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She stood. “It’s certainly understandable that Miss Campbell—Mrs. MacArthur, I should say—would wish to renew her friendship. I’m sorry for Lord Arnprior’s sake, however, and for the upset it caused the family.”
“And for the upset it causedyou,” Victoria said with gentle emphasis as she rose.
Donella forced a smile. “Mr. Kendrick owes me nothing except a minor apology for his precipitous exit this evening.”
“I’d say he owes you a great deal more.”
“He doesn’t,” Donella said firmly. “I’m grateful for your candor, and I understand why you wished to tell me. But there is nothing to worry about, Victoria, I assure you.”
“But—”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll bid you good night.” She turned and fled the room, ashamed of the tears that lurked so close to the surface.
Chapter Twenty-One
He’d made a cock-up, all right. Even Angus was riding up Logan’s backside, calling him everything from a jinglebrains to a turd-head. Grandda almost always defended him in any brangle he had with Nick, but not this time.
Not when it came to Jeannie Campbell.
Of course, she was now Mrs. MacArthur, a beautiful and experienced young widow.
If Logan didn’t miss his guess,veryexperienced.
“The turn’s comin’ up, sir,” his groom prompted from his perch behind.
“Oh, right. Thank you, Sam.”
Distracted by his gloomy thoughts, Logan had almost missed the turn into Breadie Manor, Lord Riddick’s small estate just outside the city. Although his lordship rarely visited, Alec and Edie were often in residence and had arrived yesterday for the holiday season. That unfortunate bit of timing had coincided with Logan’s momentary but appalling lapse with Donella.
Nick had given him an earful about his behavior at the ball, and Logan couldn’t blame him. He’d been a first-class idiot, all but abandoning poor Donella at the worst possible moment. The sweet, generous-hearted lass had been primed to tumble, and he’d have been more than happy to tumble with her.
But then he’d turned and seen Jeannie Campbell, the first girl he’d ever truly loved. Standing ten feet away, she glowed like a vision from a happier time, smiling that smile that had always and only been for him.
He’d promptly forgotten everything, including his own bloody name, and gone to her without hesitation.
It had taken only a few minutes for him to come out of his Jeannie-induced haze and realize what he’d done. Unfortunately, by then the family had decamped, and it had taken Logan some length of time to politely extract himself, even with an impatient Graeme hovering nearby.
That Jeannie was eager to resume their relationship was obvious from her flirtatious manner and semi-scandalous hints. At one point in his life, he would have responded like a slavering, idiotic lapdog. Not anymore. Not after the turmoil and grief of that fateful day by the river, and all the heartache that had followed.
For her part, Jeannie had made it immediately clear that she had no wish to rehash old tragedies. To her, apparently, they no longer mattered. Logan had been stunned by her terse dismissal of the past.
Still, he’d turned the girl’s life upside down all those years ago, exposing her to gossip and humiliation. If nothing else, he owed her courtesy and respect, as well as an acknowledgment that they’d once meant a great deal to each other.
Trying to explain that to Nick and the rest of his family, however, had all but sent Kendrick House crashing down on their heads.
Things had gone from bad to worse at breakfast this morning, when Victoria informed him that Donella had already departed for Breadie Manor. At that point, Joseph had glared at him over a plate of ham, clearly blaming him for driving away his best friend. And that meant that Logan was now squarely in everyone’s black book.
But worst of all was that he’d hurt and humiliated Donella. He could only hope the damage wasn’t permanent.
When he pulled the curricle in front of the Palladian-style house, his groom jumped from his perch and came round to let down the step.
Logan had barely gotten his boots on the ground before the manor’s front door flew open and Alec Gilbride stalked down the steps. Murder—or mayhem, at the very least—glinted in his steel-gray eyes.
Logan mentally sighed. “Take the horses around to the stables, Sam. I expect I’ll be here for some time.”
Or perhaps not if Alec just decided to shoot him and have done with it.
Sam flashed him a sympathetic grimace before climbing into the curricle.
