A Proper Scottish Wife Ch. 09

"You have. You've all treated me kindly and with consideration, given the circumstances," Ailene said. "I panicked. I didn't stop to think. I pictured only myself in that position and not how it would be with others. I'm sorry. You have treated me as a lady. If it's consolation, I did think that you would be much kinder to her than others would be. That's why I tried to get her back. Now I'm worried. I think the worst may have happened to her and that I'll be responsible."

"We'll send out men again tomorrow. See if we can't find where she's gone," Thorburn said. "She didn't live that far away that she would have gotten lost. She may not have stuck to the road if she knew of a shortcut, but a shortcut implies she would be home sooner rather than later."

"Isobel suggested she may have gone seeking other employment immediately before word of the reason for her dismissal got around," Ailene said. "Perhaps we could check with other nearby estates to see if she's found employment already?"

"We'll check," Thorburn said.

"I apologize I thought ill of you for no reason," Ailene said.

"Maybe not for no reason," Stuart replied. "We should have handled the situation differently. Instead of merely an altering of our marriage to allow sharing you with my brothers, your first time with us was associated with punishment. It wasn't punishment and should not have been tendered as such. For that, I take responsibility. I thought it time and it seemed like as good a moment as any. I see now that wasn't the case. It should have been handled a different way under other circumstances. I apologize for that."

"Still, I should have known better. Even Isobel recognized that whatever punishment was planned for Màiri here was better than what was waiting for her outside these walls. I couldn't talk about what happened to me, but she recognized that whatever happened, I was still in love with my husband and happy here. In her eyes, it couldn't have been that bad, considering how badly she wanted to escape her own marriage. I listened, but didn't understand fast enough."

"We'll find a way to make it better, Lady Cameron," Thorburn said. "Mistakes were made all around, but all we can do is work to correct them."

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