Page 66 of Christmas at the Scottish Lodge
‘They threatened to break my fingers, so I had to do it,’ Boyd whined.
Jed felt a hard thump in his chest. ‘Do what?’ He stood so he could pace, found himself staring at his trophies again.Something was nagging at him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.
‘I told them who you were married to.’ Boyd paused as Jed’s stomach crashed. ‘I’ve been doing some research into your Mairi Fraser. She’s quite the writerly success. You never said.’
Because his father would have exploited it. Just like he was doing now. ‘You told them about her?’ he guessed, almost too afraid to hear the response.
‘Her address isn’t public knowledge, but from her social media profile I can see she lives in Edinburgh. They’re going in a few days, and it won’t take them long to track her down. They won’t do anything…’ he said hastily. ‘Not if she pays up. It’s the least she can do for her new father-in-law.’ He chuckled and the sound was monstrous. ‘I was fair. I asked them to give her a week to come up with the money. Because she’s family. You’ve got to understand, lad, I had no choice.’
‘She’s got nothing to do with this.’ Jed could hear fear in his words, couldn’t contain the wild leapfrogging of his stomach. ‘I can’t believe you gave them her name,’ he croaked, shaking his head wondering why he was surprised. This was the father he’d spent his life trying to please, the man whose love he’d thought he could earn. But he never had.
‘Ach, lad, they won’t hurt her,’ his father promised, his voice a low hum. ‘It might be worth giving the lass a heads up, though.’
All those years of trying to prove himself, of bending over backwards to make his da proud. The last eleven months had been all about protecting Mairi – and now, despite everything, she’d been pulled into the mess anyway. His father had thrown her under a bus without a second thought. If Jed needed a sign that his feelings weren’t important – that he wasn’t important – this was it.
‘I think I’m done,’ he said, hanging up. He shook his head frantically trying to think, trying to work out a way of making this right. Knowing he couldn’t.
Someone knocked on the door and he thought about ignoring it. But it might be Mairi. If it was, he’d have to explain, tell her not to go to Edinburgh. At least not yet.
When the door swung open, Effie was standing in the hallway holding a small wooden box and a waste-paper basket. He stood aside as she entered and saw something golden sparkling in the bottom of the bin.
‘Why do you have those shoes?’ he asked, shocked.
‘Ach, lad – the lass is packing to leave. She asked me to keep them for myself or to gift them to a charity of my choice. They’re bonnie, aren’t they? I thought I’d take them downstairs and think about what to do with them.’ She paused and stared at his face. ‘You look pale, lad. Are you feeling alright after the accident, do you need to lie down?’
‘I’m fine.’ Jed gulped and the breath stuck in his throat. If Mairi had thrown away her wedding shoes, she really was done with him. There was no hope. ‘When’s she leaving?’ he asked urgently.
‘Not until tomorrow – mid morning, after breakfast, so there’s plenty of time.’ The older woman gave him an odd look. ‘I came to tell you that I know you’re married.’ She searched his face, her expression filled with sympathy. ‘I will say I’m delighted about it. I always wondered if the two of you…’ She let out a long breath. ‘I don’t know why you didn’t tell me, though. I’d love an excuse to buy a new hat.’ Her smile was sad.
‘I’m sorry.’ Jed shook his head. It was too difficult to explain.
‘Ach, we won’t get into any of that now.’ Effie patted his arm. ‘I wanted to give you this.’ She handed Jed the box.
‘What is it?’ He went to sit on the edge of the bed because his legs were unsteady, then he opened the lid and stared. ‘It’sjewellery.’ There was so much of it: gold, silver, rings, necklaces and bracelets sporting dozens of sparkly stones.
‘Aye – and it’sallreal, lad.’ Effie sat beside him on the bed. ‘I’ve been keeping it for you. It was my mother’s – your grandmother’s. When your mam…Well.’ She paused. ‘When she passed, it became mine.’ She sighed, her expression gloomy. ‘So now it’s yours. I was waiting for you to meet someone, for you to get serious about them so I could give them to you.’
She plucked a diamond cluster ring out of the box. Jed didn’t know much about jewellery, but he knew it was beautiful. ‘I think we could call getting wed serious,’ she croaked.
‘Mairi doesn’t want to be married to me anymore,’ Jed said bleakly, taking the ring from his aunt’s fingers and twirling it, making it sparkle. It was stunning and it would look perfect on Mairi’s finger. It even matched the shoes.
‘Ach, well.’ She shrugged. ‘If you’re going to let her go that easily, then I suppose she might not be worthy of that ring, after all.’
‘Of course she’s worthy,’ Jed snapped. ‘I just—’ He cleared his throat before a barrage of excuses came tumbling out.
‘She asked me to book her a taxi for ten tomorrow morning.’
‘Okay.’ Jed nodded slowly. He could work with that; he’d have time to think about what to say. ‘Where is she now?’
‘Kenna’s keeping her company in her bedroom. Mairi’s tired and Kenna has to wake the lass every few hours – so it’s probably not a good idea to try to see her now,’ she advised. ‘But.’ She gave him a long look. ‘I hope you’ll speak to her before she leaves.’ Effie frowned. ‘It’s time for you to decide what you want, lad,’ she said. ‘What you deserve.’
‘What I want and what I can have are two different things,’ he said quietly. ‘And I’m not sure I deserve anything.’
‘Ah.’ She cocked her head, her green eyes serious. ‘Says who, your da?’ She sucked in a breath. ‘Because that man wouldn’tknow a good thing if it leapt into his arms and slapped him on both cheeks.’ She looked annoyed. ‘He made my sister – your mam – very unhappy.’
‘He did?’ Jed asked. He’d never asked Effie about his mother. It had been too painful and perhaps there had just been too much guilt wound into the subject. He blamed himself for what happened, so perhaps his aunt did too?
‘He never valued her. Even when she was pregnant with you,’ she continued in a world of her own.
