Lindsee placed her hand over the top of the box, her slender fingers curling over the edge. “David fetched it for me because I asked him to.”
The world seemed to swirl around Jane. I can’t believe this. The Lindsee I knew would never have anything to do with David.
“Lindsee, I don’t understand. Why would you ask David to do anything for you?” A suspicion crossed Jane’s mind. “Wait a moment. Does David know something about you? Is he blackmailing you into—”
Michael’s hand closed over Jane’s elbow. “It seems there have been some changes on Barra since you were last here. Unless I’m mistaken, your uncle has been courting Lady MacDonald.”
David gave a short laugh. “And here I thought we’d been so discreet.”
“I’m sure you were,” Michael said. “But I saw a malacca cane in the foyer of Lady MacDonald’s house when I went to visit. Then, when you came to visit Jane at the inn, I realized whose it was.”
David tapped the cane upon the floor. “I’ve a bad habit of leaving the blasted thing.”
Jane glanced at Michael. “You didn’t say a word to me about that.”
“It didn’t seem important.”
But it was. The changes on Barra confused and irritated her. She turned back to Lindsee. “However it came to be in your possession, the amulet belongs to the Hursts.”
“Of course.” Lindsee walked forward, her box outstretched. “I never intended to keep it.”
“Of course not.” Jane couldn’t keep the sarcastic tone from her voice. “You were only borrowing it.”
Lindsee looked down at the box. “Jennet, you told me that the amulet was magical, that some believe that it allows the person who holds it to see into the future.” Lindsee leaned forward and pressed the box into Jane’s hand. “Forgive me, but I had to know.”
“Had to know wha—”
“No!” Elspeth stepped forward. “Lady MacDonald, you cannot give that box to that woman, for it’s not yours to give.” There was an air of smug triumph in her voice. “My husband is the laird of this island. Any treasure found on it is his.” Elspeth turned her gaze on Jane. “Isn’t that right?”
David gave a low laugh. “She has you there, Jennet. You were raised as the future mistress of Barra, so you know it to be true.”
Jane’s hands closed over the box. “The amulet belongs to the Hursts and no one else.”
“Not if ’twas found on Barra,” Elspeth said, sweeping past Lindsee, her plump hand outstretched. “That box belongs to Jaimie now.”
Jane sent a beseeching look to Jaimie.
He was still behind his desk, looking as miserable as if someone had thrown him into a sea of sharks.
Elspeth reached for the box, but Jane hugged it tight. “Jaimie, you are the laird, so it’s your decision, not Elspeth’s or David’s! You knew I came to Barra for one reason and one reason only: to help Hurst find his family’s amulet. Let Michael take it home, back to his family, where it belon—”
“Jaimie!” Elspeth hurried forward, her silk skirts swishing. “Tell her that she cannot have it! It belongs to us, and to no one else! Your father says it’s ours and so it—”
“My father?” Jaimie frowned. “When did he tell you that? Lindsee only just arrived with the amulet; you didn’t even know it existed before then. And Father hadn’t been here more than a minute prior to that, and not once did we discuss an amulet of any kind.”
Elspeth sent David a hurried glance.
“Of course I mentioned the amulet to Elspeth,” David said in a bored tone. “I knew of it from something Lindsee said to me.”
“So you discussed it with Elspeth and not with me.” Jaimie’s gaze narrowed. “You planned on taking the amulet all along, didn’t you? From the moment Lindsee told you about it.”
Lindsee’s brows lowered. “David?” Her soft voice seemed to cut David, for he flinched.
“You said you didn’t wish to keep it,” he said.
“I didn’t. But it belongs to Mr. Hurst. He should have it. David, I only asked you to find it because I wished to test its powers.”
“Powers?” Elspeth’s gaze locked on the box in Jane’s hands. “What powers does this amulet have?”
Lindsee’s expression grew dreamy. “When you hold the amulet, it lets you see the future.”
“And?” David asked, his gaze on Lindsee, an avid expression of admiration etched in every line of his face.
