Page 112 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

Ceana blinked. “What? Nay, I willnae have me faither force me husband toward me.”

Heather stroked her braid. “Oscar buried his first wife after childbirth. I suppose the thought of buryin’ ye as well scares him. The only way through this is for him to face what he has done before he can come around.”

“I already want this child, Maither. I did from the moment Muriel told me I’m pregnant.”

“Then this child is wanted here.”

Heather called for more plain food and sent word that a trusted healer was to attend to Ceana the following morning.

Once Ceana had eaten again, her mother insisted on rest. She walked to her old chamber alone. Once there, she removed her gloves and laid both hands on her still-flat belly. She could feel no movement yet. But all that mattered was that the child was there.

“Ye will be loved, little one. I have chosen to love ye,” she whispered.

She stepped toward the window, feeling the light evening breeze caress her face.

“Now, yer faither must make his own choice.”

CHAPTER 28

Oscar read the same line for the third time without retaining its meaning.

A blanket lay poorly folded on the study floor, where he had slept every night for a month. The whisky beside his elbow had stood unfinished since the previous evening. He pushed it aside.

The thud of boots and the swish of skirts sounded in the passage. Doors opened and closed, but no laughter followed.

“Who last touched me keys?” Mairi called from somewhere below.

A young guard entered with the morning watch report. Lennan hovered near the door while the man recited the posts and changes, then lost his place over the name of the sentry assigned to the northern wall.

“Ye daenae ken which man held the post?” Oscar asked.

“I ken him, me Laird. The roster has his name as…” The guard searched the sheet.

“A nameless sentry is unaccounted for. If ye cannae report yer watch properly, ye have failed it.”

The guard’s shoulders tensed. When Oscar demanded the name of the man who had relieved him, his gaze shifted toward Lennan before he answered.

Mairi appeared in the doorway. “Me key ring has been gone since dawn, me Laird, and the pantry and grain stores are locked. Tommy was seen near the hooks before breakfast. Now, two village women are waiting for their grain, but I cannae help them if stores remain locked.”

Oscar rose at once. He found Paisley outside the schoolroom with the heavy ring clasped against her chest. He didn’t need to ask anything for him to know that this was one of his son’s pranks that had grown even more rampant the past month.

“I found them, Faither.” Paisley’s lesson book lay on the window seat. “I should have stopped him sooner.”

“Tommy chose to take them. That was his decision.” His sharp tone made her draw the keys closer. “Return to yer lesson.”

Inside the schoolroom, Tommy sat at the table with the small blue stone clenched in his fist.

“Did ye take Mairi’s keys?” Oscar asked.

“Aye,” Tommy responded, keeping his eyes on the stone.

“Why?”

His thumb rubbed the faded mark. “Nobody would follow a treasure hunt unless the missin’ thing mattered. Keys matter.”

“For one week, ye will remain in the nursery,” Oscar decided. “Ye will take yer meals there. Ness stays in the stable yard, and ye will miss both trainin’ and games.”

At the goat’s name, Tommy’s grip loosened. “Are ye sendin’ Ness away too?”