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More than any of them could ever know. His twin’s absence was like a small but ugly rip in the fabric of his life that could never be mended. But he would be damned if he showed any sign of the depth of that feeling. After a long, tough slog, Graeme had finally found happiness. Grant would throw himself off a cliff before he made his twin feel the slightest bit guilty for deserting him.
He didn’t desert you, idiot.
“Then take this as a chance to visit with him,” Nick said. “Besides, if you don’t go, I’ll have to do it. And you know how busy I am at this time of year with the harvest at Kinglas. I was planning on going up next week to deal with a few problems, so it would be a great favor to me if you agree to do this, Grant.”
Grant mentally sighed. His big brother so rarely asked for help. Nick was the one who was always there for them, pulling various Kendricks out of the fire, time and again. He’d stood in as parent, teacher, and mentor after their parents had died all those years ago. If not for Nick, God only knew what would have happened to a family all but sundered by tragedy and misfortune.
It was more than loyalty owed to their brother and laird. Nick had given all of them love, shelter, and support when everything in their lives had gone so terribly wrong.
Angus reacted to Nick’s words like a hound to a scent. “There’s trouble at Kinglas? I can help ye with that, lad. I can even go up tomorrow and have a look at the books and a wee chat with the tenant farmers before ye arrive. Get the lay of the land, as it were.”
Nick looked appalled. Grant knew his poor brother already had enough work on his plate without Angus royally mucking things up.
“No, you’d best come with me, Grandda,” Grant said, now resigned to his fate. “You’re much better at managing young ladies than I am.”
Again, Angus looked torn for a moment before he brightened. “Well, I suppose yer right, lad. And mayhap I can give ye a few tips on courtship and such when we’re alone.”
“Now, that is a conversation I’d like to hear,” Royal said with a chuckle.
“There will be no such discussion,” Grant firmly replied. “We will escort the girls to Lochnagar, and then I’ll be returning immediately to Glasgow.”
Angus rolled his eyes. “Now, lad, yer passing up a chance—”
“Good man,” Nick interrupted, clapping Grant on the shoulder. “I knew I could count on you.”
That was exactly the problem. Everyone could always count on him, no matter how annoying or unpleasant the task. And being cooped up in a carriage for several days with a woman who obviously found him a dead bore was shaping up to be a very unpleasant task. Especially since he found that particular woman the polar opposite of boring.
Chapter Ten
When the carriage rocked around another curve in the road, Kathleen had to resist the urge to close her eyes. Her insides were already wobbling like an off-balance top. Closing her eyes could only make it worse.
After four gruesome days of travel, she was ready to stay put for a long time—no matter how dreary Lochnagar might turn out to be. It would likely take her stomach at least three months to recover from such a dreadful trip on increasingly dreadful roads.
“Not much longer now,” Grant said in a kind voice.
From the opposite bench of the Kendricks’ traveling coach, he studied her with concern. She couldn’t help feeling sorry for the poor man. That he had been dragooned to serve as their escort was fairly clear. Even worse, he’d been all but forced to play nursemaid thanks to her fractious insides. It was mortally embarrassing, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about either her stupid stomach or the wretched scandal that had forced them to slink out of Glasgow.
Angus, seated next to his grandson, peered out the window to confirm Grant’s assessment.
“Maybe an hour, ye ken,” he loudly whispered. “Then the lassies can have a nice, wee rest from all this jostlin’ aboot.”
Angus had taken to whispering on the assumption that it would help calm her unsettled state. Since his whispering voice was almost as loud as his regular one, it was rather a failure in that respect. Not that such measures made one whit of difference, but she did appreciate the effort.
Kathleen mustered up something that she hoped resembled a smile. From the expressions on the men’s faces, she’d obviously failed. Their concern now seemed tinged with alarm. If she’d had the energy, she’d say she was beyond the desire to toss up her crumpets. Now she simply wished someone would shoot her.
Jeannie, who never turned a hair from travel sickness, looked up from her book and shifted on the luxuriously padded seat to peer closely at Kathleen.
“You’re looking pretty green, Kath. Do you want us to stop?” She put her book aside and started to dig around in her reticule. “Or I can give you my smelling salts. I packed them in my reticule in case you got sick again.”
For a moment, Kathleen did close her eyes. Nothing would send her bolting for the nearest bush faster than the odor of smelling salts.
“No, thank you,” she finally said. “I’ll be fine until we reach Lochnagar.”
Angus scrunched up his face. “Are ye sure? Because ye look fair ready to shoot the cat.”
She managed a weak chuckle. “All cats are safe, if I correctly deduce the meaning of that expression.”
Grant’s smile was wry. “Grandda has many interesting phrases and expressions, at least one for every occasion.”
