“Wait!”
Paisley’s voicerang out across the courtyard just as Elijah turned away. He froze, his jaw tightening, then slowly turned back to face her.
“What now?”His voice was cold enough to freeze water.
But Paisley’sexpression had changed. The anger, the defiance—it was gone, replaced by something that looked almost… calculating. A glint had appeared in her gray eyes, and suddenly her face crumpled.
“Oh!”she wailed, pressing a hand to her chest. “Oh, how could ye? How could ye do this to us? To our poor, innocent daughter!”
Elijah’s eyebrows rose.“What are ye talkin’ about?”
“Our daughter!”Paisley continued, her voice rising to a dramatic wail. “Our sweet, pure daughter! And ye’ve… ye’ve ruined her! Destroyed her reputation! How is she supposed to ever marry now? What man will want her after… after this?”
Piper staredat her mother in disbelief. “What are ye talkin’ about?”
“Daenae play innocent with us!”Paisley pointed an accusing finger at Elijah. “Everyone kens what it means when a lass lives under a man’s roof! When she’s in his household, alone with him, day and night! Ye’ve compromised her virtue!”
Findlay,who’d been watching his wife in confusion, suddenly caught on. His eyes widened with understanding, and then he, too, began putting on a show.
“Aye!”he said, straightening up and speaking loudly despite his bruised throat. “Aye, that’s right! Our daughter’s honor has been sullied! Livin’ here, in yer castle, with nay proper chaperone.”
“His maither lives here,”Piper interrupted, her voice shaking with fury. “And there are dozens of servants! I have me own chambers with a lock on the door!”
“But who’sto say ye use that lock?” Paisley’s eyes gleamed with malicious triumph. “Who’s to say the Laird hasnae been visitin’ yer chambers at night? Everyone saw how ye looked at each other just now! Everyone heard him say ye belong to him!”
A murmur rippledthrough the watching servants. Piper felt her face burning with humiliation.
“That’s nae…I would never do that,” she started.
“It doesnae matterwhat ye would or wouldnae do,” Findlay said, his voice gaining confidence. “What matters is what people will think. What they’ll say. Our daughter’s reputation is ruined, and ye—” he pointed at Elijah, “—are responsible.”
“Is that so?”Elijah’s voice was dangerously quiet.
“Aye!”Paisley nodded vigorously, tears that Piper knew were fake streaming down her face. “And now she’s damaged goods! Nay man will want to marry her! We’ll never be able to find her a proper husband! We’ll be the laughingstock of the village!”
“Good thingI’m nae interested in findin’ a husband, then,” Piper snapped.
“But ye should have hadthe choice!” Paisley wailed. “Instead, this man has stolen that from ye! He’s compromised ye, and now… now he must pay for what he’s done!”
“Pay?”Elijah repeated, his tone making it clear he knew exactly where this was going.
“Aye, pay!”Findlay stepped forward, emboldened. “Ye’ve violated our daughter’s purity. Ye’ve destroyed her prospects.The least ye can do is provide compensation for the damage ye’ve done to our family’s honor!”
“Yer family’s honor,”Elijah said slowly. “Which apparently includes sellin’ yer daughter to be hunted like an animal.”
“That was different.”
“Nay, it wasnae.”Elijah’s voice cut through Findlay’s protest. “And I’m nae interested in whatever game ye’re playin’ here.”
“It’s nae a game!”Paisley insisted. “Our daughter’s reputation?—”
“Is perfectly intact,”Elijah interrupted. “She works as a governess in a respectable household. She’s under the protection of me maither, who’s the most respected woman in this territory. And if anyone dares to suggest otherwise—” his voice dropped to something deadly, “—they’ll answer to me.”
“But ye saidshe belongs to ye!” Findlay argued. “In front of everyone! What else are people supposed to think?”
“They’re supposedto think that she’s part of me household. Under me protection. Which she is.” Elijah crossed his arms. “If anyone chooses to interpret that differently, that’s their failin’, nae mine.”
“But the damage is done!”Paisley wrung her hands dramatically. “People will talk! They’ll say terrible things aboutour poor girl! And it’s all yer fault! The least ye can do is pay us for it.”
