Shy Innocent In The Spotlight by Melanie Milburne
CHAPTER FOUR
ELSPETHMINGLEDWITHthe other wedding party guests, trying to make light conversation with one or two of them but all the while aware of Mack’s watchful gaze. He seemed to be watching her every movement. Even when she wasn’t facing him, she sensed his gaze on her. She had developed a sensitivity where he was concerned, an internal radar that tracked him as assiduously as he tracked her. What did he think she was going to do? Spill all to Sabine about her fiancé’s perfidious behaviour? Elspeth was feeling more and more compromised by the situation her twin had placed her in. Elodie had the chutzpah to wing her way through just about any scenario but Elspeth did not.
Firstly, she hadn’t had much of a social life over the years due to fears over her allergy, and secondly, she had zero experience in handling men like Mack MacDiarmid. But that didn’t stop her being drawn to him as if by some wickedly mischievous magnetic force.
Once the rehearsal was over, the guests were led into one of the grand formal dining rooms for a lavish dinner. Elspeth saw from the beautifully calligraphed nametags on the table that she was seated next to Mack, opposite Fraser and Sabine. She was so nauseated by Fraser’s act of loving fiancé eagerly looking forward to his wedding day, she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat the dinner even if she weren’t worried about nut contamination.
But then, Elspeth knew she was equally guilty in her own game of charades, which unsettled her all the more. Every moment was filled with a sense of dread she would somehow forget she was pretending to be her twin. The fallout would be crucifying, mortifying and horrifying. But even more so, she hated the thought of upsetting the lovely Sabine. The bride-to-be had been nothing but warm and friendly towards her, and yes, perhaps Sabine was a little star-struck by Elodie’s fame, but behind that Elspeth could see Sabine’s genuine affection for her twin.
A wave of self-doubt washed over her. But she wasn’t her twin. Was she doing a good enough job of being Elodie? Her twin would have been working the room, smiling at everyone with confidence, charming every man within her orbit. She wouldn’t be standing to one side, wondering with a sinking feeling in her stomach how on earth she was going to get through the next couple of hours.
Mack came up beside her at the dining table and pulled out her chair with a smile. ‘It seems we’re destined to spend more and more time together this weekend.’ His eyes contained a teasing glint.
Elspeth sent him a look that threatened to wither the whimsical floral arrangement on the table. ‘I can assure you, the prospect doesn’t thrill me one little bit.’
His smile tilted a little further and the glint in his gaze sharpened as if he was secretly relishing her sense of discomfiture. ‘By the way—’ he leaned down to speak close to the shell of her ear and a shiver tumbled down her spine ‘—I spoke to the chef and gave him strict instructions that your meal is not to be contaminated with nuts.’
Elspeth glanced up at him, her pulse still racing at his closeness. ‘That was very...’ she disguised a little gulp ‘...thoughtful of you.’ And crazy of her not to have done so herself. How could she expect to sit through a formal dinner without eating a morsel without drawing attention to herself? And how could Mack have such a potent effect on her that he made her forget the one thing that had dominated every day of her life since she was two years old?
‘He was totally unaware of your dietary needs,’ Mack continued. ‘Do you think you should’ve said something earlier to Sabine or the wedding planner so the caterers could be better prepared?’
‘It was on my list of things to do but I got distracted by...other things...’ Elspeth knew her reply sounded as unconvincing as it was for someone suffering a life-threatening allergy. But then, her twin didn’t have an allergy and suddenly making a fuss about dietary requirements was only going to draw the sort of attention to herself she was hoping to avoid. The sort of attention Mack MacDiarmid was focussing on her now, as if he was trying to solve a perplexing puzzle. His brow was furrowed, his gaze slightly narrowed, his expression a landscape of deep concentration.
Sabine and Fraser came to their seats opposite and Elspeth couldn’t help noticing the beads of perspiration beading across Fraser’s forehead. He looked as if he had been imbibing a little heavily—his cheeks were ruddy and his eyes glassy and his movements a little uncoordinated—although it seemed he was doing all he could to disguise it. It occurred to her how different the two brothers were in temperament and behaviour. Mack was all about emotional regulation, steely control and steadiness. But his younger brother was wayward, reckless and self-indulgent with a lot less ability to control his impulses.
