Page 66 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

“It is all right,” Ceana allowed. “Ye can play.”

“I want to play.” Paisley rose from her chair.

Tommy thrust the goat’s lead into her hand. “Ye shall captain our side. Ye ken the hidin’ places better than I do.”

“Our side?” Oscar echoed.

“Adults against children,” Tommy declared. “Ness is with us.”

Ceana looked at the goat, who had begun nosing the hem of Paisley’s gown. “What qualifies Ness as a child?”

“She is young and she is smaller than Da.”

“Well, by that standard, most of Scotland belongs to yer team,” Ceana said.

Paisley laughed, then caught Tommy’s hand. “Come. We seek first.”

The children raced into the passage, with Ness’s hooves striking the floor behind them.

Ceana met Oscar’s gaze across the table. “It seems ye are stuck with me, husband.”

His eyes lowered to her mouth. “Aye, it seems so.”

Ceana swallowed, staring back at him.

Great.

CHAPTER 17

She gathered her dress and hurried up the worn steps while Tommy counted below.

“One, two, three, four… six…”

“Ye missed five,” Paisley called.

“Do ye want to go ahead or nae? I said it quietly.”

“Ye didnae say it at all. Begin again and keep yer eyes closed.”

Ness’s hooves clattered across the floor beneath them. Something wooden scraped, followed by Tommy’s protest and Paisley’s firmer command.

“Tommy, keep yer eyes closed. Ness, leave the hangin’ be.”

Paisley sounded more like herself. That alone made the game worth squeezing into some ill-made corner of the castle.

Ceana slowed down in the upper passage, where an arrow slit threw a thin strip of daylight across the floor. Beyond it, the uneven wall bent around an older part of the castle, and a fading hunting tapestry curled away from the plaster. She had yet to learn where every door led, and frankly, it would have to come much later.

Oscar had vanished before she reached the stairs, which suited her. Being on his team gave him no claim to her company. He had claimed the far edge of their bed, and by the time she woke, he had gone, and he kept his distance throughout the morning.

She pressed her lips together, remembering the careful kiss he had ended.

Nay. Now isnae the time.

Ceana considered the linen press near the gallery, which Tommy would open first. The curtained bed in the empty chamber ahead was equally obvious. She continued toward the shadowed turn as the renewed count reached seven.

At ten, an arm caught her around the waist.

What t⁠—