Page 58 of Forever My Lass

The instant he saw the woman preoccupying his thoughts, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck his chest. Her gaze met his for a fleeting moment, before she looked away to close the study door behind her, then stepped deeper into the room.

“I need your help,” she insisted quietly. Something in her voice set him on edge, and he narrowed his gaze on her.

“My help?”

“I need to go to Aberdeen.” The words were the last thing he would have thought to come out of her mouth, and he stared at her in bewilderment.

“Aberdeen?”

At his question, Madeline winced and looked down at a piece of paper she held. She exhaled a sharp breath then moved forward quickly to offer him what he suddenly realized was a piece of correspondence.

“I have an interview.”

The quiet statement made him go rigid with tension. Slowly accepting the paper, his gaze locked with hers for a long moment before he opened the folded missive. The handwriting was confident and powerful on the page, and Iain knew without even glancing at the signature that the writer was a man.

Dear Miss Whitworth,

After careful review of your reply to my first letter, I would like for us to meet when I travel to Aberdeen to visit family next week. I believe you and I might be well-suited to work together. I was impressed by the detail of knowledge you included with your correspondence, and I am of the opinion that your skills will be of immense value to me as I expand my practice in London.

A meeting in person will confirm my thoughts as to our suitability of working together. We can discuss the details of employment at that time. If you are amenable to my request, I am free on Thursday afternoon. We can meet in the tearoom of the MacDonald Norwood Hall hotel. You may write to me in care of my sister, Mrs. Andrew Tulloch, Aberdeenshire with the time of your availability this coming Thursday.

Regards,

Graeme Douglas, M.D.

An emotion Iain had never experienced before surged through him at the thought of her in the company of another man. It didn’t matter the reason, he only knew he didn’t like it. Stunned by the strength of his reaction, Iain looked up from the letter to study Madeline with a possessiveness he knew he wasn’t entitled to feel, but felt nonetheless.

She flinched at his look and immediately averted her gaze. The silence in the room was fraught with tension as he slowly folded the correspondence, then extended his arm to return the letter to her. Madeline took a quick step forward and snatched the missive out of his hand then retreated just as fast.

“Can you help me get to Aberdeen this Thursday? I know it’s short notice, but I just received Dr. Douglas’s letter this morning.” Irritated by her request, Iain glared at her.

“Have ye told Grace and Ainslie that ye are leaving Muchalls Hall?”

Iain deliberately avoided answering her question by asking one of his own. How he managed not to raise his voice astounded him because all he wanted to do was rage at her for being so damn determined to leave. His anger strengthened as she shook her head.

“Not yet.”

“Do ye expect me tae break their hearts for ye?” Iain snapped. “I’ll nae do that, Madeline.”

“I didn’t ask you to. I just haven’t found the right moment to explain things to them.” Irritation filled her words, showing she was offended by his suggestion.

“Explain? Ye won’t even explain tae me why ye are leaving, Madeline.”

“I’ve already told you why.” The vagueness of her fierce reply ignited a fierce anger inside Iain as he glared at her.

“Nae, ye dinnae tell me anything,” he bit out through clenched teeth. “And ye have refused to speak with me since ye left my bed almost two weeks ago.”

“There wasn’t anything to say.” Despite the sharpness of her tone, Iain heard something he thought might be pain in her voice. He took a step forward, but Madeline shied away in the direction of the door. “What happened…what happened between us only complicated an already difficult situation.”

“How was it difficult?” he snarled. “Ye were happy here.”

“Too happy.”

“What the hell does that mean? Ye are nae making any sense, woman.”

“It means the girls weren’t the only ones who were becoming too attached.”

There was a small catch in Madeline’s voice that made him stiffen. Was she saying she had feelings not only for Grace and Ainslie, but for him as well? His chest tightened as he struggled with the ramifications of what that would mean for the two of them. Almost as if she could read his mind, a humorless smile touched her lips. With a soft sound of ironic disbelief, she eyed him mockingly.