Page 6 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

The woman narrowed her eyes. “So, I am a message.”

“For the moment.”

She advanced one step, bringing them close enough that Oscar could see the uneven knot in the mask ribbon and the mud drying on her fingers. She still looked scared, yet she held his gaze.

“Ye kidnapped me because another man wouldnae answer yer questions.”

“I prevented ye from marrying a dangerous man. Ye should thank me rather than fight me, Lady Daphne.”

Her lips parted in disbelief. “Should I also give ye gifts for kidnapping me?”

Amusement pulled briefly at the corner of Oscar’s mouth. Lennan noticed and wisely turned his attention toward the entrance.

“I am pleased me captivity entertains ye, me Laird. However, I shall leave before ye find another reason to congratulate yerself.”

She turned toward the tent flap, and Oscar moved to halt her. However, before either of them reached the entrance, the canvas lifted, and Tommy ducked inside.

“Faither,” the little boy called.

He stopped just inside the tent and stared at the woman standing near the entrance. His hair was windblown, and a streak of dirt crossed one cheek.

Oscar searched behind him for Ness or some sign of the trouble that usually accompanied him, but the guard outside lowered the flap without allowing the goat through.

The change in Lady Daphne came at once. Her shoulders relaxed, and the anger vanished from her face. She lowered the mask in her hand and turned fully toward the boy.

Tommy seemed to recognize her without the painted leather covering her face. “Did me faither bring ye here to thank ye for savin’ Ness?” Then he bolted across the space between them and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Oscar watched the boy’s hands, then checked the tent flap and glanced toward the table where he had left the sharpened blade. Nothing moved. His son simply held the woman as if finding her again had answered an urgent concern.

Lady Daphne bent and returned the embrace. She placed one hand on Tommy’s back and kept the scraped one away from his clothes.

“Well met again, sweetness,” she said. “Where is yer troublesome companion?”

“Ness is with the guard. He wouldnae let her inside.” Tommy leaned back and looked up at her. “I told him she is well-behaved now.”

“The guard seems to have excellent judgment.”

Oscar stepped closer. “How do ye ken me son?” The question came sharper than he had intended.

Lady Daphne straightened and shifted slightly, placing herself between Tommy and the table. Her gaze flicked toward the blade before returning to Oscar. The protective movement seemed instinctive, though the weapon lay well beyond the boy’s reach.

“Ness trapped her leg between the roots beyond the supply carts,” Tommy explained, his words gaining speed as he spoke. “I thought it was broken, but she came and pushed the tree apart with her hands.”

“I cleared some soil from beneath the root,” Lady Daphne corrected. “The tree remains where it was.”

“Ye pushed it enough. Ness couldnae move before ye came.”

Tommy caught her injured hand and turned it carefully. The scrape across her palm had reopened during the struggle with Oscar’s men, and a thin line of blood marked the base of her thumb.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked. “Ye hurt it helpin’ Ness.”

“It will heal.”

Oscar looked again at the mud on her gown and the torn stitching near her wrist.

“Why would ye risk discovery for an animal?” he asked.

Her fingers closed gently around Tommy’s hand before she released it. “The animal was trapped, and Tommy was frightened. What other reason should I require?”