Page 16 of The Laird’s Lost Wife

It wasn’t fair.

“What are ye doing?” Daphne demanded instead.

“We need to talk, ye and I,” Hunter responded shortly, pulling her after him down the corridor. “Ye are coming with me, lass.”

CHAPTER 3

Halfway down the hall, Daphne came to her senses and began slapping at his thick forearm.

“Let me go!” she hissed. “Let me go, now!”

He ignored her for a moment, dragging her a few more feet until they reached the end of the corridor. They passed the stairs, which led to the bottom floors and the front door, and just beyond the top of the stairs was a circular landing with a large round window and a curved window seat.

Lady Pilbury kept a few books stacked neatly on shelves around the seat, carefully angled to keep the sun off their spines.

Hunter stopped there and released her.

Daphne spun around to face him, glowering.

“I could have screamed for help,” she bit out.

He sniffed. “But ye didnae. Enough of yer whining, lass.”

“I have a mind to go right back into that room and tell yer mother how ye have behaved.”

He folded his thick, muscular arms across his broad chest. “Do it, then. Me mother doesnae command me. I am Laird MacCrimmon, nae her.”

She was tempted to call his bluff. But if she did that, the conversation would end. Lady Pilbury might even feel obliged to put Hunter and his mother out of the house, and that would be unfair.

Besides, it was good for Willow to make new friends. She didn’t get out of the house too much, since Daphne was busy with caring for her employer. Lady Pilbury adored Willow, and it was good for them both to spend time together.

Occasionally, guilt would nibble at the edge of Daphne’s mind, reminding her that her daughter needed friends her age. Willow needed to see more of the world. She deserved to see her home, at least once.

Now wasn’t the time for that sort of thinking, however.

“Well then, what do ye want?” Daphne muttered, scowling.

“Ye have got some cheek, lass. I looked for ye, ye ken. Thought I’d see ye at the festival, at least.”

Her chest tightened.

He looked for me? He wanted to see me?

No, she reminded herself, it wasn’t about that. She could only be a conquest. He probably liked to keep an eye on all the women he bedded.

She thought about asking him that, but decided against it. It was too personal. Plus, she was supposed to be working. Although judging from the laughter and chatter drifting from the bedroom at the end of the hallway, Lady Pilbury was in better spirits than she’d been for a while.

“Why did ye run?” Hunter asked after a moment.

Daphne rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. “I was supposed to wed a man the day after the festival.”

“I remember that. Which man?”

“It doesnae matter now. I fled, and the marriage never happened.”

“Fled?”

“I thought I could wed him, but I couldnae,” she snapped. “I came to England, and I took a position as Lady Pilbury’s companion. Then I discovered…” she trailed off, biting her lower lip. “I didnae expect to be with child.”