Page 68 of The Laird’s Wrong Wife

Oscar’s attention sharpened. “Why?”

“She needs to be the same lass who came down for breakfast. The game gives her somethin’ ordinary to command after she woke up frightened by a change she didnae understand.”

His thumb shifted once against her side. “What happened to me daughter that I still cannae understand?”

The reminder of Paisley’s dismissal almost drew another smile from Ceana. She looked toward the hanging. Paisley had trusted only her and Mairi with this.

Oscar waited, concern tightening the corners of his eyes.

“Her first courses came,” Ceana admitted.

Oscar went still. His gaze moved toward the passage Paisley had taken. “She is a bairn.”

“Aye. She was twelve when she woke, and she remains twelve now.”

Oscar swallowed, and the pressure of his fingers eased. “Was she frightened?”

“She thought she had been hurt. The blood frightened her, and she feared the household would discover it.”

His jaw tightened. “Does she ken what to do now?”

“Aye. We took care of her, I promise.”

He lowered his eyes. The corner of his mouth tightened, and his fingers curled into the fabric at her waist.

“Thank ye,” he said. “For carin’ for her.”

“Mairi or any other maid would have ken what to do.”

“Well, she didnae ask for Mairi this mornin’ now, did she?” He looked at her again, his gaze steady. “She asked for ye. I am glad ye were there.”

His grip relaxed, and his thumb moved once over her waist, drawing her closer before she caught herself.

Paisley had chosen her, and Oscar had mentioned that expressly. Ceana wanted to rest against him and accept the place he offered her in his family.

Then she remembered the cold sheet beside her when she woke. He could thank her here, concealed in a wall with his body pressed against hers. The empty bed kept her spine against the stone.

Her gaze moved toward the hanging, then returned to his face.

“Ye have been hidin’ a long while, then,” she whispered.

Oscar’s thumb stopped against her waist.

“It seems ye began this game before Tommy thought of it. Before he was even born.”

Oscar’s jaw tightened. His chest rose with one slow breath, and the arm around her waist became rigid.

“Daenae provoke me here.”

“Here?” she asked softly.

He glanced toward the hanging before returning his attention to her. “Daenae provoke me while there is nowhere to put distance between us.”

Ceana curled her fingers into the front of his shirt. The hanging at his back covered the only way out, and he would expose them both if he pushed through it. The inner wall stood flat against her spine, and his body filled every inch between her and escape.

“Ye found ample distance before dawn.” She kept her voice low enough to remain within the recess. “I woke up beside a cold, empty space, husband. Ye had already won yer round.”

His fingers flexed against her waist. “I left because stayin’ had become impossible.”