‘Which is where I come in,’ he said softly, trying to deflect the anguish she couldn’t disguise.
She took a deep breath. ‘Which is where you come in,’ she said and turned to face him. ‘Welcome to Loganaich Castle, my lord,’ she said simply. ‘I hope you’ll deal with your inheritance with Angus’s dignity. And I hope the hate stops now.’
‘I hope you’ll help me.’
‘I’m going home,’ she told him. ‘I’ve had enough of…of whatever is here. It’s your inheritance. Rory and Angus have left me enough money to keep me more than comfortable. I’m leaving you to it.’
CHAPTER TWO
THIS was where he took over, Hamish thought. This was where he said, Thank you very much, can I have the keys?
The whole thing was preposterous. He should never have let Jodie insinuate her crazy ideas into his mind.
The thought of being left alone with his very own castle was almost scary.
‘Let’s not do anything hasty,’ he told Susie. ‘I’ll get a bed for the night in town, and we’ll sit down and work things out in the morning.’
‘You’re not staying here?’ she asked, startled.
‘This has been your home,’ he said. ‘I’m not kicking you out.’
‘We do have fourteen bedrooms.’
He hesitated. ‘How do you know I’m not like Kenneth?’
She met his gaze and held. ‘You’re not like Kenneth. I can see.’ She bit her lip and turned back to concentrate on her cumquat. ‘Bitterness leaves its mark.’
‘It’s not fair that I inherit-’
‘Angus and Rory between them left me all I need, thank you very much,’ she said, and there was now a trace of anger in her voice. ‘No one owes me anything. I’m not due for anything, and I don’t care about fairness or unfairness in terms of inheritance. Thinking like that has to stop. I have a profession and I’ll return to it. To kill for money…’