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Broderick’s mouth curved at the corner in a slight, knowing grin. He shook his head almost imperceptibly. “I did a lot o’ climbin’ in me youth. Next question.”

“But that was just—”

“Next question.” Broderick wasn’t going to coddle the mortal’s inability to accept something he couldn’t comprehend.

Tammus’s eyes darted back and forth, the rapid shift between anger and fear evident in the way his pupils dilated, and the thoughts rambling around the room were too scattered for Broderick to catch completely, but the general flavor of his mixed feelings were this: Tammus was near panicking over what Broderick could possibly be or what he did, but not so much that it overrode his desire to see his niece married.

Denial played a huge part in favoring something hecouldfathom—marriage and estates—but the man cared more about getting back to Aberdeen to save his business than he was in the wellbeing of his kin, and that irked Broderick to no end.

Tammus’s lips compressed into a thin, colorless line as he battled visible shudders of dread, a small tic dancing at the corner of his eye. He ran a hand through his graying hair in a futile attempt to steady himself, then huffed, gathering the remnants of his courage. “What do you want, MacDougal?” he asked, voice brittle and dry as ancient parchment. “You scared Finlay McIntosh off for a reason.”

Slowly, Broderick uncrossed his arms, letting them fall with deliberate ease to his sides, though beneath his calm exterior, tension twined like coiled rope. “I’m here to offer ye a solution.”

Tammus’s eyes narrowed, shadows flickering behind them ashe demanded, “To what?”

“Tae solve all yer problems. Finlay McIntosh is gone—no’ because I chased him, but because he was too soft-hearted tae bear the weight o’ responsibility. Davina’s estate needs a husband who can do what must be done.” He let the words settle in the air like dust motes dancing in a shaft of light. “A man who will protect her, manage the business, and hold the wolves at bay.”

Despite a scoff that came out more as a hollow exhalation than confidence, Tammus couldn’t hide his doubt. “And you think you’re that man?”

“IknowI am.” Broderick stepped forward, planting his fists firmly on the scarred desk. The force of his gesture made Tammus recoil a step, eyes widening in astonishment. With a challenging arch of his eyebrow, Broderick masked any spark of hunger or defiance behind a veneer of indifference. “Ye want tae return to Aberdeen, aye? Back tae yer warehouses and ledgers. Back tae a life where Davina is no longer a burden upon yer shoulders.”

Tammus opened his mouth to protest, but his voice failed him as if swallowed by the oppressive silence.

In a lower, coaxing timbre, Broderick continued, “Marry her tae me, and ye can go back tae that old life. Leave the estate tae me—tae her. I’ll oversee the lands, the contracts, even the debts. I’ll ensure her safety, her reputation.” He softened his tone, the rough edges of his words gentling just enough to sound appealing. “Ye can then rest easy knowing ye did right by her; that ye watched her marry a man strong enough tae shoulder the future.”

Tammus’s throat tightened, his Adam’s apple bobbing like a cork in rough waters. “And what does Davina think of this arrangement?”

“She’ll agree,” Broderick said, his voice smooth yet laced with the desperate certainty of a man standing on the edge of fate. He tilted his head slightly, letting a cold edge seep through his honeyed tone. “No one will dare question her again. No’ with me right here at her side.”

A heavy silence stretched between them, thick and almost suffocating. Tammus’s gaze drifted toward the window, his eyes lost in a far-off yearning for the freedom of a life unburdened by his niece’s troubled affairs.

“You’ll keep her safe?” Tammus rasped, a strained whisper laden with hope and despair.

“With me life,” Broderick vowed firmly, his words echoing off the stone walls like a binding oath.

For a long, tense moment, Tammus looked away, his jaw working silently as resignation etched itself into the deep lines of his face. Finally, with a curt nod suffused with a heavy sadness, he spoke. “Then it is done.”

Without further ceremony, Tammus crossed the room with measured steps, maintaining a respectful distance, and opened the study door with a creak that seemed to announce change. “Lilias!” he called.

Shortly afterward, soft, measured footsteps echoed down the passage as Davina’s mother responded, “Aye, brother?”

“Go fetch Davina,” Tammus instructed simply, closing the door as he returned to the sanctum of the desk, his face carefully composed.

Broderick drifted toward the window, gazing out across the shadowed courtyard where the moon cast delicate patterns upon the ancient stones. Turning his back on the resigned figure of Davina’s uncle, he allowed a sly smile to curl his lips—a quiet promise of change and a future redefined.

∞∞∞

Davina paced the length of her bedchamber, her thumbnail caught between her teeth. The sky outside her window had already shifted from fiery pinks and oranges to a deep, dusky purple. Night fell, and with it came the knowledge that Broderick would inevitably arrive.

Amice and Nicabar had both said he was never around until sundown, and Davina had passed the information along to her uncle. She wasn’t sure what Tammus intended to do with it—he hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about his plans—but it was clear he wanted to get to the bottom of what Broderick had done to scare Finlay away. And so did she.

Her pacing stopped as the door opened, and Lilias stepped inside, her expression neutral.

“Your uncle wishes to speak with you,” her mother said without preamble. “In the study with Mr. MacDougal.”

Davina exhaled slowly, steadying her racing thoughts.

Her stomach twisted as she swept past her mother and descended the stairs to the foyer, where she marched toward the study. Every step felt weighted, as though the walls themselves pressed in closer with the gravity of what awaited her.