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He’d wanted to rip the blackguard’s throat out He’d thought of challenging hiht to Isla’s hand, just as his brethren of old would have done

“I cannae explain it” Douglas frowned, the lines on his forehead thick and deep ?

??I never thought to see the day Alistair Maclean would break the oath he made with yer father”

“An oath signed and sealed with their blood,” Lachlan added incredulously, keen to express that it had been reement between old friends

“Aye” Douglas hung his head “I’th to stop him”

“It’s of no consequence Alistair obviously knew Isla loved the ripped his heart and squeezed it tight, the nails filed to sharp points to inflict a more intense level of pain “She has always been a woman ruled by her heart not her head”

Douglas glanced back over his shoulder before leaning closer “Nikolai had her under a spell, Lachlan I’ll nae be surprised to find he is a devil’s disciple sent to cause mischief and misery”

The thought that there er to flare Of course, he did not believe that Nikolai was a sorcerer or a devil, but it was possible he ht of his evil hands crawling over Isla’s pure white skin could make a man lose his mind Lachlan cursed inwardly He should never have left

“So where is her husband?” he snapped, failing to understand why anywo from him these last few years”

Douglas shrugged “On a storrabbed a lamp from the table and took Isla to the mine He left her alone down there, and we’ve nae seen a hair or prickly whisker of him since”

Lachlan stared at Douglas, yet the aze “There must be more to the story than that”

“She cannae relanced at the floor, and Lachlan suspected that wasn’t entirely true “But the beggar took everything of value, everything his sliers could carry”

Had Nikolai ruined his life purely out of greed?

“Is that why you want me to offer to rent the mine?”

Douglas raised his chin “The lass refuses to accept charity, even from me But if she thinks it’s earned fairly, she’ll take a different view There’s barely enough money to f-feed her and keep her war to invest, but there’s a thick vein of iron down there A huge deposit I’m sure it will be worth yer while to have a look”