Elspeth couldn’t help wondering what Sabine saw in Fraser, what qualities she was drawn to in him. Or had love planted a pair of rose-coloured glasses on her nose? One day those glasses would have to come off, and then what? Poor Sabine would have to face the truth about the man she married.
Sabine reached for Fraser’s hand and smiled at him in a loving manner. ‘Can you believe that this time tomorrow we’ll be husband and wife?’
Fraser’s answering smile was a little shaky around the edges. ‘I can’t wait, my love.’ He picked up his champagne glass and raised it in a toast. ‘To my beautiful bride-to-be, Sabine. My soulmate, the love of my life.’
Everyone chorused in. ‘To Sabine.’
Elspeth wanted to vomit and, judging from the brief covert glance Mack shared with her, she wasn’t the only one.
Later that night when the other guests had gone to bed, Mack stood in front of the windows of one of the smaller sitting rooms overlooking the loch. The moon cast long slim silver beams of light across the smooth glassy surface of the water. Such a tranquil scene to observe given the mental turmoil he currently was experiencing. He still couldn’t make Elodie out and it deeply troubled him. Alarm bells were ringing in his head and he trusted his gut enough to know they were ringing for good reason.
But what was the reason?
Elodie Campbell apparently had a life-threatening nut allergy but had not notified the catering staff. There was no mention anywhere online of her having an allergy, only dyslexia, which was another red flag to him given her avid interest in his library. For someone who had struggled to read for most of her life, why then would rare books hold such appeal?
But it was the allergy that rang the biggest alarm bell. Why would she risk something like that? Caterers were trained to be able to handle specific food allergies—all she had to do was inform them. Was she really so concerned about her image that she would put her life in danger? And if she was such a risk-taker and the troublemaker the press and his younger brother made her out to be, why then hadn’t she hinted at the one-night stand she’d had with Fraser over dinner? She’d had ample opportunity, not just at dinner but from the moment she’d arrived, and yet she looked as uncomfortable and on edge as Mack felt. Did she intend to sabotage the wedding at some point? Was that her goal, to wait for a moment when the impact of her revelation would be most explosive? Or were his brother’s concerns more a reflection of his own guilt and nothing to do with Elodie, who had slept with him supposedly before knowing he was engaged?
Mack preferred to see Elodie as innocent, unknowingly caught up in a drama of his brother’s making. But why was he so intent on trying to whitewash her reputation? He would be lying if he didn’t admit he was attracted to her. Attracted to her in a way he hadn’t been towards a woman in a long time, if ever. She was beguiling, bewitching, beautiful and at times completely befuddling, and yet he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Her touch had stirred a sensual storm in his body. Every time she came within touching distance, he ached to be even closer. He had come close to kissing her in the library. Every cell in his body had throbbed with the desire to press his lips to her bee-stung ones, to see if they were as soft and responsive as they looked. And yet, she had acted so shocked when he told her he wanted to kiss her. As if she couldn’t believe he could possibly be attracted to her. But what was so shocking about that? Men all over the world lusted after her, including his own brother. Surely it hadn’t been false modesty on her part. She’d looked positively stunned by his confession. Besides, he’d sensed her attraction to him on more than one occasion. Was she acting coy and shy in order to ramp up the heat? If so, it was working a treat. He was hot for her, all right. Smoking hot.
The problem was—what was he going to do about it?
Under normal circumstances, Elspeth would have quite enjoyed the morning’s preparations with the bride and the other bridesmaids under the expert ministrations of the hair and make-up team. She got a tiny glimpse of what her twin experienced in her life as a lingerie model. The pampering, the priming, the professional grooming had turned her into a stunning version of herself. Her skin glowed, her hair was expertly assembled in an up-do that highlighted her cheekbones and the slim length of her neck. The oyster silk bridesmaid dress was slim-fitting with shoestring shoulder straps, and the unusual mushroom colour worked surprisingly well with the smoky tones of her eyeshadow.
Sabine looked exquisite in a diaphanous white cloud of a designer off-the-shoulder dress, the cinched-in waist emphasising her womanly curves. The voluminous veil had a long train that made her look like a fairy-tale princess. Her face shone with happiness and her eyes with excitement. She glanced at the slim watch on her wrist—the borrowed item, from her grandmother. ‘Right. It’s time to go. I’ve made him wait long enough. Ready, girls?’
