She shook her head even more fervently and released a soft, broken sound. “That is exactly the problem.”
Duncan’s confusion deepened. “Elaina…”
She was sitting curled slightly in the chair, and her hands were clasped so tightly together that her knuckles had turned pale. Tears still clung to her lashes despite her effort to hide them, and every so often her breath caught unevenly in her chest.
Duncan lowered himself into the chair beside her so that he sat at her level.
“Elaina,” he said quietly.
She did not look at him. Instead, her gaze remained fixed on the fire, as though the flames might somehow give her the strength to keep whatever secret she carried.
Duncan rested his forearms on his knees, leaning forward slightly.
“Me life changed forever,” he confessed, realizing that only one truth could beguile another.
Her eyes flickered toward him then.
“After me parents died.”
The words were spoken simply. There was no bitterness in his tone, only a calm certainty.
“I thought the world had ended,” he continued quietly. “That naething would ever feel steady again.”
Elaina watched him, silently.
“Everything changed. The responsibilities, the castle, the people who depended on me.” His mouth curved faintly, though there was little humor in it. “And I was nae prepared fer any of it.”
The fire popped softly behind them. Duncan let the silence settle for a moment before he spoke again. “If ye believe yer life has changed in a way that cannae be undone…” His voice softened. “Then ye may tell me.”
Elaina’s lips parted slightly, though no words came.
“I will understand,” he promised.
She shook her head faintly again.
“Ye cannae ken that.”
Duncan held her gaze. “I can.”
The certainty in his voice did not waver.
“Whatever it is,” he continued gently, “whatever ye believe has changed yer life beyond repair…” He paused. “Ye are nae alone with it now.”
For a long moment neither of them moved. The storm outside roared on, the wind rattling the shutters.
And Duncan waited.
Elaina sat very still, her hands clenched together in her lap as though they were the only thing keeping her from falling apart entirely. Duncan’s words lingered in the quiet space of the room.
Ye arenae alone with it now.
For a moment she wanted desperately to believe him. But the truth she carried had lived inside her for so long that speaking it aloud felt almost impossible. Her breath trembled.
“Ye cannae understand,” she whispered again.
Duncan did not interrupt her. He simply watched her, patient in a way that only made the tight knot in her chest grow more painful. Elaina looked down at her hands. The tears she had tried so hard to hide slipped down her cheeks now, warm against the cold dampness still clinging to her skin from the storm.
“Me faither…” Her voice faltered. She tried again. “Me faither is Laird Alasdair Fraser.”
