Page 39 of One Forbidden Kiss with the Laird (The Cinderella Shepherd Sisters #2)
‘You cannot be thinking of doing a deal with this man,’ Lady Kingsley said, unable to contain herself any longer.
‘Quiet. I’m thinking.’
‘He has brought disgrace on our darling daughter Catherine.’
Callum turned in his chair to face Lady Kingsley.
‘Again, I apologise, but there is not really any need for this to affect your daughter’s prospects.
I do not plan on gracing the London Season with my presence.
To those who know you were making this trip to finalise a marriage deal you can spread the story that the match was unsuitable.
Paint me as a penniless Scottish rogue. A barbarian if you wish.
They will lap that up in London. You can tell everyone you were the ones to pull out of the agreement. No one will know any different.’
Lady Kingsley looked as though she might argue, but closed her mouth again as she considered Callum’s words. She would not concede she was in any way pleased with how events had turned out, but Callum was right, it did not have to reflect badly on Catherine.
‘You would not contradict any story we put about?’
‘No. As long as you did not say anything negative about my new wife. I really am rather protective of her.’
‘We do not wish to draw any attention to Miss Shepherd,’ Sir William said, flicking a disdainful look at Selina.
‘Good. So what do you think of my proposal, Sir William? You get to keep the pleasant parts of the estate, I buy the working parts from you.’
Selina could see he was considering it, despite the animosity still in the room.
‘Very well,’ he said eventually. ‘I will give you a price.’
The tension in the room was palpable as the only sound was the scratching of Sir William’s pen on a piece of paper he pulled from a drawer. He pushed it across the desk towards Callum and then flicked Selina a spiteful little smile.
She leaned in to Callum as he picked up the piece of paper. ‘It is going to be far more than the land is worth,’ she whispered. ‘Do you trust me?’
He glanced at her and then nodded before opening up the paper. On it was a figure treble what Callum and the other local landowners had raised.
Selina took the piece of paper from Callum’s hand, her heart pounding in her chest. It was all very well thinking she would stand up to her father when she was far from his searching gaze, but sitting right here in front of him was a different matter.
‘That is a ridiculous amount.’ Selina took the piece of paper from Callum and flicked it back at her father.
‘That is the price I am willing to sell it to Lord Leven for. If he does not like it…’ Sir William spread his hands out in front of him and shrugged.
‘You are going to offer him fair price,’ Selina said.
‘That is not how this works,’ Sir William snarled.
‘It is. I might not have a voice at the moment, but in a few weeks I will be Lady Leven, Countess of Leven. My husband may have no desire to travel to London, but I did not find the journey here arduous. I would be welcomed as Lord Leven’s new wife into the very ballrooms and dining rooms you covet an invitation to and then I would start talking.
’ She slammed both her hands down on the desk in front of her and then smiled sweetly.
‘I do not know what I would say first. Certainly the ladies and gentlemen would hear what a scoundrel you were, how you were not to be trusted. Gossip spreads like fire and I could create enough gossip about you to last three lifetimes.’
‘You dare to blackmail me?’
‘I dare. Perhaps I have learnt something from you. Perhaps the last twelve months have not been a complete waste of time after all.’
‘I will not lower the price.’
‘I suppose I have been listening this past year. You do have such a loud voice, Father, and you did ask me to stay in the house all the time. A young woman can hardly be blamed for overhearing a few conversations in her own home.’
Sir William paled slightly, but still did not concede defeat. ‘You have nothing.’
‘I could contact Mr Warrington and…’ Selina began, but Sir William stood, grabbing the piece of paper and crossing out the number he had written. He wrote something else and flung it across the desk at her. Aware the ink was still wet, Selina picked it up carefully and gave it to Callum.
She watched his face as he read the new number, wondering if she would have to carry on.
‘We have a deal, Sir William.’ Callum looked serious but Selina could sense inside he was celebrating.
‘Not quite,’ she said, to the surprise of everyone in the room. ‘I have one more request. I would like a wedding present from my father. You gave me nothing the first twenty-two years of my life so I would like a wedding present now.’
‘No.’
Selina shrugged. ‘Consider it,’ she said, sitting back down in her chair as if she had all the time in the world. ‘If you agree, our relationship will end on a much sweeter note.’