‘We’re ready,’ the other bridesmaids chorused.
The wisteria walk where the ceremony was to be conducted was in full bloom, the scent intoxicating. Elspeth was aware of a creeping anxiety, no doubt triggered by the memories of her twin’s ill-fated wedding day. Although her twin’s ceremony had been in a church, a cathedral at that, with rows and rows of guests, the atmosphere was the same. The almost palpable sense of expectation from the gathered guests, the chamber music eerily playing exactly the same piece, the groom and groomsmen dressed magnificently in full Highland apparel, including kilts, waiting for the bride and her attendants to appear.
The bride was standing with her father behind a screen, waiting for the moment to come forward, once the bridesmaids had begun their progression.
Before she began to walk forward, Elspeth glanced back to see Sabine’s father frowning as he talked to his daughter. It didn’t seem like the sort of conversation a father and daughter should be having just moments from walking up the aisle. Why wasn’t he smiling at his daughter with pride? Why was he looking so grave and serious? His hand was on her arm in a stalling gesture. His voice was pitched low but was still loud enough for Elspeth to hear her sister’s name mentioned. A wave of panic flooded her being, a cold hand of dread gripped her insides and her knees began to knock together.
Sabine’s expression suddenly folded and her gaze sought Elspeth’s. ‘Is it true?’ she asked in a shocked tone. ‘Oh, God, is it true you slept with Fraser?’
Elspeth opened and closed her mouth; her throat so dry she could barely get her voice to work. ‘It’s not what you think—’
Sabine thrust her beautiful bouquet towards one of the other bridesmaids and stalked towards Elspeth, the click-clacking of her heels on the flagstones as loud as gunshots. ‘My dad assures me it is true. He overheard one of the groomsmen, Tim, ribbing Fraser about it when they were having a pre-ceremony whisky a few minutes ago. It was when Fraser was in London a few months back.’ She narrowed her eyes to paper-thin slits. ‘How could you? How could you be so crass as to agree to be my bridesmaid when you slept with my fiancé?’ Her voice had become a screech, and there was a rumble of concern from the gathered guests on the other side of the screen.
Elspeth took a step backwards; worried Sabine might lash out at her. ‘Sabine, please let me explain. It wasn’t me... I mean, I—I didn’t know he was engaged. He didn’t tell me...we barely exchanged names before we...’ she winced in embarrassment on behalf of her twin as well as herself and stumbled on ‘...hooked up. It meant nothing to either of us.’
‘Well, it means something to me,’ Sabine stormed back, eyes blazing. She turned to her father. ‘Tell Fraser the wedding is off. I never want to see him again.’ She turned back to Elspeth and added, ‘And that applies to you too. I thought you were my friend but the whole time you’ve been acting, haven’t you? You probably don’t even like me.’
Elspeth had been acting but not the way Sabine thought. ‘I—I really like you, Sabine. You deserve far better than Fraser. I’m sorry it happened this way but, believe me, I’m really not the problem here—the problem is Fraser’s lack of fidelity. If it hadn’t been with...with me, it could’ve been someone else.’ It had been someone else, Elspeth desperately wanted to add but couldn’t without betraying her twin. Was this what Elodie was hoping to avoid by sending Elspeth in her place? Had Elodie suspected something like this was going to happen? Sabine’s father was a wealthy and savvy businessman and Sabine was his only child. No wonder he had informed Sabine of her fiancé’s indiscretion before the marriage could take place.
Mack suddenly appeared and took Elspeth by the arm just as Fraser came rushing over, pleading with Sabine to listen to him. ‘Sabine, my love. What are you doing? You know you’re the only woman I love. Don’t do this.’
Sabine let out a piercing wail and flung herself against her father’s chest. ‘Send him away. I never want to see him or that ghastly woman again.’
‘Come with me,’ Mack said, leading Elspeth away by the elbow.
