Page 17 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

That made her look up. Oscar stood across the desk with one hand resting beside the parchment.

“Why?”

“MacKane Castle needs a lady.”

“If ye require someone to watch Tommy, employ a governess.”

Oscar lifted his cup. “Ye seem to be the only woman capable of survivin’ him.”

Ceana laughed before she could stop herself. The sound was too loud for the quiet room, and she covered her mouth with one hand. Oscar’s cup paused halfway to his lips.

“Survive Tommy?” she snorted. “He is five years old.”

“He has sent away three governesses.”

Her laughter returned. “Three?”

“And two women I considered marryin’.”

Ceana pictured Tommy standing before a procession of severe women, his innocent smile concealing whatever plan had sent each one fleeing from MacKane Castle. She gripped the edge of the desk as laughter shook through her again.

Oscar watched her with a stillness that made her aware of how rarely sound might enter this room. He did not appear offended. The faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth suggested that he understood the absurdity and refused to grant it more than that.

“What did he do to them?” she asked.

“That question would require a longer discussion.”

Ceana tried to control herself and failed when Oscar remained entirely serious. “Perhaps ye should stop allowin’ him access to wooden toys and unattended animals.”

“Trust me, I had considered that.”

She looked at him. “But ye encouraged him, did ye nae?”

Oscar blinked. “What?”

“Please. I can see it in yer eyes. Ye disliked the women.”

Oscar took a measured sip. “That doesnae prove I was involved.”

“Well, it proves ye arenae innocent.”

His gaze held hers over the rim of his cup. “Ye are remarkably comfortable accusin’ a laird in his own study.”

“Ye kidnapped me. We’re past comfort.”

Her humor ebbed as she looked again at the contract. Three governesses and two prospective brides had entered Tommy’s life and disappeared from it. The maid searching her new chamber had treated the child’s tricks as an expected hazard. Paisley had greeted her father with the formal care of someone determined to cause no difficulty.

Whatever Tommy had done, he had watched women arrive, judge his behavior, and leave. Ceana could understand the need beneath the mischief without approving the danger of his tricks.

Oscar set down his cup. “A governess cannae serve the clan publicly. I require a lady capable of managin’ the household and standin’ beside me when duty requires it. Me children need someone they can trust.”

“And ye believe that person is me because Tommy sat when I asked him to?”

“He listened to ye more in one day than he listens to most people in a month.”

Ceana could see what Oscar would gain. The contract would give him a lady for his castle and someone willing to care for his children. It would also mend the insult he had caused by carrying a Morrag daughter from the festival.

She lifted her whisky and took another small sip before placing the cup beside the parchment. The warmth helped steady her voice.