She smiled. “I have seen mine.”
Jane was astounded at the look on David’s face, of the tenderness that shone in his eyes. He was transformed, the cruelty that normally sat upon his face gone.
“You should have that amulet,” he said to Lindsee. “No other woman is worthy.”
“Wait!” Elspeth scowled. “You said it would belong to Jaimie and me, not to this . . . this—”
“Don’t.” David spoke the word quietly, without a hint of anger.
Elspeth flushed an ugly red.
Lindsee turned to Jane. “David has been asking me to marry him for the last two years.”
“Begging is more like it,” Jaimie said from his position behind the desk.
His father glared, and Jaimie flushed.
Lindsee placed a hand on the small metal box. “I didn’t know how to answer him. But now I do.”
Jane placed her hand over her friend’s. “Lindsee, don’t make a decision based on a mere amulet. What I told you about the amulet being magic . . . it’s just rumor. Isn’t that true, Michael?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, but Jane’s right. It’s far-fetched to think an amulet can allow you to see the future—”
“Och, no. I saw it.” Lindsee leaned forward, her eyes wide. “Jennet, I saw it with my own eyes. Take it out of the box and hold it yourself, and you’ll see.”
A pin could have dropped in the room and echoed in the quiet.
David stepped forward. “Lindsee? What did you see?” There was an anguish in his voice that made Jane look at him wonderingly.
Lindsee straightened and dropped her hands to her sides, a small smile touching her lips. “I saw myself married to you, David, and with two bonny wee bairns on my knee.” Lindsee’s face was radiant. “Oh, Jennet, my sons will be beautiful. Both of them with hair of black, and blue, blue eyes.”
“Lindsee?” David crossed the room to stand beside Lindsee. He looked like a black hawk, silver wings at his temples. “While I love hearing of our sons, I’m far more anxious to meet them in person.” He took Lindsee’s hand and very slowly pressed a kiss to her fingers.
To Jane’s bemusement, Lindsee leaned toward him as if it were the most natural thing in the world and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
Michael said quietly, “The amulet’s powers seem a bit stronger than mere rumor.”
Elspeth’s sharp voice crackled through the room. “This changes nothing. That amulet belongs to Jaimie. Jennet, don’t say another word. David said you’d come to this island to steal it from Jaimie, and so you have. Well, I won’t stand for it. I say you have to—”
“Hold!” Jaimie frowned at his wife. “You’ve been speaking to my father about the amulet and yet I’ve never heard a word of this before now.”
She lifted her chin. “Someone has to look out for the good of Eoligary House and our family. Can’t you see what’s happening? She returned to steal the amulet. Once she has that, she’ll want more!”
Jaimie’s lips thinned, his brows snapping down over his eyes. “You are wrong, Elspeth. Jennet came here to find that amulet and for no other reason. And she’s not stealing anything.”
“Don’t be naïve! She will demand her titles and the lands. We’ll lose everything and—”
“Then we’ll lose everything, damn you!” Jaimie’s voice rang through the room. “They’re hers, the title and lands. They always have been.”
Elspeth’s mouth fell open, her eyes wide.
David scowled. “Elspeth’s right, Jaimie. You need to have a care—”
&nbs
p; “As for you, old man,” Jaimie spat, coming out from behind the desk, his fists clenched. “I am the laird here, not you. And this is my household. I’ve allowed you far too much say in this house and it will stop here and now or—”
“Or what?” David’s gaze narrowed.
For an instant Jane thought Jaimie might fold, but instead, he stalked past Elspeth to his father, hands fisted at his sides. “Or else I’ll make you leave.”
“You wouldn’t touch me,” David sneered. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Though his lips quivered, Jaimie stood firm. “Father, I love you, but I have put up with your schemes far too often. That ends today. Jennet is my cousin. I sold all I had to marry Elspeth—even my honor. I was mad for her and had to have her. But . . .” He gulped on a sob. “That didn’t make it right. All of these years, I’ve carried that burden. Barra is Jennet’s, heart and soul. It always has been.”
