Page 147 of The Highlander's Kilted Bride
Charlie shook her head in disgust. “Sir Leslie doesn’t have a shred of honor in his entire body.”
“I’m sorry, Sis,” Johnny said, sounding miserable again.
“Apology accepted, dearest. But how did you know it was me who stole the brooch in the first place?”
When Johnny started to shrug his shoulders, he winced and shifted uncomfortably. “It made the most sense. I know how careful you are with the brooch, but I also knew how much you wanted to get rid of Richard.”
“Well done, you,” she wryly replied. “So you searched all our secret hiding places and found it.”
“It was unbelievably selfish of me, I know. But Sir Leslie was due here in a few days, and he’d already told me that he would tell Papa everything if I didn’t pay up. I thought that if I gave him the brooch, he would be satisfied. I . . . I suppose I just lost my head.”
“Then why didn’t you simply give it to him?” Kade asked.
The young man’s gaze turned angry. “I couldn’t betray Charlie, especially not after Sir Leslie started making noises about using the brooch to force her to marry him. Bad enough that he would get his grubby hands on the brooch, but the thought of him marrying Charlie to get her dowry? I’d rather die first.”
“Did that idiot really think I would marry him?” Charlie asked.
“He thought Papa could pressure you, what with family honor and all. Plus, you may have noticed that Sir Leslie has a rather good opinion of himself. He believed he’d be able to charm you once he had his hands on the brooch.”
Charlie shook her head, muttering under her breath.
“Morgan seemed to give that notion up in short order,” Kade said.
Johnny cast him a meaningful glance. “I think he realized pretty quickly that Charlie would never marry him, under any circumstance.”
“Still, how could he hope to recoup his money?” Charlie asked. “The brooch is so recognizable that it would be almost impossible to pawn. He could sell the gems separately, but that would greatly reduce their worth.”
“Sir Leslie said he knew a collector who would pay handsomely for a piece with such historical value,” her brother replied.
Disgusted, Kade shook his head. “Well, isn’t he the clever fellow? Morgan clearly put some thought into this particular swindle.”
Charlie’s amber gaze sparked with anger. “‘Clever’? I can think of other things to call him, starting withblackmailing bastard.”
“I am in complete agreement with you, my love.”
Johnny blinked, then quickly flashed his sister a broad smile. “I knew I was right about the two of you. Are congratulations in order, old girl?”
“Yes, I think so,” she said, returning her brother’s smile with a shy one of her own.
Kade repressed a sigh. “You think so?”
She crinkled her nose at him. “Sorry. Yes, Johnny, Kade and I are getting married, but you’re to keep that to yourself for now. We need to get this mess sorted first.”
“Hmm,” Johnny said. “Our parents had their hearts set on Richard. I hope they don’t kick up a fuss.”
Kade shared his hope. “We’ll cross that bridge later. As Charlie noted, we need to get this sorted as quickly as possible.”
“Before Morgan makes another attempt on poor Johnny,” Charlie said, her expression once more turning fierce.
“If he killed me,” Johnny asked, “how would he ever find the brooch?”
“Don’t forget, he could easily make a mistake,” Charlie argued. “The laudanum drops. If he’d miscalculated . . .”
She broke off and took a deep, shaky breath. Her hands curled into fists in her lap.
Kade reached over and took one of them, easing open her tightly clenched fingers. “I know, but he didn’t. That suggests to me that he’s used drops before, either for his own use or on someone else.”
Johnny’s mouth gaped open for a moment. “Do you think he’s done this to someone else?”
