She forced herself to meet Beatrice’s eyes. “And I accepted.”
Beatrice absorbed this. “Because of Drummond,” she said quietly.
Eloise nodded. “Aye,” she said. “It was that… or return to him or be in the wilds on me own.”
Beatrice shuddered faintly. “Then ye made the right choice,” she said. “This is a better fate than those paths.”
A silence settled between them, softer now. Beatrice’s expression shifted, her earlier brightness dimming slightly. “I only wish ye had told me,” she said gently. “I was worried sick, Eloise.”
Eloise’s throat tightened. “I ken,” she said quietly. “And I am sorry.” She set her cup aside. “I didnae think it through,” she admitted. “I only kent I had to flee. I didnae think what it would do to all of ye.”
Beatrice reached for her at once. “Ye frightened us all,” Beatrice said, pulling her into an embrace. “We thought ye were gone.”
Eloise held her tightly, closing her eyes briefly. “I am here now,” she said softly.
Beatrice pulled back, her expression softening. “Aye, ye are,” she said. “And it seems things have worked out.” She glanced toward the door. “This Laird… he seems better than Drummond at least.”
Eloise let out a quiet breath, a faint, conflicted smile tugging at her lips. “MacAllister is… moody,” she said. “Insufferable at times.”
Beatrice laughed.
Eloise huffed softly. “And controlling,” she added. “He thinks because this is his castle, he commands everythin’ within it.”
Beatrice raised a brow. “And yet ye agreed to marry him,” she pointed out.
Eloise looked away slightly. “Aye,” she said. “Because despite all that… he is still a far better choice than Drummond.”
Beatrice studied her closely now. “That isnae all, is it?” she asked quietly.
Eloise stilled, her heart giving a sharp, traitorous beat. “It is enough,” she said firmly. Beatrice did not press further, though her gaze lingered with quiet suspicion.
Instead, she reached for another piece of cake, her tone lightening once more. “Well,” she said, “moody and handsome is still an improvement over cruel and ancient.”
Eloise laughed despite herself. “Aye,” she said. “On that, we can agree.”
But even as she smiled, the weight of what she had not said pressed heavily on her chest. And she could not shake the feeling that Beatrice, clever as she was, would not remain fooled for long.
The next morning dawned bright and clear, and Eloise wasted no time in sweeping Beatrice from her chamber and into the heart of the castle.
“Come, I’ll show ye everythin’,” she said, her voice lighter than it had been in days. Beatrice followed eagerly, her curiosity unrestrained as she peered into corridors and rooms alike.
“It’s enormous,” she said, laughing as they passed beneath a stone archway.
Eloise smiled. “Aye, and I still get lost in it,” she admitted.
“Then I shall rely on ye nae to abandon me to wander these halls alone,” Beatrice teased.
They moved through the great hall, where servants bustled about their tasks, and Beatrice slowed to take it in.
“This is where ye dine?” she asked.
Eloise nodded. “Aye, and so shall ye, this evenin', with the entire clan watchin’,” she said wryly.
Beatrice grinned. “I would expect nothing. They must never take their eye off ye. Ye are the future Lady MacAllister after all,” she said.
Eloise huffed softly but said nothing, turning instead toward the corridor that led outside.
How I long to tell her that I am nae the Lady MacAllister and never will be.