He turned to Jennet. “Cousin, I can’t continue with this. Barra is yours. I’ll leave for Edinburgh tomorrow and let the magistrate know you’ve returned.”
“You fool,” David sneered. “If you give this up, you’ll lose everything and everyone you hold dear.”
Anguish broke across Jaimie’s face, but he held his ground. “If Elspeth leaves me for nothing more than a change in title, then I must face the truth: that she doesn’t love me”—his voice broke, but he swallowed loudly—“and she never will.”
“No woman would stay with such a maw worm,” David said, disgust on his face.
“Hold!”
All eyes went to Elspeth, who stood stiff and white faced, her gaze locked on David. “Do not call him a maw worm. Jaimie is a fine and good man. Better than you!”
David looked impatient. “Stay out of this. Your husband and I have decisions to make—”
“No, Father,” Jaimie said. He turned to Elspeth, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “Elspeth, I have something to tell you.” He reached for her hands and held them tightly. “From the day we wed, Father has been telling me that you married me for the title, that you’d leave if I didn’t do things the way he saw best.”
Elspeth blinked. “And you believed him?”
“Aye. You never gave me any reason not to. I know that you don’t love me, but I thought that so long as I kept the title, I could keep you.”
Eslpeth started to speak, but he shook his head. “Let me finish. I’ve never loved anyone but you, and I suppose I thought that was enough. That my love was big enough for both of us.” His chin quivered. “But I was lying to myself. It’s not enough. It never was.”
“Your father is right about one thing and one thing only. You are a fool!” Elspeth said. “You decided all of that without consulting me.”
Jaimie swiped his eyes with one hand. “Elspeth, I have tried and tried to be the man you wished me to be, someone forceful, but I am who I am. And if that’s not enough for you, then—” He dropped her hands, his shoulders slumping.
Jane started to go forward and reach for Jaimie, but Michael’s warm fingers curled about her shoulder, and he pulled her back until she was leaning into him.
Elspeth shook her head. “Jaimie, you’ve never said any of this to me.”
“I didn’t think you’d want to hear it.”
“I wouldn’t want to—” She closed her eyes and pressed her fists against them.
Jaimie looked miserable. “Elspeth, please. Don’t look like that. Just—”
She dropped her hands. “Is this why you’ve held yourself from me all of these years? Why you never shared your thoughts, never talked with me about our future, never included me in plans for this house or anything else?“ She gestured with empty hands.
Jaimie raked a hand through his hair. “I was trying to show you I could make decisions. You . . . you would have liked to have done that with me?”
Her lip quivered, her blue eyes glistening with tears. “I’m your wife, you daft fool! Of course I wanted to be included in those decisions!”
Jaimie sent an uncertain glance at his father.
“Och, don’t you dare look at him!” Elspeth grabbed Jaimie’s arm and turned him so that David was well out of sight. “Your father’s done enough harm to this marriage as it is.”
“I was only—” David began.
“Whist!” Lindsee said absently. “Let them talk.”
To Jane’s astonishment, David meekly remained silent.
“Such is love,” Michael murmured.
Elspeth grabbed two fistfuls of her husband’s coat. “Listen to me, you blithering idiot. Your father told you that I only married you because of your title, and he was right. I was a lass of sixteen and knew only what my parents had taught me: that the only thing of value was cold, hard coin.”
Jaimie lifted a hand. “Don’t say any—”
She gave him a small shake. “No, I’m going to speak and you’re going to listen. For once, we’re going to talk to each other and not at.”
He nodded, his gaze locked on her face, as if he didn’t dare look away.
Jane’s throat tightened as she saw the anguished love in Jaimie’s expression.
