A Laird for the Highland Lady by Catherine Tinley

Author:Catherine Tinley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-03-03T13:17:05+00:00

* * *

Max stood by Eilidh’s side, watching with avid interest at the land unfolding before him. A strange feeling lurked in the pit of his stomach, quite unlike anything he had ever experienced.

The past fortnight had been exquisite torture as he and Eilidh had spent almost every waking hour together. Occasionally, the ladies would go off together to converse, leaving Angus and Max—and often Cooper—to their own entertainment, and they tended to retire to their cabin earlier than the gentlemen, who would linger on deck on milder evenings, drinking brandy, playing cards and speaking of nothing, while the stars twinkled and the sea whispered and murmured. The entire journey had felt like a world apart, with no connection to humdrum reality.

If I could, I would stay here forever on this boat, with these people.

Yet reality was once more bearing down on him and he had a sense of standing in a doorway between the past and the future. Great-Aunt Morton’s legacy had given him endless choices where once he’d had none, and this journey was a welcome opportunity to reflect and consider his options.

Unfortunately, it was also binding him ever more firmly to Miss Eilidh MacDonald, who was out of reach. It was plain to him that while she valued his friendship, and even held some warmth towards him at times, he could never meet her requirements for a husband. While the notion was lowering, he could hardly blame her, for he entirely agreed with her assessment.

He thought of her now with the same fatalism he had until recently considered his lot as a second son of the ton. A sense of powerlessness had been his sorry existence for most of his life—except at sea, where he could work with the waves and the wind to go where he wished.

These past two weeks had been an idyll, a never-to-be-repeated sojourn with Eilidh, Isabella, Angus and Cooper—the four people in the world who were most important to him. And two of them he had met only this year. He shook his head slightly, recognising it felt in his heart as though he had known the MacDonalds forever. And with Isabella soon to be married and Cooper let go, everything was changing.

This journey had been deeply personal in so many ways—not simply his affinity with his companions but also the timing, coming so soon after his unexpected inheritance. His life was at a crossroads and he needed time to consider his options.

There was also Lidistrome. Having wrested the estate from his brother’s careless possession, he had given little thought to the implications. While he had promised Freddy not to sell in his lifetime, he had every intention of bequeathing the place to Angus and Isabella’s children, if that would be the right thing to do. He had also briefly discussed with Angus his willingness to send funds for any necessary maintenance. Angus, he recalled, had given a wry smile, saying only, ‘As to that, you must make your own assessment about what is needed, for you will visit the estate soon.

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