Page 43 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

Heather crossed to the door and opened it far enough to check the passage. Once satisfied that no servant waited nearby, she closed it again.

“Daphne came to me after the household had gone to sleep,” she admitted. “I gave her money and me travelin’ cloak. The lower stables were left unlocked so she could take a horse without wakin’ the grooms.”

Ceana stared at her. “It was ye? Ye helped her escape?”

“I directed her toward the first safe road. After that, she chose her own path.”

“Does Faither ken?”

“He would have stopped us because he feared what Laird Gilmore might do. I feared what would happen to Daphne if we obeyed him.”

A startled laugh escaped Ceana before she could contain it. Her mother, who had spent years correcting posture and insisting on decorum, had quietly helped her sister steal a horse from her own stables and escape.

Heather kneeled in front of her. “I will do the same for ye.”

The faint amusement left Ceana’s face.

“A mare can be saddled in the lower stables within minutes,” Heather continued. “Ross will take ye through the kitchen gate while the household is occupied in the garden. I can claim that ye have taken ill and delay anyone who comes lookin’.”

“Ye would send both yer daughters runnin’ across Scotland?”

“I would rather have two livin’ and free daughters than two miserable, obedient ones,” she said without hesitation.

That stripped away Ceana’s last excuse—that she had no choice.

She looked toward the window. The lower stables lay beyond the wall, and the kitchen gate opened onto a narrow track that joined the road through the woods. With ordinary clothing beneath a cloak, she could leave MacKane land before Oscar understood what had happened.

Freedom was close enough to reach before the ceremony began. Choosing it would end the uncertainty. She would never have to discover whether Oscar intended to spend their marriage watching her mouth while denying himself the right to touch it. The separate chambers could remain an untested bargain, and she would avoid becoming the useful wife who knew every part of his household while knowing little about him.

However, Paisley’s ribbon still lay beneath her hand, and suddenly, all that had happened in the past few weeks stretched out before her, like fabric choices in a market.

Paisley had trusted her with the fear she scarcely admitted to her own father. Tommy had promised to restrain himself because he wanted her to stay. Leaving would teach both children that every woman eventually disappeared, even one who had looked them in the eyes and promised otherwise.

Oscar had protected Daphne without knowing where she hid. By this morning, MacKane riders were preparing to defend Morrag. He had deceived Ceana at the festival, then placed the final decision in her hands once the truth became known.

Daphne’s letter had asked Ceana to choose a life of her own. Running merely because her sister had would be another way of following Daphne into a place she had never chosen.

“I want to proceed with the wedding,” Ceana declared.

Heather searched her face. “Why? Daenae tell me it is because ye gave yer word.”

“That matters to me. The children matter as well.” Ceana brushed the ribbon with her thumb. “Oscar has treated me with respect since we made our bargain, and he has kept every promise he made me.”

“Is that all he has done? Has he never frustrated ye? Nae even once?”

“Well, he has.” Heat rose beneath Ceana’s skin as she remembered the press of his mouth against hers. “He is skilled at that.”

Her mother’s expression softened with understanding, though she doubted it was for what she was thinking.

“I cannae ken what sort of husband he would be until I marry him,” Ceana continued. “I want the chance to build somethin’ here. If I leave today, it will still be because I am afraid.”

Heather stood and held out her hand. Ceana took it, allowing her mother to pull her to her feet.

“Then I will walk ye as far as the garden,” Heather relented. “After that, every step is yers.”

When she reached for the pins again, Ceana stopped her. “Daenae arrange me hair like Daphne did hers for formal occasions.”

“How would ye like it?”