Connor hesitated onlya moment before stepping into her embrace. Masie stayed back, her expression wary.
“Both of ye,”Piper said. “Please.”
“I daenae want—”Masie started.
“I ken yedaenae want it. But maybe ye need it.”
For a long moment,Masie stood there. Then, so slowly that Piper barely saw her move, she stepped forward. Piper wrapped her other arm around the girl, pulling both children close.
They were stiff at first,uncertain. But gradually, they relaxed into the embrace. Connor’s small arms went around her waist. Masie’s hands clutched at Piper’s dress.
“I wantye both to listen to me,” Piper said, her voice thick with emotion. “I daenae ken what yer faither is thinkin’, or why he keeps his distance. But I ken this, ye deserve better. Ye deserve to be seen and heard and loved for who ye are, nae for who anyone thinks ye should be.”
“That’snae how the world works,” Masie mumbled against Piper’s shoulder.
“Maybe nae.But it’s howIwork.” Piper pulled back enough to look at both of them. “I vow to ye both, right here, right now, I will always be here for ye. When ye need someone to talk to, when ye need help, when ye just need someone who’ll listen without judgin’, I’ll be that person. For as long as ye’ll have me.”
“What if wetell ye things about Da?” Connor asked. “Things we’re nae supposed to say?”
“Then I willnae repeatthem to him. What ye tell me stays between us, unless it’s somethin’ that could hurt ye. Do ye understand?”
“Like a secret keeper?”Connor’s eyes were wide.
“Aye. Like a secret keeper.”
“But ye work for our faither,”Masie said, pulling back slightly. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “Ye’ll have to tell him things. Ye’ll have to report on us.”
“I’ll tellhim about yer lessons. About what ye’re learnin’ and how ye’re progressin’. But yer feelings? Yer thoughts? Yer secrets? Those are yers, and I willnae betray them.”
“Why wouldye do that for us?” Masie’s voice cracked.
“Because someone didit for me once,” Piper said simply. “And it saved me life. Maybe nae in a literal sense, but in every way that mattered. So now I want to do the same for someone else. For ye.”
Masie staredat her for a long moment, searching Piper’s face for lies, tricks, or hidden motives. Whatever she saw there must have satisfied her, because she suddenly pressed forward again, her arms wrapping tight around Piper’s neck.
“Thank ye,”Masie whispered, so quietly Piper almost didn’t hear it.
Connor squeezed tighter,and Piper held them both, kneeling there by the loch with the morning sun warming her back and these two broken children in her arms.
She didn’t knowhow to fix their relationship with their father. Didn’t know if she even could. But she could do this. Could be present. Could care.
She could lovethem the way Alexandra had loved her.
“Now,”Piper said after a while, pulling back and wiping at her own eyes. “I believe we have some lessons to start. But first, do ye ken any other stories? About this loch, or the castle, or yer clan?”
“I ken one about a ghost!”Connor said, his enthusiasm returning. “There’s supposed to be a lady who walks the east tower at midnight, weepin’ for her lost love!”
“That’s justa story the servants tell to scare each other,” Masie said, but she was smiling now. Actually smiling.
“But what ifit’s true? Miss Armstrong said there might be truth in old stories!”
“I said theremightbe,”Piper clarified, standing and brushing off her skirt. “But I’m certainly willin’ to listen to the story and decide for meself.”
They walked backtoward the castle together, Connor chattering about ghosts and Masie adding occasional corrections or embellishments. And for the first time since arriving at Castle McMahon, Piper felt like maybe—just maybe—she’d made the right decision in staying.
Even if itmeant seeing Elijah every day.
Even if itmeant remembering his kiss every time she closed her eyes.