She followed him in a numb silence, her stomach churning so much she could have made enough butter to supply Scotland’s biggest shortbread factory. As much as Elspeth was glad Sabine wasn’t going to marry Fraser, she hated that ‘she’ was to blame. How could her twin have put her in such a compromising situation? It was beyond embarrassing, not to mention laughably ironic. Elspeth, acting as her twin, was being portrayed as ‘the other woman’ when she had never had sex in her life.
Mack led her to his study on one of the upper floors well away from the central part of the castle. He closed the door once they were inside and let out a long breath, his expression difficult to read. ‘Well, you achieved your aim. The wedding is off.’ One ink-black eyebrow hooked upwards and he continued. ‘It seems to be a habit of yours, calling off weddings at the last moment.’
‘I—I’m not responsible for what just happened.’ Elspeth tried to keep her voice steady but it was as shaky as her hands. She was still carrying her bridesmaid bouquet but, because her hands were trembling so much, petals were falling like confetti around her.
‘Maybe not directly, but you said you didn’t think he was good enough for Sabine. Does that mean you want him for yourself?’ This time there was no mistaking his expression—it was dark and brooding.
Elspeth coughed out a startled cynical laugh. ‘You must be joking.’
‘I’m not.’ The blunt edge to his tone sent a chill down her spine.
She turned away to put the bouquet down on his desk and chewed at the edge of her mouth. If only she could tell him the truth. If only Elodie had got here in time, she wouldn’t be experiencing the most distressing episode of her entire life. Anaphylaxis was a piece of cake compared to this. She kept her back to Mack, her hands gripping the edge of his desk to steady her wobbly legs. ‘I can assure you I have no interest whatsoever in your brother.’
Mack came up behind her and placed his hands on the tops of her shoulders. A thrill ran through her body and her heart picked up its pace. He turned her slowly to face him, his eyes locking on hers. ‘Are you okay?’
‘No, I’m not okay. Did you see how mad Sabine was? I thought she was going to slap me. I don’t like the thought of her hating me so much. I really like her. She’s a nice person and to have her wedding day ruined in such a way is just awful. Why did her father tell her just then, right before she was going to walk down the aisle? If only he had found out earlier then she wouldn’t have had to go through such dreadful public humiliation.’ Tears stung at the backs of her eyes and she furiously blinked them away and bit down on her lower lip.
One tear managed to escape and Mack blotted it away with the pad of his thumb. ‘You really care about Sabine?’
‘Of course. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life and now it’s completely ruined.’
Mack gave the tops of her shoulders a gentle squeeze. ‘I want you to wait for me here. I’ll get one of the servants to pack your things. I don’t want this to blow up in the press. Hopefully, I can talk some sense into Sabine and—’
‘Hang on a minute,’ Elspeth cut across him and wriggled out of his hold, taking a couple of steps back. ‘Are you saying you still want her to marry your brother, even though she’s made her position perfectly clear?’
His jaw tightened like a clamp. ‘Do you have any idea of how much this weekend cost?’
‘So, it’s about the money?’ She rolled her eyes in disdain. ‘What about what’s right for Sabine? Your brother stuffed up and now it’s time he faced up to the consequences.’
Mack let out a hefty sigh, one of his hands scraping through his hair, leaving it sexily tousled. ‘It’s not about the money.’ His voice sounded weary, weighted. ‘Fraser won’t handle a breakup like this. Sabine has been good for him. She’s been a positive influence on him over the last couple of years. He’s been happier with her than I’ve seen him with anyone else in years, possibly ever.’
Elspeth folded her arms and sent him a cynical look. ‘So happy, he hooked up with a woman he had never met before in London, without telling her he was already engaged. Yes, I can see how blissfully happy he must’ve been.’
Mack twisted his mouth. ‘I’m sorry you’ve been caught up in the middle of this. He was wrong not to tell you his relationship status.’ He moved to the other side of the room, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck as if trying to release a knot of tension. He let out another deep sigh. ‘Fraser took our father’s death hard. He was only fourteen—I was sixteen—and it threw him completely, as it did all of us.’ He sent her a bleak glance. ‘I tried to be a good role model for him but clearly that didn’t work. He’s reckless and impulsive and refuses to face up to responsibility. In many ways, he’s very like our father, which is worrying.’
Elspeth frowned. ‘How did your father die?’