‘I do not care about our relationship.’
‘That much is very clear, Father. Let me explain.’ She took Callum’s hand but held her father’s gaze.
‘As a wedding present I would like you to give us this house and the land that accompanies it. I know Lord Leven said he was not interested in purchasing it, but I do wish to obtain it. It will be a gift to Lord Leven and me, separate from the other deal you have made. No money will exchange hands.’
‘You will not threaten me endlessly.’
‘This is not a threat. It is an offer. As I said before, I will be Lady Leven, Countess. My sister—’ she glanced at Catherine ‘—my true sister, is happily married to Lord Routledge. She is a viscountess, which is impressive of itself, but perhaps more importantly Lord Routledge is quite one of the most influential men in London.’ Selina was beginning to enjoy herself now and she threw the next comment over her shoulder to Lady Kingsley.
‘You have to admit that is not bad for two illegitimate nobodies from a tiny town in Sussex.’
‘You don’t need to do this,’ Callum murmured as Selina paused for breath, but she could see he was captivated, as invested as the rest of them in her speech.
‘Either we could part on bad terms, which could mean a cold shoulder from anyone who knows Lord Routledge, or we could forge an alliance.’
‘You do not want an alliance with these people,’ Callum cautioned her.
Selina glanced from Sir William to Lady Kingsley and back again.
She was gambling here. Although so far she had not lied—her sister was happily married to Lord Routledge—they were not the darlings of the ton at present.
They had escaped to a quiet life at the seaside soon after they married.
It had all happened around about the time Sir William and his family had left London, so Selina was hoping they had not heard anything of their eschewing Society events.
‘My sister and I will launch Catherine into Society. We will even pretend she is some distant relative. She will get a Season, hopefully attract an eligible suitor and the door to what you want most of all will be opened for you.’
Nobody spoke and Selina could see this was not what they had expected.
‘I have a few conditions. I cannot cope with you…’ she pointed at Lady Kingsley ‘…or you…’ another finger pointed at her father. ‘You would stay away until Catherine had a suitor ready and waiting to ask for her hand. Then I could slip away without having to spend any time with you.’
Still nobody spoke and Selina wondered if her idea was that terrible. She didn’t really want to spend a whole six months with Catherine, but if it meant Callum got his ancestral home back she would put up with it.
‘How could I trust you?’
‘A contract, just like the land contract,’ Selina said with a shrug. ‘Prepared by a solicitor and signed by both parties. You gift us the house, we agree to launch Catherine into Society in London.’
‘A Season? A London Season?’ Catherine’s eyes were wide, but she moved quickly over to the desk. ‘You have to say yes, Papa. Think of the man I could marry if I had a proper London Season.’
‘You know nothing of launching a woman into Society. You have never even met the Queen yourself.’
‘No, but as I say it would not just be me. Lord and Lady Routledge would assist if I asked them to.’
Sir William frowned, trying to work out the advantages and disadvantages of this one.
Finally, to Selina’s surprise he stood and held out his hand for Callum to shake.
‘You have a deal. The land for the sum written down. The house and grounds in exchange for a London Season for Catherine.’
Callum took Sir William’s hand and shook it. Selina felt like crying out with relief. Her hands had started to shake, but she did not want anyone to see so quickly she hid them in her skirt.
‘I will summon a solicitor from Glasgow. When he arrives we will finalise the details.’
Before anyone could change their minds Selina and Callum said brief farewells and hurried from the room, pausing only once they were outside the front door.
‘You never let on you were going to ask for all that,’ Callum said, pulling her to him and kissing her deeply. ‘Remind me never to negotiate with you—you are far too skilled for us mere mortals.’
‘I’m sorry I promised we would go to London, I know you have no desire to leave Scotland.’
‘I don’t, but I am learning it is good to not hold on to my rigid ideas. London is the price we must pay to come back to this beautiful house.’
‘We should go and tell the villagers that Sir William accepted your offer. They will be relieved.’
‘We will,’ Callum said. ‘But first I need to kiss my clever wife.’
Standing on the steps of the home they would one day soon move back to, he kissed her long and hard until Selina forgot about the conflict with her father and the promises she’d had to make to get the deal they wanted, until all she could think about was the man she loved and their wonderful future together.