Calum grumbled as he went over the accounts book. Jesse had brought in a veritable mountain of squid, but while Calum blessed the good fortune, he cursed it at the same time; he'd never had a head for maths, and the long columns of figures were giving him a headache.
"Might I suggest hiring an accountant?" Mrs Doyle suggested from the doorway. "It will probably make things easier for you."
"Aye." Calum sat back, rubbing his eyes and stretching the kinks out of his back. "But where might I be findin' someone who won't cook the books when me back's turned?"
"I know of several very trustworthy men and women," Mrs Doyle assured him. "I can promise you will not be cheated a penny of what you're owed."
"Then go ahead with my blessing," Calum said. A knock on the door arrested what he was going to say next, and Mrs Doyle frowned as she hurried out of the room. A few moments later she returned, her lips pressed tightly together, the only visible sign she ever showed when she was swearing internally. "Mr Murray, you have visitors," she said, her accent more crisp than usual, and it was Calum's turn to frown as he left the room, muttering imprecations on the head of his mother-in-law. Sure enough, when he got to the door, two men in dark suits awaited him, their pinched expressions promising trouble. "And to what do I owe the honour, gentlemen?" he asked, plastering what he hoped was a pleasant smile on his face.
The slightly leaner of the pair sniffed. "We are here to interview Miss Byrne," he said stiffly.
"There's no Miss Byrne living here," Calum said evenly. "I believe you mean to address her as Mrs Murray."
The portlier man sniffed. "We have our instructions," he replied. "Our client does not recognise the marriage as legal and valid. Miss Byrne is to be interviewed, so that we may determine the extent of the lies and abuse you used to entrap her and her unborn child. Our client fears for Miss Byrne's safety, and she wishes to ascertain how her daughter is faring. If you obstruct us, we can and will have you arrested for perverting the course of justice."
It took all of Calum's willpower not to punch the men in the face. He doubted they had the clout they claimed, but he figured it was better to get this nonsense over and done with. "I've no intentions of obstructing you, to be sure," he said. "I'll fetch my wife and ..."
"No," the portly man said sternly. "We will not have you influencing Miss Byrne and inducing her to lie for you. We shall interview her in our car."112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4x4RzkPrj
Now Calum did lose a bit of his temper. "You shall be doing no such thing," he said coldly. "I will consent to you interviewing my wife, but you will do it on my terms. Otherwise Mrs Byrne can go whistle, and I'll be having her nailed to the wall for putting my wife through this continued hell."
"If you're thinking of obstructing us..." the thin man said, but the portly man held up his hand.
"Very well," he said. "If that is your wish, then so be it. But you will remove yourself from the house. Miss Byrne is not to speak to you until we are done with her."
"I need to go for a swim anyway," Calum said lightly. "Be my guests. But if you harm one hair on my wife's head, there will be no force on earth that will save you from me when I get my hands around your slimy necks." He paused to let that sink in, and then added, "That's a threat, not a promise. I can only be pushed so far, and your client is going to put my wife and unborn child's health at risk by pushing her even further to the brink of having a nervous breakdown. If harm comes to my family, I'll match it with you two in full and equal measure."
He all but slammed the door behind him, and Mrs Doyle's face was like thunder as she stepped out of the study where she'd been none-too-subtly eavesdropping. Calum almost laughed at the way she straightened her suit jacket - that needed no straightening - but his humour was short lived. "Use whatever pull you have to make sure Jenny is safe," he told his housekeeper.
Mrs Doyle nodded. "I shall stand watch," she said. "I can present myself as the entirely impartial housekeeper, and they shall not be able to turn me out when I make it clear I am on no one's side. Of course, you and I both know that is false, but there's no harm in telling a few small white lies here and there."
Calum let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "I'll be out in the poolhouse," he said. "Send Jenny out there when all this is over. If those toads insist she go back with them, make it clear in whatever way you wish that that will not be happening until I've spoken to my lawyers."
"I will do all I can," Mrs Doyle promised. "Now go."
Calum nodded, but even as he turned and headed for his bedroom, the sense of peace he'd found with Jenny a few weeks ago in the lake was swallowed up in the worry he'd thought he'd left behind when marrying his wife. He swore softly, and vowed that, if Roisin brought harm to either Jenny or their unborn child, he'd make sure she knew all about it.
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