Page 67 of The Laird’s Lost Wife

“And are ye willing to lose yer position as Laird?”

He chuckled. “What, for ye and me daughter?”

She reddened. “I am nae worth tearing apart yer life.”

“Is Willow nae worth it?”

“What if ye marry me and announce her as yer heir, and the clansfolk hate her?”

He laughed aloud. “Hate wee Willow? They’ll adore her like we do. It’s decided, lass. We’ll marry.”

She saw red. Her vision actually shivered with fury, and she narrowed her eyes at him, backing away.

“I daenae recall agreeing to anything. And I daenae think ye can just drag me up the aisle to the altar. This isnae going to work, Hunter. Ye ken it.”

“I need ye to trust me. I can make it work.”

She stared at him for a long moment. He stared back, his face blank and unreadable. She couldn’t work out what he was thinking, as not so much as a hint of emotion crossed his face.

Well, maybe he didn’t really feel anything.

“Why did ye make the vow?” she asked.

His shoulders stiffened. “What have ye heard?”

“I want to hear it from ye.”

“Tell me what ye were told. Wait, I daenae think ye were told anything. Folks who ken daenae tend to talk about it.”

“So there was a reason,” she whispered.

He held out his hands. “Of course there was a reason. No laird makes a vow like that on a whim.”

“Well, tell me what it was.”

He shook his head tightly, turning his back. “It’s best that ye daenae ken.”

She was conscious of a pinprick of annoyance, an itch deep inside.

Daphne had always been the curious one growing up. Her sister, Ceana, was content to let things lie. If she wanted to find something out, she’d discover it. If not, she just shrugged her shoulders and moved on. It didn’t seem to bother her not to know something. The desire to know didn’t have her questioning the servants and sifting through book after book.

It would have been nice to be like that.

Now, when it was clear that Hunter was keeping a secret from her, she felt the familiar urge to figure it out. To know.

“Well, ye cannae say something like that and expect me to drop the matter,” she said tightly.

Hunter sighed. “Enough, lass.”

“Ye daenae get to tell me enough.”

He narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, seizing her wrist. His grip wasn’t tight, but she tried to tug herself free to no avail.

“Let go of me.”

“I need ye to let this lie, lass.”

“Then tell me what happened. Why did ye vow nae to marry? I heard that ye vowed nae to have another child. Did they already ken about Willow? Nay, they couldnae have…”