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‘Ay, and suffered every day for it. They fought like cats and dogs.’
‘I remember.’
‘And that is what you want?’
‘What I want matters only to me and, to a certain degree, your daughter. She is not a fool. She knows I will marry her if she demands I honour the unspoken agreement between our families. Jamie’s future rides as much upon upholding Lochmore honour as it now rides upon the future of the distillery which depends upon your goodwill. I will not put his future in jeopardy, no matter the pain it will cause me.’
McCrieff’s smile twisted.
‘I have you at my mercy, have I not?’
‘You have. I came to throw myself at your feet even if Tessa had not spoken, so do not lay all the blame at her doorstep.’
‘My doorstep, you mean. I have proven a failure as a father.’
‘That is not true, Father,’ Tessa said, her voice cracking for the first time.
‘You’ll have to go away, girl. Your mother will make both our lives a living hell for a year at least.’
‘I am ready for that.’
‘Aunt Maura will have to take you. Perhaps you’ll mind her if not me.’
Tessa’s eyes widened with barely repressed hope.
‘Mama will never allow me to return to Glasgow.’
‘I am still master in this house, am I not?’ McCrieff bellowed, thumping the armrests.
‘Of course you are, Papa. Thank—’
‘Be gone, girl! I don’t want to see you till you’re packed and ready to leave.’
Tessa didn’t wait for more.
‘Tell her I wish you both happiness,’ she whispered to Benneit as she hurried by, her eyes laughing and full of tears.
‘Twenty per cent!’ Aberwyld growled and Benneit blinked, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
‘Twenty what?’
‘Per cent. Of the distillery. That’s my price for letting you walk away with your honour and your conscience clean.’
‘You could ask for more than that, McCrieff,’ Benneit said truthfully.
‘I have my honour, too, Lochmore. Blast the both of you. It’s like a blasted curse ever since your ancestor Ewan stole Duncan McCrieff’s Frenchie bride. Every time our families look to mix their blood again, something blasts it all to hell.’
Benneit had no patience for superstition, but in this instance he had no wish to argue against anything that gave McCrieff comfort.
‘Perhaps that is what it is. Perhaps we should accept fate and be content with what we have.’
‘If the two of you could have done that we wouldn’t be up to our necks in this bog. Ah, well, I can hardly blame you when I did something not very different when my father and your grandfather tried to create matches between your Aunt Morag and myself and between my sister and your father. It was wrong then and I’d be a hypocritical fool to play dog in the manger now. Though my present lady might not be all I hoped when I wed her, she’s a sight better than your aunt, Lochmore. Come drink with me, man, before you go. If I were you, I’d take that little Englishwoman of yours south for a time while I soothe my lady wife. Now drink up and make good your escape. Oh, and I’ll want the first ten cases of whisky from our distillery, mind you.’
Chapter Thirty-One
The nursery was empty and Benneit cursed. What a time for them to go wandering!
‘Angus!’ His bellow echoed in the stairway as he ran downstairs again. ‘Angus! There you are. Where the devil is Jo? I need to... What is wrong?’
‘Am I to wish you happy, Your Grace?’
‘What? What has happened? Where is Jo? Where is Jamie? Is something wrong?’
‘Jamie is in the Map Room. There is nought wrong with him but a broken heart.’
‘What the devil are you going on about? Where is Jo?’
‘I’d say halfway to Inveraray.’
‘What? What the devil is going on? Angus!’
‘Don’t go howling at me, Your Grace. There’s a letter for ’ee in the study.’
‘Don’t turn your back on me, Angus. Why did she leave?’
‘Mayhap she didn’t wish to remain here so as to have to raise a glass for you betrothing yourself to another. You didn’t even have the guts to tell her you were off to the McCrieffs! She had to hear it from Beth, who heard it from the stables. She begged me to take her to put her on the post in Kilmarchie, but I told her I’d not lend my hand to that nonsense and she said she’d walk if need be. So I had the carriage brought round. She told Jamie some fib about her family needing her and was off an hour ago. So—am I to wish ye happy?’
