“Why should I?”Masie crossed her arms. “Ye bring some strange woman into our home without warnin’ anyone, put her in chambers right next to yers, and I’m supposed to just accept it? I’m supposed to curtsy and smile and pretend this is normal?”
“This room was empty this mornin’,”Elijah said through gritted teeth. “As ye so helpfully pointed out. I wasnae here totellanyone about Miss Armstrong because I just arrived home hours ago. And if ye’d been where ye were supposed to be instead of climbin’ through windows like a criminal, ye would have met her properly at supper.”
"Oh,so this is me fault now?" Masie's voice rose, trembling with emotion. "Everything's always me fault, isnae it? Never mind that ye're gone all the time! Never mind that ye barely talk to Connor and me when ye are here!" Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but her anger burned through. "Ye're so busy... sobusy bein' sad all the time that ye forgot ye still have children who need ye!" The words hung in the air like poison.
Elijah feltsomething inside him go very still. Very cold.
“Yer maither—”
“Wascruel and vain and cared about nothin’ but herself,” Masie finished. “Everyone kens it, Da. Everyone except ye, apparently. Ye’ve spent nine years actin’ like she was some sort of saint when the truth is she wasawful.”
“Ye will nae speakof yer maither that way.”
“Why nae? It’s true!”Tears were gathering in Masie’s eyes now, though she blinked them back furiously. “She hated us. Hated that we existed because we made her body less perfect. Hated that we took yer attention away from her. The only reason she tolerated us at all was that we were proof of her status as Lady McMahon!”
“That’s nae—”Elijah started, but stopped. Because parts of what Masie was sayingweretrue. Catherine had been vain. Had been cruel in her own way. Had cared more about appearances than about her children.
But she had diedbecause of him. He’d failed to save her.
“Miss Armstrong is yer new governess,”Elijah said, forcing his voice back to something resembling calm. “That’s all. She’s hereto teach ye and Connor. To help ye with yer studies. There is nothin’ improper about her presence in this castle, and there never will be.”
Masie’s eyes narrowed. “A governess?”
“Aye. A governess.”Elijah glanced at Piper, who was still frozen against the wall. Her arms were wrapped around herself now, and she looked like she wanted to disappear into the stone. “We signed a contract this evenin’. She’ll be startin’ her duties tomorrow.”
“We daenae need a governess,”Masie said. “We’ve managed fine without one for years.”
“Ye’ve managed poorly,”Elijah corrected. “Yer handwritin’ is atrocious, yer French is practically nonexistent, and Connor cannae do sums to save his life. Yeneeda governess, whether ye want one or nae.”
“And yejust happened to find one? Where? In a tavern somewhere?”
“Where I foundher is none of yer concern.” Elijah’s patience was wearing dangerously thin. “Whatisyer concern is that she’s here now, under me protection, and yewilltreat her with respect. Is that understood?”
Masie’s jawworked as she fought some internal battle. Finally, she turned to Piper.
“I apologize for frightenin’ye,” she said, the words clipped and cold. “And for… for what I said. About ye and me faither.”
It wasn’t a real apology.They all knew it. But it was as close as Masie was going to get in her current mood.
“Thank ye,”Piper said quietly. Her voice was steadier now, though Elijah could still see the tremor in her hands. “And I… I understand. If I’d found a stranger in me home without warnin’, I would have reacted poorly too.”
Masie blinked,clearly not expecting that response. For a moment, something like uncertainty flickered across her face. Then the defensive mask slammed back into place.
“I’m goin’to bed,” she announced. “Meownbed. Through the door this time, since apparently the windows are nay longer safe.”
“Masie—”Elijah started, but his daughter was already moving toward the door.
She pausedwith her hand on the latch and looked back at him. “Ye should have told us ye were bringin’ someone home, Da. We deserved that much.”
Then she was gone,the door clicking shut behind her with careful precision. Not a slam, that would have been childish. Just a firm, final closing that somehow felt worse.
Silence fell over the room.
Elijah stood there,still holding his half-drawn sword, feeling like he’d just been through a battle. In some ways, he had. Arguments with Masie always felt like warfare—she had inherited his tactical mind along with his temper, and she knew exactly where to strike to cause the most damage.
“I’m sorry,”Piper’s voice broke through his thoughts. “I dinnae… I never meant to cause trouble between ye and yer daughter.”
Elijah turnedto look at her. She’d finally moved away from the wall, though she still had her arms wrapped around herself. The nightgown his mother must have given her was too thin, too revealing, and Elijah forced himself to keep his eyes on her face.
