Connor nodded. “We will find him,”he said. “He cannae hide forever.”
Jaxon’s reflectionin the glass looked older than his years. “He must return,” he murmured, “for the sake of the clan.”
Connor followedhis gaze and saw Gracie rise, brushing dirt from her skirts while the twins laughed. “She is already a lady in their eyes,” he said.
Jaxon felta quiet ache at the truth of it.
“I will naefail her as he did,” Jaxon said. “Nor will I fail this clan.” He squared his shoulders, Laird once more in every line of his body.
“Prepare the men, Connor,”he commanded. “We have much work yet to do.”
Jaxon turnedfrom the window and fixed Connor with a steady look. “Prepare for the journey to the western village,” he said, “and see that there are supplies for three. Ye, me, and Gracie.”
Connor blinked,caught off guard. “I thought I was to go on the scoutin’ mission,” he replied.
“I’ve changed me mind,”Jaxon said evenly. “The scouts will ride at once to find Edmund, but ye will be accompanyin’ me with a small guard.”
Connor raised a brow. “Guards?”he asked. “How many?”
“I have a bride to protect now,”Jaxon answered, his voice low and final, “so I need guards, and I need ye, me best and most trusted man, at me side.”
Connor’s expressionsoftened with understanding. “Aye, me laird,” he said, “I’ll give orders to the scouts to leave at once and have supplies readied for our own journey.”
Connor bowedand left the chamber, his boots fading down the corridor. Jaxon remained where he stood, the silence returninglike a held breath. He crossed once more to the window and let his gaze fall upon the gardens below.
Gracie kneltin the dirt with Eden and Rose, her skirts muddied without care. She laughed as Eden collapsed a wall of their castle, then helped Rose rebuild it higher than before. The twins hovered near her like bright birds, utterly taken with her presence.
Warmth spreadthrough Jaxon’s chest, surprising in its steadiness. He had wed her for duty, for peace, and for restraint of chaos, yet here she was weaving herself into the heart of his home without effort. She had not shrunk from the girls nor treated them as burden, but met them with patience and wonder.
He sawEden tug at Gracie’s sleeve, demanding another tale, and Gracie leaned close, whispering something that made both girls gasp in delight. Rose slipped her small hand into Gracie’s, as though it had always belonged there. Jaxon’s jaw tightened, not in anger, but in a quiet resolve.
“She is already theirs,”he murmured to the empty room.
In that moment,he knew with certainty that he would guard her as fiercely as he guarded the land itself. For whatever doubts lived within her, she had already become the heart of Castle McMillan.
Jaxon drew backfrom the window at last, though the image of Gracie and the twins lingered in his mind like a warmth he couldnot quite shake. He straightened his coat and left the study, his boots echoing along the stone corridor. The castle moved around him in its usual rhythm, servants passing with baskets, a distant clang from the kitchens, the low murmur of voices rising from the great hall.
Near the stairwell,he spotted a young maid carrying folded linens. “Ye there,” he called, and she startled, nearly dropping her load.
She turned at onceand dipped into a hurried curtsy. “Aye, me laird?”
“I’ll be takin’a meal in the study today,” Jaxon said. “There is much work yet to be done.”
She nodded quickly.“Aye, right away, me laird. I’ll tell the kitchen.”
She turned to go,but Jaxon lifted a hand. “Wait.”
The maid froze,eyes wide as she faced him again. “And have a hearty tea and cakes waitin’ in the nursery for me bairns and me lady. They are outside just now and will have worked up an appetite.”
The maid’ssurprise melted into a soft smile, one touched with awe. “Of course, me laird,” she said, her voice warm. “I’ll see to it meself.”
Jaxon inclined his head. “Thank ye.”
She curtsied deeply,her smile lingering as she walked away, glancing back once as if she could hardly believe what she had heard.
Jaxon continued down the corridor,his thoughts returning to the gardens. He imagined the twins’ delight at the sight of cakes and warm tea, and Gracie joining them. He could almost hear her gentle conversation. The notion stirred something steady within him, something far removed from the heat that had consumed him earlier.
As he reached the stairs,he paused, listening. Faint laughter drifted up through the open windows, light as birdsong. He exhaled slowly, grounding himself in the sound.
