Her sister nodded reluctantly, and they fell into silence. Mairie, who’d been sitting quietly in the corner, finally spoke up.
“If I may say so, me lady, I think ye’re makin’ a mistake.”
“Mairie, daenae start now.”
“I ken ye daenae want to hear it, but someone needs to say it.” Mairie leaned forward. “The Laird cares about ye. I’ve seen it inhow he looks at ye, how he acts around ye. Whatever he said today, it came from fear, nae truth.”
“Fear?” Iris laughed bitterly. “Elijah Craig isnae afraid of anythin’.”
“Isnae he? Because it seems to me he’s terrified of exactly one thing, and that’s losin’ ye. And he lashed out to protect himself before ye could hurt him.”
“That doesnae excuse his behavior.”
“I’m nae sayin’ it excuses his behavior. I’m sayin’ ye should at least consider his reasons before ye make any permanent decisions.” Mairie’s voice was gentle but firm. “Ye love him. I can see it on yer face. And throwin’ that away because of one terrible argument seems... hasty.”
“It wasnae one argument. It was him showin’ me his true feelings.” Iris’ voice cracked. “He called me convenient, Mairie. Said I was only his wife by coincidence. That I’m naive for thinkin’ he could actually care about me.”
“And ye believe that? After everythin’ ye’ve experienced together?”
“What else am I supposed to believe? Those words came from somewhere.”
“Aye, they came from a damaged man who doesnae ken how to handle his own emotions.” Mairie settled back. “But that’s between ye and him. I just wanted to make sure ye kent what ye were throwin’ away before ye threw it.”
Iris turned back to the window, watching the landscape blur past through tear-filled eyes. Deep down, she knew Mairie was right. Knew that Elijah’s words had come from fear rather than truth.
But knowing why he’d hurt her didn’t make it hurt less.
He pushed me away. Told me to leave. I’m just doing what he wants.
Except she knew that wasn’t entirely true either. He’d wanted her to leave so he could feel in control, so he could convince himself he was protecting his heart.
Well, she’d given him what he wanted, and now, they’d both have to live with the consequences.
“We need to stop.”
Lydia’s voice broke through her thoughts. Her sister had gone pale, one hand pressed to her stomach.
“What’s wrong?”
“The carriage is makin’ me sick. All this bouncin’ and swayin’.” Lydia looked genuinely miserable. “Can we stop at the next village? Please? I need solid ground under me feet for a bit.”
Iris wanted to refuse, wanted to push through to Douglas lands as quickly as possible, so she could deposit Lydia and figure out what to do next. But her sister looked truly unwell, and she couldn’t be cruel enough to ignore that.
“Fine. We’ll stop at the next village and rest for the night.”
“Thank ye.” Lydia sagged with relief. “I’m sorry, I ken ye want to get this over with, but I really cannae handle much more right now.”
“It’s fine.” Though it wasn’t, not really, because every delay meant more time to think, more time to second-guess her decision, more time to wonder if she was making a terrible mistake.
But she’d made her choice. She’d left. And the thought of going back, of facing Elijah after what he’d said, of being the “convenient wife” he’d accused her of being, was unbearable.
So, she’d keep moving forward. Even if forward meant away from the only place that had started to feel like home.
Even if it meant leaving behind the man she’d been foolish enough to fall in love with. The carriage rolled on, carrying her further from Castle McMurphy with every passing mile.And with each mile, the ache in her chest grew sharper, more insistent.
But she didn’t look back, She couldn’t. Because if she did, she might not have the strength to keep going.
CHAPTER THIRTY
