Page 99 of The Laird’s Lost Wife

Perhaps I deserve it. After all, I did make a vow and then break it.

He trudged over to the door—which was, of course, locked—and then paused. “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” came the soft reply.

Daphne.

The door was open before he even knew what he was doing. Sure enough, there she stood, looking very small and almost timid in a voluminous cloak. The cloak was damp at the hem, and she tugged at it with a self-conscious laugh.

“I went out for a walk while ye were in the council meeting. I couldnae… couldnae settle. But Lady Helena told me that ye arenae being asked to step down, which is good.”

“It is good.”

She breathed out, folding her hands in front of her. “But I understand it’ll make ye a bit unpopular. I’ve come to ask ye again whether it wouldnae be better for me to leave. As I said, I willnae keep Willow from ye.”

He raised an eyebrow. “After all that, ye want to cancel our betrothal and run off? Come on, lass. I daenae want ye to go.”

She nodded. “I didnae think that ye would. Well then, I’m here to tell ye that I’ll treat our marriage seriously. For Willow. She deserves good parents. I’ll nae pressure ye to explain yer vow to me or why ye took it in the first place. I’ve been thinking about it, and it’ll only cause conflict. Since we’re going to marry, I want us to do it properly.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“But…” She held up a finger. “I have a request of me own. No more secrets. No more vows. No more hiding things. I’ll do ye the same courtesy. There’s nothing that either of us can do about our pasts, but the future? Well, that’s right in our hands. I want Willow to grow up in a family that values love, honesty, and justice.”

“Spoken like a fine mother,” Hunter said softly. “Willow couldnae have had a better mother, Daphne.”

She reddened, dropping her gaze. “I sometimes feel like I’ve done everything wrong.”

“I think most parents feel that way. But together, we can do things right, aye?”

“Aye.”

She lifted her head and held out her hand, as if for a handshake. Then she gave a small, lopsided smile, a hint of sadness in it.

“For Willow?”

“For Willow,” Hunter echoed, taking her small hand in his strong one. “And now, lass, ye had better get some sleep, aye? Tomorrow, everything changes.”

CHAPTER 23

I wish me parents were here, Daphne thought faintly, staring at the closed doors only inches in front of her face. Would they be proud of me? Disappointed? What?

No time to think about it. She could hear the shuffle and murmur of countless people behind the chapel doors.

The keep chapel was not a very large building, since a lot of people actually traveled to chapels and churches outside of the keep walls to attend the sermons with their families. Today, she guessed that it was packed to the rafters.

“Daphne?” Ceana murmured, leaning forward anxiously. “Are ye all right? Ye seem a wee bit disoriented.”

“I’m just tired. I… I scarcely slept last night,” Daphne murmured back.

The hall outside the chapel was empty, at her own request. Lady Pilbury and Helena had gone on ahead, leaving only her, Ceana, and, of course, Willow out in the hall.

Willow’s dress matched Daphne’s, a smaller version of her simple forest-green gown. They both carried sprigs of wildflowers, and Daphne had two scraps of fabric pinned to her hip, one Morrag tartan and one MacCrimmon tartan. She hoped that would help people remember who she was and who she intended to become.

For the first time, a twinge of excitement unfurled inside her.

Lady MacCrimmon. I’ll be Hunter’s wife. Helena will teach me how to run the keep, and Willow will have a real family. A mother, grandmother, an aunt. And, of course, a father.

Hunter.