Page 94 of Her Reluctant Highlander Husband

“Please, Papa,” Dorie said. “He’s the man I want.”

“Well, it’s a good thing since you’re still married to him. I cannot give you my blessing to be wed because you’re already married.”

“Excuse me?” Bryce asked in confusion.

“You say you signed the annulment, but I never received it.”

He’d signed the document and— “Lachlan.” This had to have been his cousin’s doing. He hadn’t wanted Bryce to go through with it. He must have anticipated Bryce would change his mind. Damn it. The man’s head wouldn’t fit through the bloody gates when he found out he’d been right.

Dorien frowned, not in anger but with sadness. “I imagine you plan to take her back to Scotland.”

Bryce understood that he didn’t want to lose his daughter after she’d just entered his life a few months ago. “Aye. It’s our home. It’s where we’ll raise our children.” He smiled at the man. “Your grandchildren.” Dorie came close and Bryce took her hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. “You are welcome to visit as often as you like,” Bryce added, hoping to appease his father-in-law.

“This is really what you want, Dorie?” the viscount asked.

Dorie went to her father with tears in her eyes. She hugged him tightly then stepped away. “Yes, Father. I hate to lose you, now I finally got to know you. I’ll miss my brothers and sisters. And Harriet. She’s a wonderful woman and so accepting of me, considering the circumstances. But I must follow my heart. And my heart wants to be with Bryce.”

“And if he hurts you again…?”

“I trust him, Papa.” She wiped a tear away. “I just wish I didn’t have to lose you to have him.” A new sob overtook her, and her father pulled her close.

“Shhh. Why do you think you have to lose me?” he asked.

She backed away and blinked up at him. “Because I’ve displeased you.”

He gave her a soft smile. “You are my daughter. I love you. You will never lose me. Never.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.”

She clung to him as he held her tightly.

“As long as you’re happy, I’ll not be displeased.” The man’s words sounded warm. The glare he shot Bryce over Dorie’s shoulder, however, spoke of all the harm that would come to Bryce if he hurt her in any way. Bryce did not doubt he’d one day look at a man the same way when he claimed Bryce’s daughter, if they were blessed in that way.

“Thank you, Papa.” She turned to Bryce and smiled. “I shall go pack so we can go home.”

Home. He couldn’t wait.

…

Dorie expected her brothers and sisters would be happy to see her go. She’d grown attached to them but felt they’d never quite accepted her. So it was a surprise to find three crying children clinging to her as she tried to pack her things.

Philip was, of course, too old for such dramatics, but even he seemed unhappy that she was leaving.

“I’ll write to you all the time,” she assured them.

“But I canna write back,” George said, using the Scottish word.

“Then all the more reason for you to pay attention during your lessons so you can. In the meantime, I would be happy for you to draw me a picture. I know you can do that.” Though her younger brother seemed only able to draw unfathomably large horses that took up the entire page and were larger than the manor house in the background.

Harriet took Geneva and soothed her tears. “I wish you happiness,” she told Dorie. “I know I’m not old enough to be your mother, but I care for you as one would.”

“And I have come to rely on your advice. Thank you so much for making me see what was right in front of me.”

Harriet and Dorie both brushed tears from their cheeks as a servant came to carry her things downstairs.

Dorie heard the two men talking in the parlor and paused to see if they’d made amends or if her father was still trying to intimidate her husband. She recalled something Harriet had said about her father never finding any man to be good enough for his daughter, and guessed this tension was normal for the situation. Though as she drew closer she realized it went beyond that.