Page 13 of Shy Innocent In The Spotlight

Sabine’s expression suddenly folded and her gaze sought Elspeth’s. ‘Is it true?’ she asked in a shocked tone. ‘Oh, God, is it true you slept with Fraser?’

Elspeth opened and closed her mouth; her throat so dry she could barely get her voice to work. ‘It’s not what you think—’

Sabine thrust her beautiful bouquet towards one of the other bridesmaids and stalked towards Elspeth, the click-clacking of her heels on the flagstones as loud as gunshots. ‘My dad assures me it is true. He overheard one of the groomsmen, Tim, ribbing Fraser about it when they were having a pre-ceremony whisky a few minutes ago. It was when Fraser was in London a few months back.’ She narrowed her eyes to paper-thin slits. ‘How could you? How could you be so crass as to agree to be my bridesmaid when you slept with my fiancé?’ Her voice had become a screech, and there was a rumble of concern from the gathered guests on the other side of the screen.

Elspeth took a step backwards; worried Sabine might lash out at her. ‘Sabine, please let me explain. It wasn’t me... I mean, I—I didn’t know he was engaged. He didn’t tell me...we barely exchanged names before we...’ she winced in embarrassment on behalf of her twin as well as herself and stumbled on ‘...hooked up. It meant nothing to either of us.’

‘Well, it means something to me,’ Sabine stormed back, eyes blazing. She turned to her father. ‘Tell Fraser the wedding is off. I never want to see him again.’ She turned back to Elspeth and added, ‘And that applies to you too. I thought you were my friend but the whole time you’ve been acting, haven’t you? You probably don’t even like me.’

Elspeth had been acting but not the way Sabine thought. ‘I—I really like you, Sabine. You deserve far better than Fraser. I’m sorry it happened this way but, believe me, I’m really not the problem here—the problem is Fraser’s lack of fidelity. If it hadn’t been with...with me, it could’ve been someone else.’ It had been someone else, Elspeth desperately wanted to add but couldn’t without betraying her twin. Was this what Elodie was hoping to avoid by sending Elspeth in her place? Had Elodie suspected something like this was going to happen? Sabine’s father was a wealthy and savvy businessman and Sabine was his only child. No wonder he had informed Sabine of her fiancé’s indiscretion before the marriage could take place.

Mack suddenly appeared and took Elspeth by the arm just as Fraser came rushing over, pleading with Sabine to listen to him. ‘Sabine, my love. What are you doing? You know you’re the only woman I love. Don’t do this.’

Sabine let out a piercing wail and flung herself against her father’s chest. ‘Send him away. I never want to see him or that ghastly woman again.’

‘Come with me,’ Mack said, leading Elspeth away by the elbow.

She followed him in a numb silence, her stomach churning so much she could have made enough butter to supply Scotland’s biggest shortbread factory. As much as Elspeth was glad Sabine wasn’t going to marry Fraser, she hated that ‘she’ was to blame. How could her twin have put her in such a compromising situation? It was beyond embarrassing, not to mention laughably ironic. Elspeth, acting as her twin, was being portrayed as ‘the other woman’ when she had never had sex in her life.

Mack led her to his study on one of the upper floors well away from the central part of the castle. He closed the door once they were inside and let out a long breath, his expression difficult to read. ‘Well, you achieved your aim. The wedding is off.’ One ink-black eyebrow hooked upwards and he continued. ‘It seems to be a habit of yours, calling off weddings at the last moment.’

‘I—I’m not responsible for what just happened.’ Elspeth tried to keep her voice steady but it was as shaky as her hands. She was still carrying her bridesmaid bouquet but, because her hands were trembling so much, petals were falling like confetti around her.

‘Maybe not directly, but you said you didn’t think he was good enough for Sabine. Does that mean you want him for yourself?’ This time there was no mistaking his expression—it was dark and brooding.

Elspeth coughed out a startled cynical laugh. ‘You must be joking.’

‘I’m not.’ The blunt edge to his tone sent a chill down her spine.

She turned away to put the bouquet down on his desk and chewed at the edge of her mouth. If only she could tell him the truth. If only Elodie had got here in time, she wouldn’t be experiencing the most distressing episode of her entire life. Anaphylaxis was a piece of cake compared to this. She kept her back to Mack, her hands gripping the edge of his desk to steady her wobbly legs. ‘I can assure you I have no interest whatsoever in your brother.’

Mack came up behind her and placed his hands on the tops of her shoulders. A thrill ran through her body and her heart picked up its pace. He turned her slowly to face him, his eyes locking on hers. ‘Are you okay?’

‘No, I’m not okay. Did you see how mad Sabine was? I thought she was going to slap me. I don’t like the thought of her hating me so much. I really like her. She’s a nice person and to have her wedding day ruined in such a way is just awful. Why did her father tell her just then, right before she was going to walk down the aisle? If only he had found out earlier then she wouldn’t have had to go through such dreadful public humiliation.’ Tears stung at the backs of her eyes and she furiously blinked them away and bit down on her lower lip.

One tear managed to escape and Mack blotted it away with the pad of his thumb. ‘You really care about Sabine?’

‘Of course. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life and now it’s completely ruined.’

Mack gave the tops of her shoulders a gentle squeeze. ‘I want you to wait for me here. I’ll get one of the servants to pack your things. I don’t want this to blow up in the press. Hopefully, I can talk some sense into Sabine and—’

‘Hang on a minute,’ Elspeth cut across him and wriggled out of his hold, taking a couple of steps back. ‘Are you saying you still want her to marry your brother, even though she’s made her position perfectly clear?’

His jaw tightened like a clamp. ‘Do you have any idea of how much this weekend cost?’

‘So, it’s about the money?’ She rolled her eyes in disdain. ‘What about what’s right for Sabine? Your brother stuffed up and now it’s time he faced up to the consequences.’

Mack let out a hefty sigh, one of his hands scraping through his hair, leaving it sexily tousled. ‘It’s not about the money.’ His voice sounded weary, weighted. ‘Fraser won’t handle a breakup like this. Sabine has been good for him. She’s been a positive influence on him over the last couple of years. He’s been happier with her than I’ve seen him with anyone else in years, possibly ever.’

Elspeth folded her arms and sent him a cynical look. ‘So happy, he hooked up with a woman he had never met before in London, without telling her he was already engaged. Yes, I can see how blissfully happy he must’ve been.’

Mack twisted his mouth. ‘I’m sorry you’ve been caught up in the middle of this. He was wrong not to tell you his relationship status.’ He moved to the other side of the room, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck as if trying to release a knot of tension. He let out another deep sigh. ‘Fraser took our father’s death hard. He was only fourteen—I was sixteen—and it threw him completely, as it did all of us.’ He sent her a bleak glance. ‘I tried to be a good role model for him but clearly that didn’t work. He’s reckless and impulsive and refuses to face up to responsibility. In many ways, he’s very like our father, which is worrying.’

Elspeth frowned. ‘How did your father die?’

‘Suicide.’ He swallowed deeply and continued. ‘Our mother found him. She had a nervous breakdown after that. She was never quite the same. She died five years later of cancer, which, of course, sent Fraser into another massive tailspin. But meeting Sabine a couple of years ago changed everything for him. He started to pull himself into line. He got a job with her father’s company and he really applied himself. He gave up the wild partying, the party drugs. But now...’ He shook his head and frowned as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened in the garden just minutes before.

‘You think he’ll go back to that lifestyle?’

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