Page 28 of Married to the Highland Devil
“She has Dahlia, and she has ye,” Duncan pointed out. “She cannae be alone.”
He remembered that she loved flowers and the night sky too. Amelia had a lot to comfort her. She did not need him too.
Besides, she willnae want to see me after last night.
Elspeth walked around to where Duncan stood by his study window, and she touched his back. He turned towards her and stared into her kind eyes.
“Duncan, ye are my son, and I love ye. I only wish what is best for ye. All yer life, ye have given all ye have to this clan, and ye still give what ye have to the clan. This is a chance for ye to have somethin’ for yerself.”
“I dinnae have the luxury of that, Maither,” he insisted before he stared out the window again.
His clan was his priority. It always has been, and Duncan did not wish to change that. They needed a lot more than what Amelia’s dowry offered. He could use the dowry to settle the debts his father had left the clan, but what about their survival?
McLennan had little to no allies or business partners. Over the past years, Duncan had tried to form alliances with clans in the West. He also wished to form business partnerships with English gentlemen, and Arran was helping him with that while acting as his solicitor.
Each time he was alone, he racked his mind with thoughts on how to help his people. They needed their farmlands back; the majority of the farmers in the farthest villages had lost their property to Laird MacGregor, Arran’s father.
Duncan did not think he could ever outsmart the man, so his best option was to pay back what his father owed.
“Maither,” he said with a sigh after some time, “when Faither made a deal with Laird MacGregor, what was it about? What did he need such an amount for? Why did he pledge the little villages to him?”
Duncan had never understood it. McLennan had thrived on its own, so why did his father end up indebted to Laird MacGregor?
A shadow crossed over his mother’s eyes, and Duncan faced her fully now. There was a story there, he knew it.
“Tell me, Maither,” he insisted and touched her shoulder.
Elspeth avoided his gaze, and Duncan thought he saw a single tear slide down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly and shook her head. “I shall never understand yer faither’s thoughts,” she said. “He thought Malcolm could be trusted. They were best friends, and they grew up together.”
“He trusted him so much, he might as well have promised Yvaine to the man.” Duncan raised his voice this time, losing his temper even when he did not intend to.
His mother’s eyes widened, and she backed away from him as if he had burned her.
“I am sorry, Maither, I dinnae mean to yell.”
“I understand,” Elspeth said with a small hiccup. “Yer faither promised a lot to his friend. He promised him lands, he promised him to pay back the debt, but he would never promise yer sister. She was only three summers at the time. Yer faither wasnae an irrational man, Duncan. He was respectful.”
“Then why the debt?” Duncan shook his head. “The last time I spoke to Laird MacGregor, he mentioned that he will take Yvaine as promised if I dinnae pay back his debt in time.”
Duncan recalled the memory that had pushed him to act on the idea Arran had put in his head. Before he had traveled to England, Laird MacGregor’s last visit had come with threats.
He wanted Yvaine. Duncan had seen the intent in the man’s eyes, and he could not let him have his sister.
Never.
“Ye absolutely dinnae ken why Faither took on that debt?”
His mother swallowed again. “Does it matter?” she asked and turned away from him.
Judging from how her frail body shook, Duncan knew there was a reason.
He could not bear to see his mother in tears, so he shook his head. He could find another way to learn more about this debt. “Yer right, it doesnae.”
“Duncan—”
“I shall ride out to the village now.”
She stared at him for a long time then finally left his study. Duncan headed for the stables next, and he rode out on Maple, heading for Plockton, the largest village in his clan.
