And she 'd achieved, what was more, almost entirely by her own efforts - even her stepfather had granted her that. For, unlike Jake, Douglas had never accused her of having cheated Ryan out of his fortune - in spite of the fact that, like the rest of the family, he had never known the tragic truth about his son.
Shiona was incapable of such behaviour
Perhaps her mother had convinced him that Shiona was incapable of such behaviour or perhaps he hadn't needed any convincing.
And she 'd achieved, what was more, almost entirely by her own efforts - even her stepfather had granted her that. For, unlike Jake, Douglas had never accused her of having cheated Ryan out of his fortune - in spite of the fact that, like the rest of the family, he had never known the tragic truth about his son.</s>Perhaps her mother had convinced him that Shiona was incapable of such behaviour or perhaps he hadn't needed any convincing.</s>Shiona was incapable of such behaviour