Page 110 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

She kept her voice low. “Ye took away her choice once when ye married her, Braither. Daenae do it again.”

His attention remained on Ceana. He remembered vividly how he had once sent men to seize her beneath a borrowed mask and carried her through these gates because he had decided to keep her. Muriel’s warning required no answer.

He was still staring when Paisley approached Ceana with her hands clasped before her. “Was it the promise about other bairns? Is that why ye are leavin’?”

Ceana bent until their faces were level. “Ye made nay cruel accusation, Paisley. Ye caused none of this.”

“I made Da promise.”

“And I love ye. I love Tommy too. Nothin’ either of ye said has changed that.”

Paisley swallowed. “Will ye come back?”

“I daenae ken yet.” Ceana reached for her hand. “But until then, I will answer every letter ye and Tommy send me.”

Tommy rushed forward and clutched the edge of her cloak. “I willnae hide another ring. I willnae lock another door or play another trick, I promise.”

“The treasure hunt didnae send me away.” Ceana rested her hand on the back of his head. “Yer map is safe inside me chest.”

He kept hold of her until she kissed his hair. Only then did his grip loosen.

Ness head-butted her dress as she approached the carriage and planted one hoof on the step. Ceana stroked the goat between the horns before Tommy gently drew her back.

“Ye must stay with me,” he whispered.

Oscar stepped up to the carriage and offered her his hand. Her eyes settled on his for a second. Then Lennan offered his hand from the other side, and she took it to climb inside.

Oscar lowered his empty hand. “Lennan and four guards will accompany ye,” he said. “Yer faither will receive a sealed message from me.”

“Four men are unnecessary.”

“The roads remain uncertain after Bryce’s defeat. The escort stays.”

Ceana settled against the cushions without answering.

Lennan waited until the door had closed before speaking quietly. “Do ye want men stationed beyond Morrag? They could continue sendin’ reports.”

“Nay. Report while she travels. Once she is safely inside her faither’s gates, all of ye return. Nay MacKane man remains to watch her.”

The gatekeeper stood beside the lever, waiting for Oscar’s command. One sentence could close the gates and keep Ceana within reach. His command would be obeyed before the horses advanced another step.

No, he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t. He had first brought her to MacKane after ordering her seized and carried away. If he prevented her departure now, then marriage had changed nothing about his need to control her choices.

“Open the gates,” he called.

The gates rose, and Ceana’s carriage passed beneath them with Lennan and the mounted guards.

Oscar kept his eyes on them until the pines swallowed the final rider.

By the second afternoon, every bump in the final road to Morrag drove an ache across Ceana’s lower back. She had managed half an oatcake that morning and a bit of cheese at midday, enough to settle her stomach without irritating it. Beneath her cloak, one hand remained on her belly.

The memory of the cold loch water returned to her first, followed by Oscar’s mouth against hers. She remembered his fingers locking around hers on their wedding night. It was strange, just how vivid these things were.

Fortunately, Morrag’s gates soon came into view beyond the trees.

The carriage had not fully stopped when Heather hurried down the steps with David close behind her. Both glanced at the MacKane riders and searched the carriage after Ceana descended alone.

Heather reached her first. “Look at me, lass.” Her hands moved over Ceana’s face, then caught Ceana’s gloved fingers and turned them over. “Are ye hurt?”