Chapter Six
“This is ridiculous, Father,” Jemina declared. Even in her anger, Ellie could see the beautiful woman she was becoming. A girl of seven-and-ten with eyes of sky-blue and brown hair with flecks of blonde, and Ellie noted a sharp snake tongue. “Ye cannae marry her. She’s basically a wee lassie. Am I nae daughter enough for ye that ye had to go out and fetch another? What would an old man like you want with Heloise MacAskill?”
“Iwillmarry her, Jemina, and I’ll have yer support,” Lachlan told his daughter. The three of them—Heloise, Jemina, and the Laird—stood in his study. They had arrived three hours before, and she’d spent two of those being scrutinized by the Laird’s daughter. Scrutinized and, it seemed, found lacking.
She wished she could confide in the girl. If circumstances were different, perhaps she and Jemina would even be friends. Especially knowing they both agreed Ellie should not marry her father.
Ellie could even forgive Jemina’s uncharitable mood. Yes, it was true that she had been irritable since she laid eyes on Heloise and not exactly welcoming. However, who would be? Ellie tried to imagine if her mother had come home with a young man only a few years older than herself and announced he was to be her stepfather. The thought disgusted her—not so much because of the age, but because of the idea of a replacement for a younger, better version of her father.
“And how will ye force my support then, Father?” Jemina asked, folding her arms. “I'm nae one of yer men being led to battle. Ye ken nothing about me, Father. How do ye expect to win me approval for something like this?”
“May I speak?” Ellie asked.
Jemina snorted. “I’m surprised he lets ye,” she said darkly.
“Child. I am yer Father, and ye willapologize,”Lachlan thundered.
The girl did flinch, nor did she back down. “Ye are my father, and that’s why I’m honest with ye. I willnaesupport this farce.”
“Then ye will leave the castle,” Lachlan told her. “Ye can go and live with that sister of yer mother’s in the countryside. See how well ye do alone with the spinster. I am trying to show ye a father’s love, daughter, but ye’re testing me.”
Ellie hesitantly put her hand on Sinclair’s arm. He sounded…exhausted. She looked at Jemina and saw pain in her eyes as well. The pain of being disappointed by a parent one once looked up to. Ellie knew that pain well. She already knew there was a deeper problem in the relationship between Sinclair and his daughter. The rift was not one she could bear to watch worsen, especially not on her account. While she had no intention of following through with the marriage to the Laird, he had not shown her any malice, and perhaps she could use her limited time at the keep to help both father and daughter.
Maybe, if I am to be stuck here for the moment, I can help ye to fix it.
“Jemina,” she said gently. “I ken what it’s like to lose a parent, ye ken I do. Better than most. Me mother and I were never close, but I adored me father. To have him gone…”
Jemina gave her a baleful look. “If ye ken how it feels, then ye ken why I cannae just accept this,” she said. “My mother died, like yer father. Even though it’s been longer, my father and my cousin are the only family I have left. I cannae leave the castle. Yet, why in the world would I acceptye?”
Ellie hesitated, then shook her head. “I’m not sure. But—”
“Enough of this,” Sinclair interrupted. “I offered Lady MacAskill a home and protection for Lady Heloise. There are matters at play here bigger than a wee lass and her tantrum. I willnae go back on my word or my offer.”
Jemina folded her arms. “Andmehome?Meprotection?”
Ellie opened her mouth to explain that she wasn’t going to be a threat to that, not at all—but Jemina didn’t want to hear it. The young woman turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. Ellie flinched, wincing. Had she looked so angry and childish when she marched away in a rage from her mother?
Nay. It’s different.
Though, as she watched Jemina go, she couldn’t entirely convince herself that was true.
* * *
“It’s nice to have ye back!” Liam, the five-year-old son of a kitchen maid, said excitedly, running up to meet Aidam.
“It’s nice tae be back, lad,” Aidam replied, scooping the boy into the air, smiling. It was grand to see a familiar, happy face. Especially after traveling with Ellie and his uncle.
“Mam said she wasnae surewhenye’d be back.”
It was two days after their arrival. The stormy weather had passed entirely now, and the sun streamed from the sky as Aidam dropped Liam and tossed an old sack at him filled with sweet treats from the village.
“Well, I dae nae tell yer Mam all me business,” he told the boy, laughing.
“She said she kens ye were goin’ tae say that.”
“And yer Da, what did he say?”
“Da says ye need tae find a nice lass and settle down. Then ye wouldnae want tae leave at all. What does he mean? What’s settle down?”
