A Laird to Hold by Angeline Fortin (best feel good books .txt) 📗

this point in time,” Connor suggested. Clearly he’d been thinking about their situation as well. “Our traveling clothes wisnae worth much, but the three of ye wore significant gems and jewelry. We could pawn some of them.”

Rhys scratched his short beard thoughtfully. “The gems on my doublet were but wee chips but on the whole may fetch a pound or two.”

Or a thousand in today’s exchange. If they could find a buyer. Emmy grimaced. So many ifs. “Maybe. Ugh, if I’d known all this would be happening, I would have brought my purse along, though I doubt my debit card is still active.”

Scarlett, finally registering the conversation, tore her gaze away from the baby. Her brown eyes rich with awareness. “But mine is, I bet.”

“What? You said you’ve been gone five years.”

“But Marius at the castle said I’d only been gone for a few days, right?” Scarlett pointed out. “There’s a chance, maybe a good one, all my stuff is still here. I didn’t take my purse back with me when Donell sent me the second time.”

“Aye, ye did,” Laird countered. “I remember it.”

Scarlett shook her head. “No, that was just a small handbag with my car key, room key, driver’s license and museum pass. I’m talking about my big cross-body one. You know? The brown leather one I had before?”

Rhys nodded. “Aye, I remember it. Laird maun be getting too doddering in his advanced age to recall.”

“You were saying, Scarlett?” Emmy cut in before the two brothers descended into another war of words. Rhys did love to get a rise out of Laird.

“My point is, my wallet, my phone…everything was in it. It should still be here. Somewhere.”

“In your car?” Connor suggested.

“But you didn’t see the car in the parking lot,” Emmy reminded her, and Scarlett shook her head again.

“No, I wouldn’t have had them both with me. It must be at my B and B.”

“What’s a B and B?” Rhys asked.

“Tell me you were staying in Edinburgh,” Emmy begged, ignoring him.

Scarlett grimaced. “Wish I could, but it was down near Dunskirk. But if they haven’t cleaned out my room and it’s there, that would solve a few problems. Especially the money one.”

“I couldnae possibly…”

Emmy nudged Connor in the ribs to halt his chivalrous protest. “This is no time to play the man card, baby. Besides, it’s not like we have many options and I’d wager, no offence, she can afford it.”

Scarlett shrugged modestly. “If it’s still there. I’ll call and find out. Otherwise, it might take time to get my credit cards replaced.”

“Are ye wealthy, dearest Scar?” Rhys’s question was accompanied by a smirk. “Ye ne’er said so.”

Laird’s lips quirked as well. “Aye, ye repeatedly reminded us ye were a celebrity, but spoke nothing of wealth.”

“I made a decent living,” she replied. An understatement to Emmy’s way of thinking. She knew how popular Scarlett was when she’d departed in 2010. The intervening years would have only amplified her popularity and hence, her wealth.

“It’d be enough to get us through,” Emmy summed up and Scarlett nodded again, but then frowned.

“What’s wrong, lass?” Laird inquired, interpreting her expression.

“Nothing. Not really. I mean, they haven’t asked for my ID, passport, or health insurance yet. Probably because they know who I am.” Scarlett tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Hopefully, if we get my purse, there won’t be a huge issue, but what happens if any of you get ID’ed? There could be a problem brewing there.”

Emmy winced. She hadn’t even gotten there yet. One more thing to worry about. “Yes, a real ugly one.”

“Let’s no’ create a problem where one disnae yet exist,” Laird told them. “We should deal wi’ the one at hand first. I will return to Dunskirk and retrieve my wife’s belongings.”

“Nay,” Connor spoke up. “Ye should be here wi’ Scarlett and yer bairns. Emmy and I will go.”

“I shall go, as well,” Rhys offered.

“Actually, would you mind staying, Rhys?” Scarlett implored. “I know you’d rather get out, but I was hoping you might take Hermione down to the child care center or outside to play for a while so I can take a nap.”

Poor Rhys was probably feeling the same touch of cabin fever as Connor clearly was after twenty hours in the confines of the hospital suite. But, gallant as he was, he nodded and conceded to her wishes.

Connor looked to Emmy in question. “So ‘tis ye and I, lass. How do ye propose we return to the castle? Do we—how did Scarlett phrase it yesterday?—hitch another ride?”

“I wish we had some cash for a cab or something.” Emmy gnawed the inside of her cheek. “I doubt they’d accept promise to pay on the vague chance your purse is still there.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Connor stood and patted her arm, nodding his head toward Scarlett meaningfully.

He was spot-on, she could see the tension building in the new mother, additional stress Scarlett didn’t need heaped upon her when she already had worries enough in the health of her newborn.

“I’m sure it’s in our…skill set. Is that the correct phrase?”

Emmy smiled at Connor. “You’re going to fit in just fine around here.”

“No’ for long, I should hope.”

Emmy nodded, but whispered in his ear. “Long enough for me to show my appreciation for how bonny you are in those scrubs though, I bet.”

“This? ‘Tis thin and ill fitting. Truly?”

“Oh yes. I’ll show you all about playing doctor.”

Connor lifted a brow, intrigued by the suggestion.

“Later.”

“Aye. I’ll hold ye to it.”

Connor

Ten minutes later, they stood outside the main entrance of the hospital, still in their scrubs. Emmy rubbed her bare arms against the chill of the mid-October air. Connor wrapped his arm around her, pulling her