Page 30 of The Highlander’s Unexpected Wife

Chapter Seven

Erin pressed her ear against the door and winced when her bruised shoulder touched the wood. One day, she would learn to duck her father’s fist. It wasn’t her fault that Alison had locked her in her closet, then met with Lord Weston. Erin would never forgive her. If not for Alison’s treachery, Erin would be the one betrothed to Lord Weston, not Alison.

“What is the status of the shipment?” an unfamiliar male voice demanded.

Erin’s mind snapped to attention.

“Remember who you are speaking to,” her father growled.

Erin’s stomach tensed, despite the knowledge that her father’s ire wasn’t directed at her.

“You guaranteed results,” the man replied. “Said you had the situation under control. That does not seem to be the case, Lennox.”

“Circumstances are beyond my control,” her father replied. “But I assure you, there is no issue with the shipment.”

“I want no further delays.”

”Do not threaten me.” Her father’s slow, measured words caused fear to claw at her nerves.

“If I go down, I will take you with me,” the man said.

Clearly, the man didn’t fear her father as she did.

“Do you understand, Lennox?”

The unfamiliar voice sounded closer. The doorknob to the study began to turn. Erin jerked back as the door fully opened and a man she’d never seen before stepped into the hallway.

His dark eyes widened, then narrowed as his gazed skimmed along her body. “Hello, and who might you be?” He took two steps toward her. “Lennox, wasn’t mistaken. Young and beautiful, even if not blonde.” He reached for her hair, but she stepped back out of his reach. “And timid. How sweet you are.”

Her father appeared behind the man. “Erin. What are you doing here?”

“Erin,” the man spoke as if savoring her name. “Lovely name for a lovely girl.”

“My daughter.”

The man snatched his hand back. “Daughter? My apologies.” He bowed. “I should not have been so forward.”

She smiled. He was handsome, his snow-white cravat expertly tied, his dark coat tailored for his frame. She extended a hand. He gently held her fingertips, bent and breathed a kiss to her knuckles.

“Lennox, you never mentioned you had such a charming and beautiful daughter. Where have you kept her hidden?”

A blush warmed her cheeks. How she ached for a gentleman’s compliment that hadn’t been orchestrated.

“Erin, go to your room,” her father ordered.

She turned and hurried around the turn in the hallway, then halted and listened.

“Do not forget, you and I are neck deep in this,” her father said. “If we are discovered, we will be hanged.”

Erin sucked in a sharp breath. Hanged?

“Get Hunter in line,” the man snapped.

Her heart pounded. Hunter?

She held no illusions that her father’s drive to marry her to Lord Weston was to see her safely wed. He’d always coveted a place within the more elite of Society, and she’d assumed that was his motive. So, what did the other man have to do with her and Lord Weston? Did Get Hunter in line mean force him to marry her?

If so, how far would her father go to trap the viscount into marrying her?