Piper stood pressedinto the far corner of the room, clad in only a thin white nightgown that left very little to the imagination.
Her blonde hairhung loose around her shoulders, and her face was pale with terror. She was staring at the window, one hand clutched to her chest, the other pressed against the wall as if she needed it to stay upright.
“Piper—”Elijah started, but she cut him off.
“There’s someone at the window,”she gasped, her voice shaking. “I saw… there are eyes, someone’sthere.”
Elijah’s gazesnapped to the window. Sure enough, in the moonlight filtering through the glass, he could make out a pair of eyes staring back at him. Small eyes. Young eyes.
Christ.
He knew those eyes.
Fury surged through him,hot and immediate. He crossed the room in three long strides, wrenched the window open, and reached out into the darkness. His hand closed around a slim arm, and he hauled the intruder inside with perhaps more force than necessary.
Masie tumbledthrough the window and landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor.
She lookedup at him with wide eyes—his eyes, the same green he saw in the mirror every morning—and her face cycled rapidly through shock, defiance, and then carefully constructed innocence.
“Da.”
“What in God’sname do ye think ye’re doin’?” Elijah’s voice came out as a growl. He was aware of Piper watching from her corner, aware that he probably looked half-mad with fury, but he didn’t care. “Climbin’ windows? Tryin’ to sneak into chambers that arenae yers? Have ye lost yer mind, lass?”
“I wasnae sneakin’intoherchambers,” Masie shot back, scrambling to her feet. Her dark hair—so like her mother’s—was windswept and tangled, and there was dirt on her dress from climbing. “This room was empty this mornin’. How was I supposed to ken ye’d gone and filled it without tellin’ anyone?”
“That doesnae answer me question.What were ye doin’ climbin’ windows in the dead of night?”
Masie’s jawset in a stubborn line he knew all too well. She’d inherited that from him, along with his temper and his inability to back down from a fight.
“I was out,”she said defiantly. “And I dinnae want anyone to ken I was comin’ back late, so I used the window. I’ve done it dozens of times before.”
“Dozens of—”Elijah’s hands clenched into fists. “Ye’ve been climbin’ in and out of this castle like some common thief? Do ye have any idea how dangerous that is? Ye could fall! Ye could break yer neck!”
“I’m careful.”
“Careful?”His voice rose. “There’s nothin’ careful about scalin’ castle walls in the dark! And what were ye doin’ out so late anyway? Where were ye?”
“That’s none of yer concern,”Masie said, lifting her chin. “Ye’re never here anyway. Why do ye suddenly care where I go or what I do?”
The words hitlike a physical blow, and Elijah felt something crack in his chest. She was right. Hewasn’there. Hadn’t been, not really, for years. He’d let duty and guilt and his own failures as a husband blind him to his failures as a father.
But that didn’t changethe fact that his twelve-year-old daughter had been climbing out of windows and God knew what else.
“We’ll discuss this later,”Elijah said, his voice tight. “Right now, ye owe Miss Armstrong an apology. Ye terrified her, appearin’ at her window like that.”
Masie’s eyesfinally shifted to Piper, who was still pressed against the wall. The girl’s expression hardened.
"Miss Armstrong?"Masie repeated slowly, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "And who exactly is Miss Armstrong? Some woman ye picked up on yer travels?" “Masie!”
Her voice tookon a sharp edge that sounded far too adult. "Is she here to replace Maither? Because if that's what ye're thinkin', ye can forget it."
“Masie Quinn, that isenough!”Elijah roared.
Piper made a small,choked sound. When Elijah looked at her, her face had gone from pale to bright red, her gray eyes wide with shock and humiliation.
“I’m… I’m nae,”Piper stammered, but the words seemed to stick in her throat.
“Ye’ll apologize,”Elijah said to Masie, his voice deadly quiet now. More dangerous in its control than it had been in anger. “Right now. Ye’ll apologize for insultin’ Miss Armstrong’s honor and for scarin’ her half to death.”