Elspeth said, “Your father told you the truth, that I was interested in nothing more than your title and gold. I was happy at first that you never tried to bind yourself to me with useless emotion. But as time passed, as we lived together, I saw you for what you are, and not for what you fear you might be. I saw your gentleness, the way you stood beside me and held my hands during the birth of our children, and how you never raised your voice at me, even when I deserved it.” Her voice thickened, and she swallowed before she continued, her eyes growing luminous. “Did your father also tell you how I watched you hold our children with such tenderness, such love? How I saw you kiss their foreheads each and every night, and how I grew so jealous of that loving touch?” Her voice broke, and she whispered, “Something you never gave me, your wife?”
Jaimie shook his head in wonderment.
She tugged him closer. “Jaimie, did he tell you how I dreamed of the time when you’d sweep me in your arms and declare your love for me and me alone? For if he didn’t tell you that, then he didn’t tell you everything you needed to know.”
Jaimie blinked slowly, as if unable to grasp her words. “You love me?”
“Och, you fool!” A sob filled her voice and she shook him harder. “How could I watch you and not love you? But you never let me close, never told me what you wished, never included me in any decision of any kind. I waited and waited and—” Her voice broke, and with a gulped sob, she turned and ran toward the door.
Jaimie caught her just before she reached it. He slung an arm about her waist and held her to him. “Och, Elspeth, my love, please don’t cry. I can stand anything but that. You must know that I love you. That I’ve loved you since I first laid eyes upon you, and I’ve never stopped loving you since. All of these years, I’ve held back my feelings because I didn’t think you wanted them. And they’ve burned me from the inside out. I wanted to say something so many times, but you seemed so angry and my father kept saying that you didn’t care and would leave and I—”
Elspeth stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss. It was a short kiss, just her lips pressed to his. But when she finished and dropped back to her heels, Jaimie looked with wonder into her face. “Bloody hell, the time we’ve wasted,” he said.
With a breathless laugh, Elspeth threw her arms about her husband’s neck and kissed him again.
Jaimie returned the kiss with the same ardent passion.
A handkerchief was pressed into Jane’s hand, and she realized that a tear was running down her cheek. She wiped it away and handed the kerchief back to Michael.
He looked at it for a moment before he took it, folded it in half, and carefully tucked it back into his pocket.
She looked around. “Lindsee and David are gone!”
“They slipped out as soon as it became apparent they were not necessary. Lindsee has David firmly in hand. I get the impre
ssion she’ll lead him on a merry dance.”
“Good. He deserves one.” Jane looked down at the box in her hands. “I suppose we’ve accomplished our goal, too.” She handed the box to Michael. “Finally. The Hurst Amulet.”
Michael tucked the box into the large pocket of his greatcoat.
“Aren’t you going to examine it?”
“Not here.” He tucked a hand under her elbow. “Come, princess. It’s time to go.”
Jane glanced at her cousin, who was now in a passionate embrace with his wife. Her face heated.
“Just so.” Michael led her into the hallway, then shut the double doors behind him.
Jane gave a sigh of relief. “That was far more complicated than I expected.”
He flicked Jane a humorous glance. “Life always is, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. There are still some things I need to talk to Jaimie about—the rents and taxes must be used for the good of all of Barra.”
Michael nodded to the footman, who hurried to open the door, and led her outside. “I suspect that once Elspeth is included in the decision making, Barra will profit greatly. She seems the practical sort.”
“True,” Jane said thoughtfully. “They make a lovely couple, don’t they?”
“If Noah’d had your skills in matching the animals on the ark the way you’ve matched the couples here on Barra, there’d still be unicorns and dragons in this world.”
She chuckled. “I didn’t organize any of that and you know it.” She gazed at his pocket where the outline of the box could be seen. “But maybe something else did.”
“I rather doubt it. People see what they wish to.”
A groom brought their horses to the step and Michael helped her into the saddle. “We should return to the inn and examine the amulet.”
“And then?” The question hung in the air between them, as thick and solid as a wall.
“And then we’ll see.” Michael climbed onto Ramses and gave her a faint, lopsided smile as he gathered the reins. “Maybe we’ll let the amulet do its magic once again.”
CHAPTER 20
From the diary of Michael Hurst:
I—no, we found the Hurst Amulet and it is all it was promised and far, far more.