Page 45 of Much Ado About a Scot

Isobel shook her head dazedly. Wishing she wasn’t so exhausted from the day’s events so far, so that she could think more clearly. “I’ve never received anything from the Graham estate.”

The accountant bobbed his head as he removed a sheaf of papers from his satchel and set them on the table. “That is why we are here.”

Isobel felt as if someone had kicked her in the chest and knocked the breath out of her. “It sounds too good to be true. Something has to be wrong.”

Alan raised a dark brow. “The law does not lie, milady.”

“And neither do the numbers,” Eddie added.

If what these men said was true, then Gladmuir Hall would be saved. Isobel’s heart was pounding so hard, she could scarcely speak. “What happens next?”

Eddie sat back in his chair. “I will need to see the estate records from as far back as your father’s time in charge if you have them.”

“I do.” She left her seat and hurried into the front parlor to retrieve three thick ledgers before returning to the kitchen and setting them before the man. “You said you were an accountant? What is that, a steward?”

“’Tis a new profession. I work only with the financial keeping of estates or for individuals.” He sat taller, his bearing proud. “Who keeps your books?” he asked as he flipped open the latest ledger to reveal neat and tidy handwriting and sums.

Isobel’s stomach fluttered. “I keep the records. How else would I know the status of the estate?”

Eddie raised an eyebrow as he smiled. “I meant no offense. ’Tis simply unusual for a female to take care of such things.”

“Not all women are fortunate enough to have husbands to—”

“Isobel is a very capable women,” Xander interrupted. “She’s intelligent, hardworking, and—” he paused to glance at the ledger “—has some of the finest penmanship I’ve ever seen.”

“Very true,” Eddie said as he returned his attention to the ledger in front of him. “Give me about an hour and I’ll have a rough sum of what the Graham estate might owe you based on what your profits were for your acreage versus his acreage.”

“I will then draft the legal papers required to begin a lawsuit against Graham and his estate.”

Isobel’s fears came flying back to her. She and Jamie had started a new kind of relationship with Graham over the last two days. A lawsuit against him would surely upset that. And yet she desperately needed the financial support his estate was supposed to provide. “Can I go talk with Graham in person while you work here? Perhaps by simply talking we can come to some sort of agreement.”

Xander’s gaze fixed on her face. His eyes glittered in the dim lighting in the kitchen. “I don’t want you anywhere near the Graham estate until Bothwell’s dastardly earls are apprehended.”

Isobel stood and squared her shoulders. “I need to ask him my questions in private before we divulge possible family secrets to the entire village. I owe him that much. But if I find I am not satisfied with his answers, then the lawsuit may proceed.” She didn’t have any other choice but to pursue some sort of settlement. Gladmuir Hall meant everything to her and she would not lose her son’s future livelihood.

“If you must go, then I will go with you.” Xander stood. “Continue your work here, gentlemen. We shall return shortly.”

“I must change my gown first.” As she stepped away from the table her knees were unsteady and she felt light-headed. She paused and clutched the lintel of the hearth for support.

“Isobel?” Xander was by her side immediately.

“I am well,” she assured him as the dizziness passed. “I will return shortly.” Offering him a smile that was meant to placate him, she hurried down the hallway and disappeared up the stairs. As she went, she sent up a silent prayer: Please let all the sorrow in my life be at an end and help us find a way to keep our home.

*

Xander followed Isobel to the staircase, but did not follow her upstairs. She’d had a traumatic morning. That she was unsettled by all that had happened did not surprise him. He would remain by her side to make certain she suffered no further harm as they talked with David Graham and while he and his men waited for the earls to arrive.

Needing to fill the time while he waited for Isobel to change, Xander strode into the front parlor and looked at the rubble strewn about the chamber. He bent and picked up a piece of the decimated wall he’d tried to create. He turned the still-damp daub over in his hand, inspecting it. Why had he not suspected Bothwell would use the tunnel to escape? He should have planned for that eventuality by leaving warriors in the tunnel and at Isobel’s home. Once their attack had begun, Bothwell had proven in a matter of minutes why it had taken all the king’s men and his Magnificent Seven three years to find him.

Now that they’d finally apprehended the Wizard Earl, none of them would allow him to escape. And once the man was locked away in Edinburgh Castle’s dungeon, perhaps he and his brothers-in-arms could finally leave the king’s service and move forward with their own lives.

At the thought, Xander stood. What did he want from his own life moving forward? He knew he cared for Isobel, more than he’d ever cared for another person on this earth. He loved her. But was he ready to fully embrace Isobel and Jamie as part of his life? To make what they’d found in the last few days permanent? Was he willing to give her the part of himself he’d always kept hidden from her and everyone else? The part that was afraid of being hurt again.

He looked inward and found, sensed the lingering remains of those years-old scars—wounds caused by his mother’s death, years of neglect, abuse, and hunger, and the times he’d thought he wouldn’t live to see a new day.

The sound of footsteps came from the staircase and he moved to the bottom of the landing to greet Isobel. She was dressed in a simple green dress with a square neckline with a length of cream lace circling her neck, hiding her injury from view. He’d always thought her beautiful. But in that moment as she came down the stairs with her expression charged with determination and filled with hope, she was exquisite.

He realized then that his life would have little meaning without Isobel or Jamie in it. Now all he had to do was convince her that her life was better with him as her husband. Because he had no intention of ever letting her go.