Page 35 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

The next morning, the sound of hoofbeats struck the courtyard below and pulled her upright in bed. For one confused instant, she listened for the measured tread that had not returned during the night. However, the guards’ calls soon stopped that thought as a carriage rolled beneath her window and Morrag colors appeared among the men escorting it.

She had already reached for her gown when a maid knocked to announce her parents’ arrival. She dressed with little care for the rest of the pins slipping through her fingers, then hurried into the passage as servants carried trunks toward newly opened chambers. Mairi, the head maid, directed them from the landing while the guards below led the tired horses away.

Heather Tulloch stood inside the entrance hall with dust on the hem of her traveling gown. The moment she saw Ceana, she crossed the remaining distance and wrapped both arms around her. Her embrace tightened until Ceana could scarcely breathe.

“Good day, Maither,” Ceana breathed into her mother’s shoulder.

“Let me see ye,” Heather said.

She drew Ceana toward the light and searched her face before turning over both wrists. Her fingers then brushed Ceana’s cheeks.

“Did he harm ye?”

“Nay, Maither. I am unharmed.”

David Tulloch approached more slowly, though his composure faltered when he gripped Ceana’s shoulders. He pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to her hair.

“We didnae ken which daughter he had,” he said. “The message named ye, though we feared he might have taken ye both.”

Ceana held him for another moment before drawing back. “So Daphne hasnae returned yet?”

Heather reached into her cloak and produced a folded letter. The sight of her twin’s handwriting across the front made Ceana’s fingers tremble as she broke the seal.

Ceana,

Are you well? I have thought of little else since I left. I am safe, and I went willingly. I will not return to marry Angus. I know what that may bring upon Father and the clan, but I could not bind myself to a man I feared simply to keep everyone else comfortable. I cannot tell you where I am. The fewer people who know, the safer it will be for all of us.

You have spent too much of your life stepping into mine. We did it first with Mother’s blue ribbon, when you took the half I scorched so no one would discover we had traded places. You still have it, do you not?

Tell Mother I love her. Tell Father I am sorry, though I will not change my mind.

I am sorry I left you to answer for my choices. Do not risk your life again trying to fix what I have broken. Choose what comes next because it belongs to you.

Daphne.

The final lines blurred until Ceana wiped her eyes and read them again, a laugh escaping through her tears. She pressed the page against her chest, relieved that Daphne lived.

“How did this reach ye?” she asked.

“A trusted hand delivered it and left before we could ask questions,” Heather explained.

David looked toward the doors, where the last of their escort had entered. Traveling for so long had hollowed the skin beneath his eyes. “Her refusal has brought consequences. Bryce’s riders have been seen near our outer grazin’ land, and cattle have disappeared from there.”

“Has he sent his demands?”

“Nay. He wishes us to understand that he can reach Morrag land whenever he chooses.” David rubbed a hand over his jaw before meeting Ceana’s gaze. “I cannae protect our people with pride. An alliance with MacKane may give Bryce reason to hesitate.”

The speed of his answer revealed how often he had considered it. Shame flashed across his face, and he looked away.

“Did ye agree freely?” he asked.

“Oscar abducted me because he believed I was Daphne. Once he learned the truth, he offered terms, and I accepted them.”

“Did he threaten us to gain yer consent?” Heather asked.

“Nay. His promise to protect Daphne was one of the reasons I agreed.”

David’s shoulders lowered with relief. “In that case, I will welcome his protection. I wish the need for it hadnae fallen upon ye.”