Page 57 of The Rented Bride

Trent joined her. “That is my great-great grandfather Elias Elliot.”

Cassie looked at him. “Great-great grandfather?”

Trent nodded. “Granddad remembers his mother and father speaking of him. He started out in iron mining, then when the car industry took off in the early 20th century, he made a fortune in steel.”

“So, your family money goes way back.”

“No. Well, Elias had money, or that’s the family story. I’ve never verified it.”

Cassie nodded. “How do you make your money?”

If anyone else had asked that question, Trent probably would’ve been angry. But Cassie had asked as nonchalantly as if she asked, ‘How do you like your eggs?’

“Transportation runs in the family. Granddad started out as an engineer, designing rockets.”

“Rockets?” she blurted. “As in, he worked for NASA?”

Trent nodded. “It’s not something we broadcast, but he designed for NASA. After he left NASA, he went on to design and manufacture aircraft parts.”

“Yeah, I’d say transportation runs in the family.” She strolled to the next portrait. “And this picture?”

“That’s Iain Weston.”

“And this is your grandfather,” she said, stepping down to the next picture. “And your father.” She slanted Trent a look. “Where are the matriarchs?”

He lifted both hands, palms out. “The Weston men are not sexist.” He grinned. “Our women would never allow it.” Trent turned toward the opposite wall. “Their pictures are there.”

Cassie crossed the room and studied the four portraits.

“The first portrait is of Rebecca Elliot,” Trent said. “She married Iain Weston She was one of three triplets. Her, Armstrong and Iain were all Elliots. That’s our coat of arms.” He pointed to the coat of arms over the portraits.”

“That’s the Elliot crest,” Cassie said. “No Weston crest?”

He shook his head. “No. We Westons are just your average Joes.”

“Not all that average,” she murmured. “The ladies are beautiful.”

“The Weston men do have good taste,” he said. “I wasn’t lucky enough to know any of them. My parents died young and grandmother died a year after I was born. But Grandfather tells me they were formidable women, including his mother Rebecca. She and Iain married against her father’s wishes. There was some kind of rift between her father and her two brothers, but it wasn’t until Elias’ forbade her from marrying Iain that she left Elias and his wealth behind. According to Granddad, she never looked back.”

“That’s sad,” Cassie said.

Trent shrugged. “Maybe, but Grandfather said that his mother characterized Elias as a tyrant. So it sounds like they were better off without him.”

“Do you ever wish you lived in Scotland?” she asked.

“I spent a year at University of Strathclyde. It’s beautiful, and I feel a connection, but Brettonwood is home. And no, I wouldn’t haul the bricks back.”

She chuckled as he led her toward a door to the left. He opened the door and they entered a cool, darkened room. “This is my favorite room,” he said. “I used to sit in here and talk to the paintings.” He stopped in front of the first painting on the left. “An original Alexander Nasmyth.”

“It’s gorgeous,” she said. “Is it Scotland?”

‘Oh yes, Edinburgh, in fact.”

“I feel as if I could step right into the landscape.”

He placed his hand on her lower back. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”

She smiled. “They all are.””