Page 53 of The Devil of Clan Sinclair
The question was so out of character, he and Mairi turned to look at her.
Her pale cheeks blazed with color. “I only meant there are certain economies we can practice. I purchased three dresses this quarter and I didn’t need them.”
“Nonsense,” Mairi said, turning her frown on him again.
While Mairi ran the Sinclair Printing Company, Fenella acted as her assistant and managed her household. The two of them lived in the Edinburgh house, a residence he’d purchased when the first ice machine made a profit. He only wished his parents had lived in such splendor.
He’d wanted Mairi and Fenella to move to Drumvagen, but Mairi was insistent on keeping the printing company. Fenella, just as he’d expected, dug in her heels as well, and he had no choice but to accede.
However, he’d arranged for their protection, since single women were not safe living alone. He’d installed two men in their household. James was their driver, reporting to him. Robert was a second cousin and perfect chaperone since he was old enough to be their grandfather and was as proper as an archbishop. Robert also did the accounting for the printing company.
“You could sell Drumvagen,” Mairi said, looking around her. “Finishing the house must have cost you a fortune.”
He put down the glass and held up both hands in surrender, before Mairi could launch another salvo against Drumvagen. She didn’t like his house, didn’t understand his need to create something of his own, and frankly didn’t comprehend why Edinburgh had become too crowded and stifling to him. Yet when she came to Drumvagen, she seemed to enjoy herself immensely.
He hoped he could convince her to leave before him. Mairi and Brianag being here together without him was not wise. The two women clashed.
Twice now he’d watched as Brianag had stomped across the doorway, just to make sure he knew she was there. Pots clanged and banged, maids whispered, and buckets of water were dragged across the stone floor.
“We’re doing fine financially,” he said. “We’ve more money than we could spend in two lifetimes. That doesn’t mean, however, I’ll quit trying to earn more.”
“Are you still set on establishing a lineage, Macrath? If so, you need to find a woman to marry.”
His smile was a little more forced.
“I could say the same to you, Mairi. Emulate Ceana. She’s happily married.”
If she kept frowning like that, her face would be permanently marred.
“I’m not Ceana,” she said.
His two sisters were as different from each other in temperament and personality as Mairi and Fenella were in appearance.
“I’ve disassembled my new machine,” he said, “and it’s in the hold of my ship, my trunks are packed, and I’m leaving tomorrow.”
His words didn’t seem to make an impact on his sister’s frown.
“I want away for a while,” he said, hoping the truth would stop Mairi from asking any more questions.
Her eyes widened at his comment, or perhaps it was the tone in which he uttered it.
She leaned forward. “Has something happened, Macrath? Something you need to tell me?”
His smile was easier; the words were difficult. “Nothing has happened, Mairi. I just need to explore a bit.”
She settled back in the chair, eyeing him with some disfavor. “Why do I feel you are not telling me the whole truth?”
Because some truths could not be voiced. Virginia’s face suddenly appeared, seeping out of the vault where he’d put her.
“Why is it that women are so perfidious, Mairi?” he asked, sipping at his whiskey.
She folded her arms. “I might ask the same of you, Macrath, only about men.”
“He wasn’t worth you,” he said, speaking of the suitor she’d had a few years earlier. The man had rejected her, and although she’d never said the words, he knew she’d been hurt. “You shouldn’t judge all men by one.”
“Again, I might say the same to you.”
“Why do you think a woman is on my mind?”
