Page 31 of Return of the Scot
Jaime sank onto a chair. “Were they attacked on the road?” Oh, dear heavens, all this time was her sister lying in a shallow grave?
Mr. Bell shook his head. “She sent word ahead to the house that she was detained on a personal matter, and it would be some time before she arrived. I examined the letter, and it was in her hand. Did no’ appear to be shaky strokes, but rather confident ones. We also found young Master Gordie’s governess at an inn north of Edinburgh. Her rooms had been paid for the duration, and she’d expected them to return to fetch her but had no word when. I left a man with her in case your sister does return, but I have my doubts.”
The investigator passed her the letter Shanna had written to those at Dunrobin, and Jaime stared at her sister’s elegant scroll. Mr. Bell was right; the writing was languid and well thought. Not hurried or unsteady at all.
In her missive, she informed the household at Dunrobin that she’d gone abroad to settle some things of a personal nature, and that all employed and in residence were welcome to remain until she returned at which point they’d need to leave.
“What does this mean?” Where could she have gone? Shanna didn’t have any errands to run abroad or scores to settle.
“I’m no’ certain, miss. But I would suggest we hire several more men to find her.”
“I agree.”
Shanna would be livid when she found out that Jaime had hired men to hunt her down, but she’d never done anything so irresponsible in her life. Oh, poor Gordie! To be dragged who knew where with his mother, and his governess dropped off at an inn on the way.
“I want my nephew. If she refuses to return, please see that he is brought back to me.”
Mr. Bell nodded. “And if she refuses to relinquish the child?”
Jaime thought about Shanna over all these years. How she’d been so happy to send her son off with tutors and governesses, of which there had been many, given Shanna’s demands. Gordie had spent more time with Jaime at the wharf than he had with his mother in the nursery. “I do no’ think she will disagree.”
Bitterness burned in the back of Jaime’s throat. With every day that ticked by, the pieces of a pedestal she’d placed her sister on were chipping away.
Had Shanna run away? It made no sense. Jaime had taken good care of them. Even bought her a bloody castle. She could not come up with even a single reasonable answer as to why her sister would abscond with her child to the continent or wherever it was that she’d gone.
Unless she’d had word that Lorne was alive and well. Perhaps Shanna didn’t want to run into him at the castle. Maybe her sister was scared too, afraid of the humiliation of seeing the man who’d betrayed her. Or worse—afraid he might steal son, for as soon as he laid eyes on Gordie, he would know that the lad was his.
That made sense to Jaime. As much as Shanna had brushed aside her duties as a mother, she did love her son, and she wouldn’t want him to be taken from her, especially by a man whom she’d trusted only to find his affection rescinded. If Jaime were a mother, she might have chosen the same path. It didn’t make it right, though, and Gordie’s place was home, not abroad.
“If that is all, miss, I best be on my way.”
“Aye, please keep me informed, and tell Mr. MacInnes to please give ye the envelope I prepared.”
“Of course.” Mr. Bell tipped his head on his way out of the drawing room.
Jaime drifted to the window, watching a few moments later as her agent disappeared down the path.
“Where are ye, Shanna? What have ye done?” There were no answers in the empty drawing room. No magical resolutions from deep within her mind.
Jaime went upstairs to her sister’s bedchamber, staring around the room, wondering if there would be any clues inside that would help her. A journal, a letter, something. Everything was in the same place Shanna had left it. Soft pink silk comforter on her four-poster bed. Her dressing table was cleared of her brushes and combs. The curtains were drawn back to let in daylight, illuminating the creams and pinks of the décor.
But Shanna’s dressing table drawers were as empty as its surface, her wardrobe holding only the older gowns she’d not wanted and a few pairs of worn-out slippers. Nothing under the bed or mattress.
Sitting back on her heels on the floor, Jaime stared up at the ceiling, painted in delicate pink-and-gold scrolls. This was ridiculous. Shanna wasn’t hiding anything. She must have been spooked by the news of the duke’s return, just as Jaime had been. The careful world the two of them had built after the scandal and their parents disowning Shanna was crashing down around them.
It was up to Jaime to pick up the pieces.
8
Lorne loosened his cravat, feeling as though it were choking the life out of him. Or rather that the ball, and the dozens of carriages pulling up to his house with guests lavishly outfitted alighting, was suffocating him. The streetlamps outside shone brightly on them all, their jewels catching the light and twinkling.
He was fairly certain this had been a bad idea. One, because he abhorred most society functions, and two, because the whole reason he’d decided to have this ball in the first place was because he’d lost a wager to Alec. The added benefit was that he’d get to show the world he had no interest in Jaime Andrewson. To put the gossipmongers and their ridiculous rumors to rest.
Of course, since she wouldn’t be in attendance, their disinterest in one another would be easily surmised. But he had hoped they could ignore each other, make a show of it. Though he wasn’t certain why he’d agreed to the idea in the first place. It was clear the woman had no interest in saving her reputation, given she’d flat-out denied him.
Perhaps she was more like her sister than he’d thought.
Even as he thought it, he doubted it. There had always been differences between Jaime and Shanna, all the more so when Jaime was a young girl, not yet come out into society. There were, of course, the broader, more noticeable traits like intelligence, business acumen, and frivolousness. Both the former of which Jaime held copious amounts, and the latter was gifted to her sister.
