She dragged her trunk of clothes across the cobblestones and toward the gates. One ofGlenhaven'sguards was kind enough to help her with it, carrying it through the gates.
"I thank you."
Once the gates closed behind them, she waved to Lachlan's guards, hoping they knew how much she appreciated them looking out for her and Jamie. A couple of them returned the friendly gesture, then they rode back the way they'd come.
After asking the guards to hold her trunk in the guard house until she picked it up later, she took Jamie's hand and started up the long drive toGlenhavenCastle, the nursemaid trailing behind them, carrying Jamie's small satchel of clothes.
Drawing in a deep breath of the fresh, cool air, she tried to fix the moment in her mind as one of the most pleasant she would experience for the next two weeks. The morning sun speared brightly through the leafy trees and glimmered off the dew-covered grass. Best of all, she was with Jamie. She wanted to pick him up and hug him so tightly, but he might think her mad if she did that just now.
"Oh,Morna." Calla paused and turned to the nursemaid. "I want to ask a favor."
"Of course, m'lady."