‘Suicide.’ He swallowed deeply and continued. ‘Our mother found him. She had a nervous breakdown after that. She was never quite the same. She died five years later of cancer, which, of course, sent Fraser into another massive tailspin. But meeting Sabine a couple of years ago changed everything for him. He started to pull himself into line. He got a job with her father’s company and he really applied himself. He gave up the wild partying, the party drugs. But now...’ He shook his head and frowned as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened in the garden just minutes before.
‘You think he’ll go back to that lifestyle?’
Mack gave her a world-weary look. ‘What do you think?’
‘I don’t know your brother well enough to speculate.’ Elspeth’s cheeks grew uncomfortably warm as she thought of how Mack must view her statement given ‘she’ had supposedly had a one-night stand with him. ‘But I’m thinking Sabine’s father isn’t going to want him working for him.’
‘Got it in one.’
Elspeth could only imagine the stress Mack must have gone through over the loss of his father and then the breakdown of his mother and subsequent acting out of his younger brother. And all while he was sixteen, only two years older than his brother. ‘How did you cope with the loss of your father? I mean, it must have been so hard for you too.’
Mack’s expression became masked and she realised then how he coped—by concealing his own struggles, his own deep distress. He was resilient, self-reliant, stoic. ‘I grew up fast. I had to. There was no one else to take charge.’
‘No grandparents?’
‘My paternal grandparents died when I was four. Car crash. I can barely remember them now. Fraser can’t remember them at all.’
‘And your mother’s parents?’
‘My mother’s mother died when she was thirteen. Breast cancer, the same cancer that got her. Her father died when I was ten. I have lots of fond memories of him. He was a good man, steady and reliable.’
‘Like you.’
Mack shrugged one broad shoulder in a dismissive manner. ‘Someone has to be steady in a crisis, which brings me back to the plan.’
‘The plan?’
‘The press are going to swarm around you like hornets, so you need to go to ground. Immediately.’
Elspeth gripped the back of an oak chair to steady her suddenly trembling legs. ‘The press?’
‘The paparazzi. One whiff of this and you’ll be hounded for an exclusive tell-all interview. But I should warn you against giving one.’
Elspeth swallowed. The thought of the press hounding her, chasing her, thrusting microphones and cameras in her face terrified her. ‘I would never do that.’
One dark eyebrow winged upwards. ‘I’m afraid I can’t afford to believe you, so I will be accompanying you until this blows over.’
Elspeth gawped at him. Had she heard him correctly? ‘Accompanying me? Accompanying me where?’
‘To a secret hideaway.’
‘You’re...kidnapping me?’ Her eyes were so round they threatened to pop out of her head. Could this farce get any more ridiculous?
He gave a light laugh. ‘Ever the drama queen. No, I’m giving you a choice. You either come with me willingly or I leave you to face the destruction of your reputation and quite possibly your career.’
Elspeth’s heart skipped a beat. Two beats. And then went into a wacky rhythm as if she were suffering some sort of serious cardiac condition. ‘That sounds suspiciously like blackmail to me.’
‘Think of it as a choice.’
She put her chin up and eyeballed him. ‘Your way or the highway?’
His smile was indolent but his grey-blue gaze was steely with determination. ‘I believe it’s in your best interests to come with me.’
‘For how long?’
‘One night until the guests and the paps leave. But longer if necessary.’
‘Longer? But what about my job? I can’t just disappear without warning.’ He wasn’t to know she had already taken next week off work to have a look around Scotland to visit some of the villages her family’s ancestors came from. And as to what engagements her twin had for the next few days, well, Elspeth needed to find a private room to call Elodie to tell her what was going on. Elodie would have to go into hiding too, until this scandal blew over. If it blew over.
‘I’m sure you can take time off work but I’ll reimburse you for any lost wages.’
No way did she want to face the paparazzi.
No way did she want to face the wrath of poor heartbroken Sabine.
And no way did she want to miss out on a night in hiding with Mack. Why shouldn’t she go with him? It would be a perfect opportunity to see how the other half lived. This was her chance, maybe her only chance, to live a little dangerously. And it didn’t get more deliciously dangerous than spending time with devilishly handsome Mack MacDiarmid.
‘So now you’re bribing me?’
‘Is it working?’
Elspeth gave him the side eye. ‘A little too well.